Bottled Sky

My name is Nikki, and I am a shoe addict. I don’t remember exactly how or when my addiction started, but I do know that I’ve been hooked on footwear for at least seven years. I exhibit all the classic signs of shoe addiction. For example,

• “I want to buy new shoes!” is my first thought every time I walk into a mall or whenever I get my hands on some extra cash;
• I buy ridiculously uncomfortable shoes only because they look sexy on my feet;
• I wear aforementioned ridiculously uncomfortable shoes to school, the mall and everywhere else even if they give me blisters the size of small countries;
• I have four times as many pairs of shoes as I do pants;
• I believe that there is no such thing as owning too many pairs of shoes.

Yes, I know all about the horrific things that stilettos can do to a person’s health, and believe me, I’ve tried time and again to control my shoe spending. Unfortunately, I simply cannot resist the lure of pretty footwear and always crack after a few months of resistance.

One wonderful thing has come out of this obsession, though. It led me to make peace with my feet. My feet are a bit on the wide side, and I used to despise them. During my foot-hating years I wore only closed shoes — absolutely nothing with an open toe.

My obsession with shoes changed all that. It made me realize that life was too short for brooding over things I couldn’t change. It helped me come to the conclusion that it was pointless to waste all my time hiding my feet when there were so many beautiful shoes waiting to be worn.

So bring on the blisters! I say they’re worth it. Besides, it could be worse. At least I’m not hooked on crack

Hey, all! I’ve opened my own Cafepress store, BottledSky Designs, and this is my official pimp-my-shop post. Seriously, though, please check it out. I’ve used a few of my illustrations to design T-shirts, kids wear, hoodies, coffee mugs, greeting cards… even underwear hehe! If you’re a regular visitor here, you’ll probably recognize some of the designs, like Stargazer, Dreamer, and Sleepyhead, from my previous layouts and my portfolio. My personal favorites are the Naughty Girl tee, the Little Ninja hoodie, the Stargazer wall clock, the Dreamer mug, and the Naughty Girl thong. Check them out (and, if you have purchasing power, hopefully buy something)

Continue reading Let’s Talk Shop »

Kathy is a special breed of awesome. My weekend rocked something fierce, thanks to her love for Seventeen Magazine and her penchant for joining their contests. They sent Kathy, Ivy, Phin, Chrissa and me on an overnight stay at Taal View Heights and took care of everything so we didn’t have to pay a single centavo. We were chauffeured, overfed, and generally pampered. We even got new tankinis from SPF, “Filipinas” flip-flops from Havaianas, and loads of Freeman beauty products. I can’t speak for the others, but I for one had never been spoiled so rotten in all my life.

The best part was I finally got to spend several hours swimming under the sun. My sunny swim in TVH’s Zen-inspired infinity pool was no doubt a far cry from my freezing foray into the stormy seas of Subic. It still wasn’t enough to bronze me, but at least I’m slightly darker than I used to be.

Swimming wasn’t all we did, though. We played badminton and billiards, rode horses, and briefly visited the lakeside where we met the friendliest little dachshund. On Sunday morning Chrissa somehow managed to make jogging up and down the hilly venue seem like a good idea, but after only 10 minutes of wheezing and panting, Kathy and I realized that it really wasn’t. We also made our very own scary movie using the night vision setting of Kathy’s Handycam, squeezed under a single comforter while bonding under the stars, and consumed too many glasses of mais con yelo. Oh, and we took lots of pictures.

The only downside was that we missed Nas and Tin and wished they could have come, too. Other than that, I can definitely say it was the most fun I’ve had of late. Hugs for Kathy!