Life goes on + tokidoki new prints!

It's been a brain-draining two weeks, and it only gets worse from there. I'll be having a presentation tomorrow and another one on Thursday. Gotta prepare for them. T-T

Amidst stressful compiling of clinical cases on Sunday, I received a call. It's from someone at the Annexe Gallery, and they confirmed my booking of a booth at Art For Grabs this coming May (9th-10th)!

Omigosh!!! I'm really really excited! This'll be the first time making a real life appearance selling my kawaii. :D Eheh...

I actually signed up in February, and started making stuff in March. I'll post up some of the things I made for the event - when there's time to spare. >.<

In the meantime, let's take a breather and feast our eyes upon new tokidoki bags! Up till now, 3 new designs for 2009 have been released - Leo, Geo and Discoteca. I like Discoteca best. It's got all the famous tokidoki characters in it.

Images credit to tokidoki's official website

{ tokidoki Discoteca Amicca }

{ tokidoki Discoteca Serena - I like this bag style :) }

{ tokidoki Geo Amicca }

As for Leo, I can't imagine an uglier print. -_-" Animal-spots-like print never works for me. >.<

BLARGH! I hate studying....

tokidoki Eco Mondo + L'amore

Well, things started off so-so in the morning, with two consecutive lectures by an someone from the national pharmacy board (I think). The lectures were about some judicial law and poison act or something. I was ready to fall asleep in 5 minutes. So much for 'full attention during lectures'.... T-T

This afternoon, my mood turned ecstatic. I got a call from campus about a parcel. Woohoo! I'd been expecting it since the start of sem. :D

{ If you've been following my blog, you should be able to guess what these bags contained }

Woot!

You're right!

tokidoki!

TOKIDOKI!!!

{ ♥ tokidoki Eco Mondo Sorriso - front ♥ }

{ ♥ tokidoki Eco Mondo Sorriso - back ♥ }

I bought 2 toki's from 73papasmurf's on eBay. There was a storewide sale last December. Some of the items are still on sale. I'd actually been eyeing the Eco Mondo Sorriso since it's been listed at $169.90, because of it's perfect print placement. I wanted every bit of the Eco Mondo print included on the bag. While on a routine eBay-search one day, I saw the price dropped by more than 10%. I couldn't resist any longer, so I snatched it up then and there.

{ tokidoki Eco Mondo Sorriso close-up of details ---> fabric tokidoki labels, engraved diamond toki characters on the zipper pull, star stud rivet hardware }

The other bag is an old design that was marketed in 2007 - L'amore Ciao. The seller offers 70% off shipping on each additional item and I'd been saving up to buy from her. A pleasant surprise presented itself when I purchased the 2 bags. Milly, the lady managing the store offered to have both bags shipped at the cost of one! That meant no extra shipping charges! Woot!

I thought I'd regret getting the L'amore bag. But it turned out to look so chic and fabulous that I find not the slightest fault with it. Absolutely LOVE it's gold-toned hardware!

{ ♥ tokidoki L'amore Ciao - front ♥ }

{ ♥ tokidoki L'amore Ciao - back ♥ }

{ tokidoki L'amore Ciao close-ups ---> Neon pink interior + decorative gold chain + my favourite characters of this print - meeelks! + free tokidoki stationery set }

I don't mean to scare you with my tokidoki obsession. It's just that the first taste made me want more. More. AND MORE. T-T Current tokidoki bag count = 5. You must be wondering how in hell I'm going to put these bags to good use. I love them all, no question about that, so I'm going to use them whenever I can. :)

tokidoki Carnival Carezza~!

Right. I'm back in Sibu. I was immediately forced to go through a few hours of introduce-my-friends-in-photos session with my sister. -_-" I for one am lazy to to that - even the Genting trip I've yet to write about. ^-^"

Currently using the home computer, cause I don't want to cabut-cabut the modem cables anymore like I did every sem break at home. ^-^" No router mah... :P

Be prepared for an image-heavy post... Dad went to collect my tokidoki last week. He was quite surprised when the person working at the counter said that there's a custom fees to pay for individually or commercially imported handbags. which amount to 20% the price fo the bag/bags. That meant RM180!!! I was really shocked when my dad related this to me, but then he carried on to explain that he negotiated with the person, and in the end didn't pay anything.

PHEW! I was like - O.M.G!!!! If that RM180 was paid, I'd feel guilty and stupid for the rest of my life.

On that note, I have not yet had to pay any so-called custom fees for my online purchases. Dad was saying that this person only wanted duit kopi. -_-" Luckily Dad's smart enough to turn the situation around. :)

So, onto the bag :

{ The colours are absolutely stunning! }

{ ♥ ♥ ♥ }

Bidded this from $125, and won the listing at $132.50. Shipping was $32+ with global express mail. I was really satisfied with the purchase, because the retail price of a tokidoki Carezza is $184. During this period of a few months post-release, Carnival bags are going for really cheap - bidding for a Carezza can start form as low as $25.

{ New Adios Qee keychain for the new line of independent tokidoki bags }

{ ♥ Choo~ ♥ }

Mosaic-photo maker is acting up again on this computer. T-T Can't seem to get the mosaic to appear. So here are large photos of parts of the swatch :

{ I love this ferres wheel - there are so many teenee characters! }

{ Some of my favourite characters : cheerleader girl, pink princess girl and rocket girl! }

{ Bright orange of the inside. There are lots of compartments, zipper parts and a mesh pocket. Will come in useful. :P }

{ Even the insides of the tag is decorated with tokidoki characters ♥ }

The bag is a good-sized tote bag, but people'll probably think I'm crazy, to carry such a bag around. -_-" Got it from my Dad - he very calmly and seriously told me I could get such a cartoon bag anywhere in pasar malam (night market), and then burst out laughing when I 'weih!!!'-ed at him. XD

I'm looking for an Eco Mondo Sorriso - desperately. Please contact me with detailed photos if you have one for sale.

tokidoki Carnival Carezza

I woke up early Wednesday morning. To bid on this tokidoki Carnival Carezza.

{ Front }

{ Back }

I really must learn the proper way of bidding. The secret to winning a listing. Some strategy to win that listing. T-T There had been no bidders for this bag, until the last 10 minutes. Seeing the reasonably cheap price at $135, when it's sold at $184 in retail, I thought it a good bargain. So, I confidently put my first bid. From past experiences, I know there will be lurking bidders, waiting to outbid the highest bidder at the last minute. I apprehensively refreshed at the '1 Click Bid'. I did this constantly, every 2 seconds till the last 10 seconds to end of the bid, and found that suddenly, there's a second bidder putting $137.50.

I knew this would happen, and I put my luck into speed at bidding $140. But when I submitted my bid, the lisitng had ended. T-T I was really really pissed off. T-T

This Carezza has the perfect placement of the Carnival print. T-T

I know it's really too much, wanting yet another tokidoki bag when I already have 2. ^-^" I can already hear suggestions thrown at me to save my bucks for something needed, or invest it in something useful. But let's put this as such; I have an obsession of collecting all tokidoki bags with the prints I like. :P

Bleh.

tokidoki Eco Mondo~!

Hokay... I couldn't go online yesterday night *and that made me restless* - some problem with the modem. It was alright again this morning after I switched it off to rest for 2 hours.

Anyways, just wanted to share with you a new bliss that is certain to make a bigger hole in my already hole-y pockets. T-T

tokidoki hath launched another new line of prints for its bags! Actually this new print, Eco Mondo, has been in the market for a few weeks already. :) And it's selling like J.Co Donuts!!! :D

{ Sorriso hobo style bag from Japan LA - the front }

{ Sorriso hobo style bag from Japan LA - the back }

I'm so getting this..... *glassy eyes*

Well that aside, I'm progressing with exponentially decreasing rate on revising CNS. T-T The first day of revision, I was pumped up with energy, determination and full concentration. By the end of the third day, like want to pengsan already. Information overload!!! AAAAHHHHH!!! And still got what, 4 more weeks to go in this manner? *cannot stand it*

In the midst of feeding repetitious facts to my already overflowing brain, I took little breaks to maintain whatever sanity was left. *and to think I've to endure such torture for another 6 weeks???*

Chanced upon this addictive puzzle game called Bloxorz on Miniclip. Got me hooked in an instant. There are 33 levels in total, and you have to get the brick to fall into the hole in each level. At a few levels, it seemed impossible to do that. You should have heard those frustrated wails coming from Vista B. But so far, I've scrapped it to level 29. It somewhat kept the brain running. :P

Bloxorz Get the block to fall into the square hole.

Play this free game now!!

More tokidoki + The Cloudy Parade

Ok... So almost one week already no updates. T-T Oh... I was occupied... with stupid Pharmaceutics. T-T What's the point of hafaling the stupid Production and Process Control? *pfffttt* I mean, it's something we should practise la, come on. Why bully our brains into hafaling the stupid thing? *sheeeeesh*

Despite the gloom of forthcoming weeks; with a class test each to get us all grumpeh, irritated, stressed and depressed *yes, depressed*, I only have one thing on my mind now.

tokidoki. TOKIDOKI~~!!!!!!

The more I see, the more I want. Human nature. T-T Can never get enough one. *Bleh~*

Currently, I'm eyeing these watches :

{ tokidoki Blue Latte Watch - pics from and listing found here }

{ tokidoki Red Momo Watch - pics from and listing found here }

I was practically drooling over the all-over straps. Typical tokidoki print all over the straps. *I waaaant*

Well, there are actually tons of tokidoki stuff I want. ^-^"

{ Most wanted : Carnival Carezza, all-over shirts. The others, if you gimme, I will adore you forever. XD}

I mentioned a new line of bags by tokidoki in my previous post. This pic is too kawaii to pass, I just have to put it up here :

{ tokidoki Carnival - pic from shop.tokidoki.it }

It's really painful, to be dry of $$ at the moment. T-T Accumulating $$ has almost become an addiction. All I can think of these days is how to draw people to buy stuff from my Etsy shop. T-T At the moment, the shop is almost non-existent; I'm not promoting enough in forums and such so I guess there's not much traffic. To make being noticed more difficult, Etsy is sprouting more and more competition. T-T Argh....

In times like this, I wish to have one of these to wear :

1. Wham Pow Comic Book Plastic Necklaces
2. Grr Arg Monster Acrylic Necklace BLACK
3. Grr Arg Monster Acrylic Necklace
4. BIFF -- Comic Book Charm Necklace

Etsy has never failed to delight me. :P These necklaces are the kitsch-iest things you can find to go with your outfit. At $10-$20 each, they're quite worth the buy considering the amount of head-turnings you'll get when you don on one. :P

So, with a determination to make some sales but without a marketing strategy in mind T-T, I'm going to make some updates to my Etsy shop. This set of clouds will be listed. :)

{ The Cloudy Parade }

Made this during the last days of Sem 4 hols. It's actually a necklace - deep blue satin ribbon tied into a little bow, with a glass pebble/polymer clay charm dangling, and 4 felt cloud pin brooches pinned. It's the versatility of the pins that I like - take them off by all means, and have them up on your shirt or bags. :)

{ ♥ The Cloudy Parade ♥ }

{ Close-up of the charm - The surface is super smooth and shiny :D }

==============================

I'm super hating Sem 5. T-T No interest in any of the subjects. Especially Radiopharmacy. Particularly Radiopharmacy. Makes me puke each time I hear 'Radiopharmacy'. Like Tuan Chin said very accurately, 'xian ou' when she look at Applied Biopharmaceutics II. -_-"

Nuff said.

But the stoopeed Radiopharmacy project is really stoopeed la.

Ok.

tokidoki Ciao Ciao Trasporto~!!!!!

Wheee~!

Finally my tokidoki Ciao Ciao Trasporto has arrived safely! I bought this from eBay seller fashiondefinition together with the Ciao Vacanze. The smaller bag reached faster, within one week of purchasing, because the seller shipped by express mail. This bag arrived almost one month after the purchasing date. T-T

I'd even opened a Paypal dispute with this seller. We were at the point of processing the Final Value Fee, from which she will get funds to pay me for 'non-received item'. Luckily, the bag arrived before the process was completed. :) Otherwise, there'd be more transactions to go through; return the bag or return the refund.

So, on to the bag. It's seriously H-U-G-E. A bit bulky to wear, but still, I LOVE the print! Got so many characters... ♥

{ Mah 2nd bebeh~♥ }

{ ♥ ♥ ♥ }

{ Closeup of characters }

tokidoki is launching new bags with new prints!!! The new line of bags will be produced by the same manufacturer as LeSportsac's, just not under the brand. It's tokidoki as a brand by itself. :D There's a whole range of new styles for the bags.

{ Found on tokidoki freeforums }

Picture above is of bags with the Carnival print. It's totally cute! So sayang they don't make Ciao of Ciao Ciao like messenger bags anymore. T-T If I can, I'm gonna get me a Carezza. :P

For more info on tokidoki and its products, Tokidoki Blog and tokidokizens are two good blogs to have a look at. :)

JSR #24 Meiji Esseru Super Cup Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Cream + TOKIDOKI CIAO VACANZE!!!

So, today's PBL was ok ok. I went home as usual during lunch break. Had a small tub of Meiji's Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. I think it's more like vanilla aero ice cream. It's very light, a bit like sorbet.

Price : RM6 each

Content : 200ml each tub

Found : Isetan KLCC

{ Almost half gone from the vanilla due to the journey it went through coming back home from KLCC. T-T I didn't know there were no inner coverings under the top lid. ^-^" }

Ok. So the main thing of this post.

The thing I'm dying to show you. :P

My tokidoki Ciao Vacanze hath finally arrivede! :D

I bought it from eBay seller; cozy-little-shop. The shop was listed under 'Real tokidoki Sellers' on the tokidoki Blog. On eBay at the time, the bag was the only one of its kind : a Vacanze Ciao.

I actually wanted a Vancanze Ciao Ciao (the larger messenger bag), and there was one on eBay, also by a 'real tokidoki seller'. The price is US$299, plus $28 shipping, with no insurance available. I really wanted the Ciao Ciao, but it just didn't feel right to purchase something so expensive without insuring it.

I got this Ciao for $179 + $30 shipping, insurance included. Blatantly, it's damn expensive, because the normal retail price is $120. T-T But the desire to have it was too much that it clouded any rationale to scout and wait for reasonable listings.

{ ♥ Mah bebeh~ ♥ }

{ ♥ Don't ya just lurve the print? :D ♥ }

I couldn't believe I finally got one of these. :P I really would have regretted if I hadn't got this and it bought by someone else. ^-^" The shipping was super the fast one. The seller shipped out last Tuesday, and I got it the following Monday, which is today. Maklumlah, shipping was by 'Global Express', which takes 3 to 5 days, as described in the item listing.

{ Authentication : tokidoki for Lesportsac black fabric label sewn in silver thread + random rainbow zipper + engraved 'riri' beneath zipper head + item identification number (9507 - Ciao) }

There is another important detail to take note of. Authentic tokidoki bags have a 'Made in China' tag sewn to the inside of the bag. I forgot to take a photo of that. And also, there's a black and white stretch cord with a metal carabiner attached. And, the shoulder strap usually has 'LeSportsac' on it, and the strap itself has a sheen, like a car seat-belt. Here's another great guide to buying tokidoki for Lesportsac bags on eBay.

{ Tokidoki ADIOS keychain, which came with the bag }

{ ♥ ♥ ♥ }

I'm hyper-ized just looking at the bag. :P It's definitely worth the $$. The feel of the bag is simply good. It has the weight of luxury, and it fits to the body like a second skin. :P The later phrase should be for apparel right? But the bag just gives me the feeling. :D

Next targets : Inferno and Paradiso! It's waaay past their release time already. T-T And I've to stock up my Paypal. I'm currently broke. T-T

I'm coveting Tokidoki

Seriously. There's nothing else I think about these days. Well, except for the occasional craving for chocolate. XD

Since the start of online selling, I've been secretly planning to buy a Tokidoki bag whenever I have enough funds. But each time, there will be other pretties stealing my attention and there goes the fund. T-T Ahhh....

I'm really regretting not buying one when I could - at a decent price. Now. Haih.... I did some searches on eBay, and the prices are just ridiculous.

{ This is not mine. *I wish it was* Courtesy of sugareyez *lucky gal* T-T This is Ciao Ciao Vacanze}

The print I have my eyes on is Vacanze, Winter 2007 LeSportsac collaboration. I want a messenger bag, either a Ciao or Ciao Ciao. Ciao is smaller - just the perfect size I like. Ciao Ciao is the larger messenger, though bulky, but with more of the graphic print, which is certainly a plus if I want to own a Tokidoki. Might as well get as much of the print on one bag instead of getting just a small part of it.

Now the question is, should I take the risk and just buy it on eBay? The Tokidoki blog listed eBay sellers that carry authentic Tokidoki LeSportsacs. There's a Ciao and also a Ciao Ciao, both listed by sellers catagorized here. Both sellers offer insurance on shipping. But the problem is, there really is no guarantee that the package will not get lost or stolen. I want the bag. T-T

So what I'm going to do now is, I'll go check out both Isetans (KLCC and Lot10), to see what stock they have on Tokidoki. The last time I took notice, which was sometime late 2007, there's Paradiso and Inferno, which was released before way before Vacanze, in winter 2006. I hope there'll be new prints and bags. If not Vacanze, Spiaggia and Pirata will do too. :P

This time, I'm REALLY gonna get one. :P Or maybe two. :D

No rip-offs for me please. I'm not snobbish. Just giving what respect is due to the designer, Simone Legno. How many people can actually think of such intricately detailed designs for a bag? I'm quite sick of the many Tokidoki fakes that seem to be sprouting everywhere. There's a really good guide here about how to differentiate the real thing from a fake.

That said, I haf ta continoo wif the stupid portfolio on erectile dysfunction. *shudders* It's quite an uninteresting topic actually. -_-"