Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Still on Lamps...



I stumbled upon this lovely lamp on design milk. Created by Linda Allen for her Live.Anywhere line, the lamp promises just that: live anywhere with it.

Created using LED lights, the 7-watt lamp offers the same brilliance as it's 50-watt relic counterpart. It's also rechargeable which does away with pesky wires, living up to it's promise of letting you live to just about anywhere.

Photo grabbed from flipboard's design milk.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

In Need of Structure

For someone who has resisted structure most her life, I now find myself looking for structure in my purses. Blame it on the boxy, elegant look of this season's latest purse trend: the satchel. I would love to say it brings me back memories of my childhood learning institutions, but being the rebel that I once was, I wouldn't have been caught with something looking so... Ordinary.

Enter the Vieta Veronique. I found this lady at the SM Fashion Forum and I knew I needed to bring her home. Blame it on the Audrey Hepburn marathon, but I thought this grand dame of a purse looked exactly like I should: structured. And it fits my iPad nicely, too.

An added bonus about the Vieta purses is it's price. this lady sold for less than USD100.00. My penchant for changing purses midweek makes the Vieta price range perfect for me. The selection of Vieta handbags at the SM Fashion Forum was a bit disappointing, though. The choices available were limited to browns and blacks and the one red purse. i was hoping they would have the Veronique in yellow or purple as shown in the company's website, but i was out of luck. oh well, maybe next spring.




Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Flashback

I am currently fixated with mixing retro fixtures with modern design elements. I have been on the search for classic and retro pieces to fill my minimalist and modern apartment t be. Given the small space available in my new pad, I need to scale down everything, from my furniture to my gadgets.

Enter the iPod. I am a music junkie. I always say life needs a soundtrack. I can't function without music. It goes without saying that I need a music source in the new apartment.
Fortunately for me, sound systems these days are no longer the space hogging stereos of yore. But somehow, I miss the knobs and dials and grills that used to dominate my boom box. Those details actually made music seem more visual, more fun.

So I have been on the search for a nice retro looking iPod dock. I was able to buy one from dimensione, a basic black throwback to the sixties. It would look nice on the shelf, I know, but i couldn't resist this red classic transistor I found on blessthisstuff.com. The red Is just more my style and would add a splash of color in the black and silver theme I am going for. But Alas, unless I figure out a way to ship this groovy red number to MNL, I have no choice but to stick to the basic black I found.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Light Flavor


 i love lamps. the iridescent yellow glow from lamps evoke moods of tranquility. i can spend hours at a lamp shop just looking at designs and seeing which ones has the warmest glow.

one favorite are Himalayan salt lamps. mined from Nepal, Himalayan salt is said to contain healing properties. i'm not sure about that, but in their unprocessed, unpolished shape, these salt lamps sure look good.

the lamp on the left comes in various sizes, with the largest weighing in at 24kg. it's available online at sears.com .

Friday, March 11, 2011

Successful Palazzo Comeback

my skinnies have been relegated to the top drawer, never to see the light of day unless i find myself in the throes of a mid-week laundry crisis. the gods of fashion have spoken, it's time to break out the wide legs.


Attu Pants from the House of Laurel Savage Mythology Collection. Courtesy of stylebible.ph

taking this command to heart and working it flawlessly is Rajo Laurel in his new summer collection for House of Laurel, called Savage Mythology. i love the high waist on the palazzos. it balances the width of the pants rather well, diffusing the pant style's tendency to make its wearer look stocky.

This pant style, however, is rather hard to pull off.  Although ALL the websites and style guides tell us full figured chicks that it is the perfect style for us, being only 5'1,  i can't help feeling wide as a building in these pants. Seeing the Olsen twins wear them only reinforces that feeling. call me crazy, but i love a little snugness around the thighs in my own pants.

Photo courtesy of fashionurbia.com

With that said, the Laurel pants still look phenomenal. i'll just have to get around my body issues to pull it off.

Thoughts & Prayers for Japan

Chilling. that is the only way i can describe seeing live footage of the tsunami devastation that hit Japan yesterday after an 8.5 earthquake. my thoughts and prayers go out to our neighbors this side of the Pacific. i know you will be able to rebuild from this in record time.  Known for their cutting edge innovation, not just in technology but also in fashion, the Japanese will come out of all of this stronger and whole.

Photo taken from the Yohji Yamamoto 2011 Fall Line during Paris Fashion Week

Small Space Big Ideas

i recently purchased my first home. a little late at 30, i know, but that does not take the excitement away. but before you all get carried away with me, the apartment-condo is really just 25 square meters big. just about enough to hold all my purses and shoes.

i have been toying with a white-on-white theme to calm my claustrophobia, at the risk of turning cliche. either that or go for an androgynous black and silver theme with splashes of color here and there.

however, this particular  remodeling featured on dwell had my heart all aflutter. i love the ingenious use of space and the height it added to the apartment. truth be told, i have been losing a little sleep just staring at the photos and figuring out a way to use it in my own apartment.

awesome use of space

i may have forgotten to mention that i am a bit anal about things. the apartment will not be ready for delivery for another two to three months but that's just me. i like being prepared. at least i have three more months to mull his particular design over.