i love online shopping!

If it weren't clear already, I'm a terribly chronic shopaholic and I do most of my damage in the realm of the internet. I won't talk much about my shopping habits because this is just a post to say that I think comGateway is simply an awesome freight forwarder service. TADAAAAAAAAAAA!


I received my five packages today, all in great condition as can be seen in the picture above. Oh, I am so in love with each and every product I got. My shoes look totally stupendous, my blazer looks awesomely spiffy, the striped tunic modeled by my sister looks gorgeously wrinkled, my Tintamar bag organizer (which I did not blog about buying) arrived as well but not through comGateway; it's an eBay purchase, my silicone cupcake cups, my blister balm, my EOS lip balm, Goody Jojoba cushion brush and Fruit of The Loom sports bra - I CANNOT WAIT TO GET MY HANDS ON ALL OF YOU!


It must be mentioned that.....DHL, you rawk too! Now if only UPS can get their act together and deliver my Bloomies stuff to Oregon like today. Then I can request shipment by Monday and get it before I leave for Indonesia. I really want to use my F+C Mid City on this trip. Please, please, please, let it arrive before this weekend so I can have my Bloomies by the end of next week.

UPDATE(01/04/2010):
The peeps at UPS musta heard me complaining about them cos now my Bloomies package is "In Transit" at the destination hub in Portland, Oregon! Still, getting comGateway to have it shipped over to me on time is going to be a challenge. Plus, the items are in Portland but it's the weekend and I believe comGateway doesn't work weekends so my Bloomies might only legitimately be delivered either Monday or Tuesday. It's all cutting a bit too close to my departure date and all I can do is cross my fingers and hope that I'll be rawking the F+C Mid City tote come Saturday next week. Wish me loadsa luck!

waiting for.....The Carrie Diaries

As I continue to feed my reading habit quicker than I can actually read the books, I am now eagerly awaiting the release date of Candace Bushnell's "The Carrie Diaries".


Based on the infamous Carrie Bradshaw of "Sex & The City" fame, this latest offering by Candace Bushnell reveals her backstory culminating in her arrival in NYC. I loved the series but have actually never read the book it was based on. Although my favourite character was a toss-up between Miranda and Charlotte, I was still very much invested in Carrie's adventures especially during the Aidan years.

I pre-ordered this book via The Book Depository 2 days ago. It was on a pre-release offer price of $8.07 and I just couldn't resist. At the time I completed transaction there were 2 days left before the book's release but today, I checked my order status and it reads 'Awaiting Publication' which probably means the books aren't quite released just yet.

Hopefully it'll be out sometime soonish so I can get my hands on it when I drop by homeland next month.

at this point, even i acknowledge the ridiculousness

.....but I've resigned myself. There's just no point in talking to me about it so I'll just let me be (:D I do realize the craziness that is that whole intro!).

I just purchased another bag. Yes, that's right, I just bought another bag. That's 6 in the past 4 months. And I haven't even received the F+C Mid City tote at my US addy yet.

So, I get the sheer absurdity of my shopping habits. I acknowledge them. I will not make excuses about them. I see something I like, I get it. That's the mantra for this year. To give myself whatever I feel like giving. It's the year of living frivolously after all!

Anywho, this latest shopping expedition gave me a lightbulb moment. I came to realize that my spending almost always correlates with an attempt to help someone find something. My friends and family come to me for online shopping predicaments and I try to help them out by pointing them in the right direction. Then, more often than not, I'll end up getting sucked into buying something that I saw and just must totally have.

In this latest shopping excursion, I was rooting around some girl's blog for my sister who wanted to know about Shopbop's international shipping experience. I had read last year about this girl who got a Rebecca Minkoff MA Mini from Shopbop and had it delivered to Malaysia where she had to pay customs tax of 10% off of the total cost. I found said post and forwarded it to my sister. Then I made the mistake of lingering.

Now, if you enjoy shopping too much like me, don't linger. N-E-V-E-R L-In-G-E-R! Not at blog posts about shopping nor online retail sites. If you continue browsing then you'll get drawn to something. If you're not in the market for anything, this can spell disaster. Invariably, you'll end up with something. I lingered, I browsed, I read and I saw. And that's how I ended up with a RuMe ALL reusable bag in black.


Just paid for my brand spanking new environmentally friendly tote and the seller will have it shipped to my homeland home tomorrow. Paid a total of $28.73 inclusive of shipping charges. Online on the RuMe site, it's selling for $26.95. I got it off of an affiliated website. It's called Tiny Tapir and it's just the cutest place I've been to in recent times. It's a Malaysia based site selling eco friendly products for those interested in being more green. The site mainly serves as a baby store but also has items like the RuMe line. The RuMe ALL is retailing for RM89 on the site and after conversion it costs $27.90. Less than a buck of difference from the US-based official RuMe site. And postage and handling is decidedly cheaper since it's being shipped within the region. Yes, international shipping is available. Take a page out of Tiny Tapir's book US-based web sites! Expand your shopping horizons and I can guarantee you'll earn more money!

Ok, enough about US sites that don't ship internationally, let's get back on track with the fabulosity of the RuMe ALL. I decided to get this because I feel I'm in dire need of a spiffy reusable shopping bag. One that does not have a gaping open mouth in which sticky fingered people can reach in and grab something. I was tired from walking around clutching my eco friendly bags to my body as if they were glued to me. And my mum has something similar to this and it's come in handy on numerous occasions. I wanted one of my own. The RuMe ALL is described as.....

".....a fabulous bag that is the perfect compact bag - use it when shopping (the zip top is a great convenience), use it in the office when you need a spare bag for those last minute files, use it in the gym (the elastic top side pockets are great for water bottles, the zipper front pouch is perfect for your iphone and toiletries), use it as a super lightweight diaper bag - there's hardly anywhere you CAN'T use this bag

Pop a few in your suitcase when you're travelling and you're set for a bag to match your every outfit!

The velvet handles keep the bag comfortably on your shoulder and minimize slip-sliding or scrunching up of the handles - the flatter the handles sit on your shoulder, the better weight is distributed, and the lighter your bag feels."


Below are the specifications for the RuMe ALL reusable bag:

• three exterior pockets for bottles, keys, cell phones and MP3 players
• weighs only three ounces
• individual bag size 15.5” x 11” x 4&rdquo
• zip top closure
• padded non-slip shoulder straps
• handles are 12” long
• holds up to 50lbs
• water resistant/machine washable
• double bound seams
• square sides and bottom
• made in South Korea, Fair Trade Factory

My main reason to buying this was to store all my shopping during my Indonesia trip in 2 weeks. It's functional and roomy and easy to take care off. I like that it's water resistant it has a zip top closure. The fact that it can hold up to an incredible 50lbs weight is such a huge bonus. I love that, for such a huge bag, it can be rolled up quite tiny and stuffed into a small hobo without taking up too much space. I also like that it is part of a Fair Trade programme.

I see myself using this as more than a carrier for my shopping though. I am looking for a new work bag and this will do nicely. My old Miu Miu inspired bag has ripped :(. I'm hoping this will provide as a longer-lasting alternative. I can't wait to get this and use it for the company retreat! I can already see my SIGG water bottle sitting in the outside elastic pocket and my beautiful portafoglio and N97 sitting in the zippered pouch in front :P I'm a proud bag-a-holic, I make no excuses for having so many!

i'm surprised by how much has come true

It's one of those lazy Saturdays and I've been spending the whole morning going through my old posts. It's been interesting to see the way my mind works at the different points in my life and how I had them translated into words.

Anyways, I had forgotten about this post I did back in January listing the things I wanted. I was surprised as I read through my list of how many of them I've managed to get already. Even the ones I thought were beyond me.

In the shoes department, I already bought the nude pumps I wanted as well as received the Crocs Rio from my bro-in-law (my second sis's husband). I've also managed to get my hands on the perfect-for-me long, black, boyfriend blazer via eBay. It might not be the Necessary Objects blazer with striped lining I talked about in the January post but it is the most compatibly complementary cut for my body.

In terms of handbags, well, I predicted I would be able to realistically add the Mid City tote to my bag collection and that has been accomplished with my latest online shopping forays through Bloomies. When I wrote that part of the post, I wasn't even thinking about it for this year. It was general talk about what I could afford to get if I were to get anything. The colour might not be called Butterscotch but as long as the Camel shade is within the same hue, I'm completely ecstatic. I also managed to get a new long wallet as I had stated I needed and in a brand I thought I would never own. My Bottega Veneta portafoglio is one of the best highlights of my shopping this year thus far. I never believed I would get to own a BV piece, this year or at all, but my friend's trip to Florence proved that unrealistic targets can come true. And at affordable prices as well.

When it comes to sunnies, my sister is finally letting go of her Oliver Peoples Sofiane she got last year during our company retreat in Thailand. I'm getting it off her for USD100. I'm extremely pleased that I'll finally own a decent pair of sunglasses after I've had two of my own fail on me this year. The CK pair I got in '08 from the States broke on my face as I put them on back in March and the 3 dollar pair with the butterfly motif got scratched and has this awful and distracting line down the right lens which makes them unwearable. So to be able to get a second hand pair of the shades I have coveted for almost a year, I am totally happy.

I'm also on track for my June purchase of the Epson projector. I'm halfway there on the savings and can't wait to complete the budget I've allocated for it.

It really surprised me when I re-read my musings and came to the realization that I had half of what I wanted already in hand and it's not even 6 months into the 2010 yet. That makes me quite glad, I'm happy I'm able to fulfill my list and in a totally unintentional way. Things like the projector were set in stone and the blazer was a matter of finding the right one at an affordable price but the sunnies, bag and purse were just wishes I had for the general future. There was no set deadline for them. I'm just left surprised by how many of the items on the list I'm able to tick off already. It's a good thing :)

i'm serious when i say this

That's it for April and May on the online shopping front. It started out innocently enough. I was only helping out a friend who was searching for the Mulberry Daria hobo in bright pink she had spotted whilst browsing a few days back. She said she saw it was selling for about USD750 which was a rather good price from the full retail she would have had to pay in stores. We looked for the bag in question on our own and together as we GMaile-ed our way through multiple sites. Until finally, she found it again, on her own, the price was reduced to $690.++ but she was too late. Only the orange hue was to be had.

Crushed, she went looking for alternatives elsewhere. I, on the other hand, got entangled on Bloomingdales.com. I really was there just to view the Mulberry bag in question and stayed to do a lil bit of window shopping but then, as I browsed, this banner caught my eye.


The shopaholic part of me (which probably equals a large part of my genetic makeup) sensed a small shopping opportunity. I thought it wasn't going to degenerate into a shopping excursion since I wasn't on full-on shopaholic mode as I lazily searched the site for items I had coveted but were not totally serious on buying. Considering I was aware I was maxxed out for April and all that.

But my searching produced unexpected results. Results that left me hyperventilating. Whenever I'm on a US-based department store site, I love to do handbag searches on Foley+Corinna and Rebecca Minkoff. I always do these random searches because I am a huge fan of the many variations of the City tote and Morning-After bag produced by each of these US grown designers. I've had multiple opportunities in the past to get my hands on a piece of either but held back for various reasons. The foremost reason back then was due to the fact I had never spent more than USD200 on a handbag before and thought spending $400 to $500 dollars was erring on the side of crazy. Well, I've gotten over that hang-up for sure.

So, back to the Bloomies sale, I decided to type in Foley+Corinna in the search box as I am slightly more in love with the City tote then the Minkoff's MAB. And could not believe my eyes when I saw the results! Mid City totes going for $395?!?!?! The usual retail price is $444! I started salivating, I did not even bother doing searches for anything else. I went through the many options, Mid City in glazed leather, Mid City in metallic leather, Disco City totes and the like before finally settling on the basic black Mid City in glazed leather. At $395, I knew I could get 20% off on that alone but I wanted more, I wanted the 30%. So the search continued.

I thought getting a matching Disco City tote would be overkill and I wasn't even gonna bother searching for an MAB because there wasn't gonna be one that would be 105 dollars to make it to the 500 bucks minimum limit I needed. Therefore, I switched to womens' apparel. I decided to see if Bloomies had another item I've been lusting over which is the DKNY Cozy. It's basically a cardigan that you can style 12 different ways. I have a thing for products that can multi-task (hence the F+C City tote love since there are two ways of carrying it). I found it. I did not like the $195 price tag though. But with 30% off, well it'll still be over a hundred bucks. Nonetheless, although still iffy, I clicked the M/L Cozy into my cart.

And then I stewed. I hmmmm-ed and I hawwed and I twisted and I turned and I decided to leave them there. I could not do it. I was maxxed, I realized that.


This was on the 20th, the day the promo began 2 days ago. I thought about it all day yesterday and went to the site again. Went through the same routine, picked out a different colour of the tote, different style, dropped it in the cart and the same thing occurred. I could not make myself go the final stretch. In the end, I always made the rational choice to forego it. I thought I could get them another time. When I was more financially able to accommodate them. So, yet again, I left the site with my integrity intact.

However, with me, when left to think about shopping decisions for a period of time, I always manage to find some way for desire to win over rationale. Talking to my sister about billing cycles, she made me realize that if I were to charge these purchases, they would only be due at the end of May. End of May.....THAT'S PERFECT! I'm not maxxed out end of May! And that is how I came to own.....


Ok, there was a bit of a switcharoo with the Cozy and the Juicy pants. I'm still at that stage where I can't justify to myself spending over 100 bucks on a piece of clothing, so I spent hours, and I really do mean HOURS, combing through Bloomingdales.com trying to find the perfect item to complement my F+C Mid City Tote. And oh, yea, I changed the black for a camel (I always loved the camel shade first and foremost but missed seeing it the first time round). Long story short, pants under 100 bucks ($64.09 to be exact) is great but what enthralls me the most is the price of my F+C Mid City tote in Camel that I got for the whoppingly low price of, drumroll please Rob Bourdon, USD229.31!

Yes, yup, yeah! After all discounts applied, including an additional 10% for being a Bloomie newbie and a coupon code for an additional USD25 off of the total, I simply paid $311.40. I want to weep when I think about how cheaply I got the things. I LOVE YOU, BLOOMINGDALES.COM!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so pumped :D

UPDATE (28/04/2010):
I'm tracking my Bloomies package via the UPS site and my last refresh had me laughing. This is what I saw:


Although in Oregon already, my poor F+C Mid City and Juicy Destination cargos are stranded on a train car somewhere in and around the Portland area. Poor babies, mommy hopes you get home ok!

what's your style philosophy

As I'm exercising my right to shop at US-based sites that ship within the US only, I revisted a site that I've previously wanted to purchase from but couldn't due to the aforementioned restriction, Alloy.com.

I was more on window shopping mode and wasn't on the prowl for anything to get. The site is targeted at the teens/tweens set and since I am a teen at heart, I fit right in :P

Anyways, they have this quiz section and the quiz of the day featured caught my eye and I decided to take it. It was about which fashion house's style philosophy were you most like.

I have a thing for YSL as I think the design house has a very cool, classic and refined laidback kinda style. Something I believe is what I try to incorporate in my wardrobe. I'm not terribly showy and neither are YSL.


Which is why I was happy with the results of the quiz. To be aligned with such an esteemed French design house is cool. I know it's just a stupid quiz but I like that my personality matches YSL's :P

i'm annoyed with me

I once again had a dream about my first boyfriend. I don't know why I keep having emotionally disturbing dreams about him. I can't conceive that my online window shopping at Bloomingdales, which was the last activity I did before going to sleep, was the trigger to thoughts of my unreasonable unresolved feelings I have for him.

I've told myself multiple times that it's been, now, 11 years since we've ended and I should really stop holding him up as the shining example of the ultimate relationship I've ever had. I mean if it was really as perfect as I seem to remember it, it wouldn't have ended, we'd still be together. I realize as well that he's not the same guy he was back then. It has been 11 years, he's changed, I've changed. We could be two completely different people who don't have anything in common anymore. And who knows if, we had still been together, that we would still like one another after all this time.

Yet, I wake up from that dream feeling disturbed. The last time it was some yearning thing. This time, we made contact, we talked, there was some kind of unspoken want to get back together (which did happen a lot in reality for 2-3 years between us) but for some reason that desire to get back together wasn't uttered aloud (which happened a lot in reality as well). Then there was a shift in the dream and suddenly one of my best gal pals I've known since 10 was in the dream. She and my ex went to the same University way back and in this dream she was telling me about how she and my ex had been seeing each other.

I'm not sure how dreams work but I think it's unfair that they can induce acute emotions. The situation is not even real, why does it have to evoke any feelings at all? For one, of course I'm feeling betrayed. And jealous. And I want my ex back desperately. Seriously, I really would love to get over the guy and to stop holding him up on this pedestal but I don't know why it's tough for me to move on. I know if I hear he's married it'll probably help but at the same time, I'm afraid I'll just give up on ever finding someone so that's why I don't make the effort to find out. Yes, I guess, some part of me wants to end up with him though like I mentioned above, he's most likely not the person my memories so dearly hold on to. Anyway, in this dream, he's non-committal to my friend. He's dating her but at the same time it's as if he wantd to see if we can get it together like before. I don't want to be caught in the middle between them and I tell him that. I ask my friend why she made the decision to date him knowing that he was the love of my life. All she could say was she found him attractive and kind and nice and why wouldn't she. I wanted her to be loyal to me and give him up but I didn't ask. I didn't ask my ex to give her up either, I wanted him to choose me without my saying so but it's as if he was also afraid to revisit our relationship.

Then, thankfully, I woke up and the first thing I did was sigh. I said aloud to no one.....well.....to my ex, for him to get out of my head and away from my dreams. I hate how he leaves me feeling emotionally charged. I hate that I pin too much unrealistic feelings on him. I can't believe how attached I am still after all these years. I want to not yearn for him. I don't want to have weird dreams about him any longer. Uggh, I'm annoyed with me.

UPDATE (24/04/2010):
Just read this article online and was disturbed when I read the following quote by Dr. Stickgold:

“The things that really grip you, the ones you decide at an emotional level are really important, those are the ones you dream about. The things you’re obsessed with are the ones that your brain forces you to continue to process.”

That does not make me feel better about the dream in the slightest. Sigh. Get over him, Zlena, just get over him.

as i promised, i kept it

I made a point to watch the F1 race in Shanghai this weekend. It was exciting to say the least with the weather forcing the teams to play tyre roulette multiple times.

I did not know who was on pole until raceday itself when I decided to google the results. Was happy to find Seb Vettel was on pole and was thinking he'd be romping off to another win.

But alas, that's not what happened, for some inexplicable reason, Seb was slow off the start and that gave Fernando 'Jumped-The-Gun' Alonso first place after the first corner. Nando would get his come-uppance for his too eager start with a drive through penalty.

Rain intermittently falls throughout and come chequered flag time, it's J Button in first, a perplexed Hamilton in second (probably confounded why he's being beaten reapeatedly by his not-as-talented teammate, so am I Lewis, so am I!) and third again was Nico Rosberg.

It was exciting, I was thrilled to discover that I still felt the F1 excitement even though Kimi wasn't on the starting grid. Still got the heart palpitations while waiting for the five lights to go out, still did multiple rousing shouts to encourage various drivers to get on with it, still felt (mildly) disappointed when one or other driver I supported did not do as I had told them to do (such as press the accelarator, lift your bum and move that car faster!). All in all, a successful attempt at getting back into the F1 saddle post-Kimster. I did miss you though, Iceman. I truly did :)

i'm so proud of you Kimi!

As the F1 parade was in Shanghai this past weekend, my darling lil Iceman was roughing it out in Istanbul competing in the Rally of Turkey.

I'm still clueless on the sport on a whole but hearing Kimster finished fifth overall and was consistently setting times comparable with the leaders is such an uplifting, morale booster.

My feelings of pride had already begun when he decided to sit out F1 this year and instead go rediscover his passion for driving in a different version of his sport. I understood and was quite realistic about his endeavours in rally would not be as meteoric as his rise in F1. His background in karting made for a much more seamless integration into F1 than does his F1 experience provide him for his forays in rallying.

Breaking his points duck by coming in eigth overall, not to mention as well, actually completing a full race in the Rally of Jordan two weeks back was a momentous point in his short rallying career. Yet, here we are again, marveling at the lightning speed in which Kimster is finding his rallying legs. Impressive is understating it.

One blog post summed it up perfectly when he stated how peculiar it was to see Kimi grinning from ear to ear upon coming in fifth when he wouldn't even crack a smile for a sixth place finish in F1. It just shows he's happy. And that makes me happy. CONGRATULATIONS, KIMI RAIKKONEN!

to stem the overflow.....

of happy hormones from my latest Target buy and deflect me from making an impulsive purchase, I thought I'd mosey on along to Amazon.com instead and get myself something I truly needed and wanted.

I signed up for the Amazon Prime membership tryout last month and April 17 US time is my last day for the trial membership. I opted for non-renewal so decided to take advantage of the free 2-day shipping for the last time.

If you noticed, I decided not to get the Silicone Solutions 6-cup muffin tray and the Slim Fast Snack Bars from Target. I opted instead for just the Goody Jojoba Cushion Brush and the EOS Organic 4 piece lip balm. That brought the total to just over 50 bucks. The muffin tray was not inclusive in the free shipping deal so I decided not to get it from there. I didn't really want to get any beauty stuff cos I had said in a post few weeks back I didn't wanna buy any more beauty things but I really wanted my free shipping and organic lip balm is the lesser of the evils in my option list. Plus, I can give 'em as gifts :)

Since I really wanted those silicon bake tray, I had done recon at Amazon 2 days ago and had seen the free shipping with Amazon Prime sign for the exact same product. I went back and did a search and decided on something better and cheaper. Instead of a 6-cup tray, I went for the 6 piece reusable cups on sale for $7.99. Since the price was sooo good, I got 2!


As can be seen, I also decided to stock up on blister balm because my Dr Scholl blister stick was used as a toy by my darling nephew who rubbed it all over a hair brush till only a nub is left. Thanks, Miksy, thanks a lot. It was amusing that his mother proceeded to use the 'balmed' hair brush and got all that gunk on her hair. It was not amusing that I cannot get that balm anywhere else in Asia hence having to order a 4-pack from the States.

Ok, I'm feeling calmer on the whole shopping front, don't feel the need to get the black gladiator wedges as much. I'm still waiting for my sister to come online to convince me either which way on getting another pair but it's definitely leaning towards a 'No' at this point. Plus, just saw pics of the hue I bought on one of my fave haunts, The BudgetBabe, who did a post on Off The Rack Cynthia Vincent collection at her local Target. Her personal pics taken of the exact same shoes I got (which she also got) reaffirmed my choice of colour. Love it!

when being a stalker is a good thing

Call me crazy...seriously, call me crazy cos I stalked the Target.com website UNTIL they changed the status of the Cynthia Vincent for Target® Gladiator Wedge in Cognac from "Out of Stock" to "In Stock". And the collection hasn't even officially dropped yet! WOOHOO ME!!!!!!!!

The purchase is done and dusted but I'm now on a stalker high and want the same shoes in black, I have my size in my cart but am grasping the slim line of sanity before checking out. Sanity might have a slight edge at the moment.


I don't wanna give the game away but with the help of Google, I managed to find the site page Target already set up for the shoes and from there, kept on pressing that F5 button till the (I'm pretty sure this is how it happened) automated timestamp embedded in the page triggered and the page updated to available for purchase. If you search the Target.com site right now, you won't even be able to find the Cynthia Vincent for Target® shoe collection, results will return zero, zilch, nada.

Oh, I so want those shoes in black but I just got a heeled wedge in black. But these are Cynthia Vincent for Target® black gladiator wedges. Should I? Should I not? I'm seriously tapped out for this month and the cognac shade should be my last, should I max myself out? Should I? I really want to :|

Ok, while I wishy wash over that, am off to get me some coffee!

so much for not caring

Apparently I DO care if I do or don't win the 16GB Micro SDHC no-name card.

I have bid on 6 seperate listing of this item from the same seller and lost each and every one of them. By a smidgen. Which irks me so I keep going to the next available listing and putting a bid on those.

My only comfort is that I am still sane enough to not bid over my designated budget (I actually went through the seller feedback to see the average winning bid on the item and I refuse to pay too much more over the prices that all those other people had to pay! The seller should really give me the item for free cos I keep driving up his auctions :D).

In case there was any doubt, I'm going to keep on bidding on every single 16GB Micro SDHC no-name card listing from this seller until I finally win the auction at the price I want. It's on like Donkey Kong, now!

UPDATE (18/04/2010 12:45 AM):
Yippee!! After 6 tries, seventh is the charm! Ok, so I paid 5 bucks over my budget (I wanted to spend only $17.86 but ended up paying $22.42) but I'm happy I have a 16GB MicroSDHC card for my N97! Now I can put in ALL the Linkin Park stuff and my whole music collection. Right now, my 2GB card is maxed out on 281 songs and a whole lotta LP videos (inclusive of all their DVD concerts :P, I'm a major fangirl!). I paid more because, firstly, I was simply tired of losing each and every auction - it gets very disheartening. Second, I got caught up in a sniper war with some other eBayer; annoying as hell. I realize it coulda been the seller him/herself but who cares?!? I paid less thn 23 bucks for a 16GB MicroSDHC. The cheapest I saw retail was USD32 so I win! And I got a lil thrill from all that eBay sniping :D Woohoo ME!!!

10 thoughts on my mind

It's been a relatively mundane Saturday. Things I have on the brain consists of:

1. Wanting those Cynthia Vincent For Target Gladiator Wedge Shoes in Cognac (it's been four posts and counting I've mentioned these shoes. I believe this demonstrates how much I WANT them)
2. How filling four slices of Red Velvet cake can be. I made my first 9x9 cake yesterday from scratch. It didn't turn out too pretty and I find I'm quite crap with frosting but boy was it yummy. I'm kinda amazed that I've been subsisting on those four slices since 8:30 am and I'm not feeling the slightest bit peckish.
3. My desire to finsih watching episodes 10-12 of Life Unexpected but I'm holding off because I'm saving them for lunch break at work next week. Also, feeling a bit sad for myself that I have a small-ish crush on Jones. He's a dead ringer for Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel. Somehow, Seb Vettel doesn't evoke fan-girly emotions but Jones does.
4. How stoked I was that the cast of Glee performed one of my favourite Beatles tunes, "Hello, Goodbye". I LOVE this song!
5. My desire to fold my laundry. I don't mind the folding, I just hate the strategic thinking needed in trying to find space for the clothes to fit in my closet. You would think that if this is what I need to do then I should simply stop buying clothes. I'm a frivolous girl who loves to shop, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
6. That it'll rain tonight, just like it did last night. Only this time, let's have a rainstorm we can actually call a rainstorm. It's been too hot these past coupla weeks, c'mon earth. let's rebalance nature!
7. How I really should be answering that work email and doing some filing but I've been procrastinating since Wednesday. Will still put it off today.
8. Dinner. Toss up between fried noodles or burger with fries. Whichever wins out by the time I finish this post.
9. How I'm putting off exercise because I still haven't eaten dinner. I usually start at 5:30 and go for a 2-hr walk. I think the cake has made me lazy, I'll probably end up doing an hour of steps instead.
10. And lastly, I can't understand how it is I keep getting bitten by ants. Darned things!

i'm so shallow but i don't care

I was taking a break from retail browsing and looking at FashionUnder100 when I spotted this picture of Kate Bosworth carrying the Miu Miu Large Deerskin in the EXACT same shade that I own.


I felt sooooooo excited to be Kate Bosworth's bag twin. It's totally shallow but I don't care. If owning the same exact bag seen on a celebrity gives me a little thrill, so be it.

P.S:
In my pic, I complemented the Miu Miu stachel by pairing it with my vintage CUE boyfriend blazer I got off of eBay, Zara jeggings, a graphic tee I got from the market and a new pair of black Charles Keith wedge heels. Am loving all my new stuff!

as i'm still waiting.....

for the Cynthia Vincent For Target collection to drop tomorrow, I, of course, have had too much time on hand (been on holiday since Wednesday celebrating the Asian version of new year) and have trawled practically ALL my usual online hangouts till I'm bored outta my skull.

Long holidays with nothing better to do than online shopping gets old when you start thinking about the, very real, dollars that start to add up. That's the danger of shopping with plastic, you don't see the hole you've dug yourself into till your waaaay deep in it. Anyways, frivolous as I'm supposed to be, I'm still trying to keep it within reason. I mean, I'm not curbing my desires to get things that I want but I really do make sure I definitely want them before I get them.

The last coupla days I've been visiting Gilt, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, Wal-Mart, Target, Rue La La, 6pm.com, Piperlime, Gap, Old Navy, Macys, Shopbop, Revolve Clothing, Net-A-Porter, Ideeli and JCrew; and playing click the things I think I want into the shopping cart and see if we'll buy it. So far, I haven't gotten anything since my last buy. I put things in the cart then I just play a game of chicken of sorts to see if I'll press the 'Checkout' button. I put together a collage of pieces I have in my shopping basket at Forever21.com :)


I've also been doing recon on Target. The shoes qualify as part of the retailer's buy over $50 and get free shipping promo so I've been combing through the site trying to figure out the best possible combination of products that will total the nearest to 50 bucks. Yes, rather than pay the shipping fees for a USD29.99 shoe, I'd rather spend an additional amout that equals $20.01 or more to qualify my purchase for free shipping. I have this hangup about having to pay for shipping. I can't believe the amount of time I've spent going through Target.com looking for the right products to be able to complete the 50 bucks limit. In the end I settled for Silicone Solutions 6-cup muffin tray, Goody's Jojoba hair brush and a box of Slim Fast Snack Bars Nutty Chocolate Chew. My total, with shoes, will come to $3.96 over 50 bucks.

I cannot wait for April 18 because the more time I have to fret about getting the shoes, the more I try to take my mind off of them by going to other sites and looking at things. The more I do that, the more I want to buy stuff. Right now, I'm able to hold off on the madness. Currently, the only thing I'm committed to, aside from the Target shoes, is a bid I have on a 16GB Micro SD no-name brand card on eBay. I don't win it, I don't mind. The bid is just a way to scratch that purchasing itch I seem to constantly have. Also, if I don't get the shoes, or if April 18 comes and goes and its still not available on Target.com, I'm not going to get the other things I set aside. My aim is only the shoes, I WANT the shoes. The deal is to only get things that I really want. I can live without the rest.

Ugh, I can't believe I'm actually wishing for it but Monday, please come by soon because I cannot take any more of this time off, it's making me BUY crazy!

and the spree continues

As I await the Cynthia Vincent for Target® collection to officially release on April 18 so I can buy the women's Cynthia Vincent for Target® Gladiator Wedge Sandals in Cognac, the gorgeous wedge you can see displayed below, I continue to troll this great, vast land we call the Internet for more things to bleed my portafoglio dry.


I landed on walmart.com today. If it were those days before I was AMEX-ed and inducted into comGateway, I would go through the site and just pick and choose things into my virtual shopping cart. Then I'd get snippy about the fact I couldn't actually buy the things. But now, after the confidence boost of both AMEX and my first comGateway experience, I am now unhesitant in taking on the US-based sites that tell me I am not eligible to get their stuff.

Although I'm definitely far from a tween and am not even within sniffing distance of teen, I found the Wal-Mart Miley Cyrus & Max Azria collection appealing. There are some cute, not too young stuff available and I loike! I got myself the Juniors Cinch-Waist Tunic in white stripes and the Juniors Knit Boyfriend Blazer in ebony black.


I admit, I own a ton of black blazers, the latest being my vintage buy off of eBay, but I couldn't resist this black blazer in cotton jersey. The material is light and perfect for swanning around in hot climates such as this country where I live and work. I also have a number of tunics but I couldn't resist this pinstripe waist-cinched version. I'm a sucker for stripes. What else can I say?


Oh, and since I've been very good about exercising, I got myself the Fruit of The Loom 3-pack tank sports bra. Might as well expand my sports attire closet.


In a wholly seperate purchasing incident, I got myself the MAC Viva Glam Cyndi lipstick. I can't be sure but I think this is my first official lipstick buy. I'm usually more of a gloss/balm kinda gal. Anywho, I actually really like the Gaga colour and wanted to get that one as well but I don't think my more Asian skintone can carry off that kind of shade well. When comparing the two shades, the Cyndi hue is more flattering on a myriad of skintones.


However, right after I got that, I remembered that MAC and Liberty of London also had a collaboration going on with the cutest prints on the tube and I nearly succumbed and got another MAC lippie from that range but once I figured I just wanted it because the tube was printed with images of pretty peacocks and flowers on a white background, I resisted the urge. I can't tell you how much I wanted too though. I'm a little proud of me. This may be the year of living frivolously but I'm glad common sense still makes an appearance every now and then :)

making a conscious start to frivolous living

In a bid to start my aim to do as I please this year, what better way is there than to start shopping and buying things without thinking too much about it.

My shopping place of choice: eBay. I thought, since I'm saving up for an Epson projector that I'll get in June for my Wii, I'd get additional peripherals for my console. So I got an SD card Wii adapter, a cooling fan stand and two rechargeable batteries with dock. For a total cost of USD21.30. Sooooo much cheaper than if I had got the stuff off of Amazon. The whole Wii accessory-buying started because I received an email from Amazon about cool new stuff for the Wii. I was thinking of getting it from them and getting the stuff shipped via comGateway but then I did the wise thing and checked out eBay first. Saved me a ton.

Another thing I was looking at on Amazon which a couple of weeks ago was not available on eBay was the facial soap I've been using, Pelican Deitanseki Charcoal and Clay bar soap. The one I've been using is half-finished and I think it's been more than half a year since I started the bar. It's pretty pricey on Amazon, a lil bit over 12 bucks without shipping and that's to my US address. I would still have had to pay for shipping to my country after the fact. For the heck of it, I searched on eBay and found a seller from Japan (where the soap originates) and they offered S&H to my home country for a very reasonable USD4.50. Plus, the soap was selling for USD7.80 a bar. I thought, might as well get 2 at one go since they last so long and I won't have to think about replenishing for another two years. Total paid? USD22.60. Woohoo!

So those are the lil things I've been wanting but hesitated to buy previously. Although, I have to say I'm not done shopping online just yet. I have one major thing I'm waiting to buy from Target. I'm waiting for the Cynthia Vincent shoe collection to drop on April 18th so I can get the USD29.99 Gladiator Wedge in cognac. I'll be stalking the site on the day the collection goes on sale as I KNOW they'll be sold out as soon as it drops. In the process, since I want to qualify for free shipping, I might purchase something from the Liberty of London collection. I have my eye on the multi-coloured tunic and the mens blue long-sleeve shirt. It's an either or. Whatever is available the day I make the purchase. Can't wait!

just going with the flow

I was talking with a couple of my girlfriends about my feelings on turning an age closer to thirty. I was feeling a bit depressed about having come much nearer to writing a three instead of a two and having to tick a whole other age bracket when filling in forms. My collective group of pals commisserated with me, well, the ones who have turned a year older along with me anyways. The ones whose birthdays just passed last year are mocking us. But the more I thought about it, I decided not to let age get me down. I am going to embrace this year's birthday and celebrate it like I've not done before.

I would say, now that my birthday week has come and gone, it was fun and fantabulous and celebrated to the fullest. I had seven seperate celebrations; big family dinner, small family dinner, lunch with home branch of company, dinner with best gal pal no 1 (twice), dinner with group of best gal pals (2,3,4,5,6) and lunch with best gal pal 7. It was great, yes, all that eating most likely didn't help in my quest to lose weight but I wasn't counting calories that week. I ate heartily and the smorgasboard of food was delectable; seafood fresh from the ocean (the day's catch), pizza palooza, dim sum, gourmet burgers, Italian fine dining, Tony Roma's, and Asian fusion. I had fun with each and every one who helped me celebrate turning a year older. Thank you, all of you, for making my birthday this year such a success! I love each and every one of you more than you guys will ever know. My family, goes without question, you are the number one priority in my life. My various gal pals, we have stuck together through thick and thin, some of us since we were mere seven year olds. I'll always have your backs girls, just as you've always had mine!

In fact, I am not stopping at just my brithday day, week, month. I've decided this is just Zlena's Year of Complete Indulgence; to just pander to my every whim and fancy. No more chastising myself, this is the year you treat yourself to whatever your heart desires, Zlena. So, pamper yourself to your heart's content. Buy whatever you wish, do whatever you want to do, let the constraints that hold you back from experiencing life to the fullest fall away and just embrace yourself; every single thing about you, flaws and all.

This year has been relatively great for me thus far. I don't want to look at things negatively anymore. I'm just going to try being positive about the things that has happened to me since 2010 began. I've had a pay bump, I've been back to see my family 3 times already this year, I've received a declaration of love, been pursued by an ex-crush, got hit on by a younger guy who thought I was 25 (that was flattering, thanks S!), been following a relatively steady 1-hr 7 days a week exercise routine since the last week of February and bought my first truly really expensive handbag. Maybe I can achieve more this year if I make more of a conscious effort to make things happen for me. So, here's to a year of living frivolously!

when i go off the rails, i really go off the rails!

I give up. I'm now going to take the approach of que sera, sera and cest la vie. Every time I write myself up chastising my questionable behavior on one thing or another, I end up with figurative pie on my face.

I went to KL for the Malaysia GP last weekend and somehow managed to blow more than USD2K in a day. A DAY! $2030 was on a handbag. Yes, yes, SOB! I just royally outdid myself. Despite all my protestations that I will not go beyond the $1K mark, I just had to top myself excessively by not just going over the limit a little bit but by a whole thousand dollars! At the end of it all, I'm now in posession of a gorgeous brown Miu Miu satchel in deerskin leather and subtle gold hardware. Apparently the only one in its shade in Malaysia. I'll admit it, the exclusivity of the item did sway my descision a tad.

Oh, I blame my eldest sister for this. She was the one who lured us (my other sis and I) into Miu Miu because she was lusting over the bag after seeing it on some fashionista's shoulder during her business trip to HK two weeks ago. She couldn't get the bag out of her head so we went to Miu Miu in search of her holy grail satchel. And lo and behold, there it was, in the exact same shade of denim blue she wanted. The same shade as the one worn by the HK girl as she traipsed into a Starbucks. She got it off of the display and the moment it sat on her shoulder, her whole being was transformed. I can't believe that a bag has that much transformative power but this bag is just gorgeous personified. Then the sales assisstant, whose name is Chloe, decided to lay all her cards on the table and tell us about the limited edition version as well as a brown hued version she was keeping in the back.

So, out came the lim ed which was in a gorgeous pleated leather but, well, the whiteness of the bag was a turn-off. I wouldn't spend so much on a white bag cos I'd definitely get plenty irritated once I start seeing marks on it. Then she brought forth the brown shade and my second sis immediately fell in love with it. Funnily enough, although I thought the bag was a beautiful piece, I didn't want it. I looked at it on the shoulders of my sisters and thought, yup, this bag is one good-looking specimen but my heart did not desire it as theirs did.

My second sis was torn. She wanted the bag, lusted over it but could she afford to make such a big purchase when there were car payments, insurance coverages and three kids, two of which are school-going children, to feed? She was leaning towards a 'Yes' when sanity took over and she declined. The brown bag stood proudly next to my eldest sis as it watched her denim hued sister be lovingly caressed by its new owner (eldest sis had already made the decision to get the bag after making a call to her equally bag-a-holic friend). I looked at the brown bag on the seat and said aloud, "Lemme see what all the hullabaloo is all about". I strode over to the brown bag and picked up the shoulder strap, placed it on my shoulder and that's when the feeling of adoration washed over me. It felt great, the supple deerskin leather against my clothed body and the smell was heavenly. I could feel myself falling in love with it but the part of myself that was still in posession of my common sense told me to put down the bag and move across the room from it. And that's what I did. I put it down and moved away.

But the shopping devil that is my eldest sis, she beckoned me over, told me to wear the bag in front of the mirror to get the full effect. She told me how good I looked with the bag on my shoulder, how it complemented my whole outfit, how it was meant to be on my shoulder. I protested at first, although they sounded weak even to my ears, before walking over and picking it up and moving towards the mirror. The reflection I saw back was devastatingly breathtaking. I saw myself and this bag together in the mirror and it was just a match made in heaven! I did a couple of turns and poses and again heard the voice of sanity telling me to relinquish my hold on the bag and again I obeyed. I put it down. Chloe decided to get us drinks. My eldest sis started her campaign, wooing me with words of admiration after I said I couldn't justify another luxury handbag purchase and offering me a 12 month installment plan when I told her I didn't want to be in debt. When she was making the decision to get the bag and we were conferring on the price tag being RM6600, I had whispered in her ear that that was an affordable and reasonable amount considering she has dropped more on a Chanel Jumbo. When I look back at that moment, I start wondering, what the hell has happened to me? I have been lured in by the designer handbag sirens and I now think that two thousand dollar handbags are REASONABLE? AFFORDABLE? What the hell have I been smoking, man?!?!?

She won. My resolve weakened, I could not let this brown shade get away from us. It being the only one of its kind in Malaysia, I might as well keep it in the family. I took up my sisters installment plan offer and by the time Chloe came back with the drinks, she was delighted to find that she would be getting more commission out of the crazy bag sisters today. So, now both my eldest and I are in possession of the same Miu Miu deerskin satchel but in different hues. Her bag-a-holic friend is ecstatic for the both of us. I told my second sis she is welcome to borrow the bag from time to time when it's around.

Honestly, do I regret buying the bag? No, I don't. What I do regret is that I've become one of the people I said I wouldn't become. The kind of person who would spend so much on a material possession. I love that bag but will she be the prelude that starts a vicious slide? I hope not but since I have not exactly been a person of my word, I shall not say anything else on the subject. How I've changed from that first post I made back in October 2008 in which I eschewed paying ridiculous amounts of money for a piece of leather to today as I write about breaking that one thousand dollar barrier. I have nothing left to say so here I leave you with a glimpse of my new Miu Miu as it sits on my lap. If only you could smell it too :)

crossing the finish line

What did I manage to take from the Malaysia GP 2010 this weekend? That I miss Kimi Raikkonen in F1 so, so, so, so, sooooooo very much. And to a much lesser degree, I realized that I love the sport too much to not watch the races.

I'm going to start following the racedays again. I won't go all Kimi-crazy and watch the qualis as well cos I find I like the whole being surprised by who's on pole and the whole starting grid shakedown.

I missed the first 2 races although I did just google the winners after the fact, finding that Alonso won in the first GP of the season in Bahrain and Jenson was first in Albert Park. Looking at the results of the first two races, it would appear as if its a battle between the 2 giants again, Ferrari vs McLaren. However, I don't believe its actually indicative of the favourites for this years championship. Ferrari test at Sakir every year and have a great advantage there and Melbourne is always an unpredictable race and will deliver unexpected results.

From the race in Sepang, I actually feel Red Bull will be on form this year again. I'd bet on Seb Vettel to win the championship this year. He's looking hungry for it and I would love it if he did win what with his great relationship with Kimi and all. Seb Vettel drove with conviction and I was ecstatic on his win. I loved how I was just yelling for various drivers; Schumi, Nico, Heikki, Jarno, Seb and Lewis. I enjoyed the feeling that I didn't have anything to lose in this race.

Our seats were great. We sat at the South Tower and were able to see two stretches of the racetrack which gave us double the action. I was the first to spot Schumi's unfortunate early retirement due to the wheel nut coming off of his car. He even waved to the grandstand crowd as he was taken back to the pits on the back of a motorcycle. I fancy that he personally saw our enthusiastic group wearing his t-shirt and waved at us as a sign of acknowledgement. We saw the retirement of one of the Renaults and at the end, Nico, Heikki/Jarno (couldn't really tell who), Seb and my personal fave Lewis waved to the crowds and I'm hoping to me as well (yes, yes, I'm nutty that way). Well, the story I've been telling is that Lewis, who was minding his own business trying to pick up debris for car weightage, saw my enthusiastic waving and lifted his hand as acknowledgement.

Anyways, although I thoroughly enjoyed my second time at a live race, it did not detract from my missing Kimi and his driving. He was still on my mind this weekend as Kimster was in Jordan for the third stage in the WRC and incredibly he has managed to score his first four WRC championship points in only his third outing which is a big deal. He finally completed all three days and finished eigth overall for this leg. I'm so elated for him as apparently the Jordan Rally is the most technically challenging circuit for Rally drivers and to be able to place in this race proves he's the maestro of four wheels that I've always known he is. I hope he does even better in the next stage. I also enjoyed watching him dress up in gladiator garb for Red Bull promotional appearance. He doesn't participate like that in F1, avoids it like the plague, in fact, so I thought it was really cute of him to be so willing to put on the outfit.

Ok, off to relive magical Kimi F1 moments. Am watching the 2007 Belgium GP that I just finished downloading :)

UPDATE:
Is it crazy that I had tears in my eyes as I was watching the Belgium race? I was missing the Kimi action so much that I found my eyes welling up. I think that's crazy and I bet you do too.

off to the races!

Well, this is it - my first F1 race post-Kimi Raikkonen era. I can't help the slight feelings of betrayal I'm experiencing but I don't deny I'm excited as well. Kimi will always remain the F1 driver who cemented my great love for the sport, the one I rooted for wholeheartedly. His successes were my successes, his disappointments, I felt like my own. But today, today I'm going for the pure enjoyment of F1.

I'll be decked out in Mercedes GP gear. I actually bought an official Mercedes Petronas GP tee with Schumi's name on the left breast and his car number emblazoned on the back in red. I'm sporting this tee with my other two sisters. We decided to support Mercedes in honour of the Malaysian GP title sponsor Petronas. We're also going to be rooting for Lotus F1 cause of the Malaysian connection.

Other than that, I'll probably give a few shout-outs for Lewis as well. He's the only other driver out of the rest of the bunch I can stomach the thought of.

I'm excited for the race, I've completely missed the high whine of an F1 engine, I miss the dueling on the track, I miss the spirit of competition. I've missed you F1 and I'm glad to be back in the fold. Let's go racing!

watching.....the final season of LOST - the story thus far

Since the first epi of this last season of LOST, I've ended up thinking loudly in my head, at the end of each episode, WTF?!?!

Not only have the past 5 seasons raised multiple incredulous questions but considering this is supposed to be the swansong season for the series, I can't believe they're piling on more puzzles. It's episode 10 now, they don't have that many left before we come to the conclusion. I think they should have some of the stuff answered already instead of giving us more to think about.

Hehehe, don't get me wrong, I love the show, every WTF moment I've had I've loved. A show that constantly manages to throw you a curveball, one that you didn't see coming a mile away, how can you not love a show like that?