This Ambition Would Work Only If...

I'm letting you in on one of my crazy childish ambitions.

I had this crazy childhood dream about being a proud owner of a bookstore. Nothing big, just a cozy bookstore, the ones where it occupies a country living room, or the old, quaint ones like in Notting Hill (1999) called the Travel Bookshop where Julia Roberts steps in to meet Hugh Grant, or the little book nook like in Before Sunset (2004) where Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke meet again.

The Travel Bookshop in Notting Hill, London

Yeah, this is similar to what I had in mind 

Shakespeare and Company in Paris

Inside Shakespeare and Company, curious which titles they carry

And my book shop would have tons of books on the floor, postcards and crazy bookmarks and all sorts of shenanigans, even outdated newspapers if it made any history at all. 

The bookshop of my dreams just might, just might have a flying bike somewhere

And as poor bookshop owner, I was willing to give up comfortable living just to be able to sell some more books and read books

You see, all was going well and fine, for me to have the bookshop of my dreams. As I've said, it's a childhood dream. All was going good, and I even had ambitions of more ladders leaning against more bookshelves reaching the ceilings to store some books, or even a cottage just to house some books, so yeah, you get the idea.

I repeat, all was going well and fine until those expensive e-book readers came along and made owning a library portable. I can't blame them. E-books help save the environment by saving the sheets of paper to be used and printed upon. And saves ink too. So you see my problem? I can't compete with being a book shop owner (even if it still all remains an ambition), when more and more people gravitate towards e-books these days which is even lighter compared to a hardbound book.

Do what you want with your e-book reader

And take it anywhere you want, read anywhere you want

But I feel defeated, armed with my childhood dream and fear for the future where everything these days is better on screen, I might be lucky to be able to sell novels for Php2 each as paperweights.

So yeah, I need another ambition. I thought of bookmark crafter, but who would even buy bookmarks from me thirty or forty years from now? Boohoo!

On second thought, I feel like being a book shop owner would put me out of business anyway since I would be hesitant to part from books acquired.

See what it takes to kill a childhood dream?


Got a better childhood ambition? Share them with me! =)

Breaking The Rules: Do You have to Match Your Bags and Shoes?

I think it was my grandmother who told me that one of the rules of dressing up is to match your bags and shoes.

What?

Match your bags and shoes.

I think she meant wearing the same color family for your bags and shoes, and this was a rule even my mom followed. So if women were also quite fashion conscious, (and have the money to do so,) a lot of matching could be done. But I guess during Lola's time, it was not a problem since the purchasing power of the peso still had its strength. And if we were given the luxury, we could be doing this:

I think my grandma would say this one is for weddings

Purple is royalty's color

Black and gold never fails

A blue satin number for a date?

Red satin for the red carpet or is it too much?

Take a pick between the black... 

Or blue studded match... 

Or beige will do

Care for some florals?

But what of breaking the rules?

Honestly, I can't afford to follow the rules. 

But if it's breaking the rules we are talking about, let's see how Helena Bohnam Carter breaks the rules. 

Mismatched shoes for a floral satin and tulle dress on a formal event

If you're an athlete, you can break the rules too as long as they are Nike 

Polkas join in the rule breaking

They belong together, not quite mismatched

Even little girls are allowed to mismatch

Pastel mismatched in wedges

Primary color mismatch

Can't make up whether to go with red or blue 

Mishap or intentional mismatch? Try dancing in those

Do you follow or break the rules? Let me know! =p

Contagious Nail Color sans Savings Worries

Piggy smiles after being fed some coins

I think I would have to admit that being a yuppie and saving up is a very difficult situation to be in.

Why?

Let me describe my situation: I long to pursue further studies. I won't say that I was an excellent student. I'm a wise ass student, (unfortunately) and I'm depending on myself to be able to achieve this. I was planning on enrolling next month, and my ambitious goal was to have it this year. But due to some unavoidable circumstances, it's just probably not happening.

I've been saving since last year, and let me tell you, not that you already know it, but our economy is very challenging. I've been supporting my ambition through taking freelance jobs and somehow, for whatever small amount I have saved up, it's still not enough to pay even half a semester. Now I know what it feels like to be a parent.

I've tried saving up as much as I can. I guess I need more patience.

So here I am, and probably will just share some crazy nail colors to lighten up the mood! This is such a crazy thing for me to doing right now, but nail colors like these are just so cheeky and bright, it's a contagious mood lifter!

Looky looky! =p

Pinks for the dainty femme

Some glitters for the posh femme

For the vintagey femme, some purple and lilacs 

Greens for the nature loving femme

Sorbet shades for the playful femme 

Got your eyes on any of these? Hahaha

Read and Currently Reading

I'm actually being pressured this week, with deadline of writing outputs nearing.

Just a quick update then on my reading list, I have finished this: 

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (1989)

And started on this:

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994)

Its first few chapters have already shocked and surprised me, because I wasn't expecting such an incident like that strange call to happen, it had an eerie feel to it. But then, I'm not even near a quarter of the book yet. 

What are you reading this week? Let me know down in the comment box! =p 

Weekend Fun with Little Cousins and Plastic Toys

Alright, I'm doing this on a Tuesday. But having photos with kids over the weekend is a quick reminder that they will start school soon, so my little cousins headed back to town. The house is a little quiet now. No more running around, screaming, crying, fighting, kite-flying, afternoon naps, spilled watercolor on white monobloc table, no more. But they will be back for the next school break, that's for certain.

We assembled styrofoam buildings and plastic robots on the dining table, we got those from the goodie bags which were distributed in last Friday's party the kids attended...

...And displayed them on one of the potted plants outdoors..

[The robots are taking over the city! The styrofoam buildings are The Empire State Building, two Burj Al Arab, and the structure behind the yellow plastic robot is The Eiffel Tower]

And a giant boy is taking a photo op while the robots siege the city in a pot! 

And here come the plastic soldiers to defend the styrofoam and earth city! Forward march!

"Men, take over the gray evil robot, the rest of you defend the LEANING Eiffel Tower, while we distract the orange robot-creature!"

"Copy, Commander!"

And this time there are two more giant kids checking in on the action

, 

For team effort, we awarded ourselves with kids' temporary tattoos on our hands.