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Current read, roomy new work bag, and an old elephant pendant I’m now using as a bag charm.

Intimate (but fun!) arm party.

My hairy wallet freaks Steph out.

These Guerlain Meteorites powder pearls are amazing! Instant happiness every time I open the pretty container.

Sparkly choker from Emo + equally sparkly sweater. Oh yes, I totally just went there.

Care to share your style snaps with us? ;-)

Big hugs,
Marla

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The CW’s Hart of Dixie may not exactly be as fast-paced as The Vampire Diaries, or feature as much cute boys as Gossip Girl (Wade’s the only crush-worthy guy on this show—Mimi and I adore him!), but what it lacks in action and eye candy, it more than makes up for in style. I know I should stop watching too much television (a fortune cookie said so), but the clothes are so pretty I can always disguise my TV time as “style research.” Sounds legit, right?

Of course, I expected nothing less from Rachel Bilson, who is one of this generation’s biggest style icons. She’s got the whole polished-but-relaxed vibe down pat, and looks amazing about 99% of the time. I’m not sure if real doctors wear shorts and designer heels as often as she does, but you know what? I’ll buy it. Here are my five favorite Zoe Hart outfits:

I love that they show how her look progresses throughout the day—she’s always carrying around a black blazer or a classic leather jacket to throw on in the evening.

Updating the tee and jeans combo by going sheer and cropped, then adding killer booties and a skinny belt.

This retro-cool striped Equipment blouse sold like hotcakes when the episode aired!

Leather with leather? Yes, please! I love how she looks tough but still feminine.

Gorgeous red dress from my favorite episode so far, Hairdos and Holidays. (That Zoe-Wade scene at the end was priceless.)

Catch HoD on 2nd Avenue every Thursday at 8 pm. All photos courtesy of WBEI.

Big hugs,
Marla

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Dearest Candy Girls,

Summit Books will be launching Fangirl (by yours truly!) and One Crazy Summer (by former Candy EIC Ines Bautista Yao) on January 26, Thursday, 6:00 pm at Powerbooks Greenbelt! We’d love it if you can drop by and say hello. You’ll get to hear excerpts from these two fun novels, celebrate being young and in love, and be surrounded by wonderful fellow bookworms. My friend Chris Cantada will also be doing a special performance (if you love his album Heartbeat, you’ll love listening to him work his magic live). We’re so excited to meet all of you!

See you there, okay? :-)

Big hugs,
Marla

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I read somewhere that listening to music is simpler when you’re sad because painful emotions are easier to relate to, universal, if you will, while happiness tends to be more specific. Which is true—every heartbreak song resonates with me when I’m feeling down, even when my issues have nothing to do with romantic love at all.

So every time I’m stressed or tired, I turn to one of my playlists called “Enough,” which contains songs about giving up on someone, or wanting to. (I know, I know, my playlists are weird. I don’t have the usual “party” or “goodnight” or “emo” ones.) I always find that doing this makes me feel instantly better, instead of fueling my misery. It’s weird how music works, isn’t it?

This is one of the songs in that playlist. I only started listening to singer-songwriter Jack Peñate recently, and I can’t believe I’d never heard of him before because he’s crazy talented! (My favorite lines are: “It’s easy for me, and it’s better for the soul. And it’s better for you, and it’s better for all.”) Give it a spin and let me know which of your many moods it ends up being the perfect soundtrack for. :-)

Big hugs,
Marla

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You want to hear something funny? (No? Good, I’m going to tell you anyway.) I was listening to Phoenix the other day and thought Thomas Mars was singing, “Here is your sign, I missed it.” It turns out the actual lyrics were, “Here is your signed armistice,” because, DUH, the song’s title is “Armistice.”

After feeling a bit stupid for about two minutes, I started trying to remember all the signs I missed last year. But it turns out that even if 2011 was an epic drama to trump all epic dramas, I have absolutely no regrets. None. Not the mistakes I made (there were a lot). Not the stupid things I said to cute boys (there were even more). Not even the time I superglued my fingers together and had to type “superglue fingers help please” on Google, then had to walk to the store to pick up a bottle of acetone with my hand shoved into my jacket pocket and my face burning with shame.

(I have a point, I promise!)

Some of you may be looking back on last year thinking, “I wish I did that; the opportunity was right in front of me,” or “I wish I didn’t do that; all the warnings were flashing like a million EDSA billboards.” Some of you may be feeling bad about the things you did or didn’t do, or all the signs you missed or thought you missed, so I’d like to urge you now to make peace with 2011—give it a big hug, then move on. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I believe there’s no way we could’ve missed the signs we were absolutely meant to see. Which means there’s no room for regrets because (get ready for this grand revelation) everything in our life happens for a reason—a good one. And when you believe this as much as I do, there’s nowhere else for you to go but forward.

A few things pushing me forward: an exciting, growing reading list, a chance to touch and inspire young girls through the very same medium that touched and inspired me when I was a teen, and a pretty new daily companion that encourages me to keep on pursuing everything I’m passionate about.

(See, I told you I had a point!)

Love,
Marla

Posted in Candy, Love, Reality Bytes | 4 Comments »