A Wander Girl

politically correct moleskine diary stickers for your anniversary ;)

2012-01-24T23:00:00.001Z

it's been a (long) while...

2010-09-12T17:53:00.004+01:00

No...it's been ages! The last time I posted something here was a year ago. It was the beginning of my final year as a student and boy what a year it was!!! Busy was not even enough for all the hours of studying, researching, working, interning, being an RA and a lot more! what a journey it was!

Really quite cliche sounding, but it's another chapter in my life. I've graduated, got myself employed, and even moved house. Thanks to more stable resources...I can now safely say...let the wandering begin!

stately weekend of learning

2009-09-27T21:19:00.008+01:00

Last weekend not only was i ecstatic that i didnt have to stand up for 8 hours on the shop floor; I had a free weekend of learning at Cumberland Lodge inside The Great Park in Windsor. Thanks to being a Resident Assistant at one of the coolest places to live in London, we had an amazing weekend of cultural awareness, event planning, hearty eating, and movie making! Oh and a Blair Witch type of walk after dinner...erm of course I dont have pics of that!

music room

part of the grand stairs

view from the window

can i have a library like this??

wish i had dishes like these everyday!!!

healthy and yummy veggie tart

dessert over the weekend...my faves!

dinner i enjoyed the most..mushroom soup, salmon cakes, and chocolate cake

challenges we had to do as a team any thoughts on how we did them? ;)

the winning team from norway, palestine, philippines and uk!

Cumberland Lodge regularly conducts conferences and their next big one is the International Christmas Event..details here

And for the events at ISH...please visit http://www.ishevents.org.uk
50% discount on local and international tours for UK students
Karaoke Thursdays, Free Sunday movies and much more!!!

first asos purchase

2009-08-26T22:58:00.005+01:00

Browsing through ASOS has been a regular thing for me to do..specifically when I'm waiting for Gossip Girl/Entourage/True Blood to load..slow internet I know..I was a bit apprehensive to buy online though as usually pictures are heavily retouched.

These brogues were in the Clearance section at 12 pounds. Great design. Check. Great price. Check. Great replacement for my old brogues. Check. I figured it would be made of cheap material but hey there's no harm in engaging in fast fashion once in a while. Take note! Just once in a while.

They arrived one time with the 3 day delivery. The box was just taped once; luckily no harm done. The box was crushed though. Thanks to the plastic pillows the shoes were unharmed. I was so happy the shoes looked exactly the same!

I was right with the materials; they are definitely nowhere near leather and I already have a small scratch on it. Nevertheless, I am very happy with my new shoesies!!! In fact, I wore them today for my first day at my new internship. Teamed my ASOS brogues with the outfit below..Sorry forgot to take a pic..

Now let's see how long they will last. I was almost fuming when a mom nearly ran a pram through my brogues on my way home! Luckily, they were okay, suprisingly without a single scratch..maybe it was the rain.

PS. Can the powers be please please reorder these black & white brogues...I promise to buy!

missing indo/malay food: C and R Westbourne Grove

2009-07-01T21:16:00.005+01:00

For my last day at my internship i decided to reward myself with feel good food. I spotted C&R Westbourne Grove while in a bus home. The place is probably three times the size of the one in Soho plus it has a bit of ambience to boot! I was the lone customer at 1:00 p.m. so as expected service was really fast.

Here's my before picture. Nasi Goreng Kampung at 7.50 pounds and Es Teh Tarik for 2.50 pounds. My measure of good nasi goreng is the amount of chili and shrimp hidden in the rice. This passed with flying colours! Around 10 pieces of shrimp and generous amount of sliced chillies. The rice was right seasoned with soy and piping hot. For 2.50, the tea was big as I get the Thai Iced Tea from Mangosteen in Carnaby and it's half of this one and .25p more expensive.

Excuse the gluttony...it was my first meal after lunch the day before. Excuses..excuses! ;) Eating at C&R also reminded me of my dinners with Sara at the Soho branch. She introduced me to the place and would always order Hainanese Chicken and Sambal Sotong which I also highly recommend.

on the tom ford experience

2009-06-11T20:14:00.003+01:00

Tom Ford in Selfridges. Shriek! I am so there! Hang on...Tom Ford in Selfridges??? Signing perfume bottles?? Errrmm...for someone so A-list and someone with known for astronomical prices in luxury the image of him signing perfume bottles is somewhat too mass for me and my friends.

Now, we all know this guy is smart and that through his sunglasses he was able to find his clothing venture. However, we do believe there is no need to remove the mystery of his porelessness and for us to see him in real life. Did Tom do this to say thank you to his fans? We think not. Did Tom do this because he was paid a hefty sum by Selfridges as part of their 100th year celeb? Maybe..hhmm...Coz you see..let's do the math. Minimum purchase is 100 pounds per bottle. Let's say 100 people queued to meet and greet Mr. Sex Personified. That's just 10, 000 pounds which is probably not even one suit from his tailoring line. Then again, he gave the exclusive perfume deal to Selfridges, so maybe he came with the package.

Hey, this post is not to say I didn't enjoying seeing him in the flesh...and the staff doing last minute prep by using lint remover to clean the carpet he was going to stand on..and seeing beautiful boys surround him and hold his pens for signing...

Maybe a talk at LCF next time Mr. Ford?

take a bite from your ring shall you..

2009-05-13T13:42:00.004+01:00

the SA at Boucheron laughed at me...well because i squealed when I saw these...

two loves in one...i wonder if these will actually sell..

all things yellow

2009-05-05T17:35:00.004+01:00

Trying to kill time waiting for a university letter, I headed over to Selfridges and stopped at the usual suspects..NARS and Kiehl's counter, magazine section, Artisan du Chocolat and then I remembered with all the yellowness around me that there was an exhibit downstairs for Selfridges 100th birthday...Ive never seen so much yellow in my life!

Random faves...

red is for oscars, purple for mtv, yellow is for thee..

look at what i found in the kid's corner...why hey he's a kid at heart

(Outside) rubber ducky you're the one...you make bath time time lots of fun...

Now I just have to wait to run into the Selfridgettes...of course in their Giles rubber ducky dresses...

I wonder if it's the best way to celebrate your 100th?

missing my northern retreat

2009-04-30T08:36:00.004+01:00

i woke up today feeling like i should hop on the train northbound to durham...

i just checked my pics and out of my all my trips my fave pics are from different bridge views..

from the side of the shopping centre

on the way to in shanghai

photo op with priest on the way to the cathedral

otw to city centre

durham uni students rowing

otw to the library

not too long now...

london dimsum part 1: yauatcha

2009-04-29T21:46:00.003+01:00

I've read so much about Yauatcha from blogs, guides and reviews. It sounded perfect to me. Asian taste. check. Sweets. check. Yummy cocktails. check. And to be honest reviews about bad service in a Chinese restaurant only means one thing to me. It means it's authentic, served by Chinese people whose concern is to serve food fast, piping hot. I know that's a fast generalisation but really I always find that when I go for restaurants with reviews like this, I tend out to be fiiine.

What better way to entertain my amiga Chloe who's visiting from Vancouver than merienda in Yauatcha? :) She's my forever culture vulture, gourmet and sweet tooth partner in crime. I was too lazy to take pics but here are shots by Chloe:

dessert heaven!!!!

Chloe's dessert (i forgot the name). What i remember is chloe asking for a soft dessert as her teeth were still sensitive from a dentist thingy. Chocolate-mousse like this dessert was perfect! Kudos to my amiga for trying very hard not to finish the dessert before i get my food.

First meal of the day after an all nighter for an essay. At nearly 5 pounds per dish, the dimsum was all worth it! i got the char siu cheung fun and the peking dumplings. Both filled to the brim, steamed with proper timing and just the right thickness to the skin. Loooved it! As it wasnt crowded we were served quite promptly. We did notice that later on it was getting harder and harder to get the attention of the servers. Also i was expecting them to stop us from taking pictures but it didnt happen at all.

Now, with not more than an hour of sleep, I had to pass from the cocktails. So I just chose to have my hint of alcohol with my dessert. I chose jade ganache which had absinthe whipped into the cream. I really enjoyed the hint of bitterness in the cream constrasting the sweetness of the chocolate and nuttiness of the almonds. The coffee taste blended in quite well too.

And of course our last measure of a good resto...the washroom. Yauatcha passed with flying colours! Thich tissue, good handwash and unique sink. ;)

I would definitely go back to Yauatcha to try other dimsum dishes and the cocktails. To try more the key would be to bring your girlfriends. The only thing I was underwhelmed with was the interior. To be honest, for being a trendy resto, I expected more. All in all, the right choice for a place to catch up with my amiga ;p

on topshop louboutins

2009-04-13T10:48:00.004+01:00

I've been on the lookout for pinkish nude shoes for the longest time and I instantly fell in love with these Louboutins when I saw them on Jane of Sea of Shoes.

Photo creds: Sea of Shoes

Last night, while looking for other shoes with my cheapo budget, I went to the Topshop website and look what I found:

So what should a girl on very tight budget do?? Well first off I'll try both shoes again just for the fun of it then I'll decide...

easy on the tweets peeps...

2009-04-08T17:57:00.002+01:00

and it is official...twitter is now mainstream...i wonder how they'll expand twitter. for me it's the limited functions that charm. one liners..sans pokes served straight up..

let's tweet together shall we...i'm up as wandergirlana

on barbie's birthday celeb

2009-03-31T16:15:00.014+01:00

I've never known a girl who never had a Barbie. I know there exist a few but come on...a lot of us ladies really started playing with our sartorial tastes when first opened the beauty in a box. I even went to the length of asking a seamstress to make clothes for my Barbies. I had 13 with a house to keep all of them plus a wardrobe for all their clothes and accessories. Of course I didnt want to lose any of those tiny shoes! I think there was no better way of celebrating her 50th than the recent fashion show with America's top designers. Totally loved the show! Here are my fave looks that I've also categorised:

very barbie...these looks have the barbie "fashion spirit" down pat...flamboyant bordering on tacky..hey i had my first play on clothes colour with my barbies...

Betsey Johnson

Monique Lhullier

Reem Acra
Beauty queen Barbie...lavet!!!!

retro barbie...reminds me of vintage barbies with a fringe or ponytailed hair..

Nicole Miller

Vera Wang

Calvin Klein
the turban did it..

modern barbie...if i were to buy barbies now, i'd love these outfits on her...

Jeremy Scott
I think we can call this SS09 Barbie...mainstream on the jumpsuit..

Diane von Furstenburg
i think this can be called timeless barbie...those wrap dresses can really withstand passing trends in your closet...and with pink it's that totally feminine look we try to pull off for certain events..

Alexander Wang

This is my overall fave...very now but still very Barbie..love it!

On a category all its own...matching outfits for ex-couple Barbie and Ken by Kenneth Cole...

They got almost everything right. The outfits, the hair, the makeup, the arm candy...except that I was expecting more voluptuous girls. I remember reading Barbie in real life have boobs bigger than her head! Not that I am expecting glamour models sashaying down the runway...maybe more of the VS Angels..hahaha...I wish! All in all it's nice to see my lil girl sartorial fantasies come to life :)

Photos from Stylebible.ph

on fashion week and lace tights

2009-03-10T21:44:00.004Z

Paris Fashion Week is in its last leg...I am enjoying seeing pics of the shows but what I really really look forward to during the shows is seeing street shots of the global fashion set. Number one on my list is The Sartorialist. My two faves are Anna Dello Russo and Giovanna Battaglia..I just love their style! It's Italian glam with Parisian editing.

From this week's style.com Sartorialist postings I've noticed three tres tres chic ladies in lace tights. Is that where last season's lace trend moved to? Well, with these tree at the helm of the trend it's all the way yay! I wonder if I could pull it off..

.PS. The second one is Giovanna :)

Photos all from The Sartorialist

on shop tripping and the vibrating mascara

2009-02-12T22:53:00.004Z

I was walking through Selfrges today to see new Chanel earrings when I wondered through the beauty section. And as always, when I'm shop tripping, I pick a brand and give the sales staff a bit of a test on how they really know their product. I've been doing this ever since a friend told me that for some brands they only train the temps on the day. I think for Selfridges you can single them out. Check out for badges with names rather than ones just saying Sales Associate. I assume Sales Associate badges are just distributed on the day. It's not to say that all temps are bad at their job. In fact last night, at Bare Minerals, the one with the Sales Associate badge was better than the one with the name badge.

Anyway...on to the vibrating mascara. First question for the sales staff was if it was battery operated. She said yes and that the battery lasts as long as the mascara does...3 months. Now ladies, there's more reason to throw away this one after it's intended shelf life. You don't really want a "non vibrating" vibrating mascara would you? Then I asked what I can do if the battery ran out. And she just repeated herself saying, "No it will last as long as the mascara does." So I'm assuming no batteries sold for this one. Then she said or you can still use it without the vibration. Bingo! Wrong answer...she just said the product can still be attractive without it's unique selling point..very bad...again who would want a "non vibrating" vibrating mascara? LOL

I asked her to apply it for me because I was afraid of blinding my eye with the vibrating wand..how weird it is to say that! You really couldn't feel it move much. In Elle, it has been mentioned that Oscillation moves upwards and downwards instead of sideways. I guess that would explain why you didn't need to use force in helping your lashes to curl upwards. No need for pre-mascara eyelash curling as well! Your lashes will be nicely separated so you can say goodbye to your lash comb too.

I wanted to try it for a night out but alas prediction of snow stopped the girls from heading out. I fell asleep for a while and it smudged as expected. The good part is that even after wearing for about 8 hours my eyes still didnt itch which usually happens to me when I wear mascara. One will just need to get used to pressing the button during application. As if applying a mascara with open mouth wasnt enough! LOL

Damage to your purse will be 28 pounds but you can say goodbye to your eyelash curler and your lash comb...let's just hope the battery doesnt run out!

Photo from Lancome USA website:

LFW must watch: Valentino The Last Emperor

2009-02-12T22:50:00.003Z

Yes, Londontown fashion citizens have been given the chance to see the film about His Tanned Highness next week!

It will be shown at the Everyman Hampsted Cinema so click click away to your own invites!

lfw seats for sale

2009-02-04T21:58:00.007Z

I enjoy going to fashion talks. For an industry so visual i've always enjoyed hearing what the industry top dogs have to say. To date, the best one I've been to was Stefano Pilati in conversation with Colin Mc Dowell. So I was yet again on the look out for talks in Laaandon...so far nothing that's really my cup of tea. Giles Deacon will be at the V&A on March 5 for 8 pounds...I'm skint and he talked for free at LCF so I'm definitely opting out. Hussein Chalayan will be at Shoreditch Town Hall on March 11 for 15 pounds. This one I'm still debating on...it would be good to hear from him once I've gone to the Design Museum to see his exhibition. After all, next to Stefano Pilati's talk in my rankings would be Viktor & Rolf's symposium at the Barbican last LFW.

So anyhoo, what I found while searching for events was Cavendish Group selling LFW packages. London version of AMEX in NYC??

Cavendish Group Events

To the tune of 425 quid you can choose early morning, lunch or afternoon to go see ONE show, drink champagne and receive expert advice.

I wonder which shows they can secure for their patrons?? Hhhmmm...And more than that..which rows??

wellies for moi??

2009-02-04T21:27:00.007Z

yes..it snowed in london!!!my first white encounter was at grand canyon..desert snow storm in spring... it was my first time to experience snow the whole day and i loved it!

so yes for the first time in my history...i really DO NOT have proper shoes for the season!!!! Weather reports say that it's going to snow still but for how many days it's not certain...

B and I were discussing options and we have both concluded that for snow one needs to invest on one pair of Wellies that they can use over and over. This will not be true for those who live in countries where snow is the norm. Remember, we are both from tropical countries where people collect flip flops (Havaianas, ahem ahem) so buying footwear for snow is not something we give priority to..not to mention for these shoes it's more utility rather than aesthetics...in B's words...I look like a fisherman...My words..No..you would look like a daughter of the fisherman!!!

she ended up with her Burberry wellies below:

Unfortunately for moi, I do not have enough moolah to spend on wellies...so for the time being I will just walk ever so slowly and rely on my trainers which I must say have done a good job keeping it up with the snow...If ever I spend on wellies the two below fwill be competing for my purse strings:

Hunter Limited Collection Jimmy Choo Wellies

Hunter Limited Edition Fortnum & Mason Wellies

Throughout snow day, I've lost count on women I've seen with the Original Green Hunter boots. Why oh why??? In B's words, I wouldn't want to look like the trash can! LOL
I wonder if the retailers were prepared for this sales opportunity?? And I wonder how many women pestered Burberry for their Wellies....

the gender flowchart

2009-02-04T20:55:00.004Z

a friend forwarded me the link to these photos so i did a bit of googling..

Campaign Title: Thank God You're A Man
Client: Gold Star Beer
Agency: McCann Erickson, Tel Aviv Israel
(data from www.adsoftheworld.com)

The first one here is the one I like the least...out of the lot it is the most stereotypical...or better yet the one that's most going to be controversial...Imagine if they only published this flow chart...hhhmm...feminist parties will come in packs! Maybe me included..personally a night out with copius amounts of alcohol is never a venue to find a guy who will be suitable for a long-term relationship..then again that's just me..

The second one here is the most hilarious!!! It is right on the bat on how we ladies go to the loo in groups. It wouldve been better if they expanded on the drinks choice for ladies though...Maybe a picture of the beer on the side with questions marks then a picture of a fatter you so you go back to your cocktails...beer=liquid carbs!!! the most evil word of them all..caaarbs...Never mind the calories from alcohol and too much sugar in our cocktails..LOL

This third one has got to be my favourite...

I am guilty of this one on all accounts!!! What I remember with this one is a list of Guys' Rules which my Citi friends had circulating back in the day..one of the rules said men should not be drinking fruity cocktails at all...it's you know...too feminine...wonder what men really think of this? ;)

a chic lit box office battle

2009-01-26T21:32:00.004Z

and then there were two...

Becky Bloomwood's conspicuous consumption

Pic from and trailer here: Official Site

Greg Behrendt's telling you to forget that guy
Pic from and trailer: Official Site

I've read both books, Confessions of a Shopaholic and He's Just Not That Into You and I must say, I am not too excited about the movies. First off, I was quite disappointed that Confessions is set in NYC and not in London as in the book. No offense New Yorkers, but I've always pictured Becky as the quirky London shoppper who daily peruses high street and high fashion racks. Also, I didn't imagine her to be such a fashion victim! Then again, that might be the comedic tone of the movie...but I believe we it was her cuckoo personality that was funny, never imagined myself laughing at her outfits.

As for the guys who are not into you, I wonder how they could've resisted the stellar cast of Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore and hello Scarlett Johansson! For talent fee costs alone, this movie must really make it in the box office! I don't find any of the male leads particularly gorgeous..yes even Ben Affleck is off my radar. This leads me into saying...why the hell was he not into her??? It would be interesting though to see which cases they picked for the movie.

So yes, low expectations for both movies...so I guess it's easier for both to impress me ;)

on trend analysis

2009-01-26T21:17:00.004Z

I've found this matrix last year and im really looking forward to seeing more of it in WSJ's fashion section. One can say it's a bit of intellectualising fashion and I love it at that! What better way to put this trend mish mash era that we are having.

One thing that it is useful for is for shopping these days. It's the last day of sales and when on the hunt for bargains, one should make sure of the longevity of wear remaining in the garment. It's very convenient to see retro to futuristic trends at work and at play. Come on ladies...if we must spend then when we must spend on must still be in style!

For the real thing with write ups: Wall Street Journal Spring Fashion 2009

at zero longitude...

2009-01-13T21:33:00.009Z

london has been all gloom lately..what with the recession rearing it's ugly head plus the rain clouds finally pouring in...with that said i'm quite glad K and I decided to go on a touristy day just before uni started...first full day for one of my best sale finds...15 pound gray boots from zara which was originally 69 pounds..

it was a rather quick ride from baker street to canary wharf to cutty sark dlr..must have been the endless blabbering we were doing... first stop was greenwich foot tunnel with the cheap thrill of knowing you are underneath the river thames..

then we were off to the maritime museum to visit a friend...spent some time at the nelson part of the exhibition...they even had his hair which nelson saved in order to be given to his wife! we waisted no time in heading to the observatory hill to see zero longitude...another cheap thrill of being in two places at once...or none at all!

im not so sure if it was a completely picturesque view provided by the hill...amazing breadth but then again from that point you could also see the london smog...makes me want to walk more everyday...
a day of walking for us always ends up either with food or shopping..as we were near borough market (my fave foodie market) I decided to give K a tour...we had a rainy day must eat of grilled swiss cheese sandwiches and shared a falafel wrap..

no sweet tooth can escape a visit to konditor & cook! K got the orange whiskey bomb and I got the banana walnut cake. it was quite a shame that there was only one table for customers to eat. not to mention it was outside! perfect drinks for our cakes were from next door monmouth coffee company then again we couldnt bring food from outside..so we just headed back to baker street where we could comfortably eat our cake and sip our coffee while looking at holiday photos..

the cakes were oh so delish..they were moist and dense and had just the right sweetness in the frostings..the latte and cappuccino from monmout coffe company were strong and simple..perfect pairings!

on buying something you dont need

2008-10-27T01:00:00.002Z

"Part of the promise of style is to lift us out of the dreariness of necessity."
-- Stuart Ewan, sociologist, describing couture world as beyong the real

Can we all quote him when we buy that pair of shoes you just can't leave behind?

on buying fashion magazines

2008-10-15T20:29:00.003+01:00

Reading fashion magazines was probably the leading factor/influence that got me into fashion. I was 13 when a cousin from the US brought home Seventeen. I loved it and dad (metrosexual dad) got me a subscription. It was 2 months late because of the turtlish Philippine post but I was always ecstatic when it was time to open my brown envelope with crisp new magazine (sans barcode). Back when i was in Uni the first time..16-20..ahem ahem..I would read at least 5 magazines a month from cover to cover. Then came the internet addiction and the addiction to fashion blogs ans websites..slowly slowly my love for my glossies waned. I got the information I need from news online and the lush fashion editorials always got posted online. The fact that my storage space in London is almost non-existent didn't really help..at home in the Philippines I have like a decade worth of magazines neatly arranged in my bedroom/warehouse.

I don't think magazines will go away. It's in the same way radio didnt really disappear when TV came. There will be changes in how magazines are produced and consumed and I hope they are for the better. Now, I'm just happy to buy glossies that are collector worth. So in the last couple of months my purchases included the all black Vogue Italia, Carla Bruni cover for Vanity Fair (which I decided to buy for a friend instead) and most recently this amazing Harper's Bazaar with Stephanie Seymour Swarovski cover.

Stephanie Seymour is my fave Super...I cant get enough of her face! Nine kids and she can still manage to go naked on a cover of a magazine! And the Swarovski detailing of Marc Quinn is lush. He is more famously known for his gold statue of Kate Moss. The contents of the magazine are top as well.

That is what I'm talking about..With new media rising, the challenge for magazines is to come up with innovative and relevant material that will entice the audience to hit the newsstands, grab a copy and turn the pages instead of just sitting and clicking away. I must say number 1 and 2 on my list are Vogue Paris and Vogue Italia. Now..if only I could read them..;) then again isn't it luxury to have someone read it to you..;p

alfajor surprise

2008-09-11T18:19:00.004+01:00

i was torn on whether to go home or head to K's place yesterday. i left it all up to chance and decided that whichever bus comes first, the one headed to my place, or the one headed to her place, would be the one take...and home it was!

and as my roomie is away i was left with an empty room with a sweet surpise...atop my table was this:

alfajor from argetina!! all that sinful caramel! sweet tooth heaven! what would a wandergirl be without tasting sweets from around the world now no?!? hehehe...as one good friend described i often have a salad and five courses for dessert meal...

anyhoo, the reason i was delighted...back in the philippines, one could only get alfajor from baguio..up north..which means someone you know should bring it back for you from a trip there...here's how alfajor from good shepherd baguio looks like...

as always, anything from the philippines is far sweeter than any variant available..
good bet would be alfajor landing in the country through the spanish conquistadores and their friends..then again this type of alfajor is more common in south america..oh well..bottomline is it's another trace of latino culture in the pacific islands!

ps. another surprise was finding the stove left open!! scaary...and unsurprisingly i burned my two fingers with the electric stove..i guess that's punishment for my caramel sin ;p