You know how cats love to mark…whatever…whoever?  It’s high time they marked something sacred. I got these in January. I love that they’re not as thick as regular paper clips so they won’t damage delicate pages and they’re tightly shaped.

MUJI Cat Paperclips about Php250++?? Sorry, give or take…approximately, could be less. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and the “rest” of your Sunday, hehe.

Could not resist posting this.  I gifted the girl cousins who come after me with the Love wire bracelet I blogged about a few posts back…and behind my back with love they volted in on Instagram.

Cousin blogs – Clockwise starting from lower left (red sleeve):“Kiana Vee Almost Daily”kianavalenciano.blogspot.com, “Under My UmbrElla” ella-pangilinan.blogspot.com, “Ordinarily Special (Tahnee)” ordinarilyspecial.wordpress.com, “Livin’ the Life (Gabriela)” gabpangilinan.tumblr.com , “Strange I am (Kara)“  strangeiam.wordpress.com , not in photo ->”Tease Your Toes (Stella)” teaseyourtoes.blogspot.com

Gab, Tahn, Kara, Kiana (Ella & Stella not here)

Note this, practically all of these girls blog so I’m linking to them for your reading pleasure and simply because as the eldest ate of 29 cousins I’m super proud and love them to bits.  One of the cousins who I also gave a Love wire bracelet to who is not in the photo is Stella, a budding young lady whose hand is not here but I’ll include a link to her blog as well ‘coz quite frankly…practically everything in it is amazing, and I can guarantee, considering she’s only almost 14, that you will be floored.  All these young women will make you sick with smiles and positivity with their musings, joy, and faithful insights and they’ll practically drag the happy out of you so I encourage you guys to give their pages a visit.  Merry Christmas!!  I pray most of you spent Christmas with your families as I did.  Today was such an awesome Christmas…I’ll be coming up with something special using the footage I took today.  Hopefully I can squeeze it in before New Year.

I retreat from anything outlandish now when it comes to earrings. I’m quite over the overplayed sets of dangling decor. If anything is going to seriously dangle it’s going to be from our Christmas tree.  I’m quite delighted with these thank you.

My favorites are the rose gold metallic stars without any distracting fake “brilliantes” on them.  The hearts are curvy with a fine gold tinted border, quite camp in a sense but simple enough to wear.  What often annoys me is the simplest designs often come with a heavy price but at least not this time.  Both pairs are unbelievably affordable at Php150.00 each or £2.00, both by Accessorize UK.  I got these at the Alabang Town Center branch 2 days ago.  I’m not sure whether these are last season or current season, I’m safely guessing last.

I didn’t expect to find a uniquely classy bag I could afford at this point, but trekking to Citygate in Tung Chung, the 30-min last stop on the orange train line from Hong Kong central, made it possible.  I’d ventured out to visit a friend based near the fishing community of Tai O (a charming, rustic place) and on my way back to the city I scored this absolutely charming, illustrated Anteprima tote at Citygate, for 30% off at the final price of $HK 976/approx. Php5200.

“The brand was conceived by Izumi Ogino in year 1993, in hope of creating a brand for a modern woman with an appreciation for timeless luxury and contemporary style. A woman who can exist anywhere in the world, her flair transcends borders.The ANTEPRIMA woman, as created by IZUMI OGINO.  She has captivated the fashion world since the label’s debut – as its name means in Italian – at Milano Moda Donna in 1998.” – ElementsHK.COM

I liked the brand Anteprima the first time I laid eyes on the boutique in Singapore.  It’s a brand that absolutely gets me.  Anteprima basically means “a preview” or “debut” in Italian but it was created by the effortlessly beautiful Japanese designer, Izumi Ogino in the mid 90s.  She absolutely loves Italy and works mostly with materials from that region and always presents her collections in Milan. Izumi’s dainty but modern creations remind me of a more delicate Asian take off from luxury brands that know women inside out.  These brands get that it’s not about being full-blown regal 24/7, it’s also about being elegantly chill in those moments when you need to be.  Brands like those aren’t afraid to get playful in terms of design and know how to do it properly, NOT AT the expense of taste, like for example Chanel or Kate Spade.

Anteprima is mainly known for its famously pretty and dainty “wire bags” as well as shoes and dresses, but those were off the budget for me.  Read more to get the full review, a closer look at the bag’s features, and my musings on this bag that I’m quite happy to own.

What I absolutely liked about this tote, second to the pretty illustrations, is the fact that it’s made of print laminated natural shade canvas that isn’t like Tide white.  That makes it a perfectly stylish day out bag able to resist splashes of rain, food, drinks, and dirt.  The brand name’s perfectly placed hardware tag and the classy tote shape stops it short of looking like a baby’s survival bag.

The mouth of this terribly pretty tote snaps shut in the middle with a concealed but STRONG magnet button on top (so strong you will hear it snap together).  If the open tote without a zipper bothers you there does happen to be a semi-secret zippered pocket with a concealed zip tag for easy access to things like keys, change, a medium size wallet, or mobile phone.

My new Samsung Galaxy S3, which is in no way a small phone,  fits inside that zippered pocket with space to spare.  I love how you never find out there’s a pocket there right away.  I only realized there was a secret pocket when I got home, I don’t recall noticing it in the store.

Last but not the least…what thrills me no end is that my Beansprout illustrated utility pouches (review here) go so well with this bag, its color, its concept…as if they were meant to be together.

ANTEPRIMA outlet store @ CityGate, Tung Chung MTR Station, HK

Have you ever discovered a luxury fashion brand that isn’t as top of mind as the likes of Louis Vuitton, Dior, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Givenchy etc. but is still of certain worth and high quality?  Tell me about those brands in the comments, I’d really like to know!

In just a few hours I’ll be boarding a plane to Hong Kong and about 2 months ago I discovered some really helpful illustrated organizing pouches at Aura Athletica in Rockwell (of all places).  The standout of the set of 6 pouches I got was of course this cosmetic candidate, the “Prettify” pouch which had me going “Aww” to myself like a nut in the store. 

The drawings are done cutely with nice strokes on canvas textile and are obviously well rendered, the pouch also has a brown leatherette zipper strap.  I like having pouches like these in my bag better than “bag organizers because even if you can’t see everything your bag looks so neat and unlike the bag organizer when these come out of the bag they still help you out by being indicative and are easier to transfer to different bags.  A good bonus is these are washable, just don’t bleach them (if you do the illustrations will fade and so will the nice natural canvas shade).  I have just used this to keep together the main cosmetic items I’ve chosen to bring with me on my trip.

TRAVEL PICKS – BASE: IN2IT Oil-Free 2-Way Powder foundation, K-Palette Okuma Concealer, Urban Decay synthetic brush, CHEEKS: Ecotools Retractable Brush, MAC Harmony, MAC Trace Gold, EYES: K-Palette 1Day Tattoo Black Eyeliner, Maybelline Full & Soft Mascara Waterproof, BROWS: K-Palette Lasting 2-Way Eyebrow pen, Kai Beauty-M Brow Razor, tweezers, LIPS: Elizabeth Arden 8Hr Cream Stick, NARS Pure Matte “Bangkok”, Jordana “Beige Glow”, SCENTS: Travalo atomizer with VS “Bombshell”, Stella by Stella McCartney Rollerball, NAILS: Bobbie Premium Nail Creme in “Mudslide”

I did mention that I got a set of 6 pouches and they’re all…what’s that non-word “Adorbs” *narrows eyes, flares nostrils*.  What I didn’t mention yet was that all 6 of these together only cost Php450.  Yes, Php450 for all 6: Go Places, Prettify, My Gadgets, Survival Kit, Forget Me Nots, and My Tools.  What do you think?  I know see-through plastic functionality usually is King but I can’t help but like the look of these.  They also give me fond memories of the drawings of one of my best friends  in college, Marielle, aka “Yelle” who until now can’t help but keep her hands busy with crafty illustrative projects.