weekly inspiration.

Before I head on to this site that gives out tips on public speaking anxiety and officially sign off for Holy Week, here's 2 of my favorite Hollywood girls wearing something I am inspired to wear the next week.

So yes, just as we thought Spring has Sprung, chilly weather hits our lovely city with high 20s and 30s argh! Time to take out those coats and jackets from the Spring Cleaning boxes.

Aren't they very pretty and elegant? Something that I can really wear, although it would really be great if I have those 3.1 Phillip Lim purses hee hee. Have a blessed Holy Week!

E-Bay Tips.

Ebay for me is the biggest and the best thrift store in the world. I will never get tired visiting that site. Although, I have to do control myself from time to time especially since Paypal is very very accessible hee hee. For the past 2 weeks, I missed out on a couple of bids and so I thought, I already know the rules on bidding yay! Here's some bidding tips I got from About.com which you might find handy before I hop on and research on estatecarinsurance.com.

1. Engaging in bidding wars
Many new eBay buyers are unaware that, more often than not, they can find multiple listings of the desired item being sold by either the same seller, or offered by different sellers. Often, the same item carries different price and/or shipping costs. Multiple listings of identical items can be listed by one seller, or by many.
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2. Bidding "over your head"
This rather common mistake can sometimes cost you more than you think. If you are bidding on that hard to find "hot" item, it is best to set your price limit and stick to it. Example: If the item's starting bid is low, you can be sure it will attract more bidders in the process. Many experienced sellers use this technique to appeal to a large number of interested buyers - "start them low and see what happens". This can, and often does, start a bidding war so set your spending limit and, if it goes over, walk away. Remember: If you decide to bid, be sure to know what the item is worth (listing price vs. retail price, shipping and handling costs, etc.) and bid only what you can spend on it.

3. Failing to read and fully understand auction details
Always read the "fine print". You don't sing a contract before getting a chance to read, and understand, all of the details. Why should eBay auction be any different? There are many fine and honest sellers who offer good deals and create win-win auctions. Sadly, there are some that, given the opportunity, will take you for a nasty ride.

4. Failing to check shipping/handling cost
Sometimes the shipping cost of the item might not be listed for your country, or listed at all for that matter. See if it is listed anywhere in the auction description. If not, ask the seller how much such cost will be. You don't want any nasty surprises such as winning a 99-cent tiny little item, and paying 19 dollars to have it shipped to you in a plain envelope with 1-dollar worth of actual postage.

5. Failing to check the seller's feedback before bidding
Most of the sellers on eBay are fine and honest folk, and you will not experience any issues with your transactions. But, once in a while, you might run into a bad apple, or two. Unless you have dealt with this seller before, and were happy with results, it is always a good idea to read through several pages of seller's feedback (especially, if less than 100 percent positive). You will find out how happy (or unhappy) other buyers were with this seller's performance.

6. Using poor search skills
The more detailed your search criteria are, the higher the possibility of finding precisely what you are looking for. Think of it like this: if you went to a shoe store and asked for "red shoes", what are the chances the salesperson would bring you exactly what you need? But if you asked for "red heels Manolo Blahnik size 9", the salesperson would have a pretty good idea what you want. The same works in eBay search - the more details you give, the better chances you find it.

7. "Know thy item" before you bid
Many times, new buyers will head straight to eBay to look for something they could purchase at their local department store, or even online but at a lower cost. Yes, eBay has (almost) everything but do your homework - go online and google the item you're looking to buy. Can you find it elsewhere (not eBay), cheaper? How much is the retail price? Can you get it in your country (no custom fees)? Is it available for pickup (no shipping delays)? Ask yourself as many of those "logical" questions and see if the answers will still point you to eBay. If yes, what is the quality of the item you're about to bid on; is it authentic/genuine/certified, or "like" something? Carefully read the "fine print" of the auction.

8. Leaving bad feedback before contacting the seller
This one is a major faux pas. Sadly, not only new eBay buyers make this mistake; some high-feedback veterans do this once in a while, especially while upset. Remember: Nobody wins if you get hasty and nasty. Always contact the seller first and give them the opportunity to fix it. Never leave a neutral or negative feedback before all the options are exhausted and there is no resolution. Even if the situation is bad, but the seller helps you resolve it, acknowledge seller's efforts in your feedback. Think of it as "good eBay karma".

9. Attempting to "save" on your item by resorting to shady deals
You found a hard to find item and there are no bids on it. The auction is a 7-day one, and there are still 3 days left. Since there are no bids, you might think that you could avoid possible bidding war (if more new, inexperienced buyers find this item) if you contact the seller and ask them to end the auction early and sell you the item off eBay. Bad idea! Chances are, the seller will just say no but he/she could report your innocent question to eBay, and your eBay privileges and account will be canceled. Making any offers to deal off-eBay is considered illegal.

10. Falling for fraud and phishing attacks
There are many people out there that would just love to take your money and leave you with nothing. Fake "second chance" offers, sellers with no feedback selling stolen, broken or outright non-existent items, bad guys hijacking legitimate eBay IDs and using them to "sell" things they don't have in their possession, just to name a few. There is also "phishing" - email attempts to make you reveal your eBay credentials (--- good place to link to What is phishing? ---). Just like anywhere else, bad things could happen if you're not careful. But eBay can, and is, a lot of fun, too! I have been an eBay buyer and seller since 2003, and I still love it!

bad posture.

Miley Cyrus is known for her eccentric fashion style. I guess it goes with her being an artist, she truly expresses herself in a different arena. Almost always, she is on the worst dressed list and Oscars was not an exemption. She always get the best designers to dress her but she always ended up looking ahm, err, awkward because of her bad posture. But, have you seen her bikini photos? Her body is so hot, looks like she took so many natural fat burner pills to achieve that best bikini bod look.

snooze!

Maybe, instead of feeling rejuvenated on our weekend beach getaway, I ended up getting tired and exhausted that I snoozed my heart's out last night. I slept for more than 12 hrs! Nope, I haven't taken any sleeping pills to last my sleep that long. Thanks to DH who was thoughtful enough to prepare DS breakfast and bring him to school. I better check my diet too, something in there might be making me sluggish. Now, back to working mode, I badly need to beat deadlines today.

My oh My, Rachel Bilson.

My oh my, Rachel Bilson, every time I see a photo of you, I feel like I need to reassess my closet with something like yours. Well, at least similar because I know you only wear designer pieces. Have you also been taking quick weight loss pills lately, you seem to be losing weight, AGAIN! Those Chloe and Valentino bags are just to die for. How do you maintain such classic, elegant, effortless get up every single day? I heart, heart your style!

studs, studs, studs

Each time I visit Macy's, the first brand of bags I check is that of Michael Kors'. I would drool over Michael Kors shoes and purses. Seriously, the leather are just so supple and the designs are very simple but hard to ignore because of its elegance. Currently, they came out with Studded collection and guess what, this black leather zip studded gloves is part of that collection. I read from InStyle that Studded purses, pants, accessories are in this year. Would you dare to wear studded fashionable items?

Take the basic pair of leather gloves up a couple notches with this pair from Michael by Michael Kors.

* 60 Day Return Policy
* Color: Black
* Supple leather exterior
* Zip gusset with studding along front
* Elastic smocking at inner wrist
* Fleece lining
* Size S measures 9¼'' long (from tip of mid finger to cuff edge)
* All measurements are approximate
* Shell: 100% Leather; Lining: 100% Polyester; Specialist Dry Clean;

My Top 3.

I know this is a tad late but nevertheless, I am posting my top 3 best-dressed for this year's Oscars. I have been an avid Oscars fan for almost 5 years now, because of those gorgeous celebrities all dolled up!

Seriously, Kirsten Stewart would make it to my list if only she had better posture that night, geez she was so awkward while her photos were being taken tsk tsk. Apart from the beautiful tuxedos and gowns, I love LOVE the make-up, everybody was flawless, they do not need blue light therapy. The make-up was subdued, fresh and very elegant.

Without further ado, here's my top 3: Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Mc Adams and Carey Mulligan.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

Everything but the Kitchen Sink, you know that saying?

When I became a Mom, my small purses turned into huge bags that I could literally bring Everything But The Kitchen Sink! I remember that TVC where this mom brought everything that her kids were asking for (including their pets!) while they were on a bus tour. That is so me. I do not want to have a cranky son because mommy forgets some stuff he needs. However, for the past few days, I found myself carrying small purses again, yey! Probably because my son is becoming to be more and more independent and he packs his own stuff in his own backpack now.

When I saw this hand-crafted Judith Leiber crystallized handbag being carried by Carrie in SATC, I couldn't help but be in awe with how unique, fashionable and creative it was. Of course, it was ridiculously expensive at $450 without crystals and $2,100 with Crystals. But there is a cheap alternative. Before I give to you the alternative and speaking of Kitchen sink, a friend is very happy to score this discount kitchen sink for their new home. She particularly told me to visit Kitchen Sink Outlet when it's our time to build our home because of the stylish and affordable kitchen sinks this site offers.
Moving on to the alternative, Patricia Field made this cheaper version of the Eiffel Tower Bag only at $86. Isn't it cool? But this isn't the type of small purses that you would see me carrying everyday.

sweets!

A luxury brands-lover would love to open her mmf drawer and see these cupcakes. Ahh, such cutie sweets. Look closely on how these cupcakes were made, perfect resemblances aren't they? Heck, I want the real thing hee hee.

Speaking of MMF Drawers, little by little my Aunts-in-Law are starting to recover from the economic crisis which badly hit their businesses. Now, they are reopening the branches and looks like they need to shop for new Cash drawers too. PoshMicro is the place to be. I just pray and hope that this small blessings will pave the way to bigger and better opportunities for them :)