Lady Indo's Assistant

I feel like I've gotten a lot of big-ticket items recently (I just leased a Honda Civic a month ago!) and in this post, I would like to introduce my newest big ticket item - my iPhone 4S. Previously, I owned a Motorola Triumph and I owned that for two years. I loved the phone at first, but over time, I just grew to hate it. It was rarely used as a smartphone and more for making phone calls and texts, and even then, it was always dead.

So when my friend told me about a deal that her phone carrier was doing doing a special on iPhones, and I quickly switched over to join her family plan. I decided to get the 4S since it was free (with only $20 for tax!) and have been LOVING it.

Now I use my phone for all the things that smartphones are for, such as taking notes, taking pictures (follow me on instagram!), keep track of my finances, etc, and now my phone is appropriately named 'Lady Indo's Assistant', haha. And the biggest reason I've been eyeing an iPhone out of an Android phones is that there are SO many cases and ways to personalize the phone!

This is my first case (many more to come, I'm sure!), featuring the anime character Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro.

Man, I feel cool ;)

Michael Kors Cross-Body

It's official. I've joined the Michael Kors bandwagon.

I seriously never thought this would happen. I mean, his bags are pretty but they're just not my style. I am not a fan of monograms (ignore my fake LV wallet, here, haha. I use this wallet to make my mama happy) and his bags are full of them. Can't get away from them!

But yesterday, during Mother's Day, things changed. My mom and I went to the Citadel Outlet solely to visit the Michael Kors store as my mom had wanted to purchase a particular bag. We waited for nearly half an hour in a line outside, in the blazing heat, in order to get inside the store. One lady actually tried to cut to the front of the line by lying to the store's 'bouncer' that her 'cousin' was saving her spot in line. The petite girl 'bouncer' confronted her, saying she had witnessed the interaction and basically told the customer she lied.

"You know what, lady? Let me talk to your manager. That ain't right," she spouted, in a very classy manner (sarcasm). She ended up talking to the manager and squirmed her way out of waiting half an hour like the rest of us did. Sigh.

Anyway, once we got inside, I followed my mom unenthusiastically around the store. Nothing really appealed to me UNTIL we hit a rack near the cashier line. There it was, a group of small cross-body bags. I loved the simplicity of the bag as well as the gold accent on the chain, zipper, and logo nameplate. The one I chose, of course, is the milky-gray colored bag and I'm loving it.

What I loved most was the size of the bag. As I've mentioned before, I rarely carry anything. My wallet, my phone, my keys, and I'm set. Sometimes I bring a lipstick and oil blotter, but those items don't take up much room. Another thing I love about the bag is that it's hands-free. Just slide it across your shoulder, and you're good to go!

Since this was purchased at an Outlet, the bag is at a discount. But thankfully, there was another discount on top of that! The final cost of this bag was $99, instead of $180. Woot!

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Aiming for the Future

Growing up, my family didn't have much, and we still don't. I currently still live with my mother, brother, and aunt, in a small, somewhat runned-down, two-bedroom apartment. Ever since my dad passed away about fifteen years ago, my mom became a workaholic, even working three jobs at once at some points, and I rarely get to see her. Yet, even with all her hard work, we lived nearly paycheck to paycheck.

My mom likes to work. Her belief is that if she's not working, she's spending, so it made more sense for her to be making money than losing it.

I don't want that to be my life.

Sure, I thoroughly enjoy working towards a career as a photographer and expanding that part of my life, but at the end of the day, I don't want my work consuming my life. That isn't what life should be about. For me, leading a good life is spent exploring new places, eating delicious food, and just having time with my friends and family whenever I'm needed. It's never a good feeling to turn down a girls day out because of work.

One of the perks of being a photographer is that you don't have a set schedule. Sure, clients book sessions well in advanced, and when a session is booked, you can't skip that day. But if you plan well in advanced, it's easy to take days, weeks, or even months off at a time. This kind of schedule is perfect for me.

But I digress. The point I'm trying to make is - I'm trying to reach a certain lifestyle, and that includes not living paycheck to paycheck while having a career with a flexible schedule. Yet, with the current way that I am spending, this isn't feasible. I've been reckless when it came to prioritizing my budget (as if I had any) and thought I would add personal finance posts as part of the Lady Indo blog to help keep me on track!

Top Class

During our trip to Vegas, I had one clear goal in mind: Visit a CHANEL store.

I kept mentioning it to Joseph over and over, and we finally went into the one in Ceaser's Palace: The Forum Shop. Last year, I had passed the store, drooling, but afraid to go in. So many security guards; so many expensive items that I might potentially break and had to buy (whaaat?). This time, I went in unafraid, as I was determined to hold the small flap classic CHANEL bag I've been dreaming of.

It was a beauty. I only examined it for a few minutes, as I didn't want to scratch up the beautiful piece of art, forcing me to buy it. But I will.. one day...

As a souvenir for having such a successful trip to the store, I waddled to the makeup section and purchased a Rouge Coco: Legende lipstick (or basically the cheapest thing in the store that I could afford). I just LOVE  the packaging of their makeup collection - so classy! Even their gift bag and receipt holder is classy <3

The Green Corner

(green top - Banana Republic | inner shirt - vintage | shorts -  forever 21 | bag - Kate Spade | nails - Essie)

As a follow-up to my 'Trial and Error' post regarding better quality purchasing, here's an outfit of the day with my first-ever Banana Republic purchase. We went to a local outlet recently (I've been loving outlets) and through their 'extra 40% off clearance prices' sale going on, I was able to score this very comfy sweater/top for $15.

Of course, this rarely happens. Maybe once in a blue moon. But when the opportunity strikes, it seems silly not to take advantage of it, right?

Trial and Error

I am trying to change the way I buy things.

Previously, I wanted more bang for my buck, leading me to purchase clothing and other accessories from affordable stores such as Forever 21. I bought them because they were cheap, and the 'it' thing. Yet, a lot of times, I wound up with a pile of barely-used clothes from these stores because I bought them on a whim and didn't really mind spending ten or twenty bucks. But do it enough times and you're spending quite a lot on things with no longevity.

As I mentioned, I'm trying to change things. I don't want to keep wasting money without a return on investment.

Whenever I buy anything over $30 (I know, it's not much), it takes me longer than usual to make a decision on whether that item will be added to my collection or not. I test it, research it, think about it, and then decide. But because of this, I end up using that particular item a lot more than those I buy on a whim.

This brings me back to the origin of my post. Why am I writing this?

For a long time, I have been wanting to get the Naked Palette 2. But it's $50. Is it worth it? Could I get another versatile palette for cheaper? My goal is to purchase only one item that serves its purpose and be done with it, instead of buying various items and testing each out. I had hoped that the Physicians Formula's Nude palette, with the cost of $12, could be its replacement. But alas, I got perhaps one use out of it before deciding it really isn't. I don't like the palette and don't intend to use it any further. What a waste of $12. And don't let me get started on the other various $4 drugstore palettes I've picked up along the way that just didn't cut it after all. In this case, wouldn't have been much better to just go after the much-raved, though much expensive Naked Palette, and be done with spending and testing?

Therefore, off to Sephora I go, to pick one up!

*EDIT: Since writing the above post, I've picked one up! And having felt the weight of the packaging as well as the products within (eyeshadow + brush), it was worth it.

The Secret Garden

(Dress: Gap | Shoes: Nine West | Bag: Kate Spade | Scarf: Marshall's)

It's been a while since I posted, and I apologize. There is definitely a backlog of topics that I would like to cover, but like the excuse of many bloggers before me, life got in the way. 

However, that didn't stop us from going to see the Sakura trees blooming. And with only two weeks to see the flowers before the tree becomes a big ol' stick, it seemed necessary to go more than once to the Garden and take in as much as possible. 

It really is a shame when something like this only lasts such a short period of time. But perhaps that is beauty in itself.