TOPAZ HORIZON

Monday, September 19, 2011

What collection do you want to see?

I've taken a long hard look at my shades after I learned I can buy cheap Ray Ban sunglasses. I buy all my shades from Charles & Keith and I love every pair but mebbe it's time to invest.

Anyway, speaking of collections, stylist Leona Lavina Panutat is featuring me as the Style Mama of the Month in her adorable Tumblr micro-blog, Musings of a First Time Momma. Unlike my surprise feature on StyleBible's Preggy and Pretty, which just made me answer a few questions on pregnant fashion, Leona wants details. Like, what exactly is in my closet. Scary! I'm so not a fashionista!

So I've been going through my stuff (which conveniently occurred whilst I was happily installing my new hangers) and realized I have a lot of the following:

bangles
necklaces
eBay finds
shift dresses
peep-toes

I also have the following collections all over the house:

rabbit stamps
rabbit stuff
Alice in Wonderland stuff
gift wrapper and ribbons
notebooks
pillboxes

Ah yes, collections. Also known as clutter! What do you think I should take photos of? Which collections do you want to see?

Hangers are my current happiness

I know I've been gone for a while, folks. Last week was incredibly unutterably amazing. I'll tell you more soon enough but for now, here's one of the reasons I was so very pleased with my past week: wooden hangers!

Unlike a lot of women, I don't have a lot of clothes. I know women who keep everything from their very first pair of jeans and bridesmaid gown to the sexy cheerleader outfit that no longer fits! About once or twice a year, I weed out my closet and give the stuff away to charity or sell on eBay. I don't keep clothes at all. That's because I live in a small apartment, I have a small closet and I became a mother and nothing now fits.

Another reason is I like to keep my clothes hangers an inch apart. This allows the clothes to breathe. When air circulates, mildew doesn't form on your clothes. Also, when your clothes aren't squished together, they don't get rumpled in storage. So if I kept everything I ever bought, there is no way I can keep my hangers an inch apart!

If you follow me on Twitter, you'd know I've been agonizing for weeks about finding wooden hangers. My hangers looked like this:

Blech. Dikit-dikit!

My friendly followers on Twitter gave advice from Japan Home and Saizen to eBay and ordering all the way from IKEA Singapore. One evening, on my way to the MRT-Ayala station, I passed through SM Makati and just decided to see if they had the hangers that I wanted. Eureka! They did!

I bought 4 boxes. Yep, that's 80 hangers!

At only P600 for a box of 20, it's sooo cheap!

Mmm, you can smell the wood!

Soooo very happy! Now my closet (oh, and Vince's too) look like this:

So much better, right? One inch apart! Consistent look. Clean. Organized. I am so happy!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Happy bespoke leather satchel owner: Leah

Meet the new favorite bag of Leah of Bright Spot:

Leah calls the satchel the F&V bag. If I take away the ampersand, it'll be FV, like LV! But unlike the LV, I won't get overenthusiastic with branding. Actually, I haven't even gotten to the brand itself. Right now, to the press people, I call the bag the Frances Satchel from Frannie & Vinnie. But I don't know. Lacks oomph.

So anyway back to Leah and her new bag! This is what she thinks of it:
1. Impeccable craftsmanship.
Yes! That's why it takes soooo long to make one. Handmade takes time!
2. Even tanning.
Your batch was a quirk, though. Other batches are dark and uneven. Uncle Buck says the weather has something to do with it. If it's rainy season or very humid, the leather doesn't absorb the tanning liquid evenly.
3. Looks classy.
That surprised me, too! The satchel is, at first glance, very cowgirl. But I was surprised that a lot of girls can use it even with their most formal attire!

Thanks, Leah, for loving our unnamed satchel! Maybe I should do a contest--Name our satchel and win your very own bag!