30 days down!

I feel almost guilty that Lady Luck gave me so much attention recently. I'm so not used to it 'cause my luck is normally pretty bad, but lately I feel like I'm on a roll! So many good news~ First, I got hired from a job position that I wanted for a super long time (the same job that made me feel super poopy before 'cause I thought I was gonna wait for 7 more months to hear back from them), two this blog has officially started for 30 days and I didn't give up on it! And three, I officially completed the 30 days challenge of not buying any clothes!! I feel like this calls for some sort of celebration~

I'm in the mood for something with a little celebratory atmosphere to it, like this bunny piece by Emily Temple Cute

The bunnies are sort of Easter, and this might be a bit too fancy to casually walk on the street in. But its' polka-dot with purple combination and whimsical feeling puts me under a spell~
Emily Temple Cute is a Japanese brand. Originally, the creators made children's clothes with vintage-inspired prints, and named their brand after the adorable 1930s child icon Shirley Temple. After the Shirley Temple clothes came out, a lot of big girls loved them and fought-after the few biggest sized (made for girls 12 to 14 years old) items available. So the creators decided they might as well make a whole other brand just for these girls, and there came Emily Temple Cute. Don't quote me on this though 'cause I'm just suspecting since Shirley Temple and Emily Temple are under the same Shirley Temple Corporation.

Sadly, Emily Temple Cute, like a lot of other stuff that I talk about on this blog, falls into the stuff-I'll-never-afford category. As a form of comfort I remind myself that their sizes are made for girls under 165cm and aren't suitable for my body type (I'm 173cm). I think being restricted by your body-type when shopping is a really great thing, because it can stop you from spending so much! For example, if every pair of shoes you see has one in your size, sure your choices would triple, but so would your debt! Same goes for clothes. If I was the right shape to wear Emily Temple Cute stuff, it's quite possible I'd be in 100000 dollar debt (yes death by dresses). When you put it that way I really think it's a good thing that we have variety in body-shapes and we can't wear everything we see. So, don't be sad if you're too tall, too short, too fat or skinny by today's standards, it's really the God's way of protecting you from financial disaster : P. Sometimes what appears unlucky is actually a blessing in disguise.

today's craving

24/30 days!
 I'm itching to buy some new clothes. Only 6 days more~~~

I want this dress badly:

from zara
Saw it in the store and it's actually a bit longer than how it appears in the picture. I think the stripes are so cute and versatile, it'll look cute with a blazer, or tshirts underneath and sneakers for everyday wear. I also really want a pair of Keds.
I also have a big want for a beige trenchcoat but that'll have to wait 'til the fall or next year.. (I know it's sad I bookemarked them justleavemealoneokay?)
 
so many wants, so little money~  starting in the upcoming few months, I will be finding a job in Toronto and going to live there. That gets me very excited!!! I've lived in Toronto for short summers before, but this time, it's going to be for real! (speaking of which, I irrationally feel like that city is calling me, 'cause often when I go there,  something's left behind, like I've lost a binder, a book, a hat on different occasions. I'd like to think that's the city's way of saying "don't go Moo don't go!" hahaha.) But, just when I'm doing a happy dance in my head, the little logic fairy tells me: "Don't forget there's rent and other necessities, girl. So even when you do, you won't be able to afford all these things." (what a party pooper, I know right?)

Maybe it's a good thing though, British Philosopher Bertrand Russell said, "To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness."

forbidden fruit

Last night when we talked about the self-contradicting Chinese Marie Claire magazines, my boyfriend said, "Maybe they just wanted to mess with the little girls."

We always like things that we shouldn't have. Humans are really self-contradicting creatures. Marie Claire took advantage of that.

Presenting the huge collection of ads and glamorous photoshopped pictures, tempting us with all those shiny, pretty, expensive objects, and then telling us in the last page, "material things are bad for you", is like showing a little kid a big bag of M&Ms and then telling him "You know, you really shouldn't be eating this!"

The forbidden fruit always tastes sweeter. Why did Eve bite the apple? Why did Pandora open the box? They are not evil, only human. Where's the fun of things if we just did everything as we should?
Marie Claire has reverse-psychology all figured out, she is one clever lady.

*sigh* On a different note, it IS hard to resist those damn forbidden fruits!! I am trying to not buy clothes for 30 days. I'm on 23 days and it has been harrrd x.x. I still browsed shopping websites everyday, filled the imaginary online shopping cart with all sorts of must-have stuff, and even started gluing magazine cut-outs of wanted items in my sketchbook. I wonder what's going to happen when this challenge ends. Am I going to go crazy and blow all my money? God of Willpower, I need you!

Chinese Marie Claire

The Chinese Marie Claire is REALLY heavy. I mean, it's physically humongous, carrying it in your arms is like holding a baby. I feel so cheated because after all the trouble of flipping through that encyclopedia, I was only reading 10 pages of it.

First, there are hundreds of pages of advertisement, printed on very massive thick paper, and then followed by a ton of articles on what the latest fashion trend is, what clothes you should buy, how to do your make-up, what kind of make-up you should buy, what kind of new gadget you should buy, the newest LV or Hermez bag, etc. Then, a few columns on sex therapy. And then, a teeny tiny 5 page section is dedicated to editorials. Oftentimes these things emphasize on the insignificance of material things, like "how to save your money", "spiritual life vs. the material life", "Why taking a higher earning job may not be good for you".

 I am really confused by these authors... because it seems like after all that effort of making you carry a magazine the size of a 2-year-old and flipping through all those pages, they in the end just wanted to tell me "Hey, all the stuff you just read was crap, don't buy anything. In fact, don't even buy this magazine anymore."

So, what do they really want??
I'm going to sound totally random, but this kind of reminds me of the concept of 本音と建前 (concept from Japanese psychologist Takeo Doi, that society or people often have a visade, covering up the truth).
At first, it seems as though the tatemae (visade) of Marie Claire is the colourful pages of ads, and honne (true intention) is a the message for people to have substance and not attached to material things. But really, I think those hidden articles are the tatemae, they are there to give an impression of substance. This might a sort of strategy to attract more readers, and oftentimes those readers might just be the ones who make enough to afford the LV bags.

lash paint

A few days ago, I was infected with the "couldn't-move-feet" syndrome at a shop display while shopping with mom. And out of the kindness in her heart, mommy dearest got me this treasure:

I'm going sound like a salesman, haha. This sweet-looking little lady is so talented, she makes your eyelashes look longer while smiling like roses.
I find good mascara quite hard to come by these days. Because I have Asian eyelashes, which means no eyelashes! So I need mascaras that cling on to any bit of eyelash you have. If you are like me, you might find this a good mascara. This mascara to your eyelash is like magnets to steel.

I really enjoy painting eyelashes, as soon as I have them on, I instantly feel 100x more feminine ~!

The other Dolly girls on display

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Today was Mom's Day. I made curry for my mom, and watched Coraline together. I hope you all enjoyed your day with mom!