pixie!

i got a haircut! it's my first time to make it this short since my early high school days. aaack! it takes some getting used to though, but i'm glad for the (drastic) change.  i'll be challenged to really make more of an effort to look pleasant now, but still balancing my other priorities i.e. work, family time, chores, my artistic outlets, starting a biz, philanthropy.

anyway, i got my hair done at Lovely's beauty salon, where i've been getting my hair cut ever ever since.  i told myself i'd try to get my hair done there until the tita Luz bites the dust.  so, in preparation for the big day, i searched the net endlessly for various pics of people with short hairstyles.  see, i was so tired and bored of seeing the same thing in the mirror everyday, and knowing that everyone outside the house also looked somehow the same way.  so i thought, "hmm, let's make it real short this time".  anyway, i was also partly inspired by carey mulligan and mia wasikowska, so there.  i ended up showing a picture of carey and kate moss (back when she had a chestnut crop).  now, my mother warned me that tita Luz was literally almost blind (in one eye), but i figured i'd get a remedy if i need it. this is the result.

it's not as lean as i wanted but i was too shy to ask her to fix it.  now, if i were in a different salon, i would've definitely done so.  but this woman is almost a distant grandmother of mine so i decided to keep my mouth shut and try to figure something out.  so far, i switched my side part and i think it ended up a bit better.  of course, my brother isn't making things better.  the first time he saw me, he told me i looked like a boy and proceeded to disowning me as his sister.  the next time, he was a bit kinder and said i needed to get hair extensions. thanks charlie.

anyway, i also got some lowlights (for the first time ever), although it's not very visible in the picture.   this one, i'm very pleased with.  i think it breaks the monotony of the black hair and the full bangs.

the cut, as of now, isn't very photogenic but i am relieved to say that it looks better in person than it does in the picture. oh no!! just think of all those bad photo moments in the future! i sure hope i can find a way to make it look better over time, even on-cam.  i think i need more volume on top, and less on the sides.  if it doesn't look better by monday, i'll have to get it fixed a tad at Aqua in Trinoma.  for now, i'll be allocating part of the Holy Week vacation to figuring out how to style this crop.

happy birthday dad!!

it is my dad's birthday today :)

i have decided to treat the family to dinner (dad's choice of resto) as a gift to him.  after all, there isn't much that i can give my dad--he's way richer than me and can afford to buy what he likes anyway.  but he does enjoy eating and, although he can and usually does pick up the tab, i figured it would make him feel special if someone else offered to do so, just for a change.

so, when i greeted him a while ago and told him dinner would be my treat, he immediately said he wanted to eat in Shangri-La (the hotel, not the mall). Yikes!! I'm sure dinner will cost me at least half my monthly salary. huhuhu.  but hey, it's worth it!!  if i think it's an investment to buy a P4k pair of black pumps from Naturalizer, then i'm sure as hell that spending double that for my family is a wise choice.

boy, i sure am glad that i'm quite prudent when it comes to my lifestyle--i know i can actually afford to treat my family to seafood buffet at Heat or somewhere without getting buried in credit card debt.  stick with me to help find a balance between fabulosity and frugality.  'til next time!

Outfit of the Day (OD)

I would like to feature the looks of regular people on the streets in this site too, ala The Sartorialist.  However, I won't always have the luxury to take pictures (and, to be honest, I'm not that adept in photography either).  So, for now, my outfit will have to do.

gray tank top from Greenhills tiangge (P100)
ecru crochet cardigan with cropped kimono sleeves from a 2nd-hand shop in Ortigas (on sale for P50)
straight-cut MNG blue jeans (on sale for under P1000)
my black Figlia "scuba" wedges (on sale for P750, i think)

accessories: long chain necklace with my 3 lucky pendants, my silver promise ring, lilac Timex sports watch
hair: side braid (very in for spring 2010!)
face: no make-up but with sunscreen, curled lashes, and a swipe of my favorite lip balm (Burt's Bees)

i know, i know.  no picture!? i'll try to take one later :)

#1

It's my first entry on my new blog.  I just realized that I have a total of six in blogspot alone (although i mainly just post in soleil.  the rest are more akin to fossils of an ancient past, but i like to keep them anyway, just to remind myself of all the kookiness that was my adolescence.)  I don't know if it's because of Julie & Julia but, a few days ago, i figured it's high time i started a new one.   I'm not extremely talented or intelligent or anything, and my other blog was read by an insignificant number of people! why start a new one?

Life is about sharing your talents, right?  Well, i'm not extremely talented or intelligent, but I can say that if i am gifted in one thing, it's in being chintzy.  In other words, kuripot ako!  So, i figured, why not start a resource on how to be kuripot in Manila, but still live a fulfilling life? 

Honestly, i am quite appalled at all the fashion and lifestyle blogs of Manila socialites, with the wealthy buying luxury items and being completely ignorant of the fact that 1.4 billion people in the world live on $1.25 or less on a day (World Bank, 2008).  Earlier this week, i read of how all the Hermes bags in Greenbelt were snatched up immediately, including an P8.9 M one.  Now, what people do with their own money is up to them.  However, it breaks my heart to know that there are more people who choose to choke their arteries in their riches then spend the rest in unclogging them, as opposed to helping alleviate the poverty in this country.  I'm not talking about them just handing out wads of cash to a bunch of lazy hobos, but i do wish more people would invest in social enterprises rather than a diamond-studded croc bag.  

Whatever happened to the good ol' days when kids played bahay-bahayan to be happy?  Whatever happened to the days when you didn't have to worry about your purse or phone being stolen, your children being kidnapped?  Everybody's so materialistic now (i'm not immune either).  And that's the cause of the recession, of all this crime and corruption, of poverty and oppression.

I'm not gonna be all bitchy and preachy about this anymore (not most of the time, anyway), but will instead take a more proactive and positive role in this issue.  This is my response to the increasingly carnal mindset of society.   i will share my experiences on this blog  as i try to live and love prudence.  now i realize that's a very wide coverage right there.  i'll try to cover what's salient to the public in general like food, fashion, work, savings, leisure activities, philanthropy, environment, etc.  this is US saying that it is possible to truly live and give at the same time.   (check out this article about Gisele Bundchen--it's inspiring!)  there is hope!!  and yes, there is something that every one can do--we can all start with ourselves.