Arizona Goodness

A way back in early 2017, I was standing at the border of two states; in between Nevada and Arizona to be a tad more specific.  Fast forward to late 2018 and I found myself thriving somewhere I had never imagined I will be living; under the Arizona sun; the Phoenix valley.  Being a massive Twilight fan, it is a little bit exciting to live where Bella Swan spent the early part of her teen-age years. 

So what actually brought me to this unbelievable place? It all started with a work offer from a design build company. Yes, I currently work here now and have been enjoying it.  I did not even have an inkling that I will fall in love with this state because I was dead set on living in California where my relatives are.  I just went head over heels with the vast outdoors and panoramic landscape here which are just 10-15 minutes away from my doorstep.   It is living with the convenience of both the city lifestyle and nature.  Everywhere I look is just picturesque and being a photography hobbyist, of course, Arizona gives me that rush with all the natural beauty it has to offer.

Lake Saguaro

First day in Arizona


Exploring










Boots from Fergilicious; bag feom Calvin Klein; Jumper from Asos; eyewear feom Aldo; cap from H&M

Collaboration with Nora NYC

 

Classy and Chic.  These are the key features that I look for in an eye-wear.  Sunglasses have been an integral part of my everyday life mainly because I am a night owl.  And to insomniacs like me, we all know what happens the next day after a long night....grotesque sallow circles around the eyes that can rival any walking dead which cause us to be best friends with concealers and of course,  the ever reliable sunglasses. Eyewear is more than just a fashionable accessory to me; it helps me survive a dreaded aftermath of a sleep-deprived night.  My eyewear should be functional enough to cover those hideous eyebags and block a great deal of sunlight and yet elegant enough to get me through client meetings and work.

This is what I love with Nora NYC.  Their extensive design collections of eyewear is like a total candyshop to sunglasses fanatics like me.  I do like the fact that their designs range from trendy mirrored and colored lenses to classic elegant pieces like the one I've got here, "Liberty".





It is cat eyed shaped black frames with a gold accent at the sides.  I am particularly fond of its size mainly because it gives a lot of coverage. As you notice in most of my blog posts, I am almost always wearing humongous sunglasses that almost covers half of my face most of the time.

You can get your own too and use my code "chillsclosetshades" for a 20% off your purchase.

Love never fails-The Bohemian Wedding Vows Renewal series- chapter 1 (Pre-Wedding)

 

Last February 14, 2018 marked one of the most important milestones in my married life. My husband and I were entering the 13th year of our marriage that month when we decided to renew our wedding vows once again and recommit our vows to God before our lives change again big time (cross-continent moving and all).  I recall that it was after our Bible study when we decided to do it; and that we were racing against time.  All we know is that we had to do it before we begin a new chapter of our lives in America.  I tried hard not to do it on Valentine's date but sadly, there was no other available schedule because of a lot of factors.  Stuffs like return flights, availability of our families and our own packed time schedule made it impossible to choose another date, so we settled for the 14th.

 Our plans started rolling after finalizing the date, and our daughter volunteered to make the teaser video for the event.  I have always known that I wanted a boho themed wedding.  I was never a fan of those very formal wedding celebrations, mainly because I have always wanted the relaxed setting of a beach.

Everything was a whirlwind of plans.  We only had about a month of planning before the event.  We wanted it to be really small and intimate; rededicating our marriage is something very special to us.. A romantic, intimate beach wedding is what I have always wished for. However, one of the major concerns we had is that the resort should be dog-friendly.  We brought home all our dogs from Guangzhou and they should be in our wedding.  We found the perfect beach side setting at Stilts Calatagan.  We did not want the venue to be far from Manila mainly because we have to consider majority of the attendees' convenience and ours too. We also had to address our dogs' comfort during the travel.  They just came from the first plane ride of their lives, we did not want them to be traumatized even further. And Stilts is majestic! The view is spectacular and they were very accommodating to us and all our whims in spite of a short period of notice. I will discuss the setup later on another series of this blog- the Celebration Part.

After coordinating with Stilts about their packages and finalizing the details/set-up with them, we proceeded to look for my gown.  Initially, I wanted to buy online because that is the easiest one for me. I have a very demanding work schedule so my availability is quite difficult but my husband did not want to do that.  He said we are already in Guangzhou and there is actually a so called "wedding street" here where you can find almost everything for a bride and the wedding entourage so we should just go there and make sure of the fit.  So off we went one Saturday and visited several shops at the wedding street. Honestly, it only took me 3 hours to find the dress.  I already knew what I wanted and the only thing we need to do is find the ready made version.  The hubby wanted to have my measurements taken and made to order but I was adamant to bring home a gown that night. Mainly because we had no time, it was just roughly two weeks before our flight and I just wanted everything to be ready early.

 I chose a full bodied gown with a beaded corset top.  I told the seller to take out the 3 layers of petticoat underneath because I don't want a poofy princess cut ballgown.  And yes, she did take out everything underneath and assured me that it won't be bulgy when I wear it.  I decided to wear a lace embroidered Bohemian white robe on top of the gown to downplay its formality.  It was fun having my husband, daughter and our bible study leader around while I looked for the gown; they took turns ridiculing me and weighing the pros and cons of the gowns; (like no, you can't walk in that or you will look like a "suman" in that fishtail gown)

I opted to wear sandals because of the setting but of course, I just had to have the bejeweled one!  I ordered this one online and it is a sparkling  gladiator slippers.  Honestly, it was covered by my gown so it would not actually have mattered how dazzling it is but in my mind, I did not really care if people can see it; as long as I know that I have my glitzy gladiators underneath. Hell yeah! I am extra like that!

I will be writing more about the day itself on the next chapter in this series.  Stay tuned for other details.  Till the next one, lovelies!


All the love!
Sheri

COLD SHOULDER CLASSIC

I love cold shoulder tops because it gives a hint of your shoulders without the commitment of going out without sleeves.  It exudes sexiness without showing too much skin.  Though it has the tendency to be quite a weekend wardrobe rather than an office attire, it can still be a "work appropriate" ensemble if matched with the right stuffs.  Here, I paired the colourful cold shoulder top with a basic black skirt and a pair of tie wrap heels.  My style strategy whenever I wear a trendy piece is to mute down the other parts of my outfit so as to highlight the trend and keep everything else  a tad more classic.  In this way, I am able to wear it to work.

WHAT I WORE:

blue cold shoulder top from FOREVER 21

black skirt from MANGO

medium flap bag from CHANEL

tie wrap heels from JING MEI (And I got this pair for about 200php or 5USD only!)

eyewear from MIU MIU

pearl necklace from MARCUS (birthday gift from a good friend of mine)

pearl clover bracelet from VAN CLEEF AND ARPELS

watch from LOCMAN

The hub's bday gift to me about 2 or 3 years ago

URBAN GOTH

I am a person who is really fond of colors; however, there are just some days when I feel like wearing an all black ensemble works.  This urban Goth look actually started because of the necklace. Sometimes, a small piece of accessory can actually dictate the whole look for the day.  The necklace reminds me of the medieval era and since I want to highlight its ruby color, it goes without saying that the background should be black.  I mixed and matched my fabrics by combining a sheer outerwear with a cotton sundress, a suede wedge boots and a leather bag.

WHAT I WORE:

sheer outerwear from FOREVER 21

racerback black sundress from FOREVER 21

suede wedge boots from H&M

pandora bag from GIVENCHY

earrings and necklace from CAROL DAUPLAISE

THE PENCIL SKIRT

One can usually find a pencil skirt in an office woman's closet.  For years, this skirt have been repeatedly referred to as one of the most versatile and reliable office wear.  If you don't know what to wear to work in the morning, grab your pencil skirt and voila! you will emerge with a polished look for the office.  Here, I opted to wear a printed pencil skirt instead of the usual plain coloured ones.  I kept the rest of my outfit simple and in solid colours so that the focus will be on the skirt.

WHAT I WORE:

pencil skirt from H&M

white blouse with black neck piping from H&M

mini faye from CHLOE

gray vest from REVERIE UOMO

boots from H&M

eyewear from PRADA

choker from Allyson