New apartments, Design school, etc.

Hey, let's have a chat! (And I mean, me talking to a screen. Lol!)

I had this entry drafted since February! What was supposed to be just an update about my new apartment is now going to be almost a year's worth of update (as if anyone really needs an update about me. Haha!). So yeah, I had been busy with work and uni (When I got a sliver of free time, let's be real, I'm on Netflix. Or -- my new obsession -- BBC and SBS. Haha!).

Yes, you read that right, I am back to uni again. I currently study part-time at Whitehouse, doing my fashion design degree. I am finally doing it! Yayyyy! And I am loving it!

I remember feeling excited and nervous during my first day. It was all new to me. I believe I am creative enough but when we had the very first brainstorming activity for our design process journal, I felt that I was overthinking it instead of just letting those creative juices naturally flow. Or was I just rusty -- creatively speaking? And the next thoughts in my head were, "Omg, do I really have what it takes?," "Will I be good enough?" Then, I overwhelmed myself even more because I visualised internships, exchange student applications, student contests, etc. I was just getting ahead of myself. I eventually calmed myself down and psyched myself to just take it one day and one thing at a time and do my damn best.

So far, I think I am doing well. I am learning new knowledge and honing something I never knew was in me (I draw more decently now! Haha! And I paint now, too! I took a Fashion Illustration class back in Manila years ago. Ugh, I hated using paint and brushes because they are not erasable and harder to manipulate but now I don't mind at all), which is really exciting.

I met new people (Truth be told, I didn't think I'll be hanging out with teenagers. I initially did not really want to because, hello, generation gap? Hahaha! And I'm not in uni that often so I was like, why bother?). I got good grades (not sure about the 2nd term though but whatevs -- okay, not super whatevs, I need good grades if I want to apply for exchange student program so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's not too bad!). It can get a bit stressful working and studying at the same time. There are days when I just want to relax when I get home from work or during weekends but no, I still have assessments to do. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do!

Going back to uni is also the reason why I resigned from my other job as well.

I received these flowers and art books, among other things, back in February as a farewell and good luck gift from my now former colleagues. It was an emotional day. It was my longest job ever - 5-year mark supposedly the month after that. It was my first job since I moved to Sydney. I was still a student when they hired me. There was a reason why I stayed there for that long -- my super chill and kind boss and the amazing staff I work with. I once said (even my Mom said so) that I will never leave that place and if I do, it will be because I'll be pursuing a dream. And that day came. It was hard because I have to give up something dear to me. We shared too many memories together. We were like a family. It was bittersweet indeed but I sincerely felt the support and love. So, I will really do my best to make, apart from myself, them proud and to make it all worth it.

And while we are talking about pursuing dreams, a few months ago, I had a dream about me giving birth. I freaked out because I remembered it vividly the next day. Hence, in true Jana fashion, I turned to Google to help me look for its meaning if there is. Here's what I found:

Eerily amazing and apt, isn't it?

Another life adjustment that I did was moving out of the flat I shared with my friend for almost 4 years.

I moved mainly for convenience and space. The flat I moved in to was near my current workplace, just 10 minutes of commute. The space I need is for my future school projects. I need to have my own little studio/work area. I loved this flat (which, apparently, came with a good-looking and very nice neighbour whom I met over dinner they invited me to during my first night. Yaaasss!) and I am enjoying my own company!

My former landlord and brother helped me to move. It took me a week to finish unpacking and arranging the place. Since my workmates knew I moved and that I need stuff for my apartment that will fit my budget, they introduced me to Facebook Marketplace. Man, that section of the internet got me hooked, I tell you. I barely open my account but it made me access it just for that. Whenever I get a spare time at work, I kept checking it. I eventually bought my very first purchase in Marketplace -- my current fridge!

I had the specific dimensions that I wanted, a specific colour in mind and a strict limit to how much I am willing to spend. Three weeks later, I eventually found the perfect fridge, went to the owner's place to inspect it and paid her on the spot! She even knew someone who can pick it up and deliver it to my place the next day. It was a meant-to-be purchase. Haha! It took me three weeks of going back and forth to the shops to buy the most essential things I need, to fill my pantry and new fridge.

Then, 6 months later, I moved to another flat again. I was told that they will not renew my lease as a relative will be moving into that place. Omg, I was so stressed out because I needed to find a new place to live in and fits my budget within a month. I barely had time to look for and inspect rental units and to pack my junk all over again! I was also in the middle of the term in uni. I have to hire a mover and pay the bond. Ack! Not to mention, I felt at home already (Once or twice, I may have walked naked in my hallway. Haha!). I just had my flat-warming (if there is such a term? Haha!) a month prior. My family has visited before that and liked the place. When I found the one (and only one!) that ticks my non-negotiable requirements, I was practically begging the real estate agent to approve my application (not that she has a say on that really because she isn't the landlord! Haha!)

Boy was I over the moon when I found out my application was approved! I moved into this new place three weeks ago. Half of my things are already unpacked and properly placed. Half of them are just properly placed in a corner because I still need furniture to place them at. My mattress was also delivered a few days ago, still waiting for my base. It will take me quite a while to finish decorating my place since I'm currently living on a student budget and my bills take priority over my furniture. But we'll get there. I'm also planning to have another flat-warming next weekend! Yay!

Okay, this is getting way too long. Let's continue the chat in a different entry?

The Sunday (Monday) Currently: Volume 12

It's a Monday and a holiday (Queen Elizabeth's birthday). Since I wasn't feeling writing something yesterday, I thought of doing this today even it's not a Sunday.



R E A D I N G 

phone messages, tweets of people I follow

W R I T I N G 

what needs to be written for my final assessment

L I S T E N I N G

Unwind playlist in Spotify

T H I N K I N G
of what happened the past week.

It was emotionally intense. It was kinda crazy. It was overwhelming. It was draining.
I don't want to go into details because it is all very personal. But, I'm glad that I was able to think things through and I've spoken to people I needed to speak to in the past few days. It is already resolved from my end but it is still not case closed for the rest of the people involved so I'm hoping the issues will be further discussed and the people that still need to talk to each other and to patch things up will be able to do so. Maybe not now but, hopefully, soon.

S M E L L I N G

dinner

W I S H I N G

that the news about Anthony Bourdain's death was all a lie

But it wasn't.



A couple of days ago, my friends and I honoured him by eating good food and trying new dishes. Well, we already ate in SaltVine but we decided to try other dishes such as:

Lamb Kibbeh

Syrian String Cheese Cigars

And of course, we couldn't say no to their Zaatar fries!

And the Chargrilled Lamb Shoulder and Scotch Meshwi.

H O P I N G

they would figure things out and patch up

W E A R I N G

my winter gear - matchy-matchy flannel pjs.

L O V I N G

the DIY beach bag that I made



I found this rug in IKEA a few weeks ago.



I liked the stripes and the fabric as well. I thought it was too pretty to be used just as a rug... With some folding, pinning and sewing, I got myself a new beach bag. :)

N E E D I N G

to exercise

I'd been slacking off the past two weeks because winter just started and all I wanted to do is hide under the sheets. Then I had my monthly girly thing. Now, I feel so meh and guilty about it.

Speaking of monthly girly thing, last Tuesday, I almost passed out at work (Eksena as always. Hahaha!) because of cramps. I will spare you with all the gory details though. The funny thing was an hour before the incident, I was speaking to the mum of one of my patients about how lucky babies are because they can sleep anytime they want. Unlike the adults, they can't sleep anytime they want, case in point, when you are at work. Then after that, there I was, asleep on the bed of one of the doctors. Haha! Anyway, I'm just thankful that my colleagues were so sweet enough to take care of me. :)

F E E L I N G

relieved and grateful

My uncle's surgery was successful. He's not out of the woods yet but so far, so good. We will take it one day at a time. Thank you, Lord. :) And as I've mentioned earlier (refer to Thinking section above), I was able to process and discuss issues that were raised to my attention during the past week.

C L I C K I N G 

YouTube videos

If I'm not watching series or movies, I'm watching vlogs, travel videos and makeup tutorials from some of my favourite YouTubers.


As for an entirely different topic, My friends and I saw Priscilla, Queen of the Desert musical last Saturday.



I liked the story, the punchlines, the humour, the songs used and the costumes. However, I find that it was lacking a bit with the stage production (Well, there's not much you can do when the setting is at the desert or in the bus, I guess.) and... feelings? I'm not sure. There's something slightly off that I can't pinpoint. I was also uncomfortable that a Filipina was portrayed in a racist and sexist stereotype (But, true to some extent, unfortunately, let's not kid ourselves here). Apart from that, it's a good musical. I'm thinking of watching the film.

Sneaking in some ootd shots before dinner

* The Sunday Currently link-up *

Frida Kahlo-inspired Photoshoot

Last month, my friend and I decided to do a collaboration project for our respective assignments (Photography for her, styling for me). Before the shoot, I was required to submit a moodboard. I don't know what triggered a Frida Kahlo idea but she was the first idea that popped in my head as an inspiration.

Click HERE for the actual Pinterest moodboard.

For the shoot, I wanted a modern take of Frida Kahlo. I tweaked her outfits and her look but tried to remain true to her style. I made sure there were mix and match of prints and colours, embroidery details, layers of accessories and of course, her headpiece.

I decided to omit the unibrow and the braided hair because I was not aiming to exactly copy her. Since this was a small project, I asked our friend if she can be our model and she was happy to render us her service. Haha!

As for the outfits, we looked for clothes in the easiest place we can go to - our closet. Luckily, my friend and I have heaps of options to choose from in our own closets and we actually have items that fits my modern Frida Kahlo idea. Also, my friend did her own make-up since we have no budget for a make-up artist nor do we know a make-up artist who can collaborate with us on this project. Being self-sufficient really comes handy. Location, you ask? I wanted a leafy or slightly rustic background. When we looked around, and we didn't get too far really, our backyard fits the bill. Easy peasy.

Aaannddd here it is! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my (long overdue) collaboration project with my favourite photographer (aka the person behind most of my ootd photos), Vernadette Carullo! :)

True to Frida Kahlo fashion, mix and match of prints and bold colors are essential. The key to mix and matching colours is to make sure that the colours complement each other and there is at least one similar colour that must be present on all items. For her first outfit, the blues, reds and whites worked together. Her headwrap is actually a kimono cover-up that we folded and played around with.

The second look was a splash of colours. Since the skirt was very colourful, it was easy to style it around because any colour will look good with it. Of course, this wouldn't be Frida Kahlo-inspired without the headpiece so I decided to use it for this look.

The third look has a touch of grunge. I tried to amp it up a bit. We changed the skirt and shoes and added the army green jacket with colourful embroidery and neon coloured accessories as contrast. See how tweaking here and there can change the whole vibe of an outfit? The vibrant colours, the embroidery details, the accessories are still there but a little tweaking can make the whole look totally different.

Unfortunately, I couldn't submit these photos now because they changed the requirement. Not to worry though, these can be used for our portfolio. Or our respective instagram accounts. Hehe.

Big thanks to my friends, Clare and Vernadette, for waking up early, for braving the heat that day and for working (Yessss! Haha!) with me.

DIY: Sequined sash belt

My first DIY of the year! Yay! :)

I know I mentioned that Wednesdays will be my DIY day but since I am not feeling even a bit sleepy yet, let's do this in advance!

As part of my New Year's Eve outfit, I made a belt to cover the top part of my pants that is ruched and made of garter. I opted to use a shiny organza ribbon and metallic sequins to spice my pants up a bit. Plus, the metallic trend is very hot today! :)

 Here's how I made it:

1. Needle

2. Snap fasteners

3, Satin ribbon around 1 inch in width, Silver organza ribbon around 1/2 inch in width. (It's your choice what width of ribbon you would want to use.)

4. White thread

5. Sequins (For this post, I only made a silver sequined belt. I haven't used the gold sequins yet.)

6. Scissors

7, Sewing machine (As seen in the succeeding photos)

BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, MEASURE THE RIBBON ACCORDING TO YOUR WAIST SIZE AND ADD AN INCH OR TWO (TO SERVE AS AN ALLOWANCE) WHEN YOU CUT THE RIBBON. You can also make a high-waist belt or a belt that can be either used for your waist and above your waist. Your call. :)

Sew the silver organza ribbon on one side of the black satin ribbon. You can use whatever color and type of ribbon you want.

Then do the same on the other side.

Fold the ends of the ribbon and sew them to seal.

This is how it looks like after.

The fun part: embellishment! Sew the sequins by hand! You can design and put the sequins however you want to.

Ta-daaahhh!

As a final touch, sew on a snap fastener that will serve as locks when worn.

And there you have it, your own and very easy sequined sash belt! :)

I'm thinking of having one piece/pre-order of this to be sold in my online store... Hmm.

Anyway, you'll see more photos of me wearing the belt when I blog about our New Year's celebration. :)

(Oh, thanks Mom for letting me borrow your hands! :) And for really sewing the ribbons for me. Hee. Yes, I only did the sequins part.)