Cynthia Rowley

So I'm doing my work, surfing the web for fashionable but utilitarian tote bags (yeah, it's really work!), and I come across this cute pleated Cynthia Rowley number for $320 at ebags.com. It's on the large side, but there's something about the demure pleats mirroring the black ribbing that makes it work just as well with that (A-line would be just perfect with this) LBD for evening playtime, as well as being an everyday workhorse. Protected of course, with little gold metallic feet. The utilitarian light grey is also great since it'll hide any wayward flecks of dust that may find their way to this bag.

Dressy

This dress is on clearance for $20 at NY&Co. Most of their things look more casual, everyday-ish, so this glossy self-decoration really popped out at me. The fact that it's also fully-lined and machine-washable got my attention - love low-maintenance with a high-maintenance look. Simple and effortlessly glamorous.

Slow Food Nation

This is more for my own bookmark reference and secondarily as a PSA, but if you're into food in the bay area at all, Slow Food Nation during the Labor Day weekend is the place to be!

Mid-week shopping

I'm not one who usually shops during the middle of the week; I define my schedule by waking up, working, working out @ lunch, working, and then home to cook dinner. That leaves about half an hour to an hour for reading/crafting or cuddling/watching TV before calling my mom. Which invariably ends with me zonked out in bed, lights still on and my phone a few inches from my outstretched hand. Sounds like a summer-read thriller right there, doesn't it?

Yeah, it's domesticated. So I give tons of thanks to my newfound friend and neighbor (something good actually came out of attending the HOA meetings!), T. This happy, fun, super-cute, kind-hearted girl told me about a Girls Night Out shopping event in SF and we headed up together.

It's a simple concept of combining shopping, fun splashes of unmemorable alcohol, gift bags (for those who actually signed up ahead of time, unlike my procrastinating butt - but no worries, because I ended up getting in for free!), and lots of the female persuasion. A few guys too - this one guy claimed he was there to support his urban t-shirt selling friend, but he was far more intent on scanning the throngs of girls like a shark in an overpopulated koi pond.

I was the only one of our little group who ended up getting anything. I wasn't looking for anything - I'm never looking for anything but I always seem to find something - but I liked the styles at Fan Clothing. And so I found myself with a snuggly, form-fitting tunic in black for $15.

It has a wide neck, and I could see pairing it with a tank top, wide belt, and leggings or jeans. And so I did for work today, where I promptly got several compliments on it. :) It turned out to be perfect for today's spring 70-degree weather and the cool office environment!

Back to the Shecky's event: how was the shopping overall? Actually, it was larger than a previous night-out I had attended, but it was still smaller than I would have liked. Boutique prices were expected, although I noticed ridiculous mark-ups for jewelry. Jewelry boutique sale prices always make me raise an eyebrow since I can identify the components and labor that went into them - I noticed a 60-90% mark-up in general. Honestly, you're getting more for your money in the pieces sold at Nordstrom, done by independent designers. At another stall, gently-used bags for sale were more like torn-and-visibly-worn bags. But the atmosphere was fun, there was a good spread of styles, and I thought the DS lounge and blinged-up Swarovski-studded DS lite was an ingenious, alluring way for Nintendo to attract the female market.

About jewelry, if you're a jewelry/gem aficionado, I suggest attending the Internation Gem and Jewelry Show this weekend at the San Mateo County Expo fairgrounds. I always go overboard with the bead buying there, but you'll find the HUGEST selection of jewelry including the whole gamut of: fun costume, gold chains, fashionable jewelry, unique pendants, certified diamonds, and loose gem stones for the best prices that I've seen available to the general public. If you go, you'll find me poring over the crystals and pearls. :)

[edit] Click here and print out for free admission.

ideeli

I spent the last few days checking out this site, and it seems legit and pretty useful, so here it is! Ideeli.com is a site that showcases designer goods at discounted prices, and, if you're willing to pay a membership fee, selected goods to win for free. It has a pretty good collection of accessories that currently leans towards bags and sunshades.

You get tantalizing tidbits of a photo, description, and price of an item that will be going on sale within the next 60 days. The catch? You don't know when exactly it will go on sale, but you can sign up to get email notification when it does. From the few sales that have gone live since I joined, I'm happy to observe that things don't sell out within 3 seconds of being posted. That type of bargain free-for-all is stressful and tells me that the lack of inventory means more hype and empty fronts, than an actual marketplace with a good supply-and-demand balance. Here, the 10-hour sale window is large enough that you'll likely be able to get to your computer (and credit card) at your leisure, and things don't sell out overly quickly so you can vacillate a bit while justifying your inevitable indulgence. (I've found that if I ever get to the vacillate point, it means I want something enough that I'm ultimately going to get it. :) )

There's also a comment feature so you can discuss the item, but it seems to be more of a "Ooooh, I want this!!" type of comment, if anything at all. I have the feeling that some people would be reluctant to sing their praises of the item for fear that it would increase other people's interest in the product, and thus raise competition once it went on sale. However, I really would like to see conversations discussing the looks, functionality, or designer (a designer's particular taste and how it's reflected in the product) and hope that the comment section will become more like product-specific mini forums.

Membership is a "friend-of-a-friend" referral like gmail invite codes in the early days. So if you want to check it out, let me know! (I'm 'lauriel' at the beforementioned mail program.) (J, I would have emailed you already, but I didn't know if you had a specific email account you'd want to sign up with!)

Fashion: MAGIC

Courtesy of my industry, I get to dabble in fashion a little bit. Whoo! I didn't get to go to the Spring MAGIC show in Vegas, but may make it to the fall one, which is bigger. In the meantime, I'm quite happy to see what I missed via this cool digital "show and tell" done by the MAGIC people. :)

Fashion find #2

I'm not going to look like a diva sophisticate every day - I'll be lucky if I manage the weekends - so for those fun, romp-in-happiness casual days in the sun, I've developed this line of cute products!

Fashion find #1

Spring is right around the corner (all right, it's already here, but there's still a few showers popping up, so I'm not about to pull out my tank tops quite yet), and I found myself enamored with this cute, sophisticated in it's simplicity halter jumpsuit from Victoria's Secret.



On clearance and then with a 40% discount and a $5 discount, I couldn't resist this for a total of $27 (regular $118)! I intend to pair it with a strappy pair of light shimmery gold Chinese Laundry sandals (that I also found on clearance for $10!), a gold-accented belt to pull attention to the waist that I've been trying to scold into shape through kickboxing, and full, draping gold crystal earrings (that currently resides in my imagination and will be made in the coming month).

Finished off with my beloved Dior frameless beige/gold shades that make me feel like a glamorous superstar off to her summer beach retreat. (One can dream...)

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[edit] Sadly, the jumper didn't fit properly and I had to return it. :( :( :(

My photography

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Who I am

I am, and have been the following:

http://dilly.livejournal.com/
http://twofoodies.blogspot.com/
http://iridescent-glow.livejournal.com/
http://soultears.livejournal.com/
http://www.lauriel-chan.com/
http://www.lauriel-chan.com/blog/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauriel/
http://www.zazzle.com/kireilauriel
http://www.zazzle.com/effervescence
http://www.zazzle.com/creativeaesthetic

Image

The first impression traces the path of all those to follow. Perhaps that is the reason why the brush hesitates above a blank canvas for such a long, searching moment. Perhaps it is why we put so much emphasis on that first meeting. That first impression.

And so, once again, I find myself hanging in the ethers of cyberspace, not quite reluctant to give myself up as I was once upon a time, but rather, undecided with regards to which direction the footsteps of my fingers should lead me.

For there is so much which I want to explore, reach out with, and discover. I find beauty in everything from music, engineering, cuisine, prose and poetry writing, product design, good design in general, photography, arts and crafts, jewelry, color stories, and fashion/style. But there are blogs devoted to each one of these. Every one of these subjects deserves a focused voice.

I, in contrast, am a study of confusion.

Greedily grabbing bits of each area and interpreting it in my own way, I want to establish myself in all senses. Want to share aspects of each, whether it's a relevationary recipe, sparkling Swarovski crystal bracelet design, or my ocean jewel-hued eye makeup of the day.

So where should I lead?

Will you think less of my thoughts because of their far-traveling whimsies? Their inability to stay, much like the ephemeral pause of a hummingbird? Or butterfly?


I will be unique. Old and new, here and there, direct and flirtatious, you'll see a potpourri of me. And in the end, the all-encompassing "creative aesthetic" is the only term that endures and continuously has defined me.

Creative aesthetic. This, I am.