A Quick Trip to Divisoria

Haley will be turning two in a week and being the stage sister that I am, I woke up early yesterday to go to Divisoria to buy stuff for her loot bag. Sure Jollibee (that's where she wants her birthday celebrated... choosy little girl! haha) can provide those but their standard loot costs 25 pesos with not-so-good items while that amount will already go a long way in DV. I made it a point to get there before 9AM because the place gets too hot and crowded when it's late especially since the holidays are around the corner. By the way, I tagged Tita Antin along and she obliged because she wanted to scout for new Christmas decors pala.

With loot bag goodies and decors on top of our list, we went to Divisoria Mall first. DV Mall is a shopping arcade where you can buy almost everything - from clothes to accessories, school supplies to party favors, gift items to electronics - albeit (a lot) cheaper if wholesale. We roamed around for a while to look for the store with the lowest price. Here are what we got:

Cute transparent drawstring pouches at 6php/pc.

This will serve as Haley's loot bag.

 Dora and Toy Story towelettes. 80php per pack of 12.

Wall decor that's worth 100php in other stores but we got it for 70php.

Assorted Christmas tree ornaments for 10php per pack if wholesale.

We got two packs per design to meet the minimum wholesale requirement of 6.

Retail price is Php15. Big difference, no?

Afterwards, we went to the wet market at the mall's basement. There you can find candies and other treats (although I'm not really sure if they're clean and safe), cheap toys and our prospect: bubbles! Haley loves them!

Bubble solutions in a toy cellphone container at 8php/pc.

They come in different sizes and colors.

Next, we walked along Tabora Street. Here is where you can find affordable made-to-order souvenirs for your events, more Christmas decors and other specialty shops (costumes, masks, etc). I was in pursuit of lei to complete my Christmas Party look, and I was successful :)

 Lei at 50php.

Tita also bought a couple more decors there:

 Sparkly Banners - originally at 50php each but we got it at 40php

 Christmas balls at 35php per pack of 6.

Then we passed by M. De Santos Street where we were able to buy garlands for 25php (they're sold at 35php along Tabora Street). This is also where I found towelettes same as those that I bought in Divi Mall, with a variety of designs to chose from, for only 5php each. That makes 2 dozens 40 pesos cheaper! :(

It's your usual Christmas garland, I just formed it into a heart for the picture. Hahaha.

Lastly, we wandered in Ylaya - a street full of clothes, clothes and more clothes - in search of skirts for sissies. Sadly though, we didn't find one that suits our taste so I ended up buying Ang Pao instead.

 Red envelopes to put my aguinaldo for godchildren in :)

Finally, after about 3 hours of bargain shopping, we decided to go home. We were able to buy what we need but we promised to be back to tick more items off our Christmas list.

For those who want to spread the love this Yuletide but are on a budget, Divisoria surely is the place to be!

Some tips when going to Divi Land:

1. Christmas is super peak season for Divisoria so if your schedule permits, go on a weekday. Going there when most of the shopping public are busy in the office will save you a lot of headache.
2. Dress down and always keep a towel or hanky handy. Also, if possible, wear no jewelry at all. Crooks shop too, so be vigilant.
3. Bring a big plastic bag, or better yet, a reusable (and again, big) shopping bag because it's more convenient than wandering with a lot of small ones.
4. Do not settle for the one you see first. Chances are, the next one you see is cheaper and better *ouch!*
5. Scrutinize the items you buy. Watch out for defective parts or missing pieces.
6. Haggle. Most vendors will say it's already their wholesale price but it's worth a try. The few pesos you save in one purchase can be good for another one. You're in DV, remember? ;-)

Happy Shopping, everyone! :)

The Tale of my Mane

I've been sporting a boring hairstyle for years until yesterday when I finally got the will to go to the salon for a cut (in keeping with my aim of a "productive weekend" :D). As Nica, the stylist, was working with her shears we were making small talk and that's when I realized that the last time that I got my hair cut was on my 20th birthday! Woah, that was two years and five months ago!

Celebrated with my girlfriends and capped the day off with a studio shot.

So Young by The Corrs kept playing in my head when I saw this! Hahahaha

I missed to include in my 7 random things list that it takes forever for my hair to grow an inch or two. I don't know if it's a good thing because I get to save on salon trips (LOL) or could be a sign that it's not healthy. Look at just how much it's grown:

Seriously? 2 years and 5 months and just that?

It's kinda hard to maintain already, aside from the fact that the ends don't look good anymore. Guess how it looked after the cut? :D

*drum roll*

It's still boring, I knooooooooow! Hahaha. That's because I only wanna have a totally new bob if I'll have a rebond after. I haven't had anything done to my hair eversince and I don't wanna risk. I think it's pretty okay without  extra treatment, don't you think too? ^_^

Oh well, I'm just thankful that most of the length is gone! And it looks healthy already as the ugly part was chopped off! Hurray for a new... errr... not-so-new do! Now I wonder... when will the next cut be? :D

I Almost Fainted at Forever21

Not because there were too much people inside making it hard to breathe because if you've been there you'd know that the store was humongous (yes humongous is the term because it was a vast space filled with tons and tons of clothes and bags and shoes and kikay stuff!) I almost fainted because I went inside the store skeptical about me being able to get clothes my size but lo and behold, I went to the fitting room to try on 2 beautiful dresses and they perfectly fit!

I gave Forever21 a try because I need a floral dress for Headstrong's Luau-themed Christmas Party, and I wasn't disappointed! I got a simple-but-chic tube for only Php 569! Where else can a find something this pretty considering that I am full-figured? It really is a great find!

And then it's time for me try on the little black dress. I really don't need one but I couldn't resist love at first sight. When I put it on, it was, for a lack of a more apt adjective, breath-taking. Noreen and Jaq was with me inside the fitting room and they were laughing at me because I was looking at the mirror and screaming like a teenager looking at her crush. Really. I was going gaga over an LBD. Hahahaha.

I wanted to take a picture of the dresses on a hanger but they don't do them justice. So at the risk of spoiling my look on our Christmas Party and *insert non-existent event where I will wear the LBD here*, here they are:

I tried them on when I got home yesterday and fit them again a while ago to take pictures. Haha.

I also bought a pair of earrings to match my floral dress for Php 245. Yay, all I need to buy is a lei and I'm good to go! ^_^

Now that I know where I could find fab items at a reasonable price, I can hardly wait for my 13th Month Pay! Hahaha.

Another satisfied customer. See you again really soon F21!

I Suck

Yeah, I really do. Why? Because I said in my previous post that there'll be a posting marathon last weekend but I haven't posted anything for the last seven days! Nil. Nada. Not even one. My sincerest apologies for being so lazy and stubborn.

On a lighter note, I love love love this weekend because I'll be having five days off work! F-I-V-E. Heavenly. Well, you know that Tuesday's a holiday and now that our project is over, I filed Monday and Wednesday as CTO (Complimentary Time-off, that's what you get when you sum up all your OT hours, I ♥ Headstrong). I really hope I'll be able to do productive things during the long break. My friends are expecting a lot from this blog me. Talk about peer pressure. Hahaha.

Oh, so far I'm doing good at being productive because I was able to scour some good finds yesterday at SM Megamall, but that's for another post. Stay tuned :)

Bench Poster for Greenday Wednesdays

While I'm still warming up for my posting marathon this weekend, let me share with you this poster that I saw at the Bench store in Cash and Carry Mall, Makati. I thought it's cool =)

 

I love the No Plastic Bag every Wednesday initiative. I saw this first in SM Supermalls and I've read that the DENR is encouraging more establishments to participate. Kudos to the stores and supermarkets taking part in this. And another kudos to Bench for a creative campaign. I hope all shops nationwide follow suit, soon.

Hear, hear to saving the environment, one plastic bag at a time! ^_^

Greenday Wednesdays by Bench
For one day you can help Mother Earth be a better place for future generations by bringing your own bag when purchasing any store item on Wednesdays. Bench Paper and plastic bags requested at the counter will be billed accordingly.

Change is Good

Hurray for a new layout! ^_^

Well, yeah, it kinda looks like a school girl's blog and contradicts the "young woman" part in the description but I love how it looks clean and organized and colorful and easy on the eyes :-)

It has a wider space for the posts too, which I super duper like!

And have you noticed those little icons beside Posted by and Labels? Aren't they the cutest things? ^_^

I am totally lovin' this new look, except that it's a boy in the bicycle. But that's hardly noticeable, right? Hahaha.

I have yet to do some more tweaking, so please stay tuned. Oh and one more thing, I'd love to hear what you think :-)

JLTS Get-together 2010

We don't know if it's by chance or by choice but my highschool barkada, JLTS (short for Judith Learns to Sing), only meets once a year and that for 2010 happened last Thursday, October 28. After so many discussions on the rendezvous, we settled for Cable Car along Arnaiz Avenue in Makati.

To start off, we had Nachos. I'm not very fond of salsa so I barely ate it but they finished the entire plate so I can assume it was good. It was kinda pricey though, large platter was at Php515.

 
For the main meal, we ordered the Cable Car Combo Pizza, Carbonara and Chicken Cordon Bleu. If you've been reading my blog, you'd know that the latter is a personal favorite :-)

 
The moment I sliced the Chicken Cordon Bleu, I knew my tastebuds will be very pleased! I loved the juicy chicken meat complimented by the melted cheese *drools*. I didn't even make use of the dressing, it's delicious all by itself :-)

 
The Carbonara is okay but I think my carbonara tastes better. Haha. No, I'm not bias! I have tried Shakey's' and Red Ribbon's and they both hit the mark for me but this one is a few notches short. Anyhoo...

 
And then the pizza! It's good! Sadly though, we had to take half of it home because we are too stuffed already.

 
For the drinks, I originally ordered iced tea but changed my mind when I took a sip from Dianne's Mango Shake. Good thing they allowed me to change my order. I soooooo loved it!

 (L-R) Pam had iced tea, Maine had Green Mango Shake and

Judith, Dianne and I had Ripe Mango Shake.

The two hours that we stayed in Cable Car was multi-tasking at it's finest. We ate, chit-chatted and took a lot of pictures at the same time. 

(L-R) Me, Dianne, Judith

 

 (L-R) Pam, Maine and Me.

 Crazy shots!

In the middle of camwhoring, as Pam stretched her arms to take a picture of us 5, a tall guy approached us saying "Hey, let me take a picture of you" and guess what, it was no less than...

Photo courtesy of Danny's YGroup

All of us were dumbfounded but still smiled sheepishly for the camera. After the shot, he gave the camera back and went on with his life while we're still starstruck. Hahaha.

 Notice how we transformed into finesse femmes in this shot.. Hahaha

The minutes that followed were spent thinking about how to approach him and have a picture taken with him (not just BY him haha). Not that we're fans. We just wanted a proof that he was the oh-so-kind guy who took a decent picture of us! LOL. And then when we finally mustered enough courage to walk up to him, a supermodel-esque gal came in and gave him a peck on the cheek. And that's our cue. We headed towards the exit disappointed and saying "Sayang!" again and again.

 This is our only proof that he was there! Pathetic! Hahaha

Oh by the way, let me mention how surprised I was when we got the bill. PhP 2080 for the food mentioned above?! Upon checking, we found out that almost 200 pesos was due to the service charge. If not for the Chicken Cordon Bleu, I'll say that it's not worth the price. But in fairness, the ambiance is cozy and laid-back, and there were very few people that night making us feel that we have the entire place all to ourselves, so okay narin :D

Next stop was Starbucks Greenbelt (a walking distance from Cable Car). Thanks to the boyfriends Chriz and Deniel for hanging out with us! Looking at the couples made me miss my Jhay :(

 Maine and Deniel & Pam and Chriz

Over the free frap and pastry courtesy of the guys, we reminisced about our highschool days - the teachers, the classmates and most especially the mischiefs. Amidst the boisterous laughters, we spotted guys from the latest season of PBB (sorry I don't know the names) and took a picture with them. Yeah, this time we didn't let the chance pass. Hahaha.

 Happy much?! Hahaha. It's actually because the guy in white (Ryan, right?) said

"Wait, where do we look?" as Chriz and Deniel simultaneously took pictures.

At around 11pm, we had to call it a night. We thought we should take a picture of all 7 of us so I stretched my arms to shoot when another foreigner offered help. Amusing because instead of kababayans offering help, foreigners pa!

 Photo taken by a foreign passer-by :)

So there, we had a great souvenir shot of the JLTS meet-up for 2010. Thanks again to the day's Good Samaritans! Till next night-out, sissums, and hopefully not on 2011! ;-)