The Collection is Now Complete

My Jason Wu for Target frenzy was going strong, 18 days after launch date. 2 nights ago, I was on target.com, searching for the cat tote. I got excited cuz after I activated the "find in store" feature, I saw that one of my local stores had it in "limited stock". I called the store, and the operator said it was an error. I looked at the clock. 8:25 pm. 35 minutes until one of my favorite shows, "Person of Interest", would start. I was in my pajamas. It was possible for me to change into jeans and a T-shirt, drive over there (it was only 10 minutes away), check the store, and drive back in time without missing a minute of my show. My frenzy died right then and there. I knew it did cuz I decided against going. If it was the previous week, I totally would've done it. I decided I wasn't going to buy any more from this collection, and I resolved to a life of going without the cat tote.

I went to 4 Target stores today. I was searching for a strapless bra. This weight loss has been great for me for the most part. Clothes have been pretty easy to find, but bras are another story. I'd given up on the tote, and the 3rd store didn't even carry the JWfT collection (they got the occasional return, though). This was the same store that had the tote in "limited stock" 2 nights ago. The lingerie department was right next to jewelry, so I decided to peek anyway. I saw a couple of canvas items in a random place. One was the JWfT striped tote, and the other...no! It couldn't be! I picked it up. It was!

There was a surge of adrenaline going through my body. It was the same rush I felt on Feb. 5, launch date of the collection, when I ran past stink-eye chick up the stairs. I made a beeline for the register. There was a mother/son duo buying a bunch of stuff in front of me, and they bought their items in 3 separate transactions. They seemed to take forever, and the cashier was super-slow. I didn't want any customers to see me with the tote, so I kept it in my hands until it was my turn to be rung up. My turn came, and I handed the cashier the tote. He scanned the tag. My total came up, and I immediately swiped my debit card. Yay! It's really mine! (Silent) Valley girl scream as I floated back to my car! I was so excited I forgot to look for the bra. I went back, but no such luck. I went to another Target on the way home. No luck. I even went to Wal-Mart. No luck. Who knew a 32C would be so hard to find?!

So now my collection's complete. I am done. I ended my hunting-and-gathering frenzy on a high note. I now have all 3 cat items from JWfT: the tote, scarf, and bag. I also have 2 cute dresses, the poofy black prom dress with the nude belt and the navy floral dress worn by First Lady Michelle Obama (I guess to prove that she's just like us, shopping at Target lol).

My Visit to the Whitney Houston Shrine

Hello, everyone. How was your Presidents' Day weekend? For my international readers, I'll explain a little about this. 2 of our most well-known American Presidents, George Washington (born on Feb. 22) and Abraham Lincoln (born on Feb. 12), are considered so special that their birthdays must be acknowledged as national holidays (paid time off for many of us). There was a time when these 2 days were acknowledged as 2 separate holidays, but that is no more. Instead, we celebrate both birthdays on the 3rd Monday of each February. Many people choose to go out of town (Vegas is a popular destination for many Angelenos), but I usually stay in town to get stuff done.

So what did I get done? Since launch date (Feb. 5), I attempted to build a bigger collection of Jason Wu for Target items by scouring various Target stores in the LA area. I was pretty successful last weekend, when I found 3 of the infamous cat-print scarves in a Target store 35 miles from my house. I did think of leaving 1 on the rack for a poor soul who'd been hunting it down, but I ended up snatching all 3. I didn't want to take any chances that I wouldn't ever find them again. I turned out to be right. I haven't seen them in any store since that day. Don't fret, though. All of them went to dear friends/family who were absolutely grateful and will keep in order to treasure. I was unsuccessful this Presidents' Day weekend with that, but it still turned out to be a good weekend nonetheless.

So while on the hunt for more JW for T items, I drove by Beverly Hills and decided to stop for a few minutes to visit the shrine of the dearly departed Whitney Houston, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she passed away. There were others there, reading the cards/notes filled with sincere words. The candles were burning, the flowers still strewn, even 8 days after her death. I took a close-up pic of 2 of the many handwritten notes. I chose these 2 in particular because they came from people from countries far away. It just goes to show how far-reaching Whitney's fan base was. She's a true inspiration to singers and people in general. There will never be another singer like her. It's sad to think about how her career declined toward the end of her very short life, but I choose

to remember her in her prime. "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?", "One Moment in Time", and "When You Believe" (her duet with Mariah Carey, from the soundtrack of Prince of Egypt) were my favorites songs of hers.

Time permitting, I think I'll revisit the shrine and leave my own little token of affection for her. I'll let you know how that goes.

Jason Wu for Target

In all the years that high-end designers have been doing collaborations with mass-market chains, I had never lined up for opening day of any of them. I never felt it was justified to miss work just to buy clothes. But when the Jason Wu for Target collaboration came, and I found out the launch date was on a Sunday, I decided this would be my first time. I got up even earlier than I do for work, went on an early coffee run, and got to Target by 7:15 am. There were about 6 women already waiting outside. I sat in between and struck up a conversation with a mom-daughter combo who were super-sweet. The mom even held some of my clothes while I was in the fitting room. There were a couple of hard-core followers, one wearing a zigzag Missoni for Target beanie. One red-haired girl rambled about the items she wanted and her efforts to buy them (without any success) on target.com. At about 7:30, a large middle-aged Black man pulled up and got out of his car, holding papers. He immediately, in his loud and deep voice, stated that he was embarrassed to be there, but did so on behalf of his wife, whom he loved enough to do this, and on Super Bowl Sunday, too (I later helped him pick up the cat scarf, which he dropped on the floor and physically couldn't pick up).

7:45 am, and the ladies (and man) crowded around the front entrance. We joked and talked, and though everyone had been nice while we were seated minutes earlier, there were a few people who turned. 3 people stepped in front of me (there was no formal line), and the red-haired girl made comments best kept to herself. She seemed polite before this time, but when I tried to make polite conversation about certain pieces, she snarled and refused to tell me which ones she wanted (although she was happy to talk about it minutes earlier). The doors opened, and we all made a run for it. I decided to go against the grain by opting for the stairs instead of the escalator. My legs may be short, but I earned a bronze medal for the hurdle/sprint event while I was on the track team in high school, so I was able to go up them 2 at a time. It worked cuz I and the only other person who opted for the stairs were the first 2 to the racks. I even got there ahead of red-haired girl and the cutters! Anyway...

I ended up getting what I wanted from there, but there were a couple of items not even in the store, for which I will look in the coming weeks (at least Target is close enough to my work that I go there for lunch often anyway). I'm bummed I missed out on most of the accessories, but managed to snag a bag and a cat scarf. I'm so glad I opted for the stairs cuz within 5 minutes, all the dresses in size 2/XS were gone, and many ladies complained that this was the size they needed, but could find only L/12 and up. My final haul is pictured on the right.

What we do for fashion and exclusivity! And when it's exclusive fashion, it's total madness!

$135 for a T-Shirt?!

Hi again, dear readers.

I don't have anything really exciting to report on, yet I've been incredibly busy.

One of the things that have kept me busy is dealing with my new (skinnier) body. Of course, with a new body comes new clothes. Hardly any of my clothes fit anymore. Sounds great, right? Yes and no. I do appreciate my new bod, but I'm trying really hard to save money, so now's not the best time to splurge on clothes, like I did in the past.

I decided to give it a go this past weekend. I hit up my local malls, but when I didn't find anything, decided to head to Robertson Blvd. to check out Nanette Lepore, Sky, Kitson, etc. I was hoping some fall sale items would be available. They were, but I realize that in LA, the size 0s and 2s usually end up flying off the shelves, so I ended up buying nothing. I also checked out James Perse, the perfect brand to fit the laid-back Cali lifestyle. I found this great T-shirt that I couldn't wait to try on (pic is from jamesperse.com). Then I looked at the price tag-$135. No way...I was hoping to get a pair of jeans and a T-shirt for that much. Have I really been out of the shopping game for so long that I'm the only one who feels this can't be normal?! Yikes...let me know what y'all think.

Hello, 2012!

Finally...I'm back! For the last month, I've been trying to post several times, only to find that my entries never went through. I'd have these posts all written out, then when I'd hit "Publish Post", nothing would happen. Oh, well, no use dwelling on that now.

Anyway, Happy 2012, everybody! I have good feelings about leap years. 2008 was a pretty good year for me, and I believe that 2012 will be even better.

I meant to do this on 1/1, but couldn't (read the first paragraph for the explanation), so I'm doing it now. Here are 3 lists that reflect what happened to me in 2011 and what I anticipate will happen in 2012. In honor of the "11" number and the fact that there are "3" lists and that I turned "33" in 2011, each of the lists has 11 items (I can't help it--I'm a numbers junkie!).

Things I (Hope to Have) Left Behind in 2011:

1) worrying about work-related matters outside work hours

2) being overweight

3) worrying about finding Mr. Right

4) willing people to be different than they really are

5) taking rude people's rude comments too personally

6) foolish spending on clothes/shoes/accessories I don't wear/use

7) not getting enough sleep

8) feeling "old" about being in my 30s

9) not exercising enough

10) unnecessary drama

11) focusing on what's wrong in my life

Things I Take From 2011 into 2012:

1) being in good shape

2) wearing all the fabulous shoes and dresses I bought in 2011

3) the thrill of traveling

4) my end-of-year bonus!

5) my renewed zest for dance classes

6) my renewed sense of domesticity

7) taking pride in my job, but realizing that a balance is important

8) memories of the time I spent with my family and friends

9) pride in tackling a huge portion of my student loan debt

10) realizing the importance of staying in touch with old friends

11) a newfound appreciation of champagne

Things I Look Forward to in 2012:

1) drinking more champagne!

2) joining Facebook to stay in touch with friends? (yeah, right...but I will stay in touch)

3) losing a few more pounds

4) a trip to NYC

5) a trip to the Middle East

6) saving more money for future dreams

7) a higher sense of self-esteem

8) more home-cooked meals

9) more time with family

10) becoming a better professional

11) trying a new hairstyle

Remember that entry from November when I was on a search for the perfect party dress from Rebecca Taylor? I found it a couple of weeks later! I leave you all with this photo of me in the dress, which I picked up on sale through the Saks e-commerce site. I'd been searching for it forever and nearly shelled out $400+ for it at full price, but couldn't even do that cuz I couldn't find it in my size. And that's because, after all my efforts and sacrifices, I can finally wear a size 2 again! Here's the dress, paired with a purchase from my East Coast adventure, my Christian Louboutin batik python No Prives:

Also, I wish to welcome my 4 new followers. I'd name you each individually, but for some reason, I can't see your names when I click on my followers page. Anyway, you know who you are, and I say hi to you and "Happy 2012" to all my readers!

My Hermes Bags

Today I will post about the most popular Hermes category of goods: bags.

First up, I will talk about my Paris-Bombay, the bag in the front. It's PM size and made of black vache liegee leather. I saw it in the Hermes ad in several fashion magazines, in white, and fell in love with it. However, I'm always afraid of how easily white bags get dirty. So I thought, I'd love to get that bag in black. A few weeks later, I spotted the subject of my thoughts in the display case at the boutique. My sales associate (SA) told me that they had gotten so many requests for that particular bag, but as it was the hot new bag at the time, there were no waiting lists. It was either podium/special order or try your luck at the boutique. That edged me toward getting it, and it was a great buy because I have used it as an evening bag at quite a few functions.

Onto the Birkins...the one on the left is a 35 cm, and it's made of rouge garrance clemence leather and palladium (silver) hardware. It was an impulse buy. I was again back at the boutique with my friend M. It had literally arrived just a few minutes before we got there, and our SA told us that it was for sale. I'd been thinking I wanted a red Birkin, and there was my chance. I snatched it up right then and there. I'm so glad I got it because rouge garrance is now discontinued. It's the perfect shade of "lipstick red".

The one on the right is a 30 cm, and it's made of blue jean togo and gold hardware. I told myself, years prior to getting it, that if I ever got a Birkin, it would be blue jean. I've been told by many SAs that, for years, blue jean has been the most popular color for Birkins, right beneath black. As a blue jean Birkin is extremely hard to find on the shelf, I knew my only shot would be to order one. I also knew that even if I did find one, they're usually made with palladium hardware. Did a blue jean Birkin with gold hardware exist? I learned the answer when I saw a picture online of Victoria Beckham with one. It's a pretty famous pic, she's walking on a street in Spain, wearing a matching blue sweater that just barely skims the tops of her thighs, and nothing else. As soon as the next podium came around, I knew what I wanted.

I love that I have at least one bag made just for me, to my specifications, and others that were bought just because. Will I ever buy another Birkin? Maybe. They're so special, so to own even one is a blessing. I don't know if I could pass up a black one, and since it's extremely hard to find, I know if I ever do see one, I'll have to grab the opportunity. Maybe an exotic, but that'll have to wait until some other stuff gets taken care of...so a possible 40th birthday present? We'll have to wait and see.

My Hermes "Big Silks"

I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving Day! As I understand Thanksgiving Day is an American holiday, I would like to say "have a great day" to my readers outside the US, whether you're celebrating something or not.

Next category of Hermes goods to be introduced are my "big silks". These are my scarves, in gavroche size. I have just 2 of these right now. I make it a point to buy these only if I like the style enough to frame it. I am likely going to do that someday with these scarves. The style on the left is called "Chasse en Indie". I absolutely love the colorway of this. I've worn it tied around my waist with a solid black dress. The one on the right was the special scarf created in 2007 for the opening of the Wall Street boutique in New York City. I bought it during my trip to NYC that year, at the Wall Street boutique. It had been open for less than 2 weeks when I visited it. The writing around the edges of this scarf names the various neighborhoods of NYC.

The trip to New York City that year was a memorable one. It was the first vacation I ever went on that I paid for myself by myself, 3 years after getting my Master's degree and working hard at jobs that required long hours. I was 28 years old traveling in the big city all alone. I felt like there was so much to see and that I wasn't even close to fulfilling my dreams, but I knew I'd get there one day. Today, at having just turned 33 years old, I feel like I'm just a little closer. It's exciting, knowing the best is yet to come.

Tomorrow's category...drumroll, please...bags!