Tag: Online Shops

On a hunt for a new journal; Thoughts on Psalm 86:15

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Where’s a Peter Pauper Press Journal when you need one? I haven’t seen any in the usual places lately, much to my frustration. And just now I find myself browsing PPP’s online catalog and daydreaming about getting my hands on the journals, specifically these two designs:

Yellow is such a happy color, yeah?

My last journal ran out of pages, and I’ve been using this non-PPP notebook for a while now. And it’s affecting my writing rituals! The paper is too thin, the lines are too thick.. Or I could just be lazy and simply finding excuses. I haven’t written long journal entries lately, and have been merely jotting down verses and quick notes here and there. I miss being absorbed in paper and ink and letting my hand speak for my heart.

When will I ever have the time? (And the journal? Hah!)

I have so much going on in my list, not to mention the house is still a mess, and I’m killing myself for not being able to keep up with everything. It’s a horrid habit of mine, putting my standards up too high—on others, and mostly on myself. Then I end up feeling disappointed about not meeting my own expectations.

And then words like this hit me hard in the head, and I’m amazed once again how God knows what I need to hear/read when I need them:

But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. ~Psalm 86:15

Our Lord understands our limits. He realizes our struggles. He knows how much pressure we can take. He knows what measures of grace and mercy and strength we’ll require. He knows how we’re put together.

Frankly, His expectations are not nearly as unrealistic as ours.

When we don’t live up to the agenda we have set, we feel like He is going to dump a truckload of judgment on us. But that will not happen.

So why do we fear it could?

~Chuck Swindoll

I heaved a sigh of relief, thanking God for being merciful, and gracious, and forgiving, when others, or even we, can’t forgive ourselves.

I grabbed a pen and a paper to write these words down. And I thought maybe that’s why I suddenly miss having a journal—I remember things better when I write them down.

And these days, these are the kind of stuff I need to remember.

New journal, new adventure

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I have a new journal, and it’s pink!

I say, it takes some serious brand obsession familiarity to spot a Peter Pauper Press journal in local book stores here in Manila. Especially since there are many other pretty journals of various brands and sizes these days, piled up together in one place. Peter Pauper Press doesn’t have an exclusively labeled section, but for some reason, one quick scan through a pile of notebooks and I already know if PPP’s available or not. So you can just imagine my delight whenever I find one when I need one!

I found this Pink Ascot Journal at National Bookstore in Greenbelt 1, just in time for my last journal to run out of pages. It’s a different shade from the other Peter Pauper Press journals I had (I obviously prefer blues and greens), but hey, change is good.

It’s that time of my life when I want to just.. write down everything! Every thought, every verse, every prayer, every name who’s touched our lives in a special way. I want to remember these days, preserve them in the pages of my journal so that someday, I can look back and remember how God made things happen.

Now if only I can get over the first trimester’s nausea, then maybe I can actually write (and blog) more! Ahhh, the dizziness is just too.. overwhelming! Like, no amount of sleep is enough.

I remember blogging one Saturday in March,

Do you feel it too, when something BIG is about to happen—a new adventure looming in the horizon? Time spent in solitude, they say, prepares us for changes and challenges that are about to come our way. My husband and I don’t know what our new adventure is going to be exactly, and when, and how, but something inside me is feeling giddy and restless these days. In a good, bring-it-on-Lord kind of way.

I didn’t know I was pregnant already when I typed that!

It makes me smile now; oh the humor of it all! Be careful what you ask for, is what they always say.

This God we live for, He’s so full of surprises. :)

Crazy about Peter Pauper Press Journals

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I’m very brand-loyal. When I found the right brand of pen, you bet that’s the only brand you’d ever see me buy. Same goes with cosmetics. And laptops. And journals.

Picking up my first Peter Pauper Press journal was random. I got the first blue floral-printed journal that caught my attention from a pile of stuff at a FullyBooked counter at the start of 2011. Since then, I never bought any other brand of notebook other than PPP.

I had a total of 7 journals last year, including the one I’m writing on right now. Allow me to share photos of them because they’re just too photogenic! And they’re actually prettier in real life than the ones you see on their product catalog!

It’s difficult finding them here in Manila, so when I was in New York, I hoarded a couple of pieces from Barnes and Noble. Later on I learned that if you looked hard enough, you’d find them at some National Bookstore, Power Books and Fully Booked branches. I love them so much I started buying them not just for myself but to give to some friends as well.

To make it sweeter, I’ve so far made sure I didn’t get the same design twice. (Hover over the photos to see the captions.)

Their paper is usually plain white and finely-ruled, but once in a while you get yourself a little surprise. Some of these notebooks come with dainty little prints like these:

I’ve made myself visible online all these years, blogging, twitting, posting here and there; but nothing still compares to writing things down old school way—paper, ink, and heart. My journals are the keeper of my most honest thoughts and musings, my most daring prayers, and even my dried-up tears on its pages.

I love the thought that long after my blog sites are abandoned, my eyesight too blurry to see the computer screen, and my hand too shaky to type on a computer keyboard, I still have trinkets of my life preserved in a box-full of journals, which, hopefully, I’d get to hand down to my kids.

Day 20: Work of art + labor of love = Treatbox

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20/30: Bokeh. Christmas lights make for beautiful bokehs. (:

When my cousin, Ate Dots, confirmed to me that she and her husband were flying in from Sydney to attend our wedding, I just knew that I wouldn’t want anyone else to do our wedding cake but her. Ever since the launch of Treatbox, I’ve been an avid fan of their creations and have often wished they shipped their treats internationally.

Needless to say, our wedding cake was beautifully made, even better than I imagined. Ate Dots captured the color palette perfectly and the details were so intricately designed it was an instant subject of many of our photographs. She even captured my hair, my dress, my bouquet, my dimple and Bud’s mole. I still have the cake topper kept in a jar, but the cake has (obviously) long been gone. Just the same, it’s gifts like this that leave behind beautiful memories and photographs, ones you’d keep looking at for years to come.

Thanks Ate Dots and Kuya Mitch (and Jonah!) for bringing Treatbox right to our reach, and for not missing our wedding for the world. (:

Shameless plug: If you’re in Sydney, specifically in Paramatta, Blacktown and Eastern Suburbs, do check out Treatbox! They specialize in custom-made, eye-candy fondant cakes and cake pops, and I heard Ate Dots’ silvanas are really delicious too!

Playing with Florals, Pinks and Plums

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I bought a body form for TheDreamerie last month coz I initially thought I was doing this whole online boutique thing solo and without a resident model to work with. But now that I’m working with a partner, we both agreed to use real people as models in our product shoots.

I’m sure I’ll still have a use for this mannequin in the future. But for now, I play dress up in my spare time, much like playing with a life-size doll. Hence the mannequin’s name, Barbie. (Yes, I name stuff, deal with it.)

Here’s my own live version of Polyvore. ;)

Pink Plums and Florals

I abhorred purple my whole life (because it reminds me of Barney), until recently. I’d like to think of it as Xaris‘ crazy addiction with anything purple rubbing on me. Now, I’m crazy about the color too! Not all hues of purple though. I don’t like flashy neon purples. Instead I like the deep shade of plum. (And you know how much I like it with blue.)

Today I put on Barbie these girly colors of pink and plum, balanced out with some yellow gold, bronze and brown.

Playing with Pinks and Plums

Rose Watch Locket from Stoic

Pink Plum and Brown Zara Muffler/Scarf

Leather Belt from Terra Nova

Purple Bag from Folded and Hung

Pink Floral Skirt

Knitted muffler from Zara; Brown leather belt from Petit Monde; Purple faux leather purse from Fold and Hung; Floral printed skirt from *ehem* TheDreamerie *ehem*, thrifted

I’m addicted to skirts that are worn as tube dresses.

Also, I’m addicted to skirts and dresses with pretty patterns and fabrics, that even though I don’t like the cut, or it’s too long for my liking, I’d still get it off the rack because I can’t stand turning my back on something so pretty. (Is there some cure to this form of obsession?)

Other than the lovely fabric, there are a lot of things you can do with this skirt so I thought it was worth stocking it up in the shop. It’s garterized and has draw strings, which makes it wearable as a tube dress, or a skirt that falls up to mid-calf, or a high-waisted skirt. And you can just imagine the many colors you can mix and match with this skirt’s pretty floral print!

It reminds me of Reese Witherspoon when she was Melanie Smooter in Sweet Home Alabama. She went back to her home town wearing a black-and-white floral printed mid-calf skirt, a plain black off-shoulder top, and black pointed knee high leather boots. Ahh, I totally digged the Southern look.

How about you? What’s your latest obsession? :)

If I knew her before, I would have named that rose-patterned top ‘Feanne’

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The other day, Feanne posted this lovely photo of herself wearing this vintage rose-pattered long-sleeved top she purchased from the first collection of dresses in the shop. :)

By Feanne

Later on, I found an outtake in her tumblr account:

By Feanne

Isn’t she pretty? :)

Pay her a visit, you won’t regret it, she’s a brilliant artist: Site | Tumblr | Deviantart

It has been a blast since TheDreamerie was launched three weeks ago. I admit that venturing into something that would generate extra income was among the major reasons why the idea of putting up an online store came to fruition (not to mention finding an outlet for my unavoidable impulsive shopping sprees, but that goes without saying). However, I realized as I went about finding clothes and dresses to put up in the shop that the real profit in this business, more than the money, is meeting new people and finding items that would inspire others to express themselves through their clothing.

Is it so weird that I’ve developed a certain attachment to the clothes we put up in the shop? Ahhh, especially after naming them as if they’re our children! Conversations like, “Have you sent out Fiona to Liz already?” or “This dress looks like Seraphim to me.” or “Yay, someone is getting Janice!” are normal everyday YM exchange between me and Marian, as if we talk about real people and not clothes. I guess what I’m trying to say is, more than the thrill of shopping and being surrounded by pretty vintage clothes, I’ve grown to love the idea of finding these dresses someone to take care of them.

Such is how I felt when I saw Feanne’s self portraits. It made my heart swell with joy knowing that this rose-patterned long-sleeved top, which used to be hanging in some unnoticed rack in the corner of a thrift store in some old building in the city, which I later named “Old Rose”, is now in good hands.

I thought seeing these photos was the sweetest thing that happened that day.

Thanks, Feanne. If I knew you before, I would’ve named that vintage top after you. :)

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Meanwhile, we recently launched our Third Collection over at TheDreamerie.Com. Do drop by, you might find something you like. :)