Vania Romoff!

From Vania Romoff's Spring/Summer 2012 collection.

Her super adorable, sophisticated, and girly pieces made me want to Pin and blog!

While checking out this new website called Kristn.com from back home, I read a piece written by one of my good friends, Ana Kalaw, who is a columnist for the site. In "7 Designers That Shone in 2012," she showcases some of young designer Vania Romoff's creations. If I were still the event-going person that I used to be (magazine editor days), I would definitely make a beeline for her atelier. Well, on our next trip to Manila, I plan on dropping by anyway!

Loove... Oh where to wear this lovely dress?

I know it's alread Fall/Winter out here, but it's never too late to find a pretty summer—or all-weather!—
dress and designer!

Images courtesy of Kristn.com and Vania Romoff (opens to her Tumblr page)

Yoga Minutes

Almost a month into my yoga teacher training (for the 200-hour certification), I'm happy to see that I'm embodying the lessons—albeit at a slow pace, which should be fine in the yoga world.

 Case in point: Last night, as my husband was getting to bed, in my half-asleep state, I turned to him and said, "Twisting is good for digestion."

"What [are you talking about]?" he said.

"Oh, in yoga. The twists..."

And then off I went back to sleep :)

In class last night, we learned about some seated poses and twists: When you move your torso/upper body/shoulder in one direction, keeping your base grounded, that's supposed to engage your core and build "fire" to help with digestion. It's also not too different from wringing a wet towel to "freshen" it up.

Something About Aerin

I saw this last night…

…and immediately thought of my D.I.Y. Design post from August of last year!

What a lovely coincidence, right? Beauty mogul Aerin Lauder and I have something in common, hahaha! At least when it comes to that nice azure hue on one's walls. (These were from my old apartment, by the way.)

Oh, and Aerin's new beauty line is quite adorbs too. I read about it in Glamour mag's October issue and I'm quite curious about her Lipstick in Pout, which, by the way, is sold out on Esteelauder.com.

Inspiration Snippet

At my previous job, I kept a daily "progress list" document—a simple Wordpad file listing received artwork waiting to be proofed, ongoing items, approved, and so forth. At the bottom I kept a quote written by inspirational author and speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer. It read:

SUCCESS IS AN INSIDE JOB. 
Being relaxed, at peace with yourself, confident, emotionally neutral, loose, and free-floating—these are the keys to successful performance in almost everything you do.

This is something nice to keep in mind, especially now that I've moved on to the next phase of my career here in New York—that stage where everything is new once again and there is much to be learned.

Thinking of printing it or putting it on a Post-it as a daily reminder!

Sprinkles of Fun

Now one of my favorite NYC stopovers!
Sprinkles Cupcakes, 780 Lexington Ave. New York, NY 10065

Speaking of happy, vibrant, and colorful things, on a recent trip to California, my sister-in-law got me into Sprinkles Cupcakes. Here's what the brand says about their delectable concoctions:

"Since we opened the world's first cupcake bakery in Beverly Hills, our freshly baked treats have inspired long lines of devoted Hollywood stars and serious epicureans alike."

I first bought their red velvet, raspberry, and S'more cupcakes at the Newport Beach branch and then went on to happily devour the delicious little cakes at a nice mini-picnic patch by Laguna Beach, while enjoying the picturesque views with family. What set these cupcakes apart were their moist texture and not-too-cloyingly-sweet frosting. Whereas most cupcakes here in the U.S. are pretty, some are sugar bombs with dry, crumbly interiors. Sprinkles ranks first on my plate in terms of presentation, flavor, and texture. It's also a plus that the shop only makes 12 variants a day and comes up with limited-edition specials, such as this month's vanilla hazelnut chocolate cupcakes.

Back in New York and back at work, I couldn't stop raving about these treats. THEN a coworker mentioned that we do have Sprinkles in town, right by Bloomingdales on 60th St. and Lexington!

So guess who's gone back more than four times to date?:)

Perfect for picnics! Red velvet and S'more cupcakes. 

Cute cupcake "schedule" card!

Keep at room temperature, do not refrigerate, eat within two days.
(For more info, visit http://www.sprinkles.com/about-sprinkles-cupcakes/faq/#)

Fashion's Night Out version! 

What's not to love?

Bottom, left: limited edition raspberry cupcake from August—absolutely delicious!