Working Girl: The Corporate Chronicles Part 1

Something new on the blog today - corporate wear! Back in college, I told myself a countless of times to never succumb to the monochromatic, lifeless, no brainer office wear, regardless of its comfort and practicality. Yes, there are times when I question my better judgement on why I torture myself in 4 inches of high heels, especially when it rains or when we decide to have lunch out and crossing the street in 15 seconds becomes a real challenge. But I believe that external factors greatly affect internal reactions. When you surround yourself with happy people, you eventually become a happy person too. Likewise, when you dress well and feel good about yourself, you project radiance and confidence. Every morning, I look forward to dressing up for work. I'm on my third week already and it's been smooth sailing so far. Although, I'm currently feeling a bit under the weather because of a couple of stints under the rain and a few cups of chocolate chip ice cream so tomorrow, I'll make sure to dress up even nicer than usual to make up for this sore throat! 

 This is what I wore during my first day in the office (we had to spend 3 days in the plant wearing just smart casual) so I chose something that slightly more on the traditional corporate wear. Coincidentally, this top was the same one I wore during my final interview before I got hired and some of those who saw me asked, "Were you the girl in red that time?" Proof that outfits help you become remembered! 

Mango Top | Zara Pencil Skirt | Michael Kors Bag | Call It Spring Stilettos

 I've worn this outfit a couple of times already for previous interviews and its probably my most favorite! It's chic and stylish yet formal at the same time. Its playful but also projects a certain respectable personality. This is my go to outfit when I want to make the right first impression, hence I wore this during my first dealer visit.

Zara Top | Promod Skirt | Longchamp Bag | Call It Spring Stilletos

Wearing one of a kind pieces such as this sheer floral midi skirt is sure to fish out some compliments in one way or another. I got a few ones for this bright and happy outfit. I decided to make other elements plain and simple with my white button down and silver matching bag, shoes and accessories to balance the playfulness of the entire look.

Mango Buttondown | Topshop Midi Skirt | Tory Burch Bag | Topshop Stilettos

Love, Paola xx

Won't You Save Me, San Francisco?

Hello from San Francisco! Let's just pretend that while reading this post, you have Train's song playing in the background *I've been high I've been low, I've been yes and I've been oh hell no, I've been rockin rollin disco, won't you save me San Francisco* This outfit shots were taken in less than five minutes because I had no plans of shooting it anymore since it was raining hard that day! But when we got by The Crooked Street, I can't help but snap a few shots. However, I realized that I have the habit of being overdressed for occasions and being underdressed for the weather. It was so much colder in San Francisco compared to LA, and all I have were skirts and tights. I had to borrow a coat from my aunt and deal with my fashionable but very unpractical choices of clothing! 

Clothes for a Goddess denim polo | Zara skirt | Stradivarius belt | Steve Madden tights | Mango loafers

We took a five hour bus ride from LA to SanFo, which was surprisingly convenient and delightful! I was pretty excited to visit San Francisco that's why even if our time was very limited, we sqeeuzed in the trip and stayed there for three days. We met up with my Ninong Dan and his family and stayed with them! One more thing I love about our entire trip was that we got to meet a lot of people, both old friends and new ones, who were all so gracious to welcome us in their homes and take us around more! Usually our travels abroad involve staying in hotels and touring the places by ourselves or with tour guides but it was much more fun and meaningful to do it with family and friends!

 Unfortunately, it was a rainy day when we toured the city! The weather did not cooperate!

Our first stop was a viewing spot of the Golden Gate Bridge but since it was raining, it was hard to take pictures and it was a little foggy. So we decided to just come back for it later as we wished for a better weather.

 The trams that go around the city.

 There it is, Union Square!!! 

We had lunch at Cheesecake Factory which was at Macy's at Union Square.

During our trip, I had a list of restaurants I wanted to try and Cheesecake Factory was at the top most of that list!!!

THOSE GLORIOUS CAKES!!! My love for cheesecake is intense and passionate lol 

I love the feel of the place!

 The food did not disappoint! Everything was really yummy but I read on the internet the this restaurant has an insane amount of calories in their dishes. One serving of their pasta has almost 1200 calories! That's the daily calorie requirement for an adult for one whole day already! But this was one of those times to go YOLO since it was worth it anyway! Haha

 My Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake!!!! Look at that big chunk of cookie dough in the middle!

 Surprisingly, San Francisco looks exactly like how I pictured New York in my head!

 This building looks straight out of a Harry Potter film in Diagon Alley!

 A scary looking dog with very cute and equally distributed colors!

 After lunch, we tried our luck again and went back to Golden Gate Bridge but the weather still wasn't cooperating.

 But Ninong Dan went to this view point which has the perfect view of the bridge that's why even if it was raining, we went crazy taking pictures!

 Since we are loving the bridge too much, we went to another view point which has an even better view but it takes climbing up. My ears and my jaw started hurting and my eyes were tearing up from the cold and the uphill walk but not complains! I was in beautiful city and about to city a beautiful landmark!

 Alcatraz from a distance! It would've been nice to see this iconic and controversial prison! According to my ninang, she tried to get tickets but apparently you have to book it months in advance! 

 Golden Gate Bridge!!!! 

The roads of the city is full of slopes and slides that even if we didn't get to explore a lot of places because of the bad weather, driving around was entertaining enough!

 The Crooked Street at Lombart! It took as a while to find this but we made sure not leave without seeing it! It really was amazing that we drove by it twice!

 The top most part also shows the perfect view of the city!

After The Crooked Street, we went back to Salinas and faced heavy traffic and ended the day with dinner with my Ninong's family! Thank you again Ninong Dan and Ninang Gloria! Till next time! 

Love, Paola

The Day I Met Chuck E Cheese

The day I met Chuck E Cheese, I was sporting my good girl look with my white buttoned down, a midi skirt plus my uniform good girl hairstyle (I do this hairstyle whenever I want to look nice and innocent. Works everytime! Haha). To battle the cold, I then finished the look with my trusty gray cardigan which gave my look an unintentional conservatism and made it very Sunday appropriate (although this was a Monday). It's a very chill outfit, I was even wearing my sunnies till sundown since I didn't bother to fix my face at all. Perfect for the vibes of that afternoon! We were still tired from our Vegas trip so we all just met for dinner and for some arcade fun! 

Ever New top | Promod skirt | Zara cardigan | Mango loafers | Forever 21 sunnies | Cotton On silver chocker

If you don't know Chuck E Cheese, I suggest you watch The Pacifier - its the arcade and restaurant where the baby lost his diaper! Haha. This place took me back to my Timezone days! I was a Timezone baby and I have so much memories of me and my dad playing the different arcade games at Timezone that's why for a 20-year old who's entering Chuck E Cheese for the first time, I was pretty excited. Plus I was with my cousins who have double of my energy and excitement! 

The guys' table.

 The girls' table.

 The adults' table.

 Making sure that there is equality before we start using our coins. Haha

And there's Chuck E Cheese who actually volunteered himself to be in this photo! Haha, we were taking one as he passed by and then he just ended up posing with us. I love this photo since this was the first photo that we were complete!

Love, Paola