Com-pleated.

Hey Guys! Blogging now has been so difficult as my Main Man, brother is also busy with his own business and taking pictures and editing them are taking longer than usual, so please do forgive me for the delay in positing.

This entry is showcasing my love for pleats and my love for thrift store shopping. This weekend, I decided to go to the thrift store to satisfy my craving for shopping and my craving for another shopping and styling challenge. I have to say that I didn't do as good as usual probably because I came in 2hours before closing and all good sales and items are almost gone.
Note: I will be doing an entry on all my thrift finds and the rest of my shopping expeditions this past weekend!

I got lucky with this skirt, however. I was on my way out when I saw one of the sales person putting this skirt back on the rack. It caught my eye right away and I grabbed like a crazy person thinking someone else will take it (haha). There are some really good modern pleated skirts at American Apparel that I have been dying to buy but it will cost me $$$ so I have been contemplating whether to get it or not but since I found this gem, I think I will be holding off on that expense. Yey!

I just love the sophisticated look of this skirt. If you actually get to feel this skirt, its smooth and silky and for $5, you just cannot go wrong with it. I have several outfit ideas for this already and you will most likely see it in future postings but for this particular hot summer day at work I opted to wear it simply with a black round-neck tee added my fave thin brown belt and sandals. If I was not going to work however, I would've probably paired this with a colored tank, add some more accessories and make this old vintage skirt into something totally up-to-date.

I am already looking forward to my next post so that I can go thru some of my recent finds! Til next time!

Top: Forever 21 Tee ($5)

Shoes: Shoedazzle ($40)

Skirt: Thrifted ($5)

Look's Total Cost: $50

The Bright, The Light and The Leather.

More than the clothes, I was more excited with the Shoes! It is the newest in my shoe collection delivered just today! It is a shoedazzle.com product. For those who are curious, there are quite a handful of shoe membership sites available now, which if I may say has both pros and cons to it. It's, to sum it up, a monthly supply of shoes. You pay a membership fee (I pay $40) and get a show room of shoes that best matched your answers on a style survey they do at the beginning of your membership, you choose from that and they deliver. I like it because of how convenient it is. I am, like so many, a major shoe lover and would like to get a pair or two at a month (sometimes more) but sometimes do not find the time to look around the mall or maybe I just cannot find a pair that I like or can afford at a store and online shopping just solves that problem for me... 

However, I am a big bargain finder and this does not give you any option of doing just that. Another thing is I am not a huge fan of online shopping, which I think makes me 5 out of a million. I enjoy going store to store, trying on things and going home with shopping bags and when I've paid for my item I would like to have it at hand.
I am wearing F21 dress I got for a baptism but later realized that this cute, feminine cream dress could be so much more. It wouldn't be fair to just keep it for an occasion and I have since then, worn this dress at least 5 or 6 different ways.
With the look above I paired it with my thrift-find Donna Karan blazer and a simple long gold necklace.

                                   Also wore this dress with a black vest and Steve Madden heels I got for a steal! On sale at Ross for $15! Necklace is from F21 as well and I love it, my mom loves it too as she borrows this necklace from me all the time. That broach detail in the middle gives it a vintage look.

Outfit 1:

Dress: $24.98 (F21)

Shoes: $40 (shoedazzle)

Blazer: $5 (Thrifted)

This look's total: $70.00

Outfit 2:

Shoes: $15 (Steve Madden)

Necklace: $9

Vest: $22

Look's total: $86

Going tribal.

My casual day came early and I decided to wear this on a Thursday. I did because I was just so excited to wear this top! I love the appeal, shape and print of it, if you look at it close enough you will see that there's an inferred print of a skull in there...I thought rock when I saw it, others did not however.

Hence the title of this post is going tribal because a lot more people thought that this top has more of an ethnic look to it. I guess the necklace also gave that feel. Focusing more on the necklace, I cannot believe how many compliments I get on this necklace every time I wear it. It is such a statement piece. So shout out to my sister who's going home to the Philippines soon...please do get me a couple more of this! ;)

It is quite odd that my blog is called the work diary but this is the first picture I have inside the office. Quick info, that's my desk with my favorite 7/11 coffee (haha) and my Longchamp bag that I used as my beach bag turned work bag, don't you just love the pliability!?

Bottoms are Jeggings! I went through a jegging phase just like everybody else but this one is my favorite and pretty much the only one I'm still wearing. It has real pockets in the back, which I think makes it seem more like an actual pair of Jeans, the only difference is it's stretchy and comfortable and I dont have to worry about it being too tight if I eat too much!

Top: Material Girl (Macy's Junior's Dept, $22)

Bottoms: Mossimo (Target, on sale for $10)

Shoes: Ross ($12)

Necklace: Free!

This look's total: $44

Sprinkled Love.

Awww...Love! This is probably one of my favorite shirts. It is just so adorable and i feel the love wearing it haha...cheesy! But I got this top at Macy's, during 4th of July and they had a sale in the Junior's Dept. under the Material Girl brand, buy one get 1 50% off so of course I did not let that pass and this top ended up costing me $11. I think that Material Girl in Macy's is worth checking out actually, my bottoms are from there as well and one of my Harem that I've worn in one of my older posts.

I chose to tuck this top with a black Harem, this Harem is more of a work trouser though. This top looks really great in a boyfriend jean as well with a belt and casual heels. This can also be worn with denim shorts...

 I got the "Princess Kate" ring from my grandmom. She's too cute really, she bought it and said this might look better on me and I just grabbed it right then and there haha. Thanks Ma!

Shoes: Nine West (on sale at Macy's)

Watch: Michael Kors

Ring and Necklace: F21

Family Summer Fun!

I know it's been a while since I last blogged (So sorry guys!). Work has been hectic and has exhausted me this past couple of weeks. This family vacation just came in at such a perfect time! I am so truly blessed to be in such a close knit family and am so proud to say that I have lots of fun when I'm with them. This year we have decided to go to Ocean City, Maryland (OCMD) and we had a blast!

An essential for a beach trip? Sunnies of course! I just love my Ray Ban Aviators, they are pretty much the only sunglasses I'd like to bring to the beach. It is so convenient, not heavy at all, it can bend and I don't mind it getting wet, but really, I just think it's so cool and would go with any suit I'm wearing.

Cell phone: Well I had to just to carry this because unfortunately, I was still on-call during the vaca

Drink: Raspberry Margarita...soo delish and refreshing!

Ok so, I am not the most modest dresser going to beach, but I feel that comfort can come in so many ways other than a dress. For this trip, I decided to wear a sheer floral top. I am actually wearing a bikini top (that I didn't wear at the beach haha) under this top. I paired this with denim shorts and my most comfy wedge. This is great specially if you have stops during the trip, whether you decide to do some outlet shopping or lunching out at Hardees?! ;)

Beach Bag: Orange Longchamp

Top: F21

Denim Shorts: Walmart (bargain!)

Now the real fun begins! Planning for this trip was not a big one for me, my sisters did most of it and the only planning I had to do is fining a good cover up. I think that your look in the beach now actually matters unlike before shirt and shorts are all you need. Cover ups are everywhere (urban outfitters have some good ones) but I found this one at where else?! Forever 21. I don't really think this is a cover-up but when I saw it, I thought it would just be perfect. It is thin enough to show my suit inside and long enough to be a dress type as well, cutest detail on this dress thought are the cutouts at the sleeves (unfortunately, it didn't get showcased in this picture).
Tip: Accessorizing at the Beach- there's nothing wrong in wearing some accessories at the beach. To keep your look more interesting and beach appropriate, I would suggest wooden bangles and even wooden or shell necklaces. With these, you wouldn't mind it getting wet and just in case it gets lost in the water haha.
Earrings is a big challenge for me, I would just always go for something that's light weight, play around with colors, I went for a turquoise color on my trip, I just think it stands out and always make sure the earrings you do wear has a lock so that it won't just fly off of your ear when you're running or swimming.

Let's talk bathing suits. There are so many different ones out there now, I chose to go with a monokini as I am not the most fit person in the world hehe, but I like that it hides the "pouch" that I love covering up so much but it show's off the good curves of your body. I feel that it gives the illusion of the hour-glass shape we all want. I went bold this time with an animal print, Leopard! I also included a picture of a dear friend and brother's girlfriend, Heather. She is on a bandeau top and a plain black bottom. The great thing about going for plain(s) is that you can mix and match it. That's another bargain tip! If you want to have several looks in the beach without spending so much, choose a plain bottom and just buy the tops!
Thanks for reading guys!