my next techie get - the Panasonic DMC-G3

Ever since I first heard about the micro four thirds category, I wanted one. I like taking pictures but I'm not serious about it. I want an upgrade from my point-and-shoot Canon Ixus which will provide better quality pics without the heft of a DSLR and the "creation" of the micro four thirds cameras fit the bill. The desire to get one increased manifold after my silly Canon Ixus "hung" on me during the Linkin Park concert and essentially corrupted all my really fantastic close-ups of Brad Delson, Mike Shinoda, Chester Bennington, Phoenix and Joe Hahn. Yes, yes, the Linkin Park F1 experience I have yet to write about - I'm in a funk about the stupid photos. In all fairness, I guess it's only fair I do not have any photos since I didn't even manage to take one of Rob Bourdon who I claim to absolutely adore. Anyways, I didn't think a camera could hang on you in the first place. The internal crack on the digital viewfinder screen has also compounded the need I have to get something new.

Enter the Panasonic DMC-G3. How did I decide that this is the camera? I googled "best micro four thirds cameras 2011" and the overwhelming results were in favour of this model :D Ok, I also did some digging on the specs and whatnot and though some of the details go way over my very shallow knowledge of photography in the first place, I am sold!

I won't bother going over the specs and pretending I know much about it other than it's got 16 megapixels and has a rotating touchscreen viewfinder which is what caught my interest in the first place and I left it at that. The price is a bit steep at roughly $640 to $699 but it does come with one of those fancy interchangeable lens. I really like this one but am still keeping my options open. Will see what this year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales come up with before making a final decision.

F21 Columbus Day Spree

LOL, by this time, I have given up on myself. I, Zlena, love to shop and shop I will.

My Forever 21 Labor Day haul just arrived to Homeland last week (along with my OpenSky Sibu Sea Buckthorn health supplements). And then Columbus Day came along, I had a look at the site and ended up with a pair of jeans, pants and a tank. For a total of USD50.84.

The item I really wanted was the pants. I've been really liking this style for the past month or so and the week I was in Homeland, ended up getting myself a pair of harem pants - a style I thought I would NEVER get into. Surprisingly, the cut is really flattering and I can't wait to figure out how it'll fit into my wardrobe for the next couple of weeks. Anyways, I think these cuffed hem pants (as they are called) in the shade charcoal from Forever 21 look like a more tame version of the harem pants. I am really into the tapered leg look right now for reasons unknown :) The pants cost me a whopping USD24.80. Whopping because it wasn't on offer at all - got this full price. Something I rarely do but this shows how much I wanted the pants. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

I edited my cart multiple times during the two days I was mulling over the pants. An item I had in my cart even disappeared because of my wishy-washyness. I looked over a bunch of things and in the end, decided to "splurge" and get the Premium Denim Classic Wide Leg Jean in dark denim. The jeans are on trend with the whole seventies revival currently going on. Although if I'm honest, I feel like the seventies revival thing has been going on for the past couple of seasons :) Anywho, I own quite a number of jeans but sadly, I feel like none seem to flatter the figure anymore (reads: I feel fat). Instead of splurging on some designer denim, I thought I'd just get some Forever 21 premium jeans. This way, I do not need to be too bummed if the pants don't fit the way I imagine them. The jeans were going for a small discount as part of the site's Daily Specials. It normally costs $27.80 but on that day was going for $22.24. That's a savings of a lil over 5 bucks.

Last but not least, I decided to get the racerback tank in black that went for USD3.80. I bought a bunch of racerback tanks from F21 back in July which I liked and since I never got one in black, thought I might as well round out my 50 bucks for free shipping with this tank. I've been trying out ensembles with my newly acquired harem pants and found a combo of the racerback tank tucked into the pants and paired with my Sole Society Imola heels make for a combo that screams casual chic. Well, IMHO that is, lol.

I decided to give my AMEX a rest since it already is burdened with the YSL biker tote and put this on my other card. Surprisingly, this time F21 has managed this order relatively quick as I put the order in on Friday and the order has already received a tracking code. Usually it takes at least four days before there is a status change, sometimes longer. Not that I'm complaining cos then the stuff will arrive along with my Bluefly and Sole Society order. Oh, as well as my second order of Sibu Sea Buckthorn supplements from OpenSky. I haven't actually tried the stuff out but the other day I had 20 bucks worth of credit on OpenSky which needed to get used before they expired so I decided to go for another box of the supplements (which are USD21). I ended up paying just 5 bucks - four dollars for shipping and the balance of USD1 for the supplements. These should arrive in Portland by the end of this week - or so says the email from the OpenSky customer service. Whatever it is, all these things will be shipped to Homeland together and I'll be able to get them when I go back in early November. Hehe, the line rhymes. Lol, am such a nerd.

DISCLAIMER: Images all derived from Forever 21.

my ysl from bluefly

Major procrastinator alert! I know I'm supposed to blog about my LP experience but a part of me just wants the night to be my own a lil longer. I do realize this blog is a closed open journal so I really wouldn't be sharing the memories with anyone but myself. And I know its oxymoron-ish to leave it open yet call it closed but that's the way I want it. If someone happens to stumble upon this place, so be it but I will not actively pimp it out. I don't allow any sort of google linking after my write-up about my brush with The Amazing Race got some attention from some diehard fans of the show. I realized that I was uncomfortable having my life dissected by people in forums. Not that they said anything bad about me but still, it was a totally surreal experience to read about yourself as these people passed comments on the stuff you've put out there.

Aside from being a procrastinator, I also love to go off topic :) This post is supposed to be about my new YSL Biker tote that I got off of Bluefly last week. As we speak, the tote is headed for my Portland addy. When I make a trip back to Homeland in early November, I should be able to get my hands on the latest addition to my designer collection. And as is the norm with any of my online purchases, I CAN'T WAIT!

The handbag I got is from the Yves Saint Laurent 2010 collection so it really isn't one of the "in season" bags nor is it one of YSL's many IT bags. Neither gives me pause, I simply don't care about things like that. All I know is, I saw it on the site when I was getting my Linea Pelle Dylan messenger bag and fell in love with it then. It's a design that isn't fussy, looks roomy, functional, chic yet sturdy and, as is a requirement of mine for bags of this nature, is in black. It is named the Biker tote. The RRP for this leathery goodness is USD1895 but at Bluefly, the tote was discounted to USD1439.99. I may have liked the look of it as a heavy duty carrier that will be able to fit all the stuff I like to lug in my purse but for that price, I wasn't gonna bite.

When I got my Linea Pelle Dylan messenger, I also received a "Welcome To Bluefly" discount code. I could get 10% off of any purchases worth USD100 and above. I saw that and thought of the YSL tote. At 10% off it would then be USD1295.99. Still pricey so I decided to hold off on it, I had until October 14th to make good of the coupon code. Last week, as a member of Bluefly I receive members only e-letters and in this particular one it mentioned a 24-hours only 25% further reduction on selected items on the site. I clicked through to the site via the email and found myself at the first page of the 'Handbags and Accessories' page staring at my coveted tote going for $1,079.99. I quickly ran the calculator app and put in an additional 10% off of the price shown which gave me a total of USD971.99. Less than a thousand bucks for a huge leather YSL tote? I am so in. I had no plans to get any high end purchases this year - NO PLANS. But here I am, the proud owner of my first YSL handbag. I'm cool with it :)

I guess, to look at, you'd probably wonder what's so special about it. It looks like an ordinary large, roomy tote slapped with a YSL tag. And that's just it. Not the bit about the YSL tag but the large, roomy tote part. I have wanted a decent, sizable tote to carry around my stuff and have never quite found what I'm looking for. With this purchase, I hope I don't have to look any longer. Till a couple of years after I've worn this out that is.

It is made of smoothed, grained calfskin leather with a black canvas lining and polished silvertone hardware. It has an open top with no closure, three sets of snaps at top of bag on both sides can be snapped together for a ruched look, it has a total of 4 adjustable zip details to the corners for added depth, spiked stud detail at top sides, four metal spiked stud feet at base, double leather handles measuring approximately 16½'' long with 8'' drop and a non detachable hanging zippered pouch on the inside. The bag's dimensions are approximately 12'' at widest x 14'' tall at center x 7½'' deep (when fully zipped and snapped) and it weighs 3½ lbs. And as is one of the things I make sure of before I make any designer purchase, I make sure it's NOT made in China (am looking at you, Rebecca Minkoff!) - this bag is pure Italian goodness!

As can be seen from the image of the figure modeling the bag above, on the 5'6" tall "model", the bag looks pretty substantial :) The photos below are of the interior of the bag. The bag appears to be divided by the zippered pouch. I am not sure if that is really how the bag is designed or the angle of the photo makes it appear so. I'm pleased either way.

The total I was charged came up to USD979.94 inclusive of S&H. All in all, a really good buy for the price. From the looks of the tote, I feel I am getting as much "bang for my buck" as the saying goes :D

DISCLAIMER: Images screen capped off of Bluefly.com

end of summer at sole society

A selection of shoes on Sole Society were going for 30% off. I wasn't really looking for another pair since I have made quite a number of shoe purchases in the past couple of months but I decided to look through what was on offer. If I'm honest, I was hoping a pair of canvas espadrilles I had been wanting but couldn't make myself pay $49.90 for would be one of those on offer.

What the heart wants, it gets, I guess. The shoes I wanted, the Madeleine, was still in stock in my size and 30% off. They come in two hues, black and nude. I have always loved the nude version of the shoes and that's what I went for.

These wedges remind me of ballet, ballerinas, the beaches of the Hamptons, gracefulness. Lol, yes, I get all that from looking at a pair of shoes ;P At USD34.90 and free shipping, this is such a great bargain! The shoes are already in Portland and awaiting shipment back to Homeland. But first, it must wait for my other Portland-bound package to arrive :D

DISCLAIMER: Image was screencapped off of Sole Society

LINKIN PARK WAS TOTALLY AWESOME!

I GOT TO EXPERIENCE FAINT LIVE!

NOTE: There's going to be a lot of BOLD and ! peppered throughout this post

If I was gonna pick a moment during that night that was the highlight, getting to hear Faint in all its LIVE glory was the IT MOMENT for me. OMG, LP are just GREAT LIVE PERFORMERS!

If I could express how great I think they are, I'd list all the superlatives available in the world to describe them. Hehehe, I'll do a more immersive write-up on my Linkin Park mosh pit experience - yes, that's right, I was in the second line of the pit, moshing with the best of them. Thought I'd come on here and just write a lil nothing, I just wanted TIWFM not to seem so dead :D

Honestly, part of me really hasn't fully comprehended the whole Linkin Park experience. It's like I cannot really believe I've fulfilled one of my life wishes - yes, I know it's superficial :D Man, I even had a moment where I was rolling around on the grass fighting a teenage boy for Rob's drumstick, LOL.

This is just a preview to how the concert unfolded :)