Zipia Love

I cannot begin to tell you how gleefully excited I am about my newfound Zipia! It's this fashion network + wholesale mall, as they claim to be... and I think it's full of all Korean clothes for girls and guys. The site is a lot less cluttered than YesStyle and they only feature a few brands instead of YesStyle's 60+. Their prices are pretty decent too -- cheaper than YesStyle, but you've still gotta watch out for cheap quality clothing and such.

Their brands:
t.her. I love this line a lot!! The style is like Alexander Wang coupled with... actually I just realized it's very similar to Fashion Toast's style xept a bit less ugly sometimes (I still really like your style, FT, and I know you like to work ugly pieces in but sometimes...).
They seem to have the same style as certain celebrities and their style (like Nicole Richie and the Olsens) and yea. Their items are up to date and hardly very "fobby-like" at all IMO. This brand's pictures are excellently taken and the stylists give you creative examples of how to wear and remix their items. Wonderful brand! I guess I'm biased 'cause 80% of their items are ones I'd actually wear (and ones that are on my lust list too). It's amazing -- they have 125 pages and there's 15 pictures/page. That's a lot of work to put these together! I don't know if they're a house brand or not but they only have about 25 pages of old stuff and the rest of their 100 pages are brand new (for the Fall, I presume) 'cause they don't even have price tags on them yet (coming soon)! As you go towards the end, their stuff gets a bit less nice unfortch. .. but maybe 'cause I don't like Fall's clothes as much.
MuuMuu. This line is.. alright at most. I bet I could find some workable pieces if I look really hard but it's not worth it. Seemed like a few pages in, the style totally changed into retro aerobics (you know, neon colours).
AIDMA. Not bad - very YesStyle-like... the kind that's not really in style but not out of style either - some unique pieces.
Pong by Rushe. I find this line to have a Japanese feel to it... especially with the loose fits, white, black, and basic neutral and somewhat pastelly colours... and the girl has a huge bun on the top of her head.
They have about 5 others I haven't checked out yet. See for yourself.

What is a bit annoying about that site is that it only works on my Firefox sometimes -- I think it's b/c of my network connection. You have to sign up and become a member before you are allowed to browse.
OK so I guess I'm only excited about that t.her line. I'm looking forward to their blazer collection (classic and long), skirts (waisted and floral), and shoes (THE statement shoes I've been looking for!).
All the pics I've posted are from the t.her line.
I wanted these shoes in black but the material is a bit weird if you look closely. Exactly what I was looking for (statement-shoe strappy-wise).
This girl from Vancouver is doing a Soompi survey on personal orders from Zipia. She won't order until she gets over $500 worth of orders and it's gonna take about a month to arrive so I shouldn't order any summery things.

So yea - I finished working at the seminar! Good experience to seethe end product, "the show". Thank goodness I decided not to go out after, I wouldn't have made it. In a couple weeks I'll start working behind the scenes to see what it's like planning events and all that's involved.
This morning my family and Uncle Andrew went out for Dim Sum w/ my mom's aunt + her grandson (my 2nd cousin I never knew I had from Hawaii) + his girlfriend. Then we went to my Uncle's house to play his PS3. He bought this whole race car driving thing so it's like you're at some arcade w/ the low seat, wheel, gears, pedals etc. Pretty neat -- he has the projector and the huge HD screen so it's much more real. For the rest of today I'm gonna help my family clean the house. Hopefully I'll get to go to Ikea tmr + do some driving and the things on my list of things to do. I've decided to return the black skirt from Aritizia... I really like it but I really have no occasions to wear such a skirt unfortch.

ShopBop - Antik Batik Onyx Dress [$475]
This dress looks mature and elegant to me. Love the bounciness of the chiffon at the bottom. It's too low for me, but I really like how it drapes on the model. It's a dress you can grow up in 'cause it looks like a runway dress (movement) + not. I need a dress w/ thick straps like these - much more classy than spaghetti/halters.

Sidenote: My hair has been horrible ever since my haircut. I don't know what it is, but it's becoming oily very quickly (the roots!) + my bangs do not cooperate at all + my hair does not care to volumnize itself whatsoever. Siiigh. Oh yea -- I should give in my apron tmr... we'll see. Maybe Monday.

This Little Piggy Went To The Market

My my - just came back from driving w/ my dad. Dropped off some ex-bakery bread @ my G-ma's, filled up the gas and practiced more left turns. After work today, my mom and I went shopping in PC to get me more work clothes. I actually bought a lovely pencil skirt from Jacob on Tuesday right before the mall was gonna close at reg. price but the (not-so-smart) lady didn't take off the security tag. Deactivated though. I didn't find out until I came home, when it was too late to go back to the store. I still wore it Wed for work (I covered the metal bulb w/ double-sided tape and black paper) 'cause I seriously had nothing else to wear, but I kept the tags on heh. Today, my mom went back to take the security tag off and found that went on sale ($39.99!) on Wed morning! Bad timing... so we exchanged it today for a smaller, more fitted size @ the sale price.

UM so much for buy-tox. I know, I'm terrible at discipline. I did pretty darn well (no clothes!) until today though! Well, it might get itself returned, but I bought a black skirt from Aritzia by Wilfred. I loveee but we'll see how my bank account will handle this. I'd try to sew it myself but it looks way too hard to make. Looks something between origami and a sort of puff pastry lol Plus it's fully lined w/ pockets and too much detail.
You can't really see the details on the pleated top part -- it looks really plain in this pic actually.
Here's one w/ better detail (click to enlarge). My bow looks dead xxxxxxBtw, after scrambling to find white button-ups (grar so hard to find!) at Metro w/ my mom last Tues, I ended up getting 2 short-sleeve button-ups out of desperation from Urban Behavior (whodathought?) for $10 each pretty much last minute. They surprisingly fit much better than Jacob.
We also briefly stepped into Club Monaco and I fell in love w/ so many of their pieces! They really put out some buy-worthy items right now like their cardigan (the buttons!), dresses, rompers, blazers, belts, skirts ahhhhh :D -- especially compared to just last May where I only sort of liked 3 or 4 items. Summer definitely churns out the nicest clothes.
Wed -- 1st day of seminar went well - I just wore the wrong shoes which resulted in me being veeery grumpy + irritable when it was done 'cause my mom wanted to go shopping and I just could not walk. Today also went well - even smoother xept ppl seemed to have ate more which meant I had to call the maintenance guy so many more times to replace garbage... piggies.
Last day of the seminar tomorrow. I'm doing extremely well waking up at 5:30AM the past couple days. I'm so lucky the people I work with are so wonderful and come from all walks of life and we work so well as a team!

Finito

I'm through w/ the bakery. No more -- I get bored easily. I guess this shows that I really need a stimulating job in the future... or I need to be my own boss so I can make up my own rules. Well, it's not only boredom, it's also the fact that a couple of my fav. coworkers are on holiday/left last week, together with the possibility that I might get stuck closing w/ my least fav. coworker, the fact I get so (silently) annoyed when people ask for a plastic bag with handles after I paper-bagged their one cookie [fake smile], the fact that it's so routine, and the fact that it's making me chubby. It wasn't as bad as I'm making it sound though -- the customers/tourists were still very nice, complimenting, and most of them seem to have a great sense of humour...I only met two that were grumpy. Plus, I like that I'm paid for lunch... I'll miss the handful of regulars... Smiley Donna and her Cranberry Orange muffin we save for her every day, the Weiner Bun guy who always comes around the bakery corner, eager to buy some Weiner Buns, and the Granville Island employee who only wants me to serve him when I'm there. I will also miss the loaves of bread and goodies I bring home every time I close and the homeless that flock towards the garbage bag full of leftover bread when I lug it out. Lastly, I'll miss seeing my flock of geese I've seen grown up since I started working.

I'm half-heartedly looking for another part-time job that will take me in for the next 1.5 months. I'm still working the next 3 days + might be in Victoria most of next week so that doesn't leave me much time.

Anyway, I've got a few errands to run today so bye bye la~

[Edit] Got my hair cut at that cheapie shop next to RBC. My goodness - when did $10 hair cuts become so quick?? I know I don't have much hair but I swear I sat in that seat for only 10 minutes. No wash, no blowdry. I left with wet hair lol. She's a rough lady.. push/shove/pull -- I can't tell what nationality... Israeli? - she's lucky my head/hair isn't very sensitive. All she asked in the beginning was "how much off" and "You Chinese?" -- as if that would affect how much effort she put into cutting my hair.
Anyway, the haircut itself doesn't look bad - I told her HALF and inch and she ended up taking around 1.5 inches off. I was gonna go to MimiHouse across the street originally but they were closed. Haven't been to a cheapie place in a few years. From my experience, I think if you have thicker hair and go to a cheapie place, you can tell.. whereas if you have thin hair, it doesn't really show up as much (unless they're really awful). So yea - I guess I should save some money + go to these mini salons when I just need a trim. Now I need to dye my hair but I'm scared my length won't dye and only my roots will turn really light...


Sold my 2 scooters today! Thanks again, Craigslist :D

Feet Treat

ENVY is hosting a Short-Shorts themed party at Fabric on Friday the 18th. I sort of want to go (I've never been to Fabric, let alone Sonar) but I probably won't be here. I own quite a few short shorts lol. All girls wearing short-shorts get in free before 10:30PM and if it's your birthday between July 10th-30th, you also get in free. Tons of prizes to be won too including a $100 cash prize for the shortest short. Woooot
Sort of reminds me of Taiwan's Plush + the free cover if you show up in a bikini top... and then the contest... hm

Interesting -- there was a test on sunscreen and its effectiveness and a lot of the common brands sold in drug stores have proven to be ineffective. I didn't read the whole article, but here's the list of the best to worst sunscreens out there based on safety. Coppertone, Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic... Some Neutrogena kinds, Kiehl's, Olay... even Lancome and Loreal are at the very bottom of the list of over 952 different types. Even the Shiseido one I wanted is around the middle! KINeSYS is pretty high on the list, thank goodness. I love that sunscreen spray!

What do you think? Would you wear any of these?Today I drove (first time driving w/ Mommy - she didn't last long as a passenger... we went to Brentwood + back and around busy intersections twice. She says her heart could only take so much). Still tired in the morning for some reason -- I think it's my bed. I don't have room to spread out 'cause all my "winter" blankets line the left side of my bed against the wall (too hot) and it only gives me half a bed to roll around in... and I guess I've been rolling more than usual 'cause my blankets get all twisted (neeever happens!!). There must be some subconscious things bothering me that I don't know about.

Aaahh otoke (what to do?) about my room!? Furniture hunting is gonna be so hard 'cause they ain't cheap and I want ones I can keep for a long time (like when I move out and stuff)... I want something w/ a bit of personality.. not Ikea-fied. My grandma has this wood and glass chunky square table that's a bit ugly and Italian-looking that would be perfect to sand down and re-paint some ivory hue as a bed-side table but they ain't offering... though they don't need that table... they already have 2 coffee tables in their small living room.
Plus, I really really want to do something about the awful colour of my desk and bookshelf! OTOKE!?
I think I'm just gonna settle for a cheap, Ikea duvet cover though. They actually turn quite soft when you put them through the wash a few times... and so cheap! 2 pillow cases and a duvet cover for a twin is only $16.99!! Can't go wrong. I can switch them with the seasons! lol

Had dinner at Wah Wing in the Continental Place in Richmond. It was my Bak Por's 82nd birthday or something (don't know why we're celebrating her 82nd? I thought it was her Chinese 81st which = 80 yrs). She's my g'pa's older brother's wife. I never got to meet the older brother I don't think. He died around the same time I was born. Anyway - amazing woman. She raised 7 kids on her own 'cause her husband was crippled... and she's soo small!! I guess she must have had them pretty early 'cause her 5th oldest is the same age as my mom (50) and she (my bak por) is only a few years older than my g'pa (I think he's 78).
When we sang happy birthday, all her grandchildren came out wearing red tees and tanks that had the Chinese character for longevity on it and stood behind her - a nice touch. First time there was Cantonese karaoke at a family event... I got a headache. My uncles and aunts were smart enough not to participate. Good singing doesn't run in my family lol
Food was good -- it was a spin off the typical however-many-course feast (it's 12 for weddings, right?). I tried duck feet web for the first time as part of the cold first dish appetizer along w/ the usual jellyfish + meat. Pretty good. There was also a goose feet dish with abalone + bok choy. I didn't really care for it but it wasn't bad.. just tasteless even though it was deeply marinated. The steamed broccoli was excellent.
Butchea - it was alright. I wish they had some activities going. My family loves to participate in games like that - fun competitiveness. A slide show would have been nice.. or some speeches -- even if I couldn't understand.

I'm pretty excited -- got another part-time job (that's just as unpredictable as Stuart's, schedule-wise) for an event-planning company. They plan seminars for mental health and education professionals all over Canada and the States. I'm working at the last 4-day conference this week at Library Square on Wed, Thurs, and Fri. Sold out at 120 attendees (extremely small event apparently) @ $775/ticket. Includes lunch! Hopefully in August I can help w/ promotions and learn what event planning is really about.

Btw, those dresses up top are made out of quality-controlled rejected condoms... designed by Brazilian artist Adriana Bertini.