Look twice

Most of the people I know categorise me as "the girl who wears oversize clothes" and there's no shame in that. I mean oversize equals to comfort and I am so thankful for oversize fashion. Last Friday, I met up with my friend Iyanka and visited the Tate Modern Gallery. Since it has gotten freezing here in the Northern West, I decided to wear something that'll keep me warm through the day. I didn't fancy the idea of wearing layers so I went for a fur coat. I matched it up with a polo dress, my boots and a clutch bag.

This stylish coat made some people glance at me at least once or twice but I don't really know wether they like my look or not but that's not the point. I've always wanted to wear an oversize coat and I'm happy I did. They say it's never too cold, you're just wearing the wrong wardrobe and I believe that's true. Fur coat is a staple for this winter and I hope you find your one soonest and enjoy the cold weather!

If you guys like my photos, you should go and check my friend's website here. I always enjoy hanging out with Iyanka and talk about books, songs, life and anything along the line. Hopefully I get to meet up with him again and do a quick shoot. Thank you guys for visiting my blog. Sending my love to all of you. Keep warm!

"Cold hands, warm heart.."

Take It Easy

It was a busy and cold day. On my right hand was a pile of books while on my left was my hot chocolate. Trying to find a seat in the library to get some things done, I searched for a vacant table. Finally, I found a space and sat down rushingly. Because of this I accidentally spilt my hot chocolate on my jumper. Feeling bummed and uncomfortable with the mess I made (I always find a way to ruin my clothes), I suddenly remembered that I picked up my Aran jumper I ordered on Ebay earlier that day and was in my back pack. What a life saver! All of this happened in my second year in university and I still love my Aran jumper.

Autumn has finally arrived in London. Trees are starting to lose their green colour to beautiful orange and brown. Hot chocolate is suddenly a good idea again, except spilling them on your clothes. The jumpers, oh the jumpers are your go to outfit. So for this post,  I am wearing a jumper dress which has comfort and simplicity all over it. It kept me warm all through out the day. To add some edge to it, I am also wearing my faux leather jacket, a matador hat and boots. Also, don't forget the bag ladies, always bring a bag with you. For this look, I am wearing a tote bag which can pretty much save you through a long day. Keep warm lovely people and stylish of course :) I hope you like this post and have an amazing October! See you next month..

                                                   -April-

 

City Life

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" - Samuel Johnson. 

Last Friday, I found myself amused by the old London photos I was browsing in the Selfridges bookstore. I sat beside a shelf and on my lap was a massive book composed of London's historical photos. I love what I saw,read and learned. The reason why I ended up in this place was because my phone decided to die on me halfway through the day. I was so desperate that I had to ask one of the staffs if I can use a power point on sight to quickly charge my phone. Opposite to the charge point was a shelf containing books about London. It was just a beautiful accident that this particular book caught my attention , so I took the book by the shelf and read it while waiting on my phone to charge. People were staring at me while they pass by me but the photos I saw were just amazing that my self consciousness was over taken by the old beauty.

 It's been a year now since I moved from the East back to my old place in West. This week, university students are moving to their flats and the thought of that somehow plucks a heart string of mine.I miss the buzz, the fast life and the busyness when I was still in university.I miss the city life. I always thought London was too much for me but now it is a part of me. 

I met up with Iyanka who was also my lovely photographer for that day. You can check out his page here. We made our way to the Sky Garden and took some photos there. Afterwards, trekked to a coffee shop  and ordered some hot drinks which was just perfect for a rainy Friday. Hopefully I can do more shoots with him in the future.

There you have it folks! You might wanna add London to your bucket list and Im telling you, you will not regret it. Thanks for reading! 

                                                       - April

Wanderlust : Venice, Italy

So.... Venice, Italy? I can sum up this place in one word : BELLA (beautiful). How did I end up going to this place? Prague didn't work out, so I thought I should visit Italy but still keeping Prague on the list. My parents  have been meaning to see Italy and we were planning to go this coming summer but because of my convincing power, we flew 6 months earlier! Milan was the first place that came to my mind when I think of Italy, totally forgotten about Venice. But after this trip, Venice will always have that special place in my heart and memory.

Fortunate enough, I found a hotel right at the heart of Venice. So if you're planning to visit Venice, try as much as possible to book a hotel in Venice and not outside where you still have to take the trains to get to Venice. I mean, you can do that if you want but that also means you still have to travel to Venice instead of just waking up in the morning and just chill. No need to rush to catch the train and deal with all the hassle commuting offers.

Venice is considered as the capital city of romance and sure this is right. You see couples everywhere. There is this tradition in Venice that when couples go on a gondola, the gondola would stop under a bridge and would not move until the couples kiss. You have not visited Venice completely unless you take a gondola ride. Gondola lets you see corners of Venice that you'll never get to see by foot. Serenity and scenery combined. Every corner is so picturesque. We arrived in Venice at night so I did not get to admire Venice. The next morning, I woke up and I remembered that I was in Venice. I looked outside the window and I still remember feeling in awe of what I saw. I couldn't wait to go outside! Pizza, pasta, gelato and Italian coffee are the top things you have to try. The view from the Rialto bridge is just stunning! Also, you have to see San Marco and the piers behind it. 

The colourful structures you see are from the island called Burano. It is known for its quirky houses. These houses are actually fishermen houses. I really enjoyed this place. It took us about an hour to get to Burano but it was all worth it.

Venice made me feel like I went back to the 1800s. There's nothing like this place and this is why you have to see Venice.

                                                                                                                                Love, April.

                         

 

Scarf Up!

What's up you guys? Whilst typing this up, I am not feeling well. Yesterday I had to get my vaccination and blood test done ( I was flippin' nervous but everything went well). I think I am having some reaction to the vaccine. Anyways, a little update about the London weather. Since the last week of February up to this day, it has been very sunny and I can't help but feel excited about Spring! I wake up every morning being  kissed by the sunrise. Suddenly my blood feels alive again and I wholly believe this is 90% because of the fact that I was raised up in a tropical country. 

Everyday, I just wanna go outside and enjoy the sun but this big ball of fire can be deceiving. It may have been sunny but the winds are a little bit harsh. This is a perfect reason to keep your scarves a little bit closer. I don't even know how I survive the previous winter season without this scarf that I'm wearing on this outfit. Let's discuss this OOTD, shall we?

This scarf is a life saver. You can wear thin coats or layerings and this it will keep you warm. I decided to get one that comes in camel colour. I am a sucker for long coats and a month ago I purchased my second pond coat. I am also wearing a white dress just to keep the minimal vibe in this outfit. Also, not to forget these chelsea boots which are just fierce. Last but not the least is my leather bag that I got from a thrift store back in Philippines. Hope you guys like this outfit.

This month I will be travelling to Venice, Italy. I'm so excited to share with you guys the beauty that is awaiting me. God bless y'all!  

                                                                                                 Love, April.

Human's Block

I don't know what comes first into your mind when you hear the term or words "human's block".   I'm not sure if human's block is actually a term or if people have used this before but I came up with this term inspired by the things that had happened recently. I'm pretty sure you've come across the term "artist's block". If not, let me define that for you. It's quite self explanatory but just to put it out there, it is a certain period in an artist's life when they stop being an artist or stopped being inspired to keep doing what they do as an artist. They can't write, paint, draw, compose or do anything creative. Now, to parallel that with the term "human's block", I will define it as a point where you don't want to be a human being or do anything that validates you as a human. I know this may make me sound so so weird but I don't care. I am a weirdo anyway, haha! This blog might be a little longer compared to my previous writings so bear with me. 

Before the year 2015 arrived, just few days before new year's eve, I remember knowing genuinely that I want a quiet year or maybe start the year quietly. It just so happened that a lot of things happened around that time. It was a little bit difficult to be honest because of the fact that I am a quiet person and to make a statement about silence was just hard. A lot of people welcomed the year with excitement but it was different for me. I wanted to step back, see, feel, breathe.... the reason behind this is because I was simply tired and to say this is painful for me. 

I got tired of many things, things that I'm used to doing. I guess I just got fed up. Probably for most of you this kind of event is not something new but for me it was. I hated what I felt and I hated myself. You see, I can say that I was raised up pretty well. Knowing what's wrong from right and to do what is right, to give, to be kind, patient, to love. To do all these felt like a reflex action because it felt so natural to me. But at certain point, all of these things felt like a weakness. When did kindness become a weakness? These were my blessings but now they felt like curses. I didn't want to care anymore, to listen, to give or even love. All of them are not worth it. They made me feel inferior. Doing the right thing was so wrong. Then I started to ask questions, doubt a lot. I didn't want to be a human anymore if that means being taken for granted, to suffer and to lose. And yes, I was having a human's block. So I paused. I can't say that I stopped cause I'm pretty sure I'm going back to doing those things. And in that quiet period I wrestled a lot with questions, questions that I didn't even think I will ask in my life and IT. WAS. TIRING.

 To feel tired of giving, loving, caring or even listening was ugly but I'm thankful I did. For these things to be an automatic thing for you is dangerous. Reality woke me up. Not everyone will or can reciprocate what you can give. So DO because you WANT to not because you have to. They have to be done purposely, knowing the reason why you're doing them. Not knowing why you do them makes you nothing better that anyone who doesn't do them. Knowing why you do what you do is LIVING. Realism is frightening but you can't keep on running away. It's either comfort or courage. When you feel confused, scared, worthless and doubtful, that's the perfect time to be brave. Life begins at the intersection.

Pain is real and so is hope. Don't give up just yet. 

Yes.. I am a human being and I do it purposely. :)

                                                                              - Love, April.

Sweater Weather

Hello there lovely readers! It's been a while since my last post. I think I'm still hung up on my Iceland trip and I can't wait for my next adventure which of course I will share with you :) Anywhooooo.. Work just kept me busy and I do miss my empty weekdays when I can go do photoshoot for OOTD any time. I really struggle with finding time to update my blog but you know what they say, if you really want something, you'll find time for it right? And so, I had some free time during my lunch break and did a quick photo shoot for this look. I apologise for the not-so-good quality. My SLR died just a few minutes before we started the shoot. I had no choice but to use my iPhone. To be honest though, I'm quite pleased with the result. Kudos iPhone 4s!

Let's get started with this outfit!

In this cuddle weather, jumpers are sure to give you a warm hug. I love the shade on this H&M jumper. When it comes to jumpers, you don't really have to be choosey with the size.. the bigger, the better! Just make sure you don't look like someone walking on the streets wrapped around with a blanket ( I once was accused of that... memories!)

I've always wanted to get my hands on a culotte trouser. Been searching online but found one at my local thrift store. I love culotte trousers! they give you this comfortable look yet very stylish. If you want to look classy, don't even think twice about wearing any leather items. The easiest one would be a belt. Adding to this look is this leather bag which my mum got about 8 years ago. Last but not the least is my black and white skater shoes.

There you go folks! I hope you get some inspiration from this look. I'll try my best to get back and update this blog ASAP! God bless!

" It's just a spark but it's enough to keep me going.. I shall call it hope.."

Keep Me Warm

The past few months, I found myself just browsing the internet, looking for stylish coats. If you're going to invest your money on a fashion item, coats would be on my top 5 list. I've always wanted a leather coat and at the same time fell in love with fur lined collars so I thought why not get the two in one item. Luckily, I found this really amazing coat. It was perfect for the weather in Iceland for my holiday. Im so thankful I purchased it before my flight. I visited some shops in Iceland and got this bodycon mohair dress from Zara. A really good friend of mine gave me the Cambridge Satchel bag as a graduation gift. It's one of the most stylish bags out there. To complete the outfit, I decided to wear my adidas shoes and my khaki hat which I got from a charity shop. Again, it's about style but don't forget the comfort guys. 

                                        -Love, April

Wanderlust : ICELAND

Have you ever tried popping up at the airport, look at the flight screen and randomly choose a place to fly to? 

I've never tried that (made you think I did!) but maybe in the future. I've always wanted to see places and meet faces. Iceland was never ever in my mind. I just have that habit of deciding the last minute and go for it no matter what. Iceland, for sure was worth it. 

Iceland is a tiny country with only a population of approximately 300,000. Taking this fact, Iceland is such an uncrowded and beautiful place. The first thing you will notice when driving around the city is that Iceland is flat. There are only a handful of tall buildings. At first, it was something I didn't appreciate but afterwards, you will realise that this emptiness actually shows off the landscape in Iceland. My sister and I were accommodated by my lovely friend Hulda (third photo) and toured us around. Driving in heavy snow, I think she has some skills, haha! 

The main reason why I wanted to visit Iceland was because of the Northern Lights. I'm sure you know the movie Happy Feet, right? I first saw Northern Lights in that movie and thought to myself that they can't be real, like they're too beautiful to actually exist. I promised myself that if they were real, I will have to see them. Northern Lights are very rare. You only see them when you have the  perfect combination of darkness and clear skies in the northern hemisphere. On our third night, we decided to hunt for northern lights and right exactly when we stopped the car, Aurora Borealis showed up and started dancing. I was too.. too happy to take good photos, aside from me forgetting to bring a tripod with me. (The best photo I got : No. 10 photo)

How does Iceland compensate for its cold weather? Hot springs. We visited the famous Blue Lagoon, just relaxed on our last night and had a very delicious dinner.

I hope you guys will enjoy these photos. Iceland is totally worth a visit.