quaint vanilla – Page 3 – Gizelle Faye Creative Studio

going home to you

art deco cropped top – props | cotton belted pleated pants – props | strappy anima-printed wedges – people are people, gifted by Harry | ostrich feather earrings – downtown finds | gunmetal woven-effect cuffs – downtown find | rings: gecko – bangkok find, stone ring – forever21, gifted by Karen

Harry loves to make me laugh and i love him because he does. without him in my life, i might become an old, single lady with a couple of dogs — burying herself in work or staring at the ceiling with a dark chocolate in hand. i am too passionate at work for my own sake that there is only 3 days in a week where i don’t go home upset, fueled or excited about something work-related. going home to him is definitely something i look forward to everyday. it changes my perspective. it reminds me that i have something more important than work — my life with him. ♥

plum tinkerbell

“you look like tinkerbell…” that’s what everybody told me when i wore this outfit to work. of course, all i can do is smile because there’s nothing else to do. i don’t know if they say i look like tinkerbell because it’s so juvenile or that i look like tinkerbell because it’s pretty. maybe both for some. LOL.

i got this dress from one of the spur-of-the-moment thrifting trips my mom and i made a couple of months ago — which my mom and i had more frequently before she left for Aussie and where my dad so happily obliged to drive us wherever we wanted to go. i love going thrifting with my mom. she’s been at it for so many years, she knows what to look for and definitely knows whether a stain can be removed or not. sooner or later though, it seems she has evolved to wearing my style or i hers. on casual days, she wears loose tops with a long cardigan and skinny jeans. sometimes you can’t tell us apart — except that she’s really fair and i’m not.

wishing for grey clouds

it finally rained the other day after days and days of oven-like heat. i swear every time i step inside my car when i get off work at 12:00 PM, i feel like i’m being baked like a rack of lamb. it’s just hot all over, even on my face and it doesn’t help that the drive from my workplace to home takes approximately 30 minutes. oooh i wish i can apparate.

my apologies for being MIA for almost 2 weeks. it’s just when our wholesale stocks arrive, i am responsible for 2 jobs — my day job as a sales manager and my job managing our wholesale business with my sister. with the inventory that requires sorting and tagging of each item and the handling of customers, i just couldn’t squeeze in the time to blog. my body aches all over and has been so for the past week but it’s worth it. i love clothes — from wearing it to selling it.

and while we’re on the topic of our wholesale business, if you’re from Cebu (or have plans of visiting Cebu in the next 2 weeks) and are interested in being a reseller (or you’re just such a shopaholic that you want to buy 10 items or more), i can give you a wholesale price. big big discounts, i promise. *wink* just e-mail me at: gizellefay(at)yahoo(dot)com.

the boys in my life

thankfully my mom’s visa to Australia got approved and she left on the first week of April to accompany my sister there for 6 months. after everything that has happened, my sister definitely needs all the support she can get.

it’s weird having no one else to talk to at home though, except Harry and my dad. i used to share a bedroom with my sister until she left and right when she did, i’d hang around in my mom’s room. thanks to Facetime though, i can still bug my mom and sister any time i want to but it’s not the same really.

so now, for 6 months i’ll be the lady of the house — looking after my dad and my Harry. i’ve been cooking for two Sundays now and am intent on doing so for the next Sundays to come. and on our Sunday afternoon visits, it will be just us three. a couple of hours of serenity with the afternoon sun and the sunsets right after.

ps. good thing both of them are very supportive of this blog. in fact, my dad was the one who suggested the location of these shots. (thanks Dad…<3)

neon summer | grinch of summer

my mom laughed at me for getting this neon pink top. why do i get the feeling that my family members get puzzled when i purchase one-of-a-kind or standout pieces? haha! i have no regrets over this top at all. it screamed summer and who would have thought, i’m on trend! neon is all the rage this time of the year — from neon apparel to neon accessories.

i used to love summer. (okay cue the boos) i know people are enjoying their trips to the beach and all the summer activities they got planned but i’m completely paranoid about becoming dark due to the heat. (cue another set of boos again?) i know, i know i have become this grinch of summer but i am preparing for the wedding as early as now. is it so bad to want to have good skin on the day of? i want to be this glowing bride without any tan marks. it’s a sensible want right?

i do plan to hit the beach before summer ends. the question is, how do i not get a tan? LOL.

may the odds be ever in your favor

we’re saving up for the wedding so i can’t buy as many books as i wanted (or as many shoes). i guess i should say i can’t buy things as frequently as i wanted. it’s been months since Harry and i have been to the movies as waiting for the DVD is the more practical option. books nowadays are not as cheap as paper and even cost more than a movie ticket.

but after reading a couple of free chapters of The Hunger Games on Kobo, on a sleepless afternoon, i knew i had to get the book. no, not just the book but the series and it was a purchase i don’t have any regrets of.

not only is the series well-written, the plot is very riveting, unexpected and at the same time, relational despite it being the set in the post-apocalyptic future. the characters are not sob stories, they’re actually people you want to root for. and Peeta Mellarck — oh don’t even get me started on how much i love how he is. then we have the the movie. it’s one of the best depictions from books other than Harry Potter (of course). i can’t wait for Catching Fire. ♥

my second home

Dumaguete has always enamored me, even as a kid. in summer, the ferry from Dipolog usually stops over en route to Cebu and my cousins and i would step off for a bit, walk around the boulevard and eat street food — barbecue and tempura. as we’re walking, i’d crane my head to peak at the establishments along the boulevard and the streets beyond them, thinking to myself how peaceful and adorable everything is and imagining myself walking in and out of those shops.

then i met Harry, who was born and raised in Dumaguete and i actually lived my imagination. Dumaguete became my second home and i now consider it as a tranquil escape from the city life. i no longer have to crane my head to see what’s beyond the streets along the boulevard — i have actually walked those streets beyond. the place is as quaint and peaceful as i’d imagined, even after all these years. and what do i do every time i’m there? this i never miss — have a slice or two of Espanola pizza at Hayahay. the yummiest pizza ever.

date nights

people ask me how it is now that Harry and i are married. well, aside from having to share anything we own and having to make decisions together, we’re pretty much like boyfriend & girlfriend. we still hold hands like teens. sometimes while walking, i wrap my arm around him and pinch his back and i snuggle into him like a kid. we have foodie adventures — more like dessert adventures and walk into bookstores right after, snooping new reads and smelling their pages. this is one of those nights.

ps. of course, i have to force him to take a photo of me too. LOL.

matchy-matchy: fashion crime or not?

when i saw this skirt for P50 ($1.25) at our local thrift store, i immediately thought fish eyes and polka dots and grabbed it. my mom and sister laughs at how i can still get good finds at ultimate thrift sales because my style is so offbeat that the items i pick are sometimes items nobody else would want. which is true. i found a tiered tulle skirt for P50 and grabbed it too. LOL.

now, i’ve been wanting to wear this fringed cotton top i got a year ago but it’s so tricky to wear. it’s form-fitting which i don’t like because it shows off my extra curves and if i wear it without tucking it in in something high-waisted, the fringes can get in the way. so i was really happy it found a friend in this skirt. i was planning to wear it with a pair of black wedges but thought, “what the heck, my day is so busy and i need to be running around.” and paired it with a pair of matching pink flats instead.

i know right? pink top, skirt with pink prints and now a pair of pink flats? how could i have been so cliche and be too matchy-matchy? well, my question is — is it really a fashion crime to be matchy-matchy? it looks good (for me) and i felt super comfortable in it.

what do you guys think about fashion rules?

that downtown store of accessory heaven

remember when i talked about that little store of accessories in downtown? the place that’s like a pandora’s box, it always ends up hurting my wallet every time i visit. well, my young and stylish agents found out about it and ever since, i’ve been finding myself oddly surprised that i’m not the only one wearing loads of rings or bangles. here are just a few of their amazing picks that i seriously covet:

this is not found in that accessory store but another style item one of my agents have. so bohemian. so me and i wish i could have it as my own. (to the owner, if you’re reading this — you should have given this to me! LOL)

anyway, it’s weird that i began my life as a call center supervisor around the same age as my agents now. i was roughly 22 and was as immature and hot-headed as can be. it has been almost 6 years since then and boy is it weird to browse through an agent directory with birth dates as late as the time i was already in 1st grade and busy watching ninja turtles or the original x-men cartoon series. just thinking about how young they are and how i used to be in their place makes me feel all wrinkly inside. is it obvious in these photos below? or i still belong? LOL.

all photos were taken at our work place where it’s summer every friday. ♥

common yet in style | winner of shopbop’s $100

black and white striped maxi dress – props | denim jacket – borrowed from sister | leopard wedge booties – shoe etiquette | bowler hat – metro department store | necklaces: black & fringe – downtown find, elephant tusk – bangkok find | bangles – downtown finds | white wayfarers – raybans, borrowed from sister

i believe it was 3 or 4 years ago when dresses in jersey material were a hit — from sundresses with belts that tie at the back and that came with various neckline designs to maxi dresses in bohemian tops or halter necklines. they were common and everybody was wearing them. well, because they were easy and comfortable. this black and white bold striped was one of them.

but does common have to equate to boring? instead, i am finding this black and white dress to be one of the most versatile closet items i have. on a rainy day, i can wear this with a classic denim jacket, leopard wedge booties for an oomph and a bowler hat or for summer, i can wear this sans the jacket but with a loose blush knit shawl, a pair of beaded sandals and wide-brimmed floppy hat. for a laid-back day, i can wear this with my signature long cardigan and a pair of metallic ballet flats.

so my dress may be common and can be bought everywhere but it doesn’t have to be boring. it just really depends on how we style an item hence, the term personal style.

you, how else would you style this common dress?

oh and before i forget, announcing the winner of SHOPBOP.com’s $100 giveway!

i will e-mail you with the details. congrats! ♥

Fashion Institute of the Philippines launches in Cebu!

my prayers have finally been answered. fashion has come to Cebu in the form of the Fashion Institute of the Philippines. although Cebu has been a lover of fashion for decades and we have long produced amazing designers that have conquered not just the country but the world but Cebuanos had to go far and wide to learn fashion. it was only until recently that proper fashion education was bestowed upon us and if not for my wedding planning, i would have enrolled myself in one of the classes (or maybe two classes). maybe next year then. who wants to go with me?

check out Fashion Institute of the Philippines‘ website for the different courses offered and its schedules. classes for Basic Fashion starts next Monday, March 12, 2012. ♥ ♥ ♥