The Budget for my little trip to Seattle

So, my husband and I are going to Seattle this weekend. But we're not spending time together there because my husband is going to PAX (in short, it's one of the most famous game conferences), and for me, it's gonna be exploring Seattle and a shopping weekend. I love shopping in the States as I can get most of the stuff cheaper than Canada (obviously it excites me a lot). But I need to take a moment and think about how much I can actually spend in Seattle. Unfortunately, I had an unexpected expense the other day, so now I have much less budget than I was planning. In other words, I am broke (sigh).

Here's my budget: $120 (not including food)

I know it is not a lot of money, but I think it's kind of interesting to see if I can stay on my budget (which I really have to), and how many items that are worth money I can purchase. I'm hoping to get some makeup and clothing pieces for upcoming Fall.

By the way, I've just realized the fact that I usually don't set the EXACT budget whenever I go shopping, so this is going to be my first attempt to achieve this strict (?) goal.

Anyway, it's time for bed. See you world!!

Reflection on Yesterday (about going for a drink)

I missed my blog post yesterday because I went out for drinks with my coworkers and I ended up staying way longer than I planned. It's always nice to get to know people who I work with and it was fun, but it costs a lot to have drinks in Canada. In Japan, generally, most pubs (we call them "Izakaya") have a system called "All You Can Drink" which is literally exactly that. You can drink whatever you want from a menu for a certain time (usually 1.5-3 hours), and the cost ranges from $10 to $25. So, even if you don't drink that much, you can earn your pay! Here, you cannot just drink as much as you want because the bill is gonna be crazy, so you need to always keep that in mind unless you are well-off. Although I'm not a crazy drinker or anything, sometimes thinking about the cost for drinks turns me off.

I don't know if I should be sad about the fact that as I get older, just getting drunk is not fun for me anymore. Back then, when I was younger, it was super enjoyable to have a lot of drinks. Now all I want is to chill out having at most one beer with my husband or friends and talk about fun stuff. It's interesting how things have changed as you become more thoughtful. But I'm sure it is definitely pleasant to my liver and my wallet.

I don't know what the point of this blog post is, but what I want to say is that drinking alcohol is not something I want to include too much of in my life routine. I needed to write this down just to make sure when I am asked to go for drinks next time, I'll be able to say "No." (Um, I still might go, but I can have much less drinks and leave much earlier).

Smells Like Fall

Fall is coming down to Vancouver. We've been having okay weather lately which means "no rain!", and it's clear skies today. Yet I can definitely "smell" Fall by the mild wind and the atmosphere. To me, there is a certain "scent" for each season, like Summer has a mixed scent of fresh greens and dirt, and Winter has crisp and deep nostalgic air. Today, it smelled like old leaves on the ground and burnt wood. The upcoming signs of  Fall always makes me sentimental and nostalgic.

Since the weather is getting chilly even when the sun comes out, I picked up a crop top jumper from Topshop and a long skirt from Loft 82. These are perfect to start my fall outfits because they keep me warm and cozy but don't make me sweat. As matter of fact, it's still officially Summer, so I let my feet enjoy wearing sandals as well. Also, I put a bit of spice in my outfit by adding big nerdy glasses.

I was amazed how quickly August flew by. It feels like it was July three days ago. I guess I need to go out and get as much sunshine as possible before the sun gets pushed out of the way by rain.

A Library Day

Vancouver Central Public Library is one of my favorite spots in Vancouver. I love how it is well designed, as it resembles the Colosseum. It has open spaces and desks that you can work at privately, and I think it's really cool. It was even used in some films like The Sixth Day as a research center (I'm not sure what I can call it) which was eventually blown up. If you pay enough attention, I'm sure you'll see this library on the screen.

In order to force me to study, it's quite effective to change my atmosphere and surroundings from my room where I can find a lot of temptations, including a TV and a comfortable couch. In that sense, it really works for me to be in the library since it gives me energy and somehow gravitates me toward full concentration. I also like the atmosphere of being surrounded by tons of piles of books and of the distinctive smell of old books.

I felt weird to get into study mode yet it was nice after having neglected self-improvement for quite a long time. So, thank you Vancouver library! I think I'll take a long bath with my favorite candle and reward myself tonight.

Random Wish List vol.2

Random Wish List vol.2 by flaminky

Well, today was a usual boring day as I just stayed home, cleaned and watched YouTube videos despite having a day off. I wanted to do something like reading or possibly going to the library, but I've been suffering from a continuous headache caused by empyema after having recovered from the actual cold. So, that turned me off to do anything such as going outside.

For me, making a wish list is probably one of the best ways to make my sick day less horrible and unhappy. I have a long makeup wish list, but I think the stuff I put into my "Random Wish List vol.2" is my most-wanted "high-end" products. Especially, I am so interested in the Marc Jacobs little eye shadow set. In fact, I even checked the product at a local Sephora and I fell in love with the beautiful packaging. I've heard it's highly pigmented and long-lasting as well. Anyway, I cannot buy all of the stuff from my wish list at the same time (they are pretty expensive to me), but I don't mind the process of saving up for my future-loving beauty products.

Making a wish list is something that I never be able to stop, because it satisfies my desire toward shopping (at least temporarily) and I can also organize my thoughts.

Earrings Earrings Earrings...

Once I got my ears pierced about three years ago, I've been possessed to collect earrings. It's just because they could be such an awesome compliment to my outfits even if I don't dress nicely. I have quite a lot of items in my collection, so I wanted to share some of them with you. By the way, I don't particularly look for earrings to put into my collection, yet if I have a fateful encounter with some great ones, there can be no one to stop me from buying them.

My favorite ones so far are dangling piggy earrings (the second picture above). They are actually divided into three parts which are head and two body parts so that when they swing, they look even prettier. I'm pretty sure that they are so flattering because I've gotten a lot of compliments on streets or whenever I go out with them. I got kitty version of these earrings as well (they are freaking cute too). Half of my collection is from Japan, and the other half is from Canada. My sister keeps sending me earrings too since she knows my exact taste, such as the gold circle earrings in the third picture. They are super simple, but very stylish, so I love them so much.

In Canada, I usually buy earrings at LOFT 82, Front and Company, the flea market (handmade), and Forever 21. Especially everyone knows that Forever 21 is so great that their stuff is inexpensive, like their price range is from $1.80 ~ (my turquoise color earrings were C$1.80!) .

Now that I have a huge collection of earrings, I need to find a nice little home for them. I've been looking for a storage case for a while, but so far, I haven't found a perfect one. Meanwhile, I'll probably keep purchasing some more earrings whenever I fall head over heels.

Random Wish List vol.1

Random Wish List vol.1 by flaminky featuring free people tops

It might sound weird, but in my opinion, the less money you have, the more you feel like spending money. I mean, this at least applies to my friends and myself. So, I thought it would be a better idea to just put things that I might possibly purchase in the future together to calm myself down to be a smart shopper.

These are just clothes, shoes and a bag that I "randomly" picked up from random websites. The Summer is nearly ending, and the Fall fashion is starting to come out which excites me a lot. Also, after spending a lot of time at work, browsing online shopping websites makes me feel a bit better. 

Well, today was a long day for me, so I should probably go get some rest! 

Good night world and see you tomorrow!!