A Golden Friday

It's Friday, and let's face it: This calls for a bit of gold!  Well, maybe lots of it.  ^_^

Outside Club Monaco

I've always admired the beautiful photos of the City of Lights found in Paris in Four Months, so taking inspiration from the lovely blogger, Carin, I took my (*ahem* brother's) DSLR camera for a spin outside the shop windows of Boston.  It's almost Christmas, so all the lovely windows are almost glittering with their beautiful decorations!  This haphazard photo of golden kitchenware is probably one of my favorites.  I'm pretty sure Midas would have used these in his kitchen.

Burberry's Festive Gift Balloons

And let's not forget the golden windows of Burberry.  I wouldn't mind having one of those balloons drop down on my doorstep with a prettily wrapped gift attached.  I love those bags!  I'm probably going to be taking my own Burberry bag with me on my next trip to Paris...  Yup, you heard right!  I'm going to Paris in the Spring!  How's that for a Golden Friday!  ^_^

A Longing for Spring in the Middle of Winter

It's strange that while I'm typing this I'm enjoying a view of snow slowly falling by my window.  This usually happens to me when we're in the middle of a season.  When it's summer, I can't wait for winter to arrive, and when it's winter, I can't wait for spring to arrive.  Getting this catalog from Saks yesterday didn't help either, but it's good to know that florals are still in.  Enjoy a preview of what's to come in the next season, and have a great weekend!

Being Thankful

I absolutely love Thanksgiving.  For me, it's a moment every year on the fourth week of November where you are just simply thankful for everything.  Your friends, family, health, and life among other things.  Like most things in life, there are downsides too, such as getting together with family members that just make you crazy.  I think the most important thing is trying to make the best out of every situation.

My grandfather passed away recently, and because of it, I've had to cancel my trip to Paris, so I could stay for the funeral.  Trust me when I say that it has been difficult, but the silver lining in the cloud is that my grandfather isn't in any pain, and Paris will always be waiting for me.

I like to read other people's blogs (more so than updating my own, it seems... ^_^; ), and I see these amazing photographs and achievements that they post everyday.  However, what they don't usually say is how hard it was to get there (sometimes, literally).  I'm sure there were struggles and perhaps a few tears along the way, but sticking to what they like doing, I think, is what pulled them through.

With that said (and while New Year's resolutions are a few months away), I am going to try to update my blog more often.  I do so enjoy writing, and while posting outfit pictures are fun, it can be a bit time consuming, but at least I have Instagram (and Twitter) now!  I am still such a noob at using it though, so please bear with me.

I know everyone has been posting links up for good deals with shopping for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so I won't bore you all with another list.  I will, however, put up a list of purchases that I've made thus far.  I bought everything online, because I really wanted to avoid the crowds this year.

The first thing on my list was this Eric Bompard Classic V neck pullover in navy blue.  I found out about it after reading Parisian Chic, and when I saw that it was on sale online, I immediately grabbed it.  Don't get me wrong: this 100% cashmere sweater is still expensive, but I was pleasantly surprised at the 20% discount that was offered.  The original price was $295, and after the discount, it came out to $236.  However, at checkout, it came out to $196, I think, because it's supposed to be 20% off the price in euros.  Plus shipping, I think, I paid $213.  The sale is still good until December 2nd, so there's still time to pick it up if anyone's interested.

When I saw that ASOS was having a Black Friday deal as well, I went to check out any tops that interested me, and my eyes immediately honed onto this ASOS Top with Pearl Grid Embellished Armour.  It was awesome!  I usually dress pretty simply, but I just couldn't get enough of this sweater.  It completely reminded me of the Balmain Fall/Winter 2012 collection with all its opulence and luxury.  I immediately grabbed it before it was all sold out, and sell out it did just a few hours after I grabbed it.

This was more of an impulse buy for me.  I really wanted a military inspired coat to wear, and I saw this coat at Topshop that met my needs.  It's aptly called the Military Piped Girly Coat.  There's no Black Friday coupon code offered, but there was a 10% student discount that I found online (and no, I'm not a student, but, hey, they don't know that. ^_^).  I'm already planning on returning it, because I have more coats than I really need, but we'll see how much I like it when it gets here.

There's also one last thing that I bought.  It's small, but it was a big splurge for myself.  Hint: I bought it to remind myself to never stop loving.  I will reveal all later.  Happy shopping everyone!

Update - 11/26/2012:

I know I wrote about a similar dress like this a while ago here, but I wasn't happy with the body conscious style of the dress, so I looked for another version, and I found it at Nasty Gal.  This version is much more forgiving, and the dress flows over your curves.  I wouldn't recommend it for tall people though.  Even for a petite person, such as myself, I found it a bit short.  There was a purple and white version that I bought already with the black lace.  I'm buying this one as well.  It's called the Tied Crochet Dress - Black.  Everything is 25% off today for Cyber Monday, so get it while there are still some sizes left over!

To be completely honest, I had no intention of buying this dress.  I first saw this Herve Leger dress on Net-A-Porter for $625 (down from $1250).  I was tempted, but I didn't buy it.  Then, I saw the same dress on Shopbop for the same price, but they were having a 25% deal for items over $500.  The price came down to around $470.  I couldn't resist, so I just bought a small size just to see how it'll fit.  I'll probably end up returning it later.

A Photo Study

Since I'll be traveling to Paris in the fall, I figure I'll be spending the majority of my time in museums, so I've decided to take my (*ahem* brother's) DSLR camera for a spin, and to get a feel of how heavy it would be to carry it.  I've realized two things: 1) I don't have any type of upper body strength, and 2) I'm definitely never going to be a professional photographer.  I love how the camera captures the details in some of these artworks, but I find that I don't really like the pictures I take from far away.  Here's a couple of shots that I particularly like, but I'm still debating on whether or not I should take it.  Hm...

Petite Fashion Challenge #20: A Trendy Halloween

 Update:  I'm afraid that this PFC will have to be cancelled.  It looks like I jumped on a bit too quickly, and Laura's Little Closet will be hosting the 20th PFC.  Sorry for any confusion!

It's that time again: another petite fashion challenge!  I'm happy to host the 20th Petite Fashion Challenge, and taking into consideration the month we are in, it's all about Halloween.  Pick a fashion trend, and try to incorporate it into your Halloween costume.  For example, taking into consideration the capes and cloaks trend, dress up like a superhero, and keep warm at the same time!  Hey, knocking on all those doors for candy can get really cold.  The sky is the limit!  Pun intended.

To participate, please leave a comment with your blog's link below.  If you don't have a blog, you can email me your entries at happydays01012012@yahoo.com.  The deadline is All Hallow's Eve, October 31st at 12 AM EST.  Again, pun intended.  You didn't really think it could be any other day did you?  ^_^

Bloggers Do Oxblood Better

Today is a very special day, and I wanted to do an outfit post that would reflect that.  Today is the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, which means today is a full moon.  While here in the United States, we go by the solar (or Yang, meaning male) calendar, in certain parts of China, people still go by the lunar (or Yin, meaning female) calendar.  During this time, people usually go around eating mooncakes and lighting lanterns.  This celebration is mostly associated with the Moon Goddess (and no, I'm not talking about Sailor Moon.  ^_^ ), and how she is coming down from her palace on the moon to enjoy the treats which we mere mortals have to offer her.

In honor of the Moon Goddess, and with thanks to Pretty Shiny Sparkly for hosting this challenge, I give you my Bloggers Do Oxblood Better outfit.

 
 I think I might have overdone it with the Oxblood... ^_^;  As you can see, this is a very popular color in my wardrobe.

First off, let's start with the dress.  I got this dress on sale at Macy's years ago for a close relative's wedding.  She even asked me to be a bride's maid.  Usually people would just wear a dress like this once and throw it out, but I love the color of it so much that I've kept it all this time.  The dress is from Betsy & Adam by Linda Bernell in a size 6 petite.  I was a bit heavier during that time, but I remember that this dress hugged my curves in all the right ways, and it still does!  From this picture, you can see that the dress has a bit of a sheen to it, so every time I move, I feel like I'm walking in water.  I love finding new ways to wear old favorites!

Moving on to the accessories, and starting with my Amrita Singh necklace.  I got this necklace some time ago, but I never got around to wearing it.  It's a beautiful, heavy piece that I also saw on Betty Draper on Mad Men one time, although I believe, it might have been in a different color.  I loved the stones on this piece paired with the gold, so I added on my Ann Taylor rustic gold lace cuff to my outfit.  I like how you can adjust the cuff to fit your wrist, because mine is very, very small.  Most bracelets just fall off my arm, but not this one!  I've also gotten compliments from friends for this cuff.

Finally, we have my Hermes 30 cm Rogue in Togo leather with gold hardware Birkin.  (That was a mouthful, wasn't it?)  This bag holds a special place in my heart.  I ordered this bag from a consignment store off of Ebay, when I had one too many glasses of wine.  I probably wouldn't have clicked the Buy It Now button if it hadn't been because of the wine, but it was a color that I loved, and it was in gold hardware!  It came on the day of my birthday, and I wore it that same day to my party.  It was fabulous.  I topped everything off with my YSL lipstick.  Don't you just love the pretty packaging of the tube?

Check out to see what other outfits other bloggers have cooked up!

The Little White Dress

Trina Turk Pearl Sleeveless Dress, Celine Nano bag, Prada sunglasses

 I love this dress.  I get so many compliments whenever I wear this dress from complete strangers.  I got this dress earlier in the summer around the time when all the other bloggers were talking about the Trina Turk collection at Banana Republic.  Since I'm not much of a print person, I wasn't really interested in the collection, but I was looking for a good quality white dress.  I actually saw this dress on the second to last episode of Glee Season 3, where the Glee club finally won the national championship.  Rachel was wearing this dress here, and I knew I had to have it.

The dress is very well made, and the heavy fabric doesn't wrinkle easily.  I love the detailing on the waist and the pockets!  A dress with pockets!  I'm in love.  Did I happen to mention that by the way?  ^_^  As for the size, I got my regular size 4.  There are no petite sizes in this dress.  The dress is a little roomy on me, but I think for a white dress, it should be a little roomy.  Of course, the opposite is true for black dresses, in my opinion.

I paired the dress with my black Celine nano bag with silver hardware.  Another one of my loves.  It looks like such a small bag, but it actually holds quite a bit.  I usually just sling it across my chest, messenger style, and it will hit right at my waist, emphasizing it even more.  I love the combination!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!