Peeks At The Shop

i love skirts

I am one of those girls who have more skirts and dresses than pants. As of this moment I only have one pair of jeans, and three pairs of linen capris that I use for running errands by public commute (not counting jogging pants and pajama bottoms). I have at least ten dresses. I have about twenty skirts, if not more, all A-line and mostly printed. I find skirts to be comfortable and pretty and they are very forgiving. A-line skirts are perfect for my body shape and size. It is also very easy to dress them up or down.

I recently discovered these wonderful pretty skirts from grevilleadesign at Etsy and I thought I found skirt heaven. Here are some of my favorite pieces:

skirts by grevilleadesign

will be office lady today

Drinking a hot cup of coffee while I slowly nudge myself to full wakefulness. I will be out all day today, and I will be working in an office --- a place I have rarely been in the past 1.5 years! It's for a project where all I have to do is interview groups of people for a research study. It will be a bit of a long day -- I leave by 9AM and the interview sessions begin at around 10AM. Estimating by the schedules given to me I will finish at around 8:30PM, or even 9PM if things get delayed along the way.

I have decided to wear a nice pair of jeans (since I will be interviewing mostly college students and I don't want to go all formal on them -- I want them to feel relaxed and comfortable with me) and a plain soft slightly frilly top paired with a chunky necklace for a splash of color. Hopefully this achieves some sort of dressed-up casual that will not intimidate nor alienate the young people I will be talking to. (On the plus side, this top is super comfy, which will matter after I've been sitting for more than six hours in the same room asking the same questions.)

This necklace is a steal -- I bought it during one of my out-of-town projects in Davao City. There is a popular strip of stores selling local goods and I bought a string of these beads and had them made into a necklace. It came out much much cheaper than if I had bought a similar piece back in Manila. I hope to go back there and buy more "raw" beads for my crafts.

Have to get ready now. Hope to have some sanity and strength left to write again tonight!

beginnings

About a couple of weeks ago, I decided (and realized) that I can, and should, pursue more than one job. For one thing, the business I am running now is still very much my old life with a few modifications. If I really want to try and do something really different and new I should ease out a bit from that comfort zone. At the same time, I should pay more attention to what makes me happy and excited to work on every day.

I have fallen in love with vintage and the idea of domestic bliss. Add to that a layer of being more earth-conscious. The whole thing put together paints a picture that is almost an antithesis of what I have been doing for the past sixteen years. It  was a difficult thought for me to grasp because I do not do very well with transitions. I like and welcome change but the journey from A to B tends to pain me a lot.

So two or three weeks ago I had a talk with my sister and we mapped out our lives and our hearts. We were both surprised at what we discovered and what we had to accept, and therefore what we have to take action for if we are to lead fulfilled lives and not waste our time.

One result of that is the decision to slowly build a small shop of pretty things (handmade/recycled/repurposed) and vintage. We will try out the whole concept in a garage sale-type set up on the first of December. Then we will work out the kinks and test drive it again about a month or two after. We will do this until we work out the formula and then we officially launch. Now all we need is a bit more capital. Plus a lot of research and studying.

Meanwhile, with the initial cash we have put aside we have started buying inventory and collecting raw materials. Lots of hard work and leg work! But at the end of a really tiring day the feeling of satisfaction I feel is fresh and different. It was a bit of a revelation. I thought I was set for the past sixteen years. I realize I was not.

Yesterday I stumbled into a midnight sale at the mall and was able to get a cheap clothes rack. When I got home my sister and I eagerly hung our first few pieces and imagined a happy future.

I even got some music to play in the shop ^_^