Looking through all my photos so far, however, you’d think I only had one pair on me. It seems that I’ve been wearing the JC LES nonstop since I’ve been here, and I haven’t even noticed. I tell you, it’s the most comfortable, most versatile pair of boots (are they riding boots?) I’ve ever owned. EVER.

To think I nearly didn’t buy it because it is quite pricey. It’s been retailing for nearly $300 (until now, even), but thanks to the Solestruck Black Friday sale, I got it for next to nothing. Still, I nearly didn’t buy it because, back then, I didn’t know I would be going somewhere cold. But I did [buy it], so maybe I had a premonition of things to come, who knows? The fact is it is the best impulse buy of my entire life. It has withstood the snow and ice, as well as hours upon hours upon hours of walking both in Amsterdam and Paris. It has certainly paid for itself many times over. And yes, I do pride myself for my wonderful shoe choices.

For the rest of my trip, however, I’m going to force myself to start using the rest of the boots I lugged all this way. So I’ve decided to leave the JC LES in Amsterdam while I go gallivant in Rome. I’m already having separation anxiety. Pffftttt.

Many a time, I have come this close to buying one, but what’s left of my practical self always gets the better of me. However, said practicality apparently flies out the window when confronted with a simple black cape on sale in my local Forever 21, thus:

I have no idea when and where to wear it. I refuse to do so in this country, even with all the rain and the cold weather we’ve been having. It just seems…wrong and incredibly inappropriate. So why did I buy it then? Because I know one way or the other, I will get to wear this lovely thing one day. Never mind if that “one day” might turn out to be months or even years from now.

The important thing is I have a cape hanging in my closet. And I am happy because I have a cape, period.

(Now, excuse me while I look for one in taupe. Just because I like the sound of that – taupe.)

1. The prospect of travel.
The Husband and I are off to Hong Kong again in a month! I had my heart set on Peru for the longest time, but now that I’ve finally let it go (for now), I am able to give in to the sheer excitement of traveling again. Never mind that this will be my third time in Hong Kong. Methinks one can never go to Hong Kong enough, after all.

2. Our cat.
He’s a lazy shite, and sometimes, he annoys me to no end, but I love my little boy.

‘Tis not a cat. ‘Tis a stoat.

3. Online [window] shopping.
Because it’s FUN. Regardless if I’m ogling shoes, or random things like red envelope’s cufflinks and Groupon deals.

4. My shoes.
Forever and always. Current favorite:

Jeffrey Campbell Lita in blue distressed leather

5. Awesome stories on my iPad.
Right now, it’s A Song of Ice and Fire. It’s a slow and ponderous read, yes, but definitely one of the most exciting stories ever. I blame Meream for getting me into this.

On a side note, I love reading really, really long series. Probably because I get so attached to characters that I never want to let them go too quickly.

I like writing random, happy stuff like this. Maybe I should do this more often.

I’m gutted, of course. (Okay, more like completely heartbroken.) But I’ve already decided to go for it next year, which will give me a longer time to prepare and get my stuff in order. Hopefully, by then, Chin and I can go together. You know what they say about clouds and silver linings and stuff.

But enough of that. I haven’t done an outfit post in a while, probably because I’ve the attention span of a gnat and rarely ever commit to anything that doesn’t involve a fat payout of sorts. But I do miss indulging my little fits of vanity, so here you go.

White tunic used as top, Forever 21; Skirt from The Maze; Green brogues from eBay

The green brogues were ridiculously cheap, by the way. I got them for less than $7 on eBay, so I got a brown studded pair, too. (The D&G glasses were not [cheap], but they’re prescription so that’s completely acceptable. Completely.)

Hey, if I can’t have Peru (for now), I may as well have shoes! Or so I keep telling myself. Otherwise, I might end up in one of those bipolar rehab treatment centers. My mood swings have been insane!

P.S. Speaking of shoes, I’m having a little shoe sale on eBay. Lots of gorgeousness up for grabs, including these too-big-for-me babies that I love to bits. Selling any of my shoes breaks my heart, to be honest, but I’m taking comfort in the idea that they are going to better homes. So if you’re a size US5.5 or EU36, do take a peek.

Here’s why. On principle, I wouldn’t mind buying an expensive dress that I really like, yet I wouldn’t pay over a certain amount for small separates like tops and skirts and shorts. I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps on some subconscious level, I believe that more effort and material are used in the making of a dress; therefore, it should cost more. That’s the most logical reason I could think of.

At that moment, though, I realized that if I really, really, REALLY wanted to make the most out of any purchase I make, such reasoning was completely invalid. I simply can’t get as much mileage out of a dress than, say, a pair of denim shorts. I probably wear my most favorite frocks once or twice a month, whereas I wear most of my shorts and tops to death. So if I am to consider the cost-per-use for each dress that I own and compare that with the cost-per-use of separates, I can safely say that I am – pardon mon Francais – royally fucked. It’s a shocking discovery akin to realizing that you’ve paid for Smilebox.com invitations when they’re really FREE. A dismal ROI (return on investment) might as well be zero ROI for all the good it’ll do you.

Do you see what I’m getting at here?

But yeah, it’s amazing what one can think of when one is crushing over a pair of $50 shorts that one really does need (because one’s mother took one’s favorite old pair to Canada) and will probably wear five times a week till one is 40. Damn this self-imposed shopping ban.

- Posted using BlogPress on Agrippa, the iPad

Just because I turned 29, however, didn’t mean I was too old for cool presents. The Husband gave me this:

It’s a limited edition commemorative Blu-ray box set, too, so it’s got all sorts of goodies inside. My favorite is this music box that plays My Favorite Things. It makes me feel like a kid again.

I also managed to coerce him into getting me this:

I’ve just started working out then, and I really needed a portable music player. I couldn’t very well go to the gym with the iPad strapped to my back, could I? Hence, Cassius, the wee iPod Nano. I was going to get a wristwatch strap thingy, but I decided to just go for one of those cool ipod nano cases so I could wear it around my arm. It makes me look sporty, haha. And believe it or not, this little fella has been a real help in pushing me towards my workout goals. Nothing keeps me going like a killer workout playlist.

I also got these new babies:

The pink Forever 21 wedges are from The Sister. I picked it out when we went to Manila last week. The purple Schu lace-up booties and the patent Forever 21 penny loafers are from myself. Yes, at 29, I still find joy in shoes.

Really, 29 isn’t as bad as I expected. I just go around telling people I’m 25 a lot more often than I did when I was 28.

In a nutshell, here’s what I’ve been up to:

1. I went to Palawan with The Husband. So many pictures, so little time to edit. But I’m getting there and I’ll be sharing them with you soon-ish, I promise.

2. I got older. Wiser, too, I hope.

3. I was in Manila for 33 hours last week with The Sister. We attended an awesome workshop (more on that later), and I exhibited uncharacteristic restraint in Forever 21 and all the other shops that I love so much in the capital. Yay for me! Wiser, I tell you!

4. I’ve been studying a new strategy that my boss wants me to implement, and it’s doing my head in.

5. I am off to Singapore on Monday night, again with The Sister. I am hoping for more of the said shopping restraint. Though if you ask me, a few pairs of designer chandelier earrings and new summer sandals won’t hurt, right? RIGHT???

6. I lost about a kilo after weeks spent on the damned elliptical. Dismal, if you ask me.

7. Apparently, I got another blog award, this time from The Reason You Come. Can I get a whoop? More on that later.

Believe it or not, I’m actually looking forward to staying put for a couple of months. But then, I won’t have much to blog about if I do, so that’s a bit of a catch-22. (That wasn’t meant to rhyme.)

You’ll be hearing from me again over the weekend. Don’t write off this blog as a lost cause yet!

And so I figured I might as well get everything straight from the source. There wasn’t much of a price difference, but the waiting period was reduced by about half. At least, it would’ve been, if I didn’t place the order over Chinese New Year. The supplier went on a long holiday, and I had to wait a week more before the order was processed.

But all’s well that ends well. It took just a week for the stuff to get here from China via EMS, so I got these babies last Thursday:

The camel wedge booties are quite divine. They look really great in person and are quite comfortable. My only gripe is it’s a bit too hard on the balls of my feet. But it’s really nothing that thicker socks or foot cushions can’t fix. For the price I paid for it, I didn’t expect it to be perfect.

The mustard pumps are totally gorgeous. Unfortunately, they are too big for me, which is a bummer because I specifically measured my feet in centimeters for this pair. But then, I’ve always been very unlucky with pumps anyway. Even the ones in real stores (by ‘real’, I’m talking about sales people and cardboard displays and shoes I can try on) are either too big or too small. I’m this close to giving up on pumps altogether.

Will I order shoes from the site again? Maybe, but only if something really catches my eye. I’ve made a conscious decision to curb my shoe-shopping because I’ve two new MacBook Pros to buy this year, The Husband’s (definitely) and mine (hopefully), even if I wasn’t due for an upgrade until next year. The 13-inch MBP with the i7 processor beckons, and honestly, a new Mac trumps shoes any day in my book.

Yes, you heard it right! The Sister and I now have year-long gym memberships at Fitness First. For, umm, a year. Believe me, it’s as scary as it sounds.

My ever reliable activity partner and I finally decided that we both needed a lifestyle change because all we ever did was shop and eat and it was starting to show (haha). This time, we opted to go the healthy way of the safest fat burners – portion control, apple cider vinegar, and good old-fashioned exercise.

Admittedly, it’s too late for me to be bikini-ready in time for next week’s Puerto Princesa trip with The Husband, but I should – no, MUST! – be ready for Kota Kinabalu in May. How’s that for motivation? And of course, I would very much like to keep it up for a long time, unlike my crash diets of old where I gain back weight as quickly as I lost it.

Flabby arms are flabby.

Sleeveless Big Ben top, Rose Paul; Walking shorts, thrifted from Simone’s Closet; Charles & Keith wedges; Red bag, Jessica

Yesterday, we met our trainers and had our first assessment where we both scored exactly the same. Needless to say, we both failed miserably. So we ate at MyJoy afterwards. Tee hee.

But hey, dismal score, extremely sore muscles, and cheap-assed cheeseburgers notwithstanding, I think we’re off to a good start. Wish us luck!

Fifteen years later, I’m still small. And I still wear bellbottoms to look tall. Although baring my now considerably un-flat (understatement of the year) belly is out of the question. But hey, two out of three is not bad.

Ruffled vest and black denim flares, thrifted; Yellow tank top, Topshop; Teal belt, Rose Paul; Charles & Keith wedges

In less than 3 weeks, I’m going to turn 29. That’s a scary, serious-sounding number, don’t you think? It is to me.

Have I grown up in the past fifteen years? Yes, I like to think so. And in ways I never expected I would, too. I’ve realized that there’s always room for new skills and perspectives, and that with faith and hope, things will always turn out okay in the end. I’ve come to appreciate the value of hard work and goodness and responsibility. Most of all, I’ve learned that self-worth cannot be bought, and respect has to be earned, not demanded.

No, growing up was not easy, but the experience was splendid. And though sometimes I find myself wishing I had more, did more, and made more, I will never – EVER – stop being grateful.

Physically, I may not have grown an inch in 15 years (because even the best hgh supplements would fail every now and again), but I like to think that my heart grew in leaps and bounds since. And that makes me, at 29, a veritable giant.