Mini Vacay

(Wearing: ’70s men sweater, ’50s dress, vintage belt & shoes, Coach bag, gifted tights)

Last week I went to Philadelphia to meet up with an old friend of mine. We used to go to college together before she went back to Indonesia in late 2006, which was really the last time I saw her. When she told me she’s coming to Philadelphia for a conference, I didn’t think twice before I agreed to her offer for a meet up. It was great to see her again and we spent 4 days discovering the city as well as a day trip to NYC. The biggest let down was that Philly’s public transportation system went on strike last week, so we had to depend on our feet a lot. We also lost the chance of going to some places we’d like to go due to the lack of transportation. Though so, it was a great mini vacation for me, especially since my last weekend trip was 7 months ago! *Eeep! I don’t know about you, but a little vacation here and there really help me to get centered and let me do better in my work/study*.

I’d really like to share more pictures from the trip but I have to wait for my friend to send some pictures as her new high tech camera really took better pics than my beloved but old camera. So until then, I should get back to my study mode… finals week is next week, eep!

Halloween – Part 2

One never learns how the witch became wicked, or whether that was the right choice for her~is it ever the right choice? Does the devil ever struggle to be good again, or if so is he not a devil?

(Gregory McGuire, Wicked: The Life and Time of the Wicked Witch of the West)

I was Elphaba for Halloween, without the green face because I really don’t want to have a break out the next day (haha, such a vain excuse). Wicked is one of my favorite musicals. The book is great too but I’m biased towards the musical plainly because I love musicals! I thought my  “costume” turn out great. It was really simple and I got everything from my wardrobe except for the witch hat, which I will certainly use again in the future.. I’m thinking Bellatrix Lestrange for next year’s Halloween .

‘Costume’ details:

’90s dress: thrifted

Turtleneck: thrifted

Nine West ankle boots: thrifted

Tights: We Love Colors

Witch hat: seasonal aisle of a grocery store

The Disco Chronicles

Photos found here. Slightly edited by me.

I went to the club with some new friends on Saturday. They just moved to town a couple of months back so we decided it’s time for their downtown club experience. Wow, it had been ages since I last went dancing. Back in college, I used to go quite a lot. After graduation and having a job with weird hours (including many, many overnight cases), the club visits decreases to near zero. Before I know it, the people I used to hang out with have gone either out of state or out of the country. I can’t even remember the last time I went, maybe earlier this year…

Before settling for this outfit, I probably went through a dozen clothing changes. What do people wear to dance nowadays? Oh my!  So I decided to keep it simple with this ’90s black dress and put the fun in the lace tights. Good thing it was a rather warm night, so I was ok without a jacket. Most of the clubs here don’t have any coat and bag checks , which is rather annoying.

Photos found here. Slightly edited by me.

Night life here ends pretty early at 1am, so when we arrived at 11:30pm we only had 1.5 hours to dance and drink. My companions, all just passed the legal age, were excited and danced through the night. I tried to keep up, really.. but I feel rather awkward. Maybe because I haven’t been dancing for a long time or maybe (for tears and joy) because I’m getting rusty?

That night I feel like this dancing cat:

Photos found here.

Maybe I should stick to the lounge next time

Outfit details:

’90s black dress: thrifted.

lace tights & Madden girls heels: TJ Maxx.

wrislet: Coach.

Trench coat and some football game

Another gloomy day today so I spent the morning curled under a blanket, did my online homework, read blogs, and watched tv shows online. Whew, when it’s spelled out like that, it looks like I have a rather productive day. In the evening we got some Chinese take outs and went over to a friend’s house to watch college football. The game started very slow for our team. At the end of the 3rd quarter we were lost 0-12. Like, what?? But we did an amazing comeback and scored 4 touchdowns on the 4th quarter. Oh, the adrenaline rush… (Do forgive my football rambling, it’s kind of the highlight of my day ).

So, on to the clothes. I made the football game an excuse to dress up because, really, after so much curling up under the blanket today, one shalt given a chance to look pretty… right? Tonight I did my version of the Shosanna outfit I once wrote about. I added a red bow to my beret to show my support for our football team whose colors are scarlet and cream (doesn’t it has a pretty ring to it? Prettier than simply red and white that is). I thrifted the pants last week and I think it’ll be a staple this Fall. The trench is actually my mom. She left it here the last time she and my dad came over because really, she won’t have any reason to wear it in our tropical country. So the trench coat stays with me, yeay for that! I always feel like I’m a spy in trench coats, do you feel like that? Maybe it’s just some fashion stereotypes like “geek glasses” and “pin-up wiggle dress”.

Outfit Details:

F21 shirt/thrifted belt &pants/Mom’s trench coat/TJ Maxx oxford heels

We might get snow this weekend so our plan to visit apple farm went kaput. Oh well, i’m sure Netflix will provide me with some entertainment. I hope everyone has a great weekend and if cold weather is coming to your area, do stay warm

Duckling’s batiks

After I posted my batik post last week, a friend asked me “Do you even wear batik?” So, i guess i take that i need a second installment of my batik post. Yes,  I do wear batiks. Though I don’t have very many pieces, I treasured each one that I have with me. Aside from being pieces of clothing, they also serve as reminders of my home country. Sounds cheesy, doesn’t it? But after spending almost half of my life living away from home, small things that reminds me of home gets me excited. For example, when me and a friend went to NYC, we had lunch at an Indonesian restaurant in Queens. We got so excited to see so many authentic dishes on the menu that we ended up ordering too much for both of us. We didn’t stop there too, we actually brought some frozen rendang (beef stew) back to Nebraska with us. We probably had the same excitement as Grace Adler when she found a KFC in Cambodia (in an episode of Will & Grace, that is).

So, anyway about the outfits. They are from my flickr photostream, uploaded to the wardrobe remix group earlier this year. Outfit details are as follow, they’re also clickable to their original flickr posts:

First picture:

jeans jacket: old aeropostale / ruffle blouse: thrifted / batik skirt: Mom’s (from Indonesia) / shoes: simply vera

Second picture:

Gap yellow tee / necklace from an art fair / Javanese batik scarf as obi / thrifted skirt and shoes / Beaded clutch from Borneo

Third picture:

t-shirt: U2 / cardigan & belt: thrifted / batik skirt: my mom’s from the ’70s / boots: JC Penney / necklace: antique store / hair pin: f21

Note: With the recent disasters that hit Asia Pacific, including a 7.9 richter scale earthquake in Sumatra, please keep them in your prayers and thoughts. May they be given courage and patience to endure these trials.