Sweater Weather

Since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Don't you just love the holidays? Christmas is my second favorite season (next to summer!) because everyone is just in a giving and cheerful mood. That, and it's the perfect time to take out our trusty sweaters from the deepest corners of our closet. Before you say anything, yes, it doesn't snow in Manila, but it gets a bit chilly around this time of the year and it's a great excuse to cozy up. ;)

My self-proclaimed hiatus has been going on for far too long and now I'm breaking my habit of taking blogging breaks that are too far apart!

Since the two weeks before Christmas are notorious for racking up parties left and right, the holiday rush and the traffic that ensues, I was lucky enough to be invited (still!) to my Mom's office Christmas party. Luckily, it rained quite a bit and I had the perfect excuse to wear this cozy top and my new floral boots out.

Sweaters aren't exactly the most flattering clothing items in the world. They're definitely the antithesis to any LBD, but now is the perfect opportunity to go for comfort and to rock the holiday spirit in style with a little dash of attitude.

I went for a monochromatic top and skirt combo. The floral boots were the twist to an otherwise blah outfit. Look closely, the sweater actually has gold sequins that add to the festive feel of the look. I decided to go minimal on accessories with just a gold watch and a gold ring (which I forgot to take a photo of!) and just let the key items stand out on their own.

Watch: Casio

Boots: SM Parisian

LOL moment! Out-take from the OOTD shoot.

As for the makeup, I went with a basic face, just some eyeliner, mascara, and eyebrow groomed in. I focused on the dark cherry lip, which seems to be a big trend this season. The shade I'm wearing here is Deepest Cherry from Maybelline. I also did some contouring on the cheeks, just to emphasize the focal point - the lip. On the way home, I saw Forever 21's billboard which features a model who was wearing the exact same look. Awesome!

Sweater: Zara

Skirt: Vintage

Give those sweaters some love! How will you rock them this season? :)

P.S. Check out my December beauty finds! Have you tried these products? Can't wait to rave about them!

Urban Enchantment

Halloween has gone and passed, but the fun will surely stay with us.

I never really experienced Trick-or-Treat where I grew up, and it wasn't until last year that I first got my feet wet with the whole shenanigan of dressing up as someone else for Halloween. I know it's not commonplace here in the Philippines to practice the said occasion, but over the years it has grown popularity and more kids are getting into the groove of dressing up as their favorite characters, knocking on neighbors' and family friends' doors for some candy.

This year, for our office Halloween party, our team chose to go as Pinoy fantasy characters. It's about time we pay homage to the amazing array of creativity us Pinoys have!

Anyway, I went as Faye, the leading lady character from the old sit-com-turned-movie, Okay Ka Fairy Ko!

I hand-made the floral crown and the gown is from when I was a debutante. Amazing how I can still fit into a dress I wore when I turned 18!

The makeup was also my own doing. I just looked up ideas and pegs from Pinterest, grabbed some sequins, some falsies, some lash glue, and voila!

For an occasion that only happens once a year, my kuripot self just can't bear the thought of splurging on a one-time-use outfit... and so I decided to get creative.

Photos by Ja Quintana

Tell me all about your DIY Halloween look!

Corporate Chic: Black, White, and Gold

Aaaand I'm back!

Things have been getting pretty busy at work and I haven't had much chance to shoot what I wear to the office. If you knew me any better, you'd probably know that black is pretty much my go-to color. Open my closet and you'll be in for a no-brainer. 

I find that black clothing helps me get through down days, it never fails to add that extra sophistication and attitude to my outfit. Some say black represents sorrow, I say it brings out the fierceness in me, especially when I'm stressed out. Plus, it doesn't hurt that a black ensemble can take you from day to night, from casual to dressy. You can style it anyway you can!

For this look, I experimented with gold accessories, just to give the seemingly blah color palette a little dash of glitz. 

Believe it or not, the top is from ukay (I call them treasure troves!) and the houndstooth print leggings are from Divisoria, which I got for only PHP 100! I topped off the look with my trusty slingback stilettos which I also got on sale for less than PHP 600 a while back.

Who says you have to wear off-the-rack or designer to look and feel fabulous? It's all in the head, ladies and gentlemen. The price tag doesn't have to get in the way of your creativity and flexibility in fashion choices. 

Top: Vintage

Pants: Divisoria

Stilettos: People Are People

I would have taken the safe route and go with either red or silver accessories, but since I was going for a more luxe feel, I figured, why not throw on some gold accessories instead? You only live once, right?

Accessories: Luxe and Luster
Watch: From a friend

My work friends and I were really amused with this promotional display outside our building so we took turns having photo ops with our new BFF!

After our small photo walk, I met up with my college friend, Diane, at Nolita to catch up. Guys, I'm telling you, if you want good pizza, Nolita is a must-visit restaurant in Bonifacio High Street. I always have their fresh tomato and garlic pizza. Partnered with a bottle of Estrella Galicia, and you have the perfect menu for a great dinner!

Stay tuned for my Halloween look post! Cheers!

Corporate Chic: Bloom Where You Are

Always strive to improve yourself.

If you follow me closely on Instagram, you'll notice I like posting inspirational and very positive messages to serve as notes-to-self and as reminders to others as well. I used to be a chronic pessimist but at one point, I figured, there's no harm in maintaining a certain sense of sunshine and joy in everyday and whenever possible, passing it along to others. True enough, it made life more bearable for me. Even when the Universe is unkind, my small glimmer of positive vibes helps me cope.

It's not enough to just be positive, we have to carry out that mindset and welcome all sorts of chances for growth to be better versions of ourselves and encourage others to do so too. I'm a firm believer that it's never too late to grow. There's always something more we can do. Life is a big classroom. It will be unfortunate if we let chances for learning to just pass us by, right? After all, in self-improvement, what have you possibly got to lose?

That's what I thought. Nothing. 

This week's outfit was all about embracing and trying new things. I recently discovered the power of comfy pants and how it can take you from functional to fab. I guess it's safe to say that you'll be seeing more of me rocking pants in the next couple of posts. Stick around.

White top: Forever 21

Pants: Forever 21

Blazer: Custom-made

Sandals: Celine

Necklace: Luxe and Luster

Please welcome my work buddies once more! Only this time, we have a new addition to the group, Rafi!

Photos: Ja Quintana

What do you say? Yes to change? Yes to bigger, better and brighter things? Bloom, lovely. Bloom where you are.

P.S. I have recently enrolled at 360 Fitness Club right above my office. Here's a snapshot after my unofficial first day working out after a long time. It's the first time to try circuit training and I can't wait to get good at it!

Corporate Chic: Let Loose

"Work hard, play hard. Keep partyin' like it's your job."

David Guetta sure has gotten this statement down to a tee. It's a yuppie's dream. Work-life balance. When you're drowning under a pile of paperwork, spending hours on end on that impossible assignment, losing friends one by one because you can't just seem to make the time to show up in barkada get-togethers, and finding yourself slumping in bed after each and every work day. Sad to say, but it's a common scenario. Even I am unfortunately suffering from this too-busy-to-socially-function syndrome, but I am still in the process of struggling to strike that perfect balance between work and play. Work to live, not live to work, right?

I guess I'm blessed to have learned, grown, and evolved so much from my severely idealist fresh-grad self. And I'm beyond grateful for having met such amazing people that I choose to surround myself with everyday. When there's just so much going on in your life at any given time, being around positive souls that encourage you to outshine the darkness that engulfs you really helps.

Don't dwell on the negative, on what's exhausting. Instead, liberate your spirit and enjoy the ride!

Inner top: Forever 21

Loose knit top: Vintage

Pants: Stradivarius

Heels: Charles and Keith

Watch: Basic from Unlimited Manila

Snake wrap-around bracelet: Luxe and Luster

Shades: Random

Photos by Ja Quintana

And now, making their debut on She Goes Thrifty, I'd like you all to meet Ross and Red, fellow yuppies, hipstrrrrs, Mean Girls, and soul sisters.

Stay warm and dry!

Corporate Chic: Hearts and Spades

I always tell myself to make an extra effort to look nicer when going to work, but when you're barely keeping enough time set solely for makeup in the morning, you throw on the first thing you find and hit the door. I hate arriving late at work, so I always make it a point to be there AT LEAST 15 minutes ahead of my required time in.

On the rare occasion that I wake up early and have extra time to carefully plan my outfit (I barely do it at night, because I will change my mind in the morning for sure, so it's absolutely pointless and out of the question), I am often surprised by the results of my random selections. I dig into my closet to see if there are things I haven't really worn yet or much at all, and try to work around it. Who said anything about hitting the racks in stores every time you feel stuck in a fashion rut? The secrets are all in your closets! Just have patience to sift through and surprise yourself with your selection. Just like a deck of cards, right? You never really know what you're going to get, but the fun is in making it all your own. Call it a bluff or a win that's waiting in the wings, always remember to be fierce enough to fight for your hand. ;)

Top: Vintage

Inner top: Forever 21

Skirt: from Greenhills

Wallet: Ever New

Watch: Casio

Sandals: Parisian

Have a great weekend!

Hitched

Just so we're clear, I'm not married nor did I get married recently. However, we went to a family friend's wedding in Intramuros, Manila on Friday. I had to skip work for half the day to get ready. It took place in Baluarte de San Diego, which was this amazing garden venue by the historic Intramuros walls. Love was definitely in the air and all of the guests could not be any happier for the couple. So to Jazzmin and Jason, congratulations and best wishes! Make lots of beautiful memories and babies together! :)

Anyway, here are a few snapshots of what went down that night. Please pardon the poor quality of the photos, I only had my phone and trusty old digital camera with me then. :)

Perhaps I must give you a short kwento about the two. They have been friends for the longest time. It was in high school when they started dating, and despite 11 years of ups and downs, they managed to stick it out until the end and look where it got us! It's true what they say: "Sa hinaba-haba ng prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy."

I'd like to believe that a love like theirs is rare. Having someone to love and someone to love you back is difficult enough, but surviving of 11 years through all the odds, now that's something special.

The cutest cake topper ever!

Welcome to wonderland!

OMG the long queue to the free frappe counter! Thanks, Starbucks! 

The stunning bride. :)

 

All we need is love!

Then came the night's most moving moment, when they were thanking their respective parents

Mr. and Mrs. Salazar! :)

 And now, moving on to the reception proper:

Hello, BB cream and your reflective properties! :))

Mom and Friends.

The couple share their first dance as husband and wife.

Yiheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Photo op!

Mom giving the couple pabaon.

 

As we bid farewell to the festivities.

And it goes without saying, that I will share what I wore to the event:

Dress: Vintage

Belt: Vintage

Fascinator Headband: SM Department Store

Heels: Parisian Shoes and Bags

Bangle: Gift from Mom

Weddings always inspire me and restore my faith in love and the goodness of the universe. It's a reminder that there is hope for all of us, that somewhere, somehow, there's someone out there for us. God has handpicked that very person to make all of our pain, our heartbreak, our disappointments in previous relationships, worth the tears. At the end of the day, we will be led to the one we're meant to spend eternity with.