The Dolldalera's Blog

Category Archives: Outfits

Black is the new black

Posted on Posted in Outfits .

Call me ignorant, but I can’t seem to understand why some people say that other colors could ever be the new black. Personally, I don’t think anything can replace black when it comes to finding a color that’s a staple, works for everything, and looks classy and slimming on any person. Black is that color that most everyone recognizes, and it works well for casual and formal events.

I had one of my lazy moods where I didn’t want to wear a dress to the office, or look too dressed up, so I went through my closet a few times trying to match up tops with bottoms.

Double-layer Top from Bayo Clothing, Long Skirt from I cant seem to remember, Slip on shoes from Rusty Lopez, Zipper Earrings from a friend.

I came out with a black top and a black skirt, and my usual sneaker-like shoes which I use for driving, which incidentally fits the outfit as well. And, the best part was that it was all just so comfortable.

It so happens that this same day that I was wearing this all-black outfit, a colleague of mine showed me a bunch of earrings that she was selling on behalf of her sister, who had a project at her workplace. I really wanted the zipper earrings, which looked wonderful, and which were for a good cause as the project was something that would help people out, so I decided to treat myself to these by buying a lovely pair.

Throughout the day, I wore the earrings and had other people comment on it and who eventually wanted to buy a pair as well. Part of me is happy that other people were buying a pair for a good cause, but part of me was a little sad that I was wearing something that someone else was wearing. I’m such a woman. Haha.

 

Back to the hill go I

Posted on Posted in Journal, Outfits .

A couple of days ago, I had the chance to go back to my university when I attended my younger brother’s college graduation. Being around my once familiar campus was very nostalgic, even if I didn’t have the chance to go around the places I used to frequent. As an older sister, I can’t help but be proud for my younger brother, who has achieved so much in the last four years. What makes this graduation even more unnerving, is that it has been four years since my own graduation. Four years ago, when I left these hallowed halls, my brother took his place as a student at this university. And now, four years later, he has finished his degree.

So much has happened in the last four years, and the thing that feels the most odd, is that it doesn’t even feel like four years have passed.

Most likely, the next four years will pass by in a blur….I wonder what will happen four years from now.

20140329White embossed-detailed top from Kashieca; Asian-print skirt from Kashieca; Simple black pumps; Quilted bowling bag from Mango

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Starting the Year of the Snake (新的蛇年，开始！）

Posted on Posted in China and being Chinese, In Mandarin (中文日记), Journal, Outfits .

春节过去了，全部的人都回家了、再开始上班了。我在厦大的学完汉语了，所以我现在考虑如果我还要留在厦门或者我就回马尼拉。很烦恼的决定！ 我留在厦门的时候真喜欢我这里的独立生活、自由的生活；对我来说，厦门让我成为到一个熟女。厦门不那么大，也不那么小，所以我不太觉得我留在国外，也不让我紧张。我习惯了这里的生活。在此之际，我也很想家，想我家人和朋友们，想我那边的来中国之前的生活。

哎呀，不要说这样的事了。很难过呀！

哪，这个春节的假日是我在中国的第一次的过春节！这个场合是一个比较有意思的经验。我跟厦门的家人一起欢庆春节。他们做很多很多好吃的厦门菜。在菲律宾，我和家人常常是吃粤菜，所以第一次的吃那么多的厦门菜是让我感受一个很难忘的感觉。

春节的时候，天气也变更冷，所以我是常常穿防寒服和围巾。我希望那么冷的天气不让我想吃那么多，因为家人是给我很多好吃的东西。哈哈！

来读我日记的朋友们，我想祝你们新年快乐，恭喜发财！万事如意，身体健康！蛇年快乐！

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(Uniqlo down jacket, H&M striped top, Uniqlo heattech innerwear, scarf and boots from taobao, rings from H&M)

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Left Behind (留守)

Posted on Posted in In Mandarin (中文日记), Journal, Life, Insights and Reality, Outfits .

从我最后的日志，我有一个很难过的日志，我奶奶（妈妈的妈妈）去世了。我在厦门家人的葬礼听过这个消息。我给妈妈打的电话，以后她告诉我奶奶就没有了。我突然哭，哭那么多，家人都来问我发生怎么样。“我奶奶去世了，她去世了！” 那天我快去买飞机票，那天离开厦门到马尼拉。

看发生的事，我还觉得全部是假装的。我最后看奶奶的时候，她还是身体健康还是开心。上个月我听过她有癌症所以我用skype跟她聊天儿，但她的情况没那么严重。现在我还想如果我就给她打电话，她就叫我“my dresden doll”然后跟我说她现在怎么样，菲律宾的政府怎么样，妈妈爸爸怎么样，等等。看她的照片，我还觉得，这个都是开玩笑吧。这是一个梦想，快起床绮思！

我的表哥的未婚夫，我的表兄弟姐妹和我。

在葬礼，家人都准备一个电视，然后让别人看奶奶从宝贝到最近的照片。妹妹也在家里找很多的照片。我们兄弟妹有很多的跟奶奶宝贝照片。

奶奶和宝贝的我

我回厦门了但我还问自己，过去的日子是真实吗？我下个月在圣诞节打算回国但我明白她不在了。现在呢我想一想，过去的几个年，我没有珍视她吗，尤其这最后的2年半。那个时间就没有了。奶奶，你给我的东西是我们一起的回忆、从宝贝到最近的礼物、很多的照片、还有你教我的很多事。

我好想你了。一个星期过了。奶奶，你为什么还没进入我的梦里？

Not long after my last blog entry, my (maternal) grandmother was suddenly taken away from me. I heard the news while attending the funeral of a relative here in China. My mother, who I was talking to on the phone, told me the news. I broke down in front of my relatives who rushed to my side asking what happened. That same afternoon, I was able to buy a ticket flying out that evening, from Xiamen to Manila.

Looking back on what happened those few days I was in Manila, part of me feels like everything was a blur. I remember it all yet I feel that I wasn’t really there, and that it wasn’t really happening. My grandmother, who to me was so alive and well the last time I had seen her face-to-face, who was diagnosed with cancer just a few weeks ago and whom I was talking to via skype, was now gone. Until now, part of me cannot fully accept her passing, and it feels like a dream that I will soon wake up from. Looking at pictures and remembering the sound of her voice or the way she smiled makes it even more unrealistic, as if someone’s playing a joke on me.

Mom and me beside my grandmother’s coffin

During the wake, my cousins had set up a screen showing pictures of my lola from her time as a child until recently. My younger sister dug through some pictures we had from the pre-digital camera days and found a lot of our baby shots with her.

Me with my lola and lolo (grandmother and grandfather)

Now, I’m back in Xiamen and I can’t help but ask myself, did it all really happen? I know it did, but the hope of seeing my grandmother when I go home for Christmas next month when I know she won’t be there, is gone. I can’t help but ask myself if I didn’t value her these last few years, especially the last 2 and a half years that I’ve been living aboad and out-of-town. Those are days that I can never get back. All I have left are the pictures we had together, all the things she had given me from when I was a baby until now, the memories, and the things she has shared and taught me over the years.

It’s winter now, and somehow, the days feel so much colder. Thinking about how much I miss her, I look back and notice how much warmth has now been taken from me. My lola was a big part of my life, and now she’s moved on to a better place. I can only hope that someday, we will see each other again, and that where she is now, she is able to watch over me.

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She’s the kind of girl who loves Autumn

Posted on Posted in Journal, Outfits .

I’ve loved autumn since I first discovered that the leaves turn yellow and red and the weather becomes cooler, and the fashion requires people to wear coats and boots, a long long time before I actually experienced it for the first time in Beijing. Coming from a country that only has wet and dry weather, it was something out-of-the-ordinary, something amazing. So according to the change in weather, Autumn this year started more or less on September 23, and Xiamen despite being in the South, is still affected by such seasonal changes.

When I first arrived in Xiamen in February, it was transitioning from Winter-Spring, and then I was in Xiamen the entire time it was Summer, and now it’s transitioning into Autumn. The thing I’ve realized about Fall in Xiamen is that despite the relatively hot weather in the afternoons, the past few evenings have been abnormally cool, and when I mean abnormal it means that the difference between afternoon and evening temperatures feels so different that you’d have a hard time imagining how a few hours can change the temperature so drastically. I guess one thing different about Beijing and Xiamen (weather-wise) is that Beijing is relatively dry, and Xiamen is relatively humid – not to mention how it’s beside the sea so sea breezes are ever-present.

Dad was here just last week, so along with the few winter items I had with me when I first arrived, and some of the items I had brought soon after I realized that all my outfits were Summer-ish and it was still Winter in February, dad brought along some scarves and thicker outfits that will hopefully keep me from buying too many winter clothes for winter, since it’s not suppose to be as cold as Beijing anyway. I wonder how much time I have left to wear shorts and sandals, and be able to go out without wearing a jacket or bringing along something to keep the cold at bay….

She’s the Kind of Girl tee from No. 3 Storehouse Xiamen; Light Blue shorts from Manila; Bowler Bag from Taobao; Brown boots from Taobao; Red Urbanears headphones from Mom

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Like working from 9-5

Posted on Posted in Life, Insights and Reality, Outfits, Ramblings and Rants (PG-13) .

So recently, it’s like I’ve been working from 9-5. Some days it’s 8-5, and some days it’s 10-5. The new semester has begun and I’m finally feeling what it is to be studying and doing part-time work at the same time. I know so many people will think that at (almost) 24, I should know how it feels like, but coming from a country that doesn’t generally allow part-time work to students who haven’t graduated from university, it’s not something completely unheard of especially since I came to China soon after graduating from university. Back to topic, I’ve been doing two things since the semester began this week – studying and working. I’ve been granted a very practical schedule that allows me to study in the mornings and work in the afternoons, though it doesn’t leave me with much time to rest or study, though I’ve tried to remedy that by bringing some of my books to work with me so that during breaks or times that students are answering seatwork I can do my studies.

It’s been very draining and tiring, most especially since most of my classes start at 8 and that means having to wake up a lot earlier than I’m used to, and that means that I don’t come to work fully refreshed unlike during the summer holidays. In fact, this week was so stressful because I was trying to fix all my visa and passport documents (before my visa expires next week) plus I was trying to schedule my classes since I initially wanted my listening class to be on a lower level compared to my other classes, but what was most frustrating was that the language program office decided to re-do the level arrangements and I had to rethink the levels I wanted for my classes. In short, it’s just been really confusing and tiring.

Black blazer from H&M Xiamen; Striped tee from H&M Xiamen; Legging pants from UNIQLO Hong Kong; Eyeglass frame necklace from Xiamen; White and gold bracelet from Xiamen

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My next big adventure – Xiamen

Posted on Posted in Journal, Outfits .
Grey autumn jacket from ONLY Beijing;Three-ringed ring from the best friend; Red empire-cut top from aunt’s christmas gift; black knee-high leather boots from Beijing

Recently, I’ve been so busy and so bewildered. I’m in Xiamen right now, and as this is my first Xiamen entry (for my studies here), I’d like to try to introduce where I am right now.

I arrived alone from Manila, my first international trip by myself. Xiamen is a much quieter city than Beijing which always seems to be bustling with life. Unlike my old neighbourhood, there are less restaurants about, there are less foreigners, and there are no bars in the area where I’m living (which is good as it reduces noise pollution, but a bit disappointing as there isn’t much to do in the evenings). I live pretty near my school, I can even see one of the gates of my university from my window. In fact, I live next to this small park which has a small lake behind it, and yes, I can also see the lake from here though it’s not very clear as trees are blocking the way. Another thing I see from my window is KFC, and I know that right behind that is Mcdonalds, so I guess that’s sort of good news for me (convenience-wise, not health-wise, haha).

The school is smaller than my school back in Beijing though just as beautiful. Xiamen University has wonderful architecture, there’s this really nice European-Chinese styled building with stone-like walls that I pass on my way to class. A few of the buildings here have European influences, like this dorm building I passed by a few days ago. There’s a beautiful lake that I fell in love with back in 2004. The jogging track is near my area, so at least I’ll be encouraged to go running, though I’ll wait for the weather to get a little warmer.  And unlike Beijing where everything is flat, getting to my classes here will be a challenge, as it requires going up a mountain. As I mentioned, Beijing is flat, Xiamen is hilly and mountainous. So getting to the classrooms requires walking up and down stairs every day (apart from walking to and from my flat), and getting to the office for foreign students is even harder as it’s located on a much higher hill/mountain.

Since there aren’t any subways close to where I live, and this area is pretty much a university area plus a temple area, going places requires bus and taxi rides. This kind of thing makes me miss taking the subways in Beijing, but I guess things like that are environment dependent, so buses and cars are more practical here than subways. I love the tunnels that go though mountains though, which Beijing probably has but which isn’t as noticeable. And the air here is cleaner, and the sea is about 10minutes away by foot (an estimate as I’ve not really walked from here to the seaside).

I haven’t taken the time to go around, though my family here has been kind enough to take me around when they bring me out to eat. Maybe when I’m not so busy, I’ll stroll around on my own one day. But for now, I’m getting used to living alone and deciding so many things on my own(I miss my roommates),  I miss talking to someone while I do chores or am on the internet (which is why I’m tempted to get a pet fish or turtle or something), and making my flat as charming as possible without splurging excessively.

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