Clutch and cats: they have all arrived!

Last Friday, I have paid for a vintage Christian Dior clutch bag via deposit to the bank account of the Ebay seller. I was hoping to get the item as early as possible, so I was relieved when she said that she’d be shipping it the following day. Normally, when a seller sends an item on a Saturday, I receive it the following Monday — I should know that because I’m also a seller and I know very well the shipping period of both JRS and Air21.

Vintage Christian Dior monogram clutch

When Sunday came and I asked the seller for the tracking number, she said that she was not able to ship the item the day before as she ‘accidentally’ left it at home. I was slightly furious. The clutch was not meant for me, rather for Mon’s sister who will be using it for her prom. Besides, I can’t imagine myself using it at all. I was, then, still able to hold on to my promise not to buy a bag this year. ^_^

Anyway, I originally thought that Lot’s prom will take place last Tuesday but it was on Valentine’s Day, so the seller still has more time to send it. It was eventually sent on Monday so I thought it would arrive yesterday (a Tuesday). But it did not arrive until a few hours back and we can now breathe a sigh of relief.

Details of the vintage Christian Dior monogram clutch - enamel 'CD' logo and ECLAIR zippers with goldtone 'CD' zipper pulls

When I first saw it for sale on Ebay, I was really enticed by it. Unlike Louis Vuitton and Gucci monograms, the Christian Dior one is less ubiquitous and not a lot of people associate such pattern to Dior items. Dior also did similar collections a decade ago, such as the Girly collection (often in pink, accompanied by white patent leather flower appliqués
) or the Rastafari line (with leather details in the Rastafarian colors of green, yellow and red). If I’m not mistaken, the one we got from Ebay was made way earlier, probably from the 90s. I have been eyeing this item for months already but I had no justification to get it. It was indeed a pretty, typical vintage Dior but the design is a bit too feminine for my taste. And then Mon mentioned that Lot will be attending her prom, her last prom before graduating high school, so I thought it will be a nice present to her, considering she passed the UPCAT. It was the perfect reason I was hoping for.
Carrie Bradshaw late for the Stock Exchange, carrying a vintage Christian Dior monogram clutch in Season 6 Episode 1 (To Market, To Market)

Carrie Bradshaw hailing a cab in New York city on her way to the Stock Exchange, carrying a vintage Christian Dior monogram clutch in Season 6 Episode 1 (To Market, To Market)
Most notably, the clutch instantly reminded me of that SATC episode (i.e. ‘To Market, To Market”) where Carrie was running late to go to the New York Stock Exchange and ring the bell as their newspaper had gone public. Rushing from the door, to the cab, and entering the building, I instantly recognized that she was carrying a vintage Dior bag. However, the one that she had was a convertible bag — it folds in half as a clutch, then unfold to show a handle for an open tote bag. It was very nifty and versatile.
Bommie viewed from the window screen

On a different note, Mon’s adoptive kitty we named Bommie (guess the provenance of such name? LOL) gave birth to three beautiful kittens this afternoon! Since last night when Mon got home from work, he noticed that Bommie had been very agitated and constantly moving from one place to another. Then this morning, she was really having a hard time, constantly lying down and raising her leg. Mon even momentarily got a glimpse of her tummy ‘rippling’. They realized she was on labor and most probably be giving birth a few hours later.

Bommie's kitties

We had bought our dinner at around 7:00 PM and Mon got a message after from his mom, telling him that Bommie already gave birth. All three of them were fortunately
alive and in good condition, as most cats giving birth for the first time usually have some difficulty in delivery. One of the kittens totally took after Bommie’s fur, while the other two ‘sampled’ a particular shade. They were so tiny and fragile, but still amazing looking. Just imagine, a few hours ago, they were rippling inside their mother’s tummy and now they are finally out! I told Mon that I can finally recite my favorite ‘Three Little Kittens’ lines and can actually put on miniature mittens on these three. That will be extremely cute to look at! Well done, Bommie! 😀

Winter in South Korea – Day 4: Simone Handbag Museum

*extremely picture-heavy post*

For our last day in Seoul, we already have our itinerary in set and it was non-negotiable for us not to go to one of my must-see places. Back in October 2012, I previously expressed my anticipation of visiting Simone Handbag Museum and I could not believe that I finally had the chance to go and visit it. It was very uncommon for tourists to include a bag museum to their travel itineraries but I consider it a sin for sort-of bag lovers like myself not to drop by when in Seoul. So from Myeongdong Station, we travelled all the way to Sinsa station in the upscale Gangnam-gu to visit the museum (directions to this place can be found at the end of this post).

Simone Handbag Museum's building in Gangnam-gu - Simone Handbag Museum, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Simone Handbag Museum’s building in Gangnam-gu

Rainy winter - me on the bright side, while Mon in his neutral ensemble ---- and I love out transparent umbrellas we bought for only KRW 3,500!

Rainy winter – me on the bright side, while Mon in his neutral ensemble —- and I love our transparent umbrellas we bought for only KRW 3,500!

Continue Reading

Definitely not ‘One Night Only’

Evening inside the library

For the first time in five years, I had been inside the library until the night fell. If I’m not mistaken, the Main Library is the only library that remains open until 12 midnight inside the university. I was originally in CAL Library the whole afternoon but transferred to the Main Lib after eating a quick snack past 3:00 PM.

Sustenance while reviewing: oatmeal cookies, Skyflakes and beverages under the table LOL

Continue Reading

Heavy downpour trauma

Whenever the rain falls down so hard, I can’t help but feel a little nervous. Since the 2009 Typhoon Ondoy, which struck our area and family so hard, we became eternally paranoid of a heavy downpour. My family were safe, albeit shaken from the experience but sometimes, I still look back at some of the things that were destroyed by the calamity. I know this might sound frivolous to some but I mostly hoped that I could have just given out some of these before the tragedy struck. Then they could have survived.

I had acquired this Hermès La Promenade de Longchamps scarf, which I only used once in 2009, in that photo below:

Hermès La Promenade de Longchamps scarf - Manila, Philippines

Details of my (already unfortunate) Hermès La Promenade de Longchamps scarf

Continue Reading

My “stuff” — extremely picture heavy!

So yesterday (or last Saturday as it is now Monday here in Manila), I had an afternoon to fix my things because they are scattered everywhere in my room.

I had the opportunity to clean what needs to be cleaned, polish what needs to be polished and others similar to that.

I also took advantage of the perfect afternoon sun diffusely shining by the window to take pictures of the things I currently own. I used to take pictures of them but only with my camera phone, and I’m not surprised that photos were better on a digital camera.

The most logical way for me to post my “stuff” (i.e. bags and SLGs only) here is via size, first with the largest until the smallest:

vintage louis vuitton keepall 50 manila philippines

Louis Vutton Keepall 50

Continue Reading

Just sorting things out!

Inside my vintage Mulberry Wexford leather messenger bag - dior, louis vuitton, kindle 3, blackberry, marc jacobs

Inside my vintage Mulberry Wexford leather messenger bag – Dior envelope, Louis Vuitton wallet, Kindle 3, Blackberry, Marc Jacobs coin purse, iPod classic, digital camera, etc.

It’s June 1, 2012 and I decided to finally make a separate blog for the things I can really write longer about. I’m still keeping my Tumblr account (which turned two last April 2012), but I no longer feel the same security I used to have there. I somehow feel that I began to censor myself and started second-guessing the things I really wanted to say and post about.

Maybe I can make good use of the digicam I just obtained last month. Or perhaps just try to be extra honest and shameless with the curious mixture of things that catches my attention: eBay, bargain hunting, style musings, international and domestic politics, university, astronomy, science, literature, films, television, slight self-consciousness, twerps in the office and other types of rumination.

So, cheers for ‘bryologue‘! The venue for myself to have an inner dialogue! Though, it is a legitimate French word for bryologist, I don’t necessarily fancy talking that much about liverworts and mosses… unless it’s Kate Moss!