Monochromatic With A Twist

Today I aim for monochromatic look in red hues. Yes, pink is a lighter shade of red! My wardrobe doesn't include pink or red blazer though, so I have to make do with black instead. If you notice, here I'm mixing patterns of diagonal stripes on my skirt, and checked on my bag. This kinds of detail make me happy, even if I'm the only one who notice its subtle beauty!

The weather has been all cloudy and rainy lately. The sky is grey and overcast. Hence I opt to dress up in cheerful, bright colors to give me a little lift. Red is a happy color. Pink is a feminine, pretty color. By throwing black on top of the red and pink combination, this ensemble look feminine, yet bold.

I really love this bag. I like bags that are big and have a structured form to them. I don't really like floppy bags, though I have some of them in my purse collection. I love bags more than shoes because bags will never hurt my feet!

A New Year: One Downtown Sunday

Happy New Year, everyone! This post was actually written a loooong time ago, just at the very beginning of my pregnancy. Somehow I decided not to post it, until now. ^__^

“ ‘Girls, I’m sorry, but I won’t have time for you anymore. I’m married now.’ LeeAnne, if you ever, ever even imply that to us your friends, I’m going to kill you!”

That’s what a friend said to me when she found out I was engaged.

Have you ever felt like your married friends imply those sentences to you? I have. Not only from married friends, but also from girlfriends who just got into a new relationship.  An older unmarried girlfriend in her 40s also told me the same thing. An unmarried auntie in her 50s said that she got her “girls” back only many many years later, when all their children are grown up and their houses become empty. Not all married women are like that, of course. But I have some who are.

Having been recently married, now I’m in the position to understand that even now, when the children have not yet arrived, a husband occupies a lot of my time. He needs care, he needs attention, he needs ears to listen, he wants me to be constantly by his side.  But, I believe that a healthy marriage doesn’t equal being cooped up. It involves a lot than just me and him: parents, extended family, friends, community, and of course God. Each of them has a place in my priority list.

“I’m too busy for you” basically just means “You’re not in my priority list.”

Being married, my husband is on a higher position of my list of priority, compared to my friends. Of course, and I hope I am too, in his. BUT, my friends ARE on my priority list. Therefore, I make time for them. Because what is more precious gift I could give to my friends than time? Time, afterall, is what makes life.

Today I’m meeting a friend, Dian, for lunch. Dian is a yoga lover, so we arranged to meet for lunch at her favorite restaurant near her gym, at Oakwood, downtown Mega Kuningan. My husband kindly gave me a ride, then he waited at Loewy, reading book and had a cup of coffee.  We planned to attend mass at a nearby Church afterwards. He has had a huge brunch at home, thus he could just skip lunch altogether. I’m  very thankful for that, because Dian and I would have had less fun having our little girltalk and chit chat if the husband were present! Thank you, Hubby!

I really like this rather edgy, electric blue sequinned purse. It's not my usual feminine style, but I love to cross the border once in a while.

This is what Mega Kuningan looks like on the weekends. During weekdays, it's a traffic jam nightmare, but when it's empty like this, the area is actually quite nice and tranquil.

Dian is a yoga lover, healthy eating freak, jewelry maker, and researcher. I've done some part-time research work for her before. And she helped me to fix to this bracelet I got online. It was broken when the package arrived, and Dian came to the rescue. I'm so glad since the necklace is so cute with the flower, sea shell and stuffs.

 

We met at Penang Bistro restaurant, Dian's favorite restaurant at Oakwood.

I had 'ayam goreng blacan' or spicy friend chicken.

And today I'm just wearing these red flats instead of heels since, well, since I just found out that I was pregnant, of course!

Overall, it was a nice, lovely Sunday.

Through (Blue) Rose Tinted Glasses

Note: I finally succumb to the temptation and open an Instagram account! I know, I know, I'm so late, but better late than never, rite. Haha! The thing is, I usually don't have good internet or wifi connection, so uploading pictures on Instagram takes waaaayyyyy too long! But wifi is a little bit better now! If you'd like to know what's going on in my daily life, please find stylenseason on Instagram. ^__^

What do you think when you see these pictures?

An outing at the mall of Mommy and Baby...

A happy family of three...

Yes, it was a supposedly happy family outing at a nearby mall. We didn't take Baby Michael out that much because we prefer to wait until he got all his basic shots completed before taking him everywhere with us. Some people might think that's rather extreme, but that's what my Mom did with me when I was a baby, and Baby Michael had not had any sickness until about his ninth month. 

But anyway, what I was going to say is, right before we were out of the door, my husband and I had a big fight. 

Can you tell from the pictures? I don't think so. I posted these pictures in my social medias, and my friends made positive comments about our little happy family. All smiles and so.

Well, we did smile again when the picture was taken, but the five minutes drive to the mall was silent and awkward. My husband didn't say anything and I stubbornly gave him the silent treatment in return.

The funny thing is: I do not remember now what the fighting was all about, nor do I remember how we kissed and made up. 

What once felt like such a big a deal, turned out to be not that a big a deal after all.

Lesson learned? It was not our first fight. It's not going to be the last. But after a while, it didn't matter anymore. We kissed and made up. We forgave and forgot. We didn't discuss the fight. We just moved on. Afterall, if we had to discuss every single argument we'll ever have, we would spend all time in our marriage to do just that. When we can spend our marriage life to... well, to live. Like playing with our son. Flirting and cuddling with each other. Having dinner together. Telling jokes. Trying out new restaurants. You know, all those domestic bliss that doesn't look too glamorous, but leave you feel warm and snazzy and comfy inside. Waaaaay much better than discussing our arguments and disagreement all the time. After a while, we agreed to disagree, and moved on. And having a lot of fun and love and happiness along the way.

We CHOOSE to see our life in rose tinted glasses. It's not being delusional. It's called growing up and making decision to live and see life in positive note, instead of in negative one.

What we remember now, is that was a swell Sunday family outing. My son will not remember what clothes he was wearing, what he was eating, what we were doing, but he will remember that he had a wonderful childhood with a mother and a father who love him and love each other.

Always pick your battles wisely. Sometimes, it's not worth a battle at all.

Every single item I wore in these pictures are the black sheeps. Well? What does it mean?

The blue striped tee is something my Mom bought during one of her annual trip to the US, and she ended up not liking it. So she gave it to me. The skirt has been in my closet for about three years, unworn. It was sewn together out of several different older clothes, and I didn't have a clue what I was going to wear it with. 

The necklace. When I was going to buy it online, I didn't know how I was going to wear something so colorful and such a statement piece. Well, I'm sure if you're a regular reader you have seen this necklace in display many, many times. 

Same thing with this bag. None of my friends supported my decision to acquire this blue purse. 

Turned out that I like every single one of them! No regret in having them afterall!

Helloooo December! Hello Kitty!

Note: I finally succumb to the temptation and open an Instagram account! I know, I know, I'm so late, but better late than never, rite. Haha! The thing is, I usually don't have good internet or wifi connection, so uploading pictures on Instagram takes waaaayyyyy too long! But wifi is a little bit better now! If you'd like to know what's going on in my daily life, please find @stylenseason on Instagram. ^__^

Happy December! Can't you believe that it's almost Christmas?

A while back, I read a post by one of my very young favorite fashion blogger named Vern, who wrote how fashion bloggers are often seen as just a hobby and not as serious profession as doctors, accountants, or lawyers. Many people were amazed, she said, when she told them she wants to be an ambassador one day. To many people, she's just a college girl who loves to dress up, and therefore, doesn't need to be taken seriously. This is a young blogger who has numerous national advertising campaigns in her native country Philippines, with lots of press coverage, part time stylist jobs, has started her own clothing line, and often receive many perks and benefits and freebies from many companies for being a very popular blogger. If she were in medical or law blogging instead of fashion, it might have been different.

Now, I won't call myself a fashion blogger or a fashionista. And to me, blogging IS a hobby and a way to channel my thoughts, since I'm better to express myself in writing than in verbal form. It makes me some pocket money to buy some cheap stuff on Ebay from time to time, yes, but not even enough to buy me lunch, and by no way I can be classified as a professional or even very serious blogger. But I do love fashion.

I love accessories and reading (not wearing) about beauty products. I love collecting pink lipsticks, lipgloss and colorful eyeshadow pallettes. I have a closetful of purses. I love anything pretty. I love anything pink and girlie and cute. I am basically an ordinary girl with an extraordinaty love for all things ultra feminine. But, I don't take it all too seriously. I know that fashion itself is a SERIOUS business worth billions of dollars, but since I'm not in the industry, let's just say that I can enjoy it without thinking about it too much. To me, fashion is just one of the many fun things I'm grateful for in life.

Still, does my fashion - or my love of fashion and beauty - make people take me less seriously, like Vern? Yes and no. Especially in the corporate world, where I spend about eight straight hours a day, five days a week. I just want to stress here, that in this imperfect world, we do tend to pass judgement and make opinions and stereotypes about other people. It's just human nature, very normal and perfectly acceptable, as long as we keep it in proportion. What's your opinion about it, Friends?

Now, having said all those, let's change the subject before I got you all bored. Today I'd like to share with you the Hello Kitty haul that I just bought! Yayyy!!!

Before that, let me share with you some "grown up" Hello Kitty purses I found online that I'm practically drooling over!

Tosca Hello Kitty Loungefly Tote (buy)

Polkadots Black & White Hello Kitty Loungefly Tote (buy)

Hello Kitty Grey & Purple Quilted Bag (buy)

I love Hello Kitty, but I always very careful not to overdo it or wear anything too childish. Fortunately, nowadays, there are many cute Hello Kitty goods manufactured for grown up women as continuation of their love  to this cute Sanrio character since childhood. I lost my shopping appetite since I got pregnant, but somehow sometime during my third month of pregnancy, after having dinner alone at a nearby mall, I got bored and decided to wander around. Well, fate stepped in and I found myself walking inside a store called Missy 7, where I stumbled upon these lovely, pretty, super cute Hello Kitty bags. I'm so excited to share these finds with you Friends!

No, no, no, this is not the bag that I bought, this is just the shopping bag from the store. I didn't throw it out since it's just so cute! I can always reuse it as a gift bag.

This is the first purse that I got. It's huge and I can put many things inside. The color is... oh well, I don't know how to call it. Deep, rich rose? Burgundy? Golden pink? It's a perfect color, size and style for me, since it's not the traditional baby pink Hello Kitty color, not too colorful, not flashy, the Hello Kitty design is subtle, and therefore the bag looks proper and mature enough to carry everyday for work. The material is thick and of good quality and covered with glittery mesh fabric. I don't think you can see the glitters in the picture, though.

The Hello Kitty design is a gold hard-plated design with rhinestones on the little heart-shaped "puffy pillow" chain thing on the bag handle. It's subtle and looks cute and girlie, but still classy and grown up.

I love feminine detail, and I absolutely thrilled to see that the manufacturer put as much thought on the inside of the bag as well as on the outside. The lining is made of baby pink satin fabric with cute Hello Kitty bow patterns scattered around. So adorable!

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I'm glad that the Hello Kitty embroidery at the outside of the bag is in black, with deep ruby red heart rhinestones, so the color doesn't look ostentatious. It comes with a tiny purse inside, which I will use separately either as a makeup bag or a cell phone carrier.

See the tissue paper that comes with the bag? It has pink Hello Kitty patterns, too! I love!

It has such a pretty baby pink satin lining, too, with Hello Kitty bows and faces all around.

This is my other acquisition. A baby pink, glittery, Hello Kitty satchel box-shaped bag. It's huge for a satchel, with a lot of room to carry my "mini market". If not I wouldn't have purchased it! One thing that I don't like about this bag: the long, crossbody strap is made of baby pink plastic/vynil material which look cheap and tacky, so I wouldn't use it and just carry the bag by the handle like a clutch.
Of course, this one I can not use for work. It's just too bubble-gummy and cute-sy for office environment. But I can carry it to the mall with casual jeans or even with a little black dress for a dinner date with my husband! He approves on my love for all things feminine, since he likes feminine women himself, and he knows that beautiful things make me happy! ^_^

I just love love love this gold rimmed, hardplated Hello Kitty head with red apple and rhinestones!

And of course, with similar cute lining! I'm obsessed with this baby satin lining! It's a very nice detail, though people won't be able to see it. I absolutely love!

And now I want a pink Hello Kitty wallet, like this..

Hello Kitty Loungefly Pink Wallet (buy)

So, would you say that fashion and beauty is as serious profession as medical or law? Personally for me, it depends. If I were sick, I'd see that a doctor is a much more serious profession than fashion stylist and lawyer. If I were suing someone, I'd say that lawyer is. If I were planning a big event and needs fashion advice, of course I'd say that fashion stylist is! Haha! And what if I were hungry? A chef, of course, is the most serious profession! And I would of course, say, that being a wife, and a mother, are the two most serious professions that I would ever consider for myself, ever! ^____^

What do you say, Friends?

My New Obsession: Instagram N Creating Your Own Comic!

For the past several weeks I've been obsessing with Instagram. I knoooooow.... So late, rite! I created an Instagram account @stylenseason a long time ago, but I didn't literally upload anything until lately. 

Aaaaand.... this is my kinda new obsession...

Creating my own version of baby comic of Baby Michael!

I love posting these comics on my personal social media like Path and Facebook and tag my husband, my parents and my brothers, so they will know Baby Michael's latest development. My parents live in another city, while my second brother lives in the US, so I'm very thankful for this kind of technology that enables us to be a little bit closer and the fact that we can easily get updates on each other's lives and connect with each other. 

Hubby, of course, see Baby Michael everyday, but he loves to read Baby Michael's comic when he's at work to brighten up his day. And I love creating them!

Some might say it's too narcissistic and self-centered. However, I think keeping a journal and documenting our lives in creative ways have values in itself. Some families have family blog. Some other create their own family newspaper. Some mothers record their family activities in beautiful scrapbooks and photo albums. Don't you think what they do is a lovely idea? At this point, my love to write and the available technology (read: smartphone apps) make it possible to create this kind of memories in my own way. 

And I have a feeling that years from now my husband, my son, his future wife and family, and myself will be happy that I'm doing this.  What do you think, Friends? ^__^

This one is titled "Overconfident Baby" Lol

And then here we're talking about giants.... Huh?

For this one, Baby Michael looooves Winnie The Pooh...

A Simple Gal's Journal: Roses Are Blue In October

Note: I finally succumb to the temptation and open an Instagram account! I know, I know, I'm so late, but better late than never, rite. Haha! The thing is, I usually don't have good internet or wifi connection, so uploading pictures on Instagram takes waaaayyyyy too long! But wifi is a little bit better now! If you'd like to know what's going on in my daily life, please find stylenseason on Instagram. ^__^

Hello, November!

Last week…

Last week was all about fighting nasty cold!

First my husband got the flu bug, coughing and sneezing all the time. Poor man, he couldn’t play with our baby as usual in the evening after work, for he was afraid Baby Michael will catch the virus. And poor me! Because we sleep in the same bed every night, definitely I caught the virus! However, neither of us gave up that easily! We drank our fruit and veggie smoothies every morning, took vitamin C three times a day instead of our usual once-a-day portion, slept a lot, drank a lot of water, did yoga every Saturday morning, basically everything to shoo away the flu bug. 

Boy, human body is amazing! With proper TLC, it fought the virus like crazy! None of us missed one day of work whatsoever, and we could still do our daily acitivities as usual. The only difference was, for about a week or so, we went to bed at nine o’clock sharp. Sleep is a very powerful medicine for any kind of disease, I believe. Heartbreak included. If you ever had a broken heart, you would know what I mean!

We’re still recovering from the not-so-sick limbo state to a truly-healthy state. Keep fighting!

Family time…

We celebrated Hubby’s birthday in October. Actually he asked for lunch at a Korean BBQ restaurant, but I reminded him that if we did so we wouldn’t be able to bring Baby Michael with us, and Hubby did want Baby Michael to present during his birthday lunch. So we changed direction and went to a very nice Chinese restaurant called Angke. The food is delicious but the restaurant is quite expensive, so we only go there for special occasion. Hubby’s birthday, of course, is a special occasion!

Unexpectedly, we received a very nice surprise when we were about to pay the bill. I’ve been having the restaurant loyalty card for a while, because the company that I work for often ordered from there. Our bill was about sixty dollars for two (Baby Michael, of course, didn’t eat restaurant food), and the waiter said that I got enough reward points in my card for fifty dollars, so we ended up paying only ten bucks for a lavish birthday lunch for two!!

More family time!

A week after Hubby’s birthday, his younger siblings came to visit us as well as having a belated mini birthday celebration. The three of us went out to lunch at a ramen shop not far from our house. Hubby’s younger brother is in college and lives at the dorm, so we don’t see him very often. We stopped by at a local mall afterwards, because Hubby wanted to buy some snorkeling goggles. It was an extremely hot day, so as a treat, we also stopped by at Starbucks for some cold frappucinos. Yum!

Praying time…

For Catholics, October is the month of Rosary, so we held a Rosary Prayer at home for our neighbors. There were about twenty people coming over to our house. We prepared extra chairs and snacks, and met new people. The event was held at 8 pm on Monday, so I took the easy route of ordering some savory and sweet snacks from a nearby bakery.

I always enjoy having people come to visit and entertain at home. For me, the point is about having good company and fun, not showcasing the perfection of my home or cooking skill, so eventhough I made a special effort to make sure my home is visitor ready, I don’t fret nor fuss to create a perfect setting and dishes. It has been working well, since guests always enjoy their visit to my home. I believe that if the hostess is calm and enjoying herself, she would be able to enjoy her guests as well, and make the quests to feel welcomed and enjoying their visit. I mean, if you go to visit someone, and the hostess is continually worry about the food, apologizing profusely for the imperfection of her home, and fuss, wouldn’t it feel a bit awkward and make you just want to leave?

Baby Michael…

has finished all his basic immunization shots! Hurray! So no need to go to the doctor until the beginning of next year. My husband and I are quite happy with Baby Michael’s development. We don’t rush him to master any new skils or anything like that. We just let him learn and explore on his own time. And we don’t compare him to other babies, if you know what I mean. He was potty trained since the age of five months, and his eyes could follow movements much earlier than our friends’ babies. But he learned to lift up his head at the age of three months, much later than our friends’ babies. We don’t really care, as long as his development is normal, we don’t worry.

And here's the man of the house as well as the man of 

that day! This is Hubby's first appearance on this blog! ^__^

The two of us.... I forgot to take pictures of my outfit that day, but it's a halter dress with vintage-y rose print. Hubby loved it!

And this is the boy ot the house!! Or the baby of the house? Well, Baby Michael is nine months old, so he's not that baby, baby anymore, rite! Haha! This is his first restaurant experience, and he loved it! He kept looking left and right, observing people, especially pretty ladies (I guess even babies are naturally attracted to attractive looking people LOL), and made funny little noises. He wore new outfit, too! I didn't buy him many clothes, since Baby Michael stays home most of the time anyway, but I bought special outfit for him for his father's birthday.