All I really want to do all day

Is paint flowers and people! Work has been stealing time from me, but still determined to practice and test out a few samples for an up coming project with my sisters. Out of all the different painting mediums that I've tried, watercolor is still my favorite.

Yesterday I practiced painting some peonies, trying out combinations for the bouquets of flowers in my paintings. 

 

  

 

I feel like I'm at a crossroads right now, thinking if I should pursue my career in I.T., or change a role within I.T. and slowly edge into a different path. I like the kind of work that I do in my chosen career, but I wish I had more flexibility in my time. Ah, oh well. We make the best of what we have right now, so there's no stopping me from practicing in the evenings!

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Project Condo 2014

The previous post about our beloved Whitney's passing away was kinda heavy, I feel like I needed to look at the brighter side of life and celebrate the better things that are happening or will happen this year. I will be going through a big leap these next couple of months, because I am set to move into my new apartment by mid May!

Three years ago, I invested on a condo unit for my 25th birthday. It's not really big--just a one bedroom apartment in the city so that I can save commute time by not having to pass along the South Super Highway everytime I go to work. My place is a few minutes away from Ortigas, Makati and Taguig, which is perfect for me since my office is located at McKinley Hill. I have already submitted all the necessary paper work, my bank loan has been approved, and I'm just waiting for the keys to be handed over by end of March. Ahhhh, my own space and my own real estate! While I have experienced living alone when I travel, I still think this is quite a milestone, because aside from moving out of our home in B.F., it's I am perfectly aware that my lifestyle is going to change. I'm going to cook for myself, buy groceries for myself, clean the condo, do my own laundry, rely on my own alarm clock to wake me up in the morning... Haha. It's surreal, but at the same time, it's reality--I am indeed a grown up. *oh snap*

I've been Pinteresting for the longest time about how I imagine my bedroom and living room would look like. The plan is to keep it as minimalist and as neutral-colored as possible. White walls and then white, grey and black furniture. The key pieces of my new home will be in neutral colors and other decorative elements such as pillow cases, wall art, bed sheets, curtains can be changed into brighter colors depending on my mood.

I've been doing a mental checklist of the things that I need to buy, I only have the top 5 things that I plan on buying by May 2014. 

1. A bed, preferably double bed size or if my space permits, queen size. I've been staying in a single bed for most of my life, I want a change this time! I'd like to have a cushioned headboard so I wouldn't need a pillow when I read. If I can't find a cushioned one, then a headboard with a shelf would be nice, so that I don't have to put side tables. Oh I'd invest on good white and grey bed sheets too, and get pillowcases of different colours! 

2. A work table and a work chair - I plan on putting this near the window for more natural light. Solid wood with drawers for my art materials and crafty trinkets. It would be against the wall so I can put my own pinboard/mood board for illustration ideas

3. A book shelf where I can put more books and CDs. Since I don't have a lot of space, I probably would only bring art/design books with me and a few fiction reads and leave the rest of them at our house in Paranaque. I want to make sure that the things that I bring to the condo are functional and would help me remain inspired. 

4. A sofa and coffee table. I want my sofa to be grey or black, with changeable throw pillow cases for pop of color or maybe patterned design if I get bored with seeing stuff in neutral colors. I want it to be a 3 seater sofa, because I will be scrimping on dining room space. I probably won't even buy a big dining set! 

5. A dining set for 4 or 2. Visitors, let's just have pizza na lang! Or sandwiches! Or shawarma! Anything that you can just hold while eating! Haha. 

I'm very excited about this new phase of my life. Now if only I have enough moolah to buy them all at once!

Check out my pins for Project Condo 2014 here!

Disclaimer: All photos in this post are borrowed from: Planete Deco | A Merry Mishap Blog

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Ink Drawing: Heart In Chaos

Today has been really productive in the creativity front. The morning was spent frosting cupcakes for a client then drawing and inking all afternoon plus working on a design project with a photography studio's website. I finally re-made this doodle, digitalized it and properly edited it in Photoshop. I've been neglecting ink as a medium for my drawings, so I just thought I'd take a break from the watercolors and go back to basics. Oh if only all my Saturdays are as productive and as awesome as today!

Heart In Chaos
Ink on paper, digital

There's a lot going on in our lives and countless things keep us worried--deadlines and meetings, things to do's and chores, bills and responsibilities, traffic and oil price hikes, floods and earthquakes, zits and weight gain...the list goes on. I personally have a surplus of worries and it's easy to get lost in the chaos (the weight gain problem alone is really disconcerting) but I've learned that it's just a matter of putting things into perspective.

Last Sunday, Jim and I were walking home from a nearby diner when a kid came over and asked us to buy sampaguita from him. We initially dismissed him but he was persistent, so we decided to buy him food instead of giving him money. Right after ordering a burger for him, he asked if we could just have the food to go because he wanted to share it with his siblings. While waiting for the food to arrive, we asked the kid a few questions and got to know him a little. 

His name is Aries. He's 11 years old and the seventh among nine children. He doesn't know how to read, and he never went to school. He's been selling sampaguita since 3PM that day and would only go home at 12 midnight or until all the flowers were sold. His elder brothers are parking boys and his mom stays at home, taking care of his younger siblings. His dad had passed away already. He held coins in his hand because he didn't have any pockets. He had a shy way about him that was endearing, but the whole time that we were talking to him, I just saw sadness in his eyes. I asked how many flowers he's sold. "Isa pa lang ate.", he replied. It was already 10 pm and I ended up buying the whole bunch just so he can go home. The kid just broke my heart.  I'm hoping to chance upon him again and help him in some way, maybe give him books or buy another bunch of sampaguita from him again. 

That encounter with Aries was a wake up call that there are far more people who have bigger problems than I do. That boy is a reminder that we are very fortunate and that we should remain thankful for all our blessings instead of focusing on what's missing in our lives. Life isn't and will never be perfect but as long as our hearts are in the right place, I think we'll do just fine. 

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A Different Aesthetic

There are things that visually, naturally draw me in and I find them mostly in patterns or bright colors, hence this blog's title: Psychedelandia and Other Stories. Embracing color has always been my thing (though it was never induced by drugs, just to be clear). I just think color makes things more interesting and it gives them character.Writing this, I realize that it's really not just color that influences my general taste in things. I like texture and volume. I adore patterns and have a thing for intricate designs. Variety is a word that comes to mind, and if you would ask me to draw a line, I'd probably make swirls and loops between point A and point B. I'm psychoanalyzing myself why I like such chaos, and why I hardly adopted my highschool Alma Mater's mantra, "Simplicity is beauty."

Maybe I felt so restricted while attending catholic school. We wore blue and white uniforms and were never even allowed to wear hair accoutrements in colors other than blue, white and black. Our socks had to be folded neatly to our ankles. The hem of our skirts had to be 2 inches below the knee--not shorter nor longer than that or else, we would either get a sewing kit to make it shorter, or they will make us unsew the hem to make it longer. I didn't want to be simple. Simple meant lack of variety and having to follow rules. I grew up thinking that simple equated to boring.

This love for variety translates to my habits of consuming. While I am not exactly a fashionista, I have to admit that I love shopping and adore clothes. At the risk of sounding superficial, I confess that I am one of those girls who has a closet full of clothes but still think that they have nothing to wear. One outfit change to another, I'd look myself in the mirror and feel unsatisfied. "I need a new pair of shoes to go with this", I'd think, or "If only I had this in maroon..." I was never one to get excited over the latest trends or the newest gadget, but I still bought what I fancied--sometimes to a fault because most of them, I don't really need. This year, I resolve develop a capsule wardrobe. Aside from the design of the piece, I would be paying attention to quality, fit and re-wearability. Lately, I've been drawn to classic pieces such as stripes, chambray and neutral colors. Something quite surprising and a bit conflicting with my general take on clothes, but nonetheless practical and suits my taste nowadays. 

With my apartment about to be turned over by March next year, I've been looking at pegs that lean towards a more minimalist aesthetic. Neutrals, clean lines, and functional pieces are the key words that I would make sure to stick to when I start decorating. I want to surround myself with just the essentials so that I don't have to worry about clutter (a perennial problem with my space at home). 

Perhaps the desire to live simply comes with age and responsibilities. I have bills to pay and I need to stay within budget. There's so many things to do that worrying about the next trend isn't a priority (unless of course, you're working in the fashion industry). Maybe my experiences in traveling helped me to have a more practical approach in consuming, because it's hard to pack light when you want to bring the whole roygbiv gang from your closet to your suitcase. I guess in adulthood, there comes a point wherein you think it's not about quantity anymore. It's not even about the brands, although some brands really live up to their promise of quality. These days, I have made a resolve to consume less but still pay attention to detail. In my cluttered life of being an I.T. consultant, an artist, a musician, a cupcake business owner and a traveler, I am a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend and a friend on top of it all. The choice to live simply doesn't mean my life will be boring. It just means I resolve to find happiness in the simple things. 

Photo credit: Vogue || Remain Simple

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