gizelle faye – Page 5 – Gizelle Faye Creative Studio

no return, no exchange

the required 7-hour seminar for would-be marrying couples that we attended last Sunday was expected to be a long day of droning lectures but instead turned out to be a fun and insightful experience. real-life couples who’ve been together for 10 – 38 years conducted the seminar which made it all the more relevant because they were sharing real-life experiences. my top three take-me-homes from the seminar:

♥ marriage is not always a bed of roses
♥ issues can be solved by open communication
♥ once married, there is a strict no return, no exchange policy

this is it — there’s no turning back! after all, we already made the down payment. LOL.

bohemian love

almost five years ago, i put on a blind-fold and took hold of his hand, not knowing where to go, not knowing where we’ll end up. here we are and our hands are still tightly entwined.

styling and production design – cuckoo cloud concepts
photography – marlon capuyan
hmua – erika diaz

sayonara!

lemon and turquoise striped top with sequined pocket – primal rave | skinny jeans – thrifted | pink and gun-metal wedge sandals – people are people | blue satchel – primal rave | powder blue feather earrings – downtown find

last week i officially bid goodbye to a life i thought i wanted. i may sound like a broken record because i did do the same two years ago.

two years ago though when i decided to leave to pursue my dreams, i really wasn’t sure what i wanted to do, not even sure if i really knew what my dreams were. it was done on a whim — that i just needed to get out of there. all i knew at that time was that i wanted to pursue fashion but was still very lost. no wonder i ended up lying awake at night, feeling very scared.

i spent a year working for my sister and spiraled downwards by leaving that job too and taking a home-based online job which made me even unhappier. my sister saw me and said, “straighten up your life.” a friend reminded me, “i thought you wanted to pursue management.” so i got even more scared and went back to what was comfortable (and what earned me more money).

at the end of the day though, everything felt redundant and soon very frustrating. i am a perfectionist by nature so i try to excel at everything i do but it doesn’t necessarily mean that i loved what i am doing. i gave this life another chance but it’s just not for me.

this time, i have more clarity. if things don’t seem clear though, i just have faith. and i am very lucky to have the support of my family and friends. this time, i may have gone cuckoo but i am happy. cuckoos may not have new shoes every month but walking is lighter.

close your eyes and dive

…i’ve always been a risk-taker of some sort. although i’m ironically afraid of failure but i’ve had so many instances in my life where i’ve leaned on my instincts, followed my emotions and jumped the gun. usually these instances turn out for the best. sometimes, they don’t but they never come with utter regrets because regrets hurt most when you didn’t take chance, don’t you think?

i am about to embark on another chapter in my life. a scary yet exciting venture that draws on my passion and the love of arts. this seems familiar but this time i somehow know where i’m going. only a few more days to go and i’ll be living the boho life.

P.S. i promise to tell you guys more about this venture — for now, i’m making sure technicalities are set and i still have enough to pay the bills. that’s life for you right there — the arts doesn’t necessarily pay the bills. at least not at the beginning. i hope that you guys pray for our success though. we badly need all the prayers we can get. ♥

the bloggerhood of the traveling scarf

polka dress with duo collars – primal rave (there’s a salmon version of this – let me know if interested) | mustard platform heels – zalora.ph by centropelle | green braided belt – thrifted | black bowler hat – metro ayala | elephant tust necklace – bangkok find | oversized stone ring – downtown find | claw cuff – borrowed from mom | studded bag – primal rave | silk scarf – bloggerhood of the travelling scard

…finally, after 4 months I am able to do a post of the traveling scarf. it’s this beautiful silk scarf that’s being passed around by bloggers around the world and the project is the brainchild of sweet, madison and yvonne. i was so excited when i received the scarf but work (and illness) got in the way of things and time flew by in a blur. the moment i chose a stress-free life, my first order of business was to make up for all the back log i had on my blog. the beautiful traveling scarf needed my attention asap. i wore the scarf as a turban — my favorite way to don them. i love how the straight lines and color of the scarf provided a cool contrast to the quirky polka dress, don’t you think? ♥

the scarf is headed over to rabsin of finlust by rabsin. can’t wait to see what he’ll do next with the scarf!

can too much excitement kill you?

bird-printed top with ruffled back detail – primal rave | black electro-pleated midi-skirt – thrifted | cobalt blue wedge sandals – gifted by Aimee | blue with yellow and peach accent satchel – primal rave | black wide-brimmed hat – cotton on | necklaces – downtown finds | rings: multi-colored bird – bangkok find, gifted by mom, turquoise connector – downtown find | cutout cuff – downtown find | studded green belt – primal rave

i’ve been feeling rather inspired and weirdly optimistic lately. my friend and i are starting a passion project and we couldn’t be any more excited about it. take out the fact that we’re both giddy type of people and you’ll still find us overly excited. unlike 2 years ago when i ventured on a project because i thought it was what i was passionate about, this one feels different. it’s not forced. it’s not frustrating. it just feels natural and true. i pray this is it. will definitely tell you guys more — soon! ♥

and ooh, here’s a sneak peak of my accidental obsession. my dad built this shelf for me — which was so sweet of him (or maybe because him and my mom could no longer stand my shoes strewn across the floor). i bought these shoes with my own hard-earned money from work and these pairs came with both sweat and tears. but you know what? a stress-free, full of passion life is something a wall of shoes can never compensate.

dreaming of fall

the one good and bad thing about living in a tropical country is the tropical weather. ironically, we use the tropical weather as an excuse to wear as little clothing as possible all year round but also need to do so otherwise we die of dehydration. our weather can be bipolar and would be sunny in the morning and be rainy in the afternoon. take for example the day these photos were taken. an hour before leaving the house, the sky was grey and seemed to incessantly pour rain. the moment we got out of the house though, the sun came out and it got so humid, it got hard to breathe. two hours later, it started drizzling again.

oh how i wish we can experience fall, at least one month in a year. just a month in a year where the breeze is a little colder despite the sunny atmosphere and the colors of the rest of the world are lovelier and more surreal. unfortunately, we only get to experience sunny – rainy – sunny – rainy – and so on every year. just like how i do with elephants, i’ll just experience fall in my dreams.

to feeling lighter

…and saying no to cancer. my friend told me last night that stress is the number 1 cause of cancer. i knew stress caused several people to die due to heart problems but i never knew it could be much worse. good thing though i’ve decided to let go of the stress. disconnect from it before i end up getting sicker than i was over the last 3 months. only a few days after my official decision to get off the roller coaster, i feel lighter in so many ways. for one, Harry is happy that i’m singing light and happy songs again. cheers to a stress-free life! ♥

p.s. if it’s not yet obvious, most of the items in my outfit are from primal rave — the wholesale business my mom, sister and i own. we still have a lot of chic items up for grabs. 10 items or more get wholesale price — it’s never too early for Christmas shopping! *wink*

catching up: choosing sanity

polka / ruffled top – thrifted | printed chiffon shorts – props | black faux snake skin wedges – pill at the ramp | faux ostrich red satchel – shopyapi.com | leopard fringe earrings – downtown find | rings: armor ring – downtown find, oversized black ring – forever 2, gifted by sweet | black studded belt – props

the last of the catching up posts before i get back on track (or at least not have any posts due 2 months ago as i still have ones taken in the last 2 weeks). my cheeks being chubbier definitely indicates i was not as stressed with work then as i am now. i guess the decreasing size of my cheeks is the only upside i’ve gained from the toxicity of work. mental warfare and an emotional roller coaster were definitely not part of the contract when i signed it last year.

oh well, i choose sanity so let’s see how this goes.

catching up: running errands

i wish running errands in real life were as stylish as how Andrea Sachs ran errands for Miranda Priestly in the Devil Wears Prada. of course, Andrea Sachs had a team of stylists and make-up artists in the background and i don’t. haha.

my days are now divided between working my ass off for 9 – 13 hours during the weekdays, salvaging what little weekend Harry and i have and of course, planning the wedding. every thing is almost a blur now and ice cream is the best way to get us back to our senses.

catching up: ketchup and mustard

art deco black top – props | red multi-striped skirt – thrifted | cerulean blue belt – props | mustard platform shoes – centropell c/o zalora | faux ostrich red satchel – shopyapi.com | bangles: red wooden bangle – bangkok find, brass bangles – downtown finds | rings: cross connector, leopard connector – downtown finds, orange howlite ring – dane’s giveaway | peacock feather earrings – downtown find

another catch-up outfit post taken almost 2 months ago. i have 3 more to go until i’m up to date. *crossing fingers*

i scored these awesome platform shoes at zalora.ph. i was at a bind because it came in orange, red and mustard and ultimately my decision had to be based on what color i’d most likely be able to pair with most of my clothes. mustard is definitely more of a classic subdued color. i have to admit the first time i wore these, i was limping on the way home. it needed breaking into — the cross-straps needed adjustment to my chubby feet and the sole was a bit hard. i was ready to sell this pair or park it on my shelf solely as an eye candy. thankfully, i didn’t find time to sell it because the second (and the third and fourth) time i wore it, it was already broken into and is now one of my favorite pairs. you could say, this pair is on the top shelf of my shoe rack.

catching up: tagaytay in june

okay so my last post in july was apologetic for not being able to blog for a month and it contained a promise that i will blog sporadically. it’s already september and i’m as sorry as ever.

not just sorry to my readers (whom i hope are still around) but to myself as well. over the last 2 months, i’ve let work take over my life. i finally understood why my former manager was always frantic and seemingly all over the place because i’ve just become her. i’ve lost any grace and is constantly overwhelmed with things to do, it’s no longer humorous. i started blogging to take a break from work and i should’ve kept going. this is me, moving forward.

CATCHING UP: this was the day after bloggers united when my relatives, mildred and i visited tagaytay. it was my first time and i fell completely in love with the place. i wish we didn’t have to leave. i imagined myself living the laid back life — opening up a small cafe with a small collection of my favorite books to read and a little corner where i can sell clothes. oh tagaytay, i hope to see you soon. ♥ ♥ ♥