so i may find (and capture) beauty in unexpected places*

Last night, after months of toying with the idea, I finally gave in. Even if Mercury is still in retrograde, I asked my husband to take out his card and kaskas it for me. (I leave my card stash at home to minimize unnecessary purchases. That is the only strategy that works for me. Haha.)

The kaskas is for this baby:

We found a pretty good deal. I got two 8GB SD cards, a dry box, a tripod, two camera bags (one for Ate Laddie) and an extra battery pack. It's covered by the warranty for a year so to hell with Mercury retrograde. Haha.

I have yet to take it out of its box but I will. Soon.

_____
*inspired by Chico Garcia

trip planner

I'm planning a trip to (somewhere I can't say yet) and just noticed it's almost 4PM. Time passes by quickly talaga if you love what you're doing.

Planning trips is one of the things I love doing the most. I love doing it so much I wish I could turn it into a career.

Hmm, why not?

I really love everything about travel and tourism so maybe I should consider a career shift. I am in the travel industry now but what I'm doing (writing about hotels) is quite not what I really want to do. It's close and I like it but it's still not quite it.

Hehe. Obvious ba? I'm researching about (somewhere I can't say yet) instead of working.

investing in a bag?

In between current issues of O, Simply Her, Reader's Digest and InStyle, I'm also reading The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own by Nina Garcia (yes, borrowed from the library). I'm teaching myself the way of the fashionista, haha.

I love that Nina recognizes the fact that every woman is different and each of us have different needs. In her own words:

There is no ultimate list, as it would go against the very nature of fashion and style, and the frenetic rebelliousness inherent in a truly stylish woman walking down the street wearing that perfectly unexpected mix of color and fabric. Style is dangerously unpredictable.

The One Hundred is just a guide and it's up to the reader to pick the pieces she thinks she needs and make them her own. The book is really a fabulous starting point for women (especially to clueless fashion novices like me) who want to begin building or rebuilding a closet-full of classics.

I'm really learning a lot of interesting stuff along the way. One item that caught my interest is the Investment Bag. I used to think all expensive bags are investment bags, but Nina only named four (yes, four!) bags that will never ever go out of style. These are the bags your grand daughter will want to inherit/steal from you:

1. Chanel 2.55
Why 2.55? Because it was created by Madame Chanel in February 1955. She designed it because she wanted to free up her hands! Each part of the bag says something about its creator. The burgundy lining stands for the uniforms at the convent where she grew up, while the zippered pocket inside the front flap is where she kept her love letters! But I don't think I'm a 2.55 kind of girl. I find it too pretty. Here is the classic in black, an extra large version in red, and an SS09 release in pink:

2. Louis Vuitton Speedy
Of the four, this is the one I'm most likely to buy, if ever I get to that point. If I do make that trip to an LV store and decide to spend my hard-earned moolah on one, I'll probably get a Speedy 30 in Monogram Canvas, Monogram Mini Lin (cotton and linen canvas in ebony or dune) or Epi Leather. The Speedy Epi Leather in cassis and ivory are just gorgeous!
3. Gucci Jackie O or Bouvier
This bag came into the spotlight when then US first lady Jackie Bouvier was photographed with one on her shoulder. The bag was renamed Jackie O because women always looked for and wanted the bag Jackie O had. Now it's called the Bouvier. I'd probably consider this model too, maybe in black GG canvas or python leather:

By the way, girls here adore Gucci bags. Parang wala lang, they can afford Gucci. When you pass by a Gucci store, parang nasa Charles & Keith ka lang sa dami ng tao!

4. Hermes Birkin
If you're not a big celeb or a socialite, then you'd have to wait two years just to get your hands on one of these. Birkins are handcrafted and ranges from USD7,500 and above, depending on the material used, which can either be crocodile, goat or ostrich skin. Birkins also come in a range of colors. I love these, as sported by Lindsay Lohan, Heidi Klum and Victoria Beckham:

I still don't feel like giving in to buying any one of these pieces. These bags are bloody expensive! Right now, travel is my only luxury but maybe I'll consider investing in a pricey bag when I'm 40 or 50. Or maybe never.

Unless I find a benefactor a la Chuvaness or we win the lotto. 

something for the weekend

Sometimes, the only thing you know for certain is what you don't want. Yet often, Kat, that's enough to go on.

10-4 Good buddy,
The Universe

PS
Life is easy, Kat.

no such thing as a bad trip

Any trip can be fraught with disappointment: Expectations are always high, and anything can go wrong. Here are a few suggestions for both first-time and inveterate travelers: More important than packing a bag full of money, pack a bag full of patience and curiosity; allow yourself--encourage yourself--to be sidetracked and to get lost. There's no such thing as a bad trip, just good travel stories to tell back home. Always travel with a smile and remember that you're the one with the strange customs visiting someone else's country. Relying on the kindness of strangers isn't naive--there are good people wherever you go. And, finally, the more time you spend coming to understand the way of others, the more you'll understand yourself. The journey abroad reflects the one within--the most unknown and foreign and unmapped landscape of them all, the ulitma terra incognita. As Mr. Twain said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

--Patricia Schultz, 1,000 Places To See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List