Golden

I like gold. I like the opulence of it and how it looks so regal and beautiful.

Since it's summer though and I can't go "golden" all the way, so I just decided to go all out gold with my accessories :)

This dress is one of my favorites because I think the color is just lovely. Whenever I feel "girly", I gravitate to this kind of pale salmon shade.

Wore this for Easter lunch with the family. I deliberately posted this today, which happens to be Prince William and Kate's wedding day, because if I were to go to London right now, I'd probably be wearing this-- not a big show stopper but enough to blend in the crowd ;)

Here's to the new royal couple! I would have died if Prince William looked as good as he did ten years ago, but since he's no longer the hunk he was, I don't mind so much anymore. lol! Still, you're so lucky Kate!

Salmon dress: Glamour studio
Brown and gold wedges: Parisian


p.s. I'm not that pale in real life, I can't seem to find the best setting for my camera co'z the sun is TOO bright!

Anticipating..

Saw this ad somewhere and decided to confirm by browsing online. You guys might be interested too..

Also saw this and it sorta confused me.. Hasn't it always been like this in Starbucks? Is it just now that people can customize their frappuccino? Hmm..

Shout out to my officemates and fellow SB lovers, JM and Ms Elma. Let's get ready to rumble! Hehe.

Norwegian Wood

I have been on a Murakami addiction since the beginning of the year, but no Murakami book (to date) has made me more obsessed than Norwegian Wood.

 It is too beautiful for words.

The book has been turned into a movie and officially opened in the UK in March. I pray to all the angels in heaven to send the film to the Philippines. I need to see Toru and Naoko. That picturesque scene they spent walking in the woods is still vivid in my head. It was beautiful, sweet, and put into words all I've wanted from a relationship.

 “I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me.”

The book,  the Beatle's song of the same title, the movie makes me feel peacefully in love. 

It is real. 

It is complicated. 

It is too beautiful to miss out on.

Kenichi Matsuyama as Toru. Cosplayers might recognize him as the star of Deathnote in the movie version

I am in love with the book. Much more because it gave me the setting for my own fantasy love story. No, it doesn't mean the book or the movie is a fairytale, it is far from that really. As I've said, it is love in the real sense-- sometimes tragic, sometimes painful, but in all of those intricacies, it is what it is-- BEAUTIFUL. Love is beautiful.

Love is a choice.

Love is a risk.

Love is a loss of innocence. 

Norwegian wood.

photo credit: All movie stills from wildgrounds.com

Where dreams come true..

I mentioned in my previous post that I'd share what we did on our 3rd day in Hong Kong. We spent our whole day loitering in the happiest place on Earth... Disneyland! 

Try to guess who my favorite Disney princess is and how many photos she has below.

Warning: Picture overload

Little princes and princesses still do exist! Borrowing Jenni Epperson's words..."So kyooot!"

On our last day in HK, we did some last minute shopping. Then, we lounged around their exceptional airport. Wore something really simple and laid-back and resigned to just let the accessories work their magic.

Sweater top// Forever 21
Army-type shorts// Mango
Leopard bracelet// Forever 21
Bag// Chanel 

Oh, how I wish that it was possible that with just a blink of an eye I'd be back in Hong Kong. I certainly wouldn't mind traveling back to that wonderful place. But then again, I also wouldn't mind visiting other countries too. Teehee. :)

Sunny Side Down

Sometimes, thinking of what to wear doesn't depend on what's hip or what looks good together, it boils down to the weather-- and oh, what a wonderful source of inspiration the weather is!

It's a weekend and you know how I always am during weekends-- I gravitate towards my go-to color: BLACK. But since it's summer and black is a bit inappropriate for the sunny season, I picked its soul brother, brown, instead :)

I grabbed this long shirt/tunic/mini dress (or whatever it is) from my closet with no second thought. I don't normally wear brown but like I said, it's better than black, right? I tried to keep the look light and summery despite my urge to go the "rockstar" path again so I grabbed a sunny yellow skirt to offset the "darkness".

I slipped on my trusty clogs grabbed a hat and voila! 

Seriously though, it is TOO hot! If there wasn't anything fun to do in summer, I would totally hate this season. Gaaaah, must.go.swimming.soon.

brown top (I don't know if it's a dress/tunic/whatnot) - Candy contemporary
yellow skirt - Revenge Fork
black studded clogs - Parisian
hat - SM department store

Hope you're having a fun summer so far! :)

Hip Hong Kong

Went to Hong Kong with the fam two Saturdays ago for some rest and relaxation. I included some pictures to be able to share better how much we've enjoyed our short stay there..

We arrived HK on a Saturday morning. Checked in our hotel, had our money exchanged, then we proceeded to have lunch (lotsa dimsum!). It was around 3 PM when we finished eating so we decided to go back to our hotel first to settle in our rooms. After a few hours of rest, we walked around the streets to check out what HK's Kowloon side offered. Dinner time came so we ate more dimsum, of course. We then continued to walk walk walk around and window shop shop shop.

Got to buy soft serve ice cream from an ice cream truck :)

Early the next day, we joined the compulsory city tour.

After that, we went (window) shopping AGAIN.. Heheh.. It's ironic that we bought mochi sweets, which is a Japanese product, in China. Hey, at least I also found something that's only available in HK and Macau. Well, the lemon water's bottle says so but I'd be really glad to get a hold of this drink in Manila. My 'favorite' street to visit actually has no particular street name (or is it considered part of Canton Road or called Gateway Blvd?). What I'm sure of, though, is that my favorite strip is called Harbour City. *cue heavenly music*

The entire 3rd day was spent in Disneyland so I guess it'd be best if I do a separate post for that, maybe I'll include the 2 outfits I donned. :)

xox,
Sophia

P.S. Found this really cool photo collage program, Smilebox. But it's really quite a pain in the butt to save the images (for free, that is). You guys might wanna take a look.

Jaded..

I wasn't planning to buy anything while I was strolling around Rustan's but when my mom and I passed by the nail lacquer area..Oh my golly.. I knew I had to get this...

I searched online about Essie's Pretty Edgy color. It was actually a product they launched in Summer 2010. I am now sporting it and people have taken notice.

Why I like it:

1. Green is a nice change from my usually red or pink colored nails.

2. It's not your typical green.

I like that it's m&m's green and not the usual, light, bright, apple green or neon green.

3. Finish is shiny.

Why I don't like it:

1. It is hard to apply!
Either I don't know how to properly apply polish or their brush is hard to use. When I painted my nails, the base was full of pigment but the tips had sheer to no color, at first stroke! Had to apply 3 coats.

2. Chipped the next day. :(
I don't know why but every time my nails are coated with 3 coats of nail polish, it easily chips regardless of who paints it (an amateur like me or a pro nail technician).

How much it is:
P495 at Rustan's Department Store.

Here's how it looked like.. notice how sheer the 1 coat looks like.

From top to bottom: 3 coats, 2 coats, 1 coat

Also tried to use other colors with Pretty Edgy as base or top shade. I wasn't able to take good, clear pictures of the various combinations, though. Will try to take a pic of it next time.

From left to right:
base: Dashing Diva Silver, top: Pretty Edgy
base: Pretty Edgy, top: Skin Food Apple Green
base: Pretty Edgy, top: Essie Good to Go top coat

Don't you just love the endless possibilities that nail polish offers? I know I do. :) 

Swing Life Away

It's TOO Hot! I don't even want to leave the house anymore co'z dressing up has become a challenge. No to clingy outfits, no to jeans, no to anything with sleeves! There is a reason people wear dresses in summer. Gaaaah.

Been crazy over this maxi dress and been wearing it for weeks for two reasons: 1) to hide a hideous bruise on my leg and 2) because I'm channeling Nicole Richie. haha, kidding :P

These lace up boots are one of my favorites. More so because of its chunky heel!

Sorry for my messy hair, unmade- up face and somber expression. I told you I felt too lazy to dress up/prettify myself.

Denim vest: Next jeans
Floral Maxi Dress: Ziya
Beige Lace up boots: Parisian

Coincidentally, today is Earth Day too so Happy Earth Day everyone!

Vegetarian Pad Thai

It's the lenten season, meaning it's the perfect time to try going vegetarian! This season makes me doubly happy because I feel like with just a little more push, I could convince more people to try vegetarianism. So here's another ovo vegetarian recipe for you all. Trust me, it tastes super!

Disclaimer: I did this on a random day so I apologize for the lack of "proper" ingredients, I had to make do with whatever was available at home. Also, don't be scared of cooking pad thai, it just sounds complicated, it's actually very very easy!

Vegetarian Pad Thai 

What you need:

Rice Noodles

Tamarind Paste

or Pad Thai Paste

Firm tofu

Chinese Cabbage

Bean Sprouts

Soy Sauce

Hot Water

Sugar

3 Eggs

Garlic

Onion

Oil for frying
Almonds (used in this recipe) or peanuts (more preferable)


Procedure:
1. Boil some water in a large pot, take it off the heat, then drop the rice noodles in. Cooking will take around 15-30 minutes depending on the brand of noodles you get. You'll know it's okay when the noodles start to get soft but not soggy. You don't have to cook it too much at this point because you will be stir frying it later on.

 2. Cut the tofu in small squares and deep fry it. Remember, the key to a good deep fried anything is to have at least three inches of oil in. I suggest you get a small deep pot for this purpose.

3. In a bowl, mix 1/3 cup hot water, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 3 tablespoons tamarind paste, 3 tablespoons sugar. Taste and adjust the soy sauce and sugar depending on your preference. If you have pad thai paste, you can simply mix hot water, soy sauce and the paste. Ha! Easy right? It's important to perfect the taste at this stage because it's harder to adjust it when you've already mixed in the noodles.

4. Saute the garlic, onions and your bean sprouts. After it has wilted and let out some of its water, add in the chinese cabbage until it turns bright green.

5. Make a small cave in the middle and add in your eggs and stir fry until the vegetables get coated evenly.

6. Add in your cooked rice noodles and 1/3 of your prepared sauce.

7. Pour the remaining sauce on top of your fried tofu like so:

8. Add in the tofu and stir fry until done!

9. Add in some toasted almonds/peanuts, and top with fried eggs:

Yum-o! my own vegetarian pad thai :)

You can serve this with chili sauce or chili flakes on the side.

Best served with lime wedges and a smile ;) Have a meaningful holy week everyone!

It's so hot!

I want to eat this with every.single.meal:

Iceberg's Melon Strawberry Mango Con Hielo

Me. Wants. Some. Ice. NOW.

Cropped lines

Esprit cropped top, Zara distressed denim shorts, Topshop elastic belt, boater hat from SM Dept Store

On our way back to Manila, I wanted to wear something laid-back yet still effortlessly chic. But unlike the other day at the beach, the sun was fervently shining. So to shield my head and face from the sun I decided to channel the women of the 1800s by wearing this boater hat my cousin got for my sister in a nearby dept store.

Striped and knotted

I DIY-ed one of my favorite shirts out of whim on a boring night:

It's so me to take a perfectly decent piece of clothing and massacre artsy-fy it.

...and the finished product is LOVE :)

I am completely in love with the design of this shirt for two reasons: 1) I personally designed it and; 2) the heart the zebras form looks so cute! I designed this shirt for my friend’s brand, Revenge Fork. It’s one of the many designs that made it to production. I still have a lot more that sadly didn’t see the light of day, but I’m not losing hope, I still feel all my designs would make it on a shirt someday ;)

I like the new neckline! The wide neck made it look more up to date dontchathink?

Was drawn to this skirt because of its knotted design. So cute! It's made of jersey fabric too which makes it cool on the skin and light

Was feeling unsure of the socks and I ended up not wearing it out. Just brought it with me in case my feet start to hurt. Lol!

Zebra striped top: Revenge Fork
Black knotted skirt: Oxygen
Light salmon caged boots: Parisian