Prepping Up

I’m no sneakers fan. For a 5-foot-nothing me, sky highs are my bestfriends. You know what they say, “The higher the heels, the closer to God.” I had a very light dilemma when I initially decided to spend my birthday out of the country this year. I thought it was time for me to buy some Chucks to comfortably stroll the city. On the other hand, these rubber soles will not match the outfits I had in mind. Waaah! (Hashtag,firstworldproblem) I’m sure you totally understand where I’m coming from, right? Anyway, I have a cray confession: It took me more than 5 years to own my second Chuckies (first one was stolen by my sister) because whenever I’m in the mall ready to squander, I would look at a stiletto and the sneakers and then back to the stiletto and you know what happens next! ;) It’s like buying flats is a waste of money and more like a committing crime for me. Fortunately, me and mah friends made a stopover in Baguio 2 weeks ago just to rummage the thrift shops and I was able to find a sturdy Chuck Taylors in mint condition which I got by hinting snide remarks to the saleslady. I mean, how can it be eleven hundred? I told her it’s a rip-off and that I’d rather wait for a sale at SM and get something brand new! So there, after a few arguments, I made tawad for 800Php. Yee! Sweet! Nice steal! So there, this is the preppy-ish version of me. Btw, no, I did not bring the thing in Singapore. Over-baggage can ruin a perfect vacay

you know. Peace!

ikr,

Miss Erl ♥

Photos by: @JR Burgos

Black and Blue

Before I start with the run down, I am begging you this early on to try your utmost best to ignore my size. Yes, thank you, thank you. Aside from over-using my weight gain as an excuse to slack on my blogger duties, I've been plainly unhappy with work lately. Simply put, stress makes you ultimately lazy. It’s unlikely that my boss would waste his time and read my posts but I know that this is not the proper venue to vent and I’d rather be safe than sorry. Sigh.

No doubt all of us have heard a lot of the “how to’s” about day to night dressing. And heads up ya’ll, this is one of them boring tips, but, with a twist! A boring twist. Haha! What I mean is that normal people who do normal things are those who would go to dinner or a movie or a night out with friends after office hours. For us graveyard zombies, a.k.a. call center agents here in the PI, we often go to “inuman” on broad daylight. Well, gone are those days for me, that was the routine during my first 2 years working in a BPO company. Now, I only drink coffee with friends, like a lot, which happens before my shift starts just like today. I met up with my friend Nadine (who took the pictures), I needed to play my role as the girlfriend who will stick by her side on a momentous day of her life, moral support that is, because she was having her long hair chopped. Surprisingly, we both survived the challenge without shedding tears. I’m so proud of us ladies! (you may roll your eyes now)

Back to the outfit, this is basically a no-brainer. It’s not a must but what I did is I stick with same color blocking which is black and blue. Using a peplum top as the main staple, I switched from my sandals to my sky highs and from my short shorts to my Korina Sanchez inspired pencil skirt. In a snap, I transformed from a comfortable on the go get up to business attire sleek look. Ta-dah! 

In my age, coffee with previous co-workers, old classmates, ex-boyfriend, whowhatnots, is the way to catch up and so I have mastered the art of switching from one outfit to another hassle-free. I am a commuter and you might wonder, I do leave my shoes in my pedestal at work so yes, I travel in flats. OK that’s it, back to work busy bees!

black and blue,

Miss Erl ♥

Photos by: @JR Burgos

Perfect Imperfections

On repeat: “All your curves and all your edges, All your perfect imperfections”. Aww, too sweet! I am getting carried away daydreaming with John Legend’s “All of me”, a song he penned for his wife. Who wouldn't want to be loved for who you are despite of the flaws? Sigh.

On that note, I am terribly gaining a lot of weight lately and no, not loving a single bit of it. Whenever I prep myself for work, I spend depressing amount of time looking for anything that I can still possibly wear without popping any buttons. I marvel at how the pearls I sewed onto these denim shorts some years ago are still intact. What’s not so surprising is how many times I had to jump to get to fit into it. Well, well, that’s life. It’s already May, five months have passed and nothing happened to the New Year’s resolution as usual. I already passed on several summer excursion invites because of my beach-unworthy body. Soo depressing but I just can’t stop eating Ministop Toppers during lunch breaks at the office. (Cristina this is your entire fault!) Not to mention their to-die-for fried chicken. When you see the freshly cooked thigh parts on display, I mean who can resist that?

If you’re having the same dilemma, here’s my quick fix. Notice that I was also wearing a “cold shoulder” top on my previous blog? That is because it’s breezy, comfortable and very fashionable. For some reason I like showing a lot of skin (not sure why) and since I don’t have the right to do that, I resulted to turn to discreet outfits like these. It doesn't hug the body and expose the flabs but there are still peek-a-boos here and there that keeps the outfit interesting. Besides, I do love the shape of my shoulders so let’s focus on that for the mean time. Say, be happy with what you have while working for what you want.

far from purrfect,

Miss Erl ♥

Photos by: JR Burgos

Edited and Approved by: @mhuilar

Brag that Bag

(Waaaah! I don’t have a single entry for the month of April! Shame on you Erlyn!!!)

What would be a productive way to spend Labor Day than to blog? (Weh?) A great way to start afresh this first day of May!? (Weh?)

Alright, alright, I would totally understand if my readers start calling me a “joke”. Aside from being busy, I was relatively lazy lately. I have a real job and will always favor sleep over essay writing. I am so done with school assignments a decade ago and blogging (at least for me) is a recreation that is mostly effective if performed during spare time which according to Lorde, "That kind of luxe just ain't for us." *insert emoji rolling its eyes

Enough alibis and now on the main topic… For me, there is one important fact to remember when following fashion blogs: You’re not them. Like when I started to take notice of these bloggers sporting this uhmazing Céline Paris bags. I know right? Totally drooling over it ‘til now. I guess like every one out of 10000+++ girls, at first I also didn't know how much it costs. After a few clicks on Google, there, my dreams were shattered. Now, fret not, there’s always a plan B. No, I’m not talking about rushing over to Greenhills to buy some “Class A's”. Please, at all cost, don’t do that. Months have I spent on every corner of shopping malls looking for a look-alike and there, at the Aldo store in Trinoma, I saw this handbag and I started to hear angels singing hallelujah in the background. With a smile crossing from ear to ear, I started a countdown until the 13th month pay, the day when I will finally get to own a pseudo “IT” bag... silently praying the stocks won’t run out. Yes that’s my world; I know I can never afford the original as an average earning individual. Never ever spend your time envying rich kids, you will never be one. Instead, take them as a cue for inspiration while keeping up with the trends.

We ladies naturally have this innate desire to carry all our necessities as if we are moving in to a new place, looking everyday like there’s a weekend getaway or an overnight stay. I am guilty of that and this chic bag I bought last Christmas was too perfect, I'm almost using it every day. It comes in handy since its medium-sized that can fit the essentials (make-up kit, planner, camera, and even high heels!) and it’s in black so it pairs up well with almost any outfit combination, making it the go-to for all situations. I’m just so in love with this bag. Period.

busy lazy bee,

Miss Erl ♥

Photos by:JR Burgos