NEW YORK!

New York! The big apple or the city that never sleeps to some but for me, it is the home of my queens, S & B; the empire of Serena and Blair; the playground of Carrie Bradshaw,Samantha Jones. Charlotte York Goldenblatt and Miranda Hobbes; the home of Gossip Girl and Sex and the City.  I went for a quick trip (and when I said quick, I meant like a 3 days and 2 nights trip only) to visit my relatives here as well as have a brief look-see ( more like an amazing race) into the city.  I had so much in my itinerary but had so little time to go everywhere I had planned.  But I did make the most of my visit and you can watch out for all the amazing places in my future blog posts here.

I have always been told that New York is really cold so I actually came prepared.  But I was thankful that it was not snowing when I arrived or else, it would have been difficult to go to the places I had in mind.  And besides, cold weather and I don't really like each other.  So for this amazing race day 1, I picked a nice floral dress with a choker like neckline which is technically not for winter.  I carried a wool scarf in my bag just in case the temperature drops (and it did in the evening! and yeah I was still out that time dong skyline shots at Gantry park).  I paired the dress with black tights and mind you, I wore 2 tights and a pair of thigh high boots just to be sure.  It was a good thing because the sun was up most of the time so it kept us warm.

WHAT I WORE:

camel long coat from FOREVER 21

floral dress from H&M

thigh high boots from BOOTSIES

eyewear from COTTON ON

charcoal gray tote bag from STEVE MADDEN

BLOODY RED AT THE VENETIAN

Venetian,to me, is synonymous already to luxurious intricate hotel interior design.  I have been to the Venetian at Macau so it was not really a big surprise for me to see this hotel's interior.  Nevertheless, it still left me breathless.  It was even a big plus to find an ongoing travel photography exhibit which left me drooling over everything.

The Las Vegas Venetian is the original Venetian hotel; much older than the Macau one.  They both have the inner canal feature, the blue sky ceiling as well as the huge plaza areas.  But I guess, Vegas' shining point is its exterior Grand Canal which spans the whole facade of the hotel.  Baroque ceilings and mouldings are everywhere inside the hotel, reminiscent of the old Italian grandeur.

WHAT I WORE:

red off-shoulder dress from H&M

caleen boots from ISABEL MARANT

charcoal gray tasseled tote from STEVE MADDEN

eyewear from COTTON ON

in the shadows

holding hands with my munchkin

people watching

red

the photography exhibit

the inner canal

the grand canal

ORANGE PICKING AT PAUMA VALLEY

I had the chance to visit a large orange orchard when I was in SoCal; and when I say large, it means a really....really massive farm that stretches from the valley up to the mountain.  We even had to ride the car just to reach some of the orange and lemon groves from the farm house.  I dared not to go up the mountain because I am not built for mountains anymore.  Sometimes, I could not even believe that I used to hike a lot when I was a whole lot younger.

The farm is owned by the lovely Uncle Ben and Aunt Marge Burgos, who hosted a sumptuous lunch for us as well.  The kids enjoyed the trip and frolicked around the "not-so-friendly to adults with back problems" areas.  The adults on the other hand enjoyed picking oranges, lemons, tangerines and blood oranges.  We even got to bring home a rather huge pumpkin!

WHAT I WORE:

shirtdress from H&M

black vest from WALMART'S  CLEARANCE SALE (yup!5 dollars only)

flared pants from HAIDUOYI

scarf from H&M (gift from a good friend)

bag from LUXE

caleen boots from ISABEL MARANT

with Blake

with my lovely Aunt Lou and Uncle Ben

yes, that is my tattooed arm

the Burgos, Almenana ,and Palisoc

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

Welcome to the flamboyant display of luxury and entertainment; the dizzying throngs of people; the glitzy sparkling lights of the nightclubs and bars; the luxurious and pompous hotels' slash casinos' facades that try to lure you in for a night of merriment and gambling.  This is Las Vegas for me  - a city that screams everything in unbelievable extremes.  Like a beacon in the middle of the desert, its sparkling light never ceases to invite tourists in; no matter what age, race or face you have.  The language is money; the currency is the willingness to spend thousands of bucks inside it.

We went here on a family trip as a celebration for Uncle Paul's birthday as well as the kids' winter break.  They toured us around the strip and we got bedazzled by the Bellagio's water fountain show.  Apart from the beauty of the hotels' architecture and interior, Las Vegas confused me a lot.  It is a far cry from the quiet and simple life at SoCal area.  Everything was abuzz; everything was blaring and ostentatious.  Maybe I have reached that age when nights of partying are not my thing anymore.  I am done with that.  I prefer a quiet night of reading or writing, or more so, dining with good friends and family.  I felt that it was quite impossible to achieve that kind of night out in Vegas.  Yes, I can go to Vegas from time to time but frankly, I can't live there.  I don't have the adrenaline for that anymore.

The architecture of this place is something to return to, I must say.  Most of the hotels interiors are really jaw dropping marvellous. They have everything from renaissance inspired to contemporary metal cladded hotels and buildings.  It is just so difficult to get a good shot mainly because of the mammoth crowd.

WHAT I WORE:

orange coloured sweater from H&M

red printed culottes from H&M

camel coat from FOREVER 21

caleen boots from ISABEL MARANT

tote bag from STEVE MADDEN