Getting the Laundry

Aside from Shelli Seagal's "Laundry" line of clothes, another "Laundry" worth looking out for is the lifestyle brand called "Chinese Laundry." In the US, it's one of the multi product brands that include clothes, shoes, bags and accessories.

Surprisingly, the store trying to make Chinese Laundry a by-word here in the Philippines is SM. Yup, SM is serious in making itself known as the home of fashionable brand. If memory serves me right, they began carrying it late 2007 or early 2008. But since then, I haven't really looked at their stuff up close.

Last week, I did. And I was shocked! Not only are their designs very trendy and chic, their bags are ridiculously cheap! For the material and quality they produce, I was expecting the bags to be within the P3000 level. I checked out a mustard colored doctors bag and a khaki convertible bag, and they were less than half of what I expected. Cheapness!

With styles and prices like that, we should get out and get the Laundry more often.

Not too many crooks

This all began with a conversation that Alfie and I had a few days ago. We saw a lady carrying her bag, and she started talking about the "proper" (read: sosyal) way to carry a handbag.

According to style books, style blogs and style icons, handbags should be carried on the crook of the arm. No matter how big or how heavy it is (and besides, it isn't chic to carry the kitchen sink in your handbag), the bag should rest nicely on the crook of your arm. Like so:

(After all, Victoria B. is chic.)

And once your elbow starts to ache, the bag should be carried by hand. Just like what Eva Mendes does in the first photo.



Apparently, the No-No in bag carrying is putting it over your shoulder and tucked under the arm. As Alfie says, it's "hindi sosyal" to do it this way. The only exemption is if you really a carrying a shoulder bag.

Because of this conversation, I began to be mindful of how women carry their handbags. While walking through Greenbelt and Glorietta, I noticed that majority of women do the "hindi sosyal" thing and carry it under their arms. Maybe it's because it's what they're used to, or maybe it's because a bag resting on the crook of your arm is easier to snatch. (Which reminds me of how Tita Evelyn carries her bag when we're in Barcelona. She embraces it in front of her, largely due to fear of the notorious pickpockets and snatchers in Spain.)

Not surprisingly, majority of the "crook carriers" are found in Greenbelt 5 - the swankier part of the locale. Maybe they start carrying it this way because of the environment. Harhar.

Gosh, so that means you can be judged just by looking at how you carry your bag! And I thought that being judged by what you wear is difficult enough.

Good thing guys like us just carry backpacks and computer bags. That makes things a lot simpler. (And less judgemental. Harhar.)

The Idols are in (Mo)Town

American Idol's nod to Motown last week was awesome. I've always been a big fan of Motown, and still count "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" and "I heard it through the Grapevine" as two of my ultimate favorite songs. So to borrow Tim Gunn's phrase, hearing the Idol girls sing some of these songs "knocked my socks off."



I love that it ended with "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" and Lil Rounds was the perfect girl to cap it off. She's totally Motown! I just hoped they gave Megan more airtime. Despite her bad reviews last week, I think she's going to go places.

Maybe not Motown, but still, she's going places.

Something worth Q-ing for

So it's true! There is an Alexander McQueen capsule collection at Target.



I've heard about this a few months ago, but when I checked the Target website, particularly the GO International section, the McQ line was never there. First it was Thakoon, and then it was a generic design line. Even when I checked yesterday, nothing was there.

As it turns out, the McQ line isn't listed under GO International but had it's own subsection. Which isn't surprising because someone like Alexander McQueen deserves nothing less.

Time to browse.

What did they do to the bottle?

Since my supply of Black Raspberry Vanilla is running low, I decided to check out the website of Bath and Body works. I noticed something new, and it's not something new that I'm thrilled to see.



They changed their bottles! In my opinion, it's not a change for the better. The previous bottle was better - simple, no-nonsense, easy-to-handle and easy on the eye. This new one looks a bit too frou-frou for my taste. And the silver cap? Wazzatallabout?

Fine, so they changed the bottle. But please, don't tinker around with the scent.

Interesting new product

Swung by the mall today and I spotted this:



Hmmm... maybe it's a new product and the only reason why I don't know about it is the fact that I'm not a girl. Harhar. But hey, just by looking at the product name, I can already think of an appropriate headline for it:

"For lips so shiny, you won't even need a mirror."

Girls will surely dig that.

Pretty in Pink

There was one good reason why we were all rosy yesterday.



We have another baby girl in the group! A few months after the arrival of Audrey Elise, we now welcome little Rebecca Abigail - Mona's daughter. And true to form, D' Frendz had a baby welcome party and shower at Mona's garden. (The site of all future baby showers - according to yesterday's vote.)

The great thing about an occasion like this is the fact that it's so carefree and casual. Getting together with these friends - be it for a birthday, a wedding, a casual dinner, or just a lazy Sunday afternoon - is just like a family gathering. We sit around the table, talk no end, share food and free-flowing conversation -- the way a perfect meal should be.

But for Becca, the presents were more interesting than our conversation. (Although she did try to contribute to our conversation with her happy babbling.) Since she's a pretty baby, we chose to gave her pretty things in the pretty color pink. Here's Grace showing off a shirt that Bonique got, but Becca was more interested in the bag.



Just like I was uber interested in this bag - Maricar and Gary's gift to Mona and Becca.



During Audrey's baby shower, there was a wealth of nail cutters. This is a nice way of saying that everyone simply bought the same thing by mistake. For Becca's shower, the "nail cutter" was the "hooded towel." No less than 3 people got the same thing: Grace, Tintin and myself. Good thing you can never have too many pink hooded towels. Harhar.



Welcome to the family, Rebecca Abigail. We're all tickled pink to have you around.

Life imitating art

In the film "Love Actually", Liam Neeson's wife passes away and has to cope with the loss while trying to raise his young son. I found this to be one of the sadder parts of the film.

What's sadder than this is the fact that it now happened in real life. Liam's wife, Natasha Richardson, passed away due to a skiing accident. She leaves behind Liam and their two sons, aged 12 and 13.



She was a wonderful actress and I've seen a lot of her films. My favorites were "A Handmaid's Tale," "Blowdry," "The Parent Trap," and "Maid in Manhattan."

Natasha Richardson left at the prime of her life, and that's the precise reason why I'm sure that she'll sorely be missed.

And today's winning question is...

...from a salesclerk in a mall. BACKGROUNDER: While I was inside a store, I overheard two women talking. One was a salesclerk since she was in a uniform, and the second girl was wearing casual clothes. My hunch is the second girl was a former employee of the store because the salesclerk asked her:

SALESCLERK: O ano, nakuha mo na ba ang separated pay mo?

All I could think of that time was: "I wonder why they separated..."

Brit-Brit's new hit

It's great to see Britney back in her element. Catchy beats, great choreography, sultriness and a bit of cheekiness. I also like the "twist" of the song - the title spelling out obscenity is so clever. I'm sure there's a "statement" hidden somewhere in the song and video.

Very addicting...

For the past 2 weeks or so, I find myself passing through Shopwise Araneta for these cherry gumballs. The awesome thing about them is the fact that there's a chewy cherry candy center inside the cherry ball gum. And for a cherry fanatic like me, this is da cherry bomb!

No wonder I'm addicted to it.

Yes sir, Yes sir...

Three bags full of finds!



The bag includes six pairs of jeans and two pairs of shoes. And it cost less than P2000 in total. In fact, after the cashier rang up my purchase, she had to do a double take before exclaiming: "Sir, ang dami-dami niyong binili tapos ang mura-mura ng babayaran nyo!" (Then again, it might be a practiced spiel to make people feel good about their purchases. Hahaha.)

Ah yes. I just adore the 3-day sales at Robinsons Malls! I have since early 2000s, and I still do.

A joy to watch

If Carrie Underwood was the reason why I was locked in to AI season 4, here's the reason why I'm always catching season 8.



Megan Joy Corkrey is wonderful. She's got that bubbly personality and a voice that's great but not too theatrical or dramatic. Plus, Megan has that quirk whenever she performs. I thought the "corkscrew move" she does is cute, but she shouldn't do it again and again with every performance. It's a move that gets tired easily.



Since there are still 11 finalists for this season's AI, who knows how Megan will fare against vocal powerhouses like Lil Rounds and sentimental favorite Scott MacIntyre. But if she makes it to the top 2, and becomes this season's idol, then I'd definitely be overjoyed.

There's something about Nina

Each time I watch my Project Runway 5 DVD, I try to figure out who Nina Garcia reminds me of. There's something familiar about her face, the way she talks, and her demeanor.



This afternoon, I had a breakthrough. She reminds me of two people - a former colleague, and a former client. Incidentally, both Nina and my former client are from Colombia, so that's probably where most of the similarities stem from.

Extraordinary...

Despite a number of people saying otherwise, I'm constantly amazed at the innate kindness of Filipinos. Today, I saw that kindness once again at an unexpected place - inside a jeepney.

The jeepney I rode stopped at the EDSA-Aurora intersection to gather passengers. While waiting, the driver saw one of the barkers talking to a pair of weary looking travelers. It looked like they were asking for directions, and the barker pointed them to the direction of E. Rodriguez.

After the conversation, the jeepney driver asked the barker what the fuss was all about. The barker said that the pair needed to get to Araneta Avenue from EDSA and they asked for directions on how to get there on foot. The driver immediately asked why the pair was walking since their destination was quite far. To this, the barker replied that they only had enough money for their bus ride back to the province and didn't have jeepney money.

As the pair was walking off, the driver called them and asked them to board the jeep. They refused and said that it was ok since they couldn't pay the fare. The driver told them not to worry about it and he'd let them ride for free.

Since I was sitting beside the driver, I could sense his sincerity and genuine worry. At that moment, I wanted to pat him on the back, but that would be too weird. Harhar.

But it didn't stop there.

The driver started asking the pair where exactly they were going so he could drop them off in the right place. They said that they're going to the bus station to go back to the province.

Apparently, they were supposed to get a job in Manila. But they arrived later than the agreed on date, so when they got here, the job was filled up. They spent the last week trying to find work and using up the money they brought. And now, since they only had enough for the bus fare, they decided to head home.

Suddenly, the jeepney driver took P50 from his fare box and gave it to the pair. He said that they should buy something to eat. They initially refused because the driver already gave them a free ride, but the driver insisted. They eventually accepted it, and thanked him profusely.

At that point, I reached my destination and had to alight the jeepney. And as I was walking to my destination, I couldn't help but admire that man who gave a bit of his own earnings to help strangers in need. And it's this type of man who gives me renewed faith in the Filipino and the Philippines.

The great thing about this experience is the fact that it's another one of the many acts of kindess I've seen the past few months - mostly involving "ordinary" people. But just as I wrote in a campaign I did for a company a few years back, sometimes the most extraordinary things are done by the most ordinary people.

Goldi-grrrr!

As much as I love the Marble Slice at Goldilocks, I'm so not loving their cheesy store greeting.

Recently, they've been prefixing every greeting with the word "Goldi." Methinks this is the marketing department's way of hammering the point that you're in Goldilocks.

So when you enter the store, the guard will cheerfully say: "Goldi-good day, Sir!" After getting my marble slice and heading to the counter, the cashier greets me: "Goldi-good evening, Sir!" After the transaction, she hands me my cake, my change, and before I could leave, she shouts: "Have a Goldi-good time, Sir!"

With so much Goldi-goodness in less than 10 minutes, the only thing I could mutter after leaving the store was: Goldi-good riddance!

First dibs

This dress was listed as a "new arrival" and was just uploaded on their website this morning.



Guess who got it a week before at one of my haunts?

I live for shopping moments like these...

Do something new

Since I ventured into the professional world rather young, I've already worn a number of hats the past decade or so. Aside from the hats of Creative Director and Professor, I've also worn the hats of an event planner, cake designer, cook, baker, counselor, travel writer, travel planner, "surprised" host, personal shopper, bargain hunter, commercial talent, McDonald's crew, graphic designer - and the list goes on.

Numerous as it may seem, it barely scratches the surface of what I really want to do. As a kid, I wanted to be a lawyer (but was too lazy to fill up the LAE application, thus never reaching law school.) Another childhood dream was to become an archeologist (but it ain't as fun since I'm not living in Egypt.) Being a flight attendant was also a dream of mine (but to say that Dad wasn't too enthusiastic about it is an understatement.)

In one of our dinner conversations with D' Frendz, the topic turned to what we still want to experience or get out of life. My reply was simple: "I want to experience having a different job everyday for one year." The Philippines has a wide range of jobs that it would be easy to fill 365 days (366 in case of a leap year) with different jobs.

It can be an everyday job like a sales clerk at a store or a teller at a bank, a job that's very manual like a farmer or a farm hand in some mango plantation in Zambales. It can be an exciting one like a dive instructor (though I have no diving experience whatsoever - Lu-Ann, HELP!) or a boring one like a gift wrapper at a department store. (This I can do with ease.)

Of course, the first question my friends asked was: "Why?" My reply is that life is too short to be stuck in one place. Life is all about adventure and adventure is all about doing something new as often as possible. This sense of wonder, amazement and craving for new things is what makes life worth living and worthwhile.

Since the semester is about to wrap up, I find myself having to park my Professor hat on the rack for a few months. Actually, this is what inspired me to write this piece. Because as I finish the last sentence, I ask myself: "What can I do next?"

Let the hat hunting begin.

Something to chew on...

I'm SO having a Dubble Bubble moment. The past few days, I find myself passing through Shopwise in Cubao just to go to those gumball machines. In relation to that, I've been hoarding P5.00 coins because that's what it takes for me to get the gum.

Some people actually look at me in a peculiar way whenever I pass by the gumball machines. They must be wondering what a grown man is doing hanging around and putting in P5.00 coin after P5.00 coin in the machine.

But if only they knew the magic that Dubble Bubble creates, they'll probably be right behind me waiting for their turn.

Hair suit

Last Saturday, my High School classmate (who I haven't seen in decades) saw me and immediately commented on my hair. She said:

"Ang ganda ng pagka-highlight ng hair mo. Bagay na bagay sa 'yo."

That would've been a nice comment, IF I had highlights. Unfortunately, I don't, I didn't, and I don't think I ever will. So my curt reply was:

"Actually, white hair 'yan. Hindi highlights."

After grabbing my hair and swishing it all around as if it weren't attached to my head, her final comment was:

"Ang galing mo naman. Nag-mukhang cool yung uban dahil sa'yo."

Let the games begin!

Finally, ANTM Cycle 12 is premiering in the US on Wednesday! Now there's another reason to log on to youtube every week. Albeit embarrassing, it's still a reason. Harhar.



Caught a part of the preview on youtube and it was good, cheesy and ultra campy! The entire Greek goddess thing is as syrupy as an Aunt Jemima factory! The Gladiators chanting "Fierce, Fierce" - campppppy! And the girls reaction after seeing Tyra? Creepy-crazy!



And these qualities are what makes this show such a joy to watch. So let the fierce-ness begin!

Cheers, Cheche!

Albeit a bit reluctant, I accepted the invitation to be the moderator for tonight's Hildegard Awards in school. My apprehension was rooted in the fact that I've never moderated an open forum before. But since I'm paired with Prichy - a long-time friend of excellent standing - I took it on.

Boy, am I glad I did. One of the awardees was Che-Che Lazaro. She's most famous for her journalistic work and her TV show, The Probe Team. But more than that, I know her because she was my mentor and my boss.



Che-che was my teacher in Broadcasting, both in my undergraduate and graduate studies. She taught me how to write scripts for TV and how to edit a TV feature well. Aside from that, she was also my boss when I interned at Probe Productions. Eventhough it was a lot of hard work, Che-che and her team made it seem like a breeze. I was fortunate enough to be part of a feature they did on Levi Celerio, and watching it unfold from concept to an aired piece was an unparalleled experience.

I haven't seen her in years, but seeing her and hearing her speech reminded me of why my admiration for her is so great. She's passionate, articulate, intelligent, forward thinking, and she loves the Philippines with such fervor. Not only is she a journalist, she's also a patriot. I'm thankful and fortunate to have been under her wing, even for a short time.

(And my favorite part of the night was: When Liz was about to introduce me to Che-che, she looks at me and says: "I know you." I thought, "coolness!")

Catching up on Gossip

Just like Joannah and Gracie Lou, I'm kinda late in the whole "Gossip Girl" game. Everyone was raving about it, and I couldn't find time to watch it. But once I did, I found myself going through season 1 in one sitting, and catching the new season on ETC.

Their observations are right, it feels like 90210 meets Melrose Place. (Incidentally, both Aaron Spelling shows.) It isn't rocket science but more of a guilty pleasure. Blake Lively and Leighton Meister make bitching and backstabbing look cute. And while the storyline may be a tad bit predictable, the actors give it a fresh spin.



On hindsight, I think Gossip Girl is more like an adult version of the Archie Saga. If Riverdale were in the Upper East Side, this show would be it.



Imagine, Serena is Betty, Blair is Veronica, Nate is Archie, and Chuck is Reggie. Now I'm not sure where Dan fits in. He's too small to be Moose and too much a jock to be Dilton. An Archie alternate perhaps?

I must say that the voice of GG at the end of each episode says it all: "You know you love me." And like Joannah and Gracie Lou, I've fallen in love with Gossip Girl.

Onigiri-ng up

While passing through Mini-stop, I was drawn inside because of a familiar sight.




ONIGIRI!

During my travels to Japan the past few years, I've grown attached to these little rice balls. Hands down, it's one of my favorite Japanese food. Aside from it being convenient and yummy, it also brings back a lot of good memories.

While at the Tokyo Station waiting for my Shinkansen to Urasa, I'd stop by a Konbini and eat two Onigiris and drink Green Tea. Whenever we pass by 7-11 on our way to the train station, I'd also grab a piece. Or whenever I got hungry anywhere in Japan - be it in Tokyo, Kyoto, Urasa or Osaka - i'd get by with a little help from Onigiri.

Now I'm glad to know that they have them in Manila. And to test whether it's as good as the Japanese one, I bought my favorite variant to try out.



Tuna Mayo Onigiri was always my first choice. So I'm familiar with the taste and texture. And surprise, surprise! The Tuna Mayo Onigiri in Mini-stop tastes very close to the Japanese one. (The only difference was the rice. The Japanese one is a bit stickier.)

They have more than 8 variants of Onigiri in Mini-stop. That means I should gear up for more Onigiri the next few weeks.

Together again

They made a handsome yet neurotic pair in "Closer", and now they're back.



Not only is Julia Roberts back, she's back with Clive Owen. This time, they're playing roles that are a bit lighter than the ones they played in "Closer." Even the genre is more lighthearted. Unlike their first pairing which was in a heavy drama, "Duplicity" looks like an espionage-thriller-meets-romantic-comedy movie. Which is a good mix for Ms. Roberts.



I wonder when this will be showing here. It'll be great to see Julia again, doing the thing she does best.

One Singular Sensation

I've been hearing all about Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video and all the spoofs that followed it. And I've never really been curious about it, or even bothered to check what the fracas was all about. But after hearing the song playing on Miggy's PSP the past few days, I finally decided to check it out.



Gosh! I should've discovered this video earlier! It's good, clean and campy fun. The song is catchy, the moves are simple and easy to mimic (for most people, at least), and the entire video is sleek and fun to watch. Now I know why this video is such an Internet sensation.

It's now officially up there with my 2 other favorite Beyonce vids.

Not an autobiography

Caught this movie last night, and it lived up to its expectations. It was fun, uncomplicated, and high on the "feel good" factor. Since it was the first day of showing, the theater was packed. The audience would scream, sigh and shriek in unison whenever Rebecca Bloomwood would do something zany - and that shows how the movie strikes a chord in the hearts of the viewers.

Mark kept on telling me that this was my story, and I kept saying "no." Although the lead character and I do have some similarities (we're both writers, we both like to shop and both our hearts jump at the sight of a bargain), I haven't been eyeball deep in debt because of shopping. And I have no intentions to.

Maybe I should meet Rebecca and teach her a thing or two about frugal fashion.

Comparison Shopping

Over dinner last night, Mona told me how I had a knack for finding great finds. Earlier, she went to a store, combed the racks and didn't find anything she liked. A few minutes later, I went to the same store, combed the same racks, found a dress, showed it to her, and she LOVED it so much, she bought it immediately.

My "knack" must've been developed from all that traveling I did alone. Whenever I'm in a new country, I like to grab a map and just go to every nook and cranny until I find something interesting. Oftentimes, that "something interesting" would be a row of shops.

The good thing about finding these "hidden treasures" is you get to compare prices and realize how other stores just jack up the prices to kingdom come. More than a dozen times, I've found stuff in malls that I've seen in flea markets. They were the exact same thing - the main difference being the price.

For example, I found (and blogged about) this pair of shoes that I got in a department store last December:



Last month, I found the exact same shoes in 2 different branded shoe stores. And they cost 3 times as much as the price I paid for them. Imagine, with the price the branded shoe stores ask for, you can buy 3 of the same pair!

A cropped gray jacket was for sale in a high-end-ish store for almost P10,000, and I found the same cropped gray jacket for P800. And this dress is about $225.00 on line, and less than $25.00 if you know where to look.



But finding these nice and inexpensive clothes isn't just about finding a nice thing to buy. It's also about finding ways to get the most of your money, and save while enjoying nice things. And that's what we need to find, especially during times like these.

Post Heart's day

Maybe it's because of all the heart themed decorations all over the metro, but I suddenly remembered the band "Heart." It was one of those huge acts during the mid to late 80s, and it was a favorite of a classmate of mine. (Can't remember who, though.)

Their biggest hit had to be "What about Love?" which is a rock-romantic ditty that was covered by almost every band back then.


(Dig the gold mould turning into the guitarist scene!)

Personally, I liked the song "These Dreams" since it had this eerie, fairy tale feel to it.

(Big hair don't get any bigger than this.)

But if today's generation asks "What songs did Heart sing?" the easiest answer would be this:


Yup, Heart was the group that first popularized the song "Alone." Of course, to this generation, it's one of Celine Dion's popular and belt-happy songs.

Ah yes, this band was definitely one of the reasons why I'll always heart the 80s.

Reviewing my project

Suddenly, I had this urge to watch the entire 5th season of Project Runway again. After finding out that not all episodes were on youtube, my next plan of action was to get a DVD copy of the entire season, which I did.



I was able to finish the entire season in one sitting - an accomplishment for someone like me. (When in comes to TV shows, I have the attention span of a pre-schooler.) In my opinion, Stella should've stayed a bit longer. The undercurrent of romance between Wesley and Daniel was interesting - and if Wes wasn't auf-ed so early, we could've seen how it would pan out.

My favorite among the lot was the 13th episode. That's when the final 4 presented their wedding collection, and Jerrell was booted in favor of Kenley. After reviewing season 5, I realized that Kenley really got a bad rap and people were mean to her. She's Miss Understood this season, and it's great to see her rise up and claim her rightful place in the final 3.

That said, I still agree with the judges decision to give Leanne the thumbs up. That girl is a genius.

After this phenomenal season 5, I can't help but wonder how season 6 will pan out.

Suddenly Sandra

One of the Hollywood actresses I really like is Sandra Bullock. She's funny, charming and has that devil-may-care-attitude. For a time, people were calling her "the Next Julia Roberts" - a phrase coined to describe many other actresses like Reese Witherspoon and Monica Potter. (Who, by the way, sounds strangely similar to Julia Roberts.)

Then, she fell off the radar. The last big movies she did were Miss Congeniality and Miss Congeniality 2. She had a couple more releases, but were mostly lackluster. I remember watching "Premonition" on TV, and it was sort of weird seeing her in that genre.

Suddenly, she's back! I was previewing movie trailers over the net and saw that she has two new movies, both in the genre she's known for: Rom-coms or Romantic comedies. There's "All About Steve" where she plays a lovestuck geek. There's also "The Proposal" where she plays a woman who's forced to get together with her Executive Assistant for Immigration reasons.



Both movies show her at what she does best - cute, klutzy and adorable. Much like her persona in the movie that cemented her Hollywood star: "While you were sleeping."

Added to that, she's also In Style's new cover girl! Can't wait 'til this issue comes out in Manila.



Methinks this heralds the return of the Sandra Bullock we all know and love. And it's a return that's long overdue. But I wouldn't venture as far as calling her "The next Julia Roberts" again. In my book, there's only ONE Julia Roberts.

But that's another story.

Yo Jo!

Being a good citizen of the PI, Joannah flew in this week to - as she put it - be held up by the government. Imagine, taking a 3 hour plane trip just to pay taxes! More Filipinos should be like her. Jo for Prez! Harhar.

And since she was in town, we gathered the usual SMC suspects for Lunch yesterday. A lot of people made it, along with folks I haven't seen in a long time - like Elsie and Tita Becs. It was a wonderful reunion, full of walks down memory lane (like Maricar's "igorot dance" fiasco) and a lot of catching up.



Joannah counts as the friend I've seen in the most number of countries. Aside from Manila, we met up and hung out in: SG, BKK, HKG and - technically - Malaysia.
The setting may be different, but the fun we have is always the same. Maybe we should take our meet ups out of Asia and onto Europe and the US next time.

It's amazing how, after more than a decade, we still get together and hang out as if we were all still working at the Podium Level of SMC. Then again, you know what they say about true friendships. They never grow old, they just keep on getting better.

Great to see you again, Jo! And looking forward to our next get together. (Which is tomorrow...)
(This is me trying to smile with a mouth full of food.)

Britney's Sixties

I've replayed Britney's "Circus" album on my MacBook countless times, and each song is fun and easy-to-listen-and-bob-your-head to. Aside from "Circus" and "Womanizer", this is the other song that I've got looped. Both in my computer and in my head.



It's got that sixties-meets-techno vibe, and it's so easy to imagine Britney doing the Monkee, Mashed Potato and Twist while this song plays in the background. I can even imagine kids dancing to it during their Christmas parties.

Can't wait for the official music video. Better yet, the actual performance if I do watch her concert in the U.S.

Having a Field day

During my trip to HKG a week ago, Marks & Sparks was one of the few stores open during the CNY holiday. Because of the lack of better things to do, I wandered in - even if I often find M&S a bit too basic and wanting in style.

The huge "Further Reductions" sign called to me, and amidst the ordinary-ness, there were a couple of pieces from Patricia Field's capsule collection. And "Further Reductions" lived up to its claim. Some of the items were 70%-80% off. How can a person resist?

As expected, it was slim pickings. But among these 3 items, the 1st and 2nd ones were available. I ended up getting the one in the middle because of the nice interplay of jacquard and silk.



When I went to M&S in Shangri-la this afternoon, the turquoise dress was still available, and the price tag also read 70% off. So how can you resist a deal like that?

This Fuschia number was also available, and surprisingly, it was cheaper than a lot of the local dresses floating around the market today. Since they still had a lot of sizes available, I'm giving it a few days.



Finally, this rose puffball dress is also still available, albeit in 2 sizes only. The price isn't that bad - about the same price as a dress in Zara or at The Ramp. The downside is that it's a very "evening party" dress, so it's a bit difficult to dress it down for work or a morning gathering. Methinks Ate still has a number of new evening party dresses to use.



Then again, I'll give it another day or two. If it's still there, I'll use the "Mona philosophy" of "it's meant to be." But will it be? We'll find out by the end of the week.

Finding Hard-to-Finds

One of the reasons why I prefer shopping in HKG and MNL over BKK and SG is the fact that I can find a lot of gems in hidden back alleys of these two countries. Sometimes, I find a random item in Wan Chai, only to find out that it's a coveted piece in the US. Countless times, the stuff I buy eventually end up in InStyle and Lucky, which is enough to make any shopper - including myself - smile.

In last month's copy of InStyle, they featured this black and white plaid polo and listed it as one of the must-haves for the season. It also said that it was fast flying off the shelves.



The funny thing was, I found a similar item a few days before seeing it in the magazine.



There was this nice dress on the BR Monogram website which was fast flying off the site. In fact, a day after I checked out the item, it was already out of stock on the web.



But when I went to one of my favorite Makati haunts, I found the exact same thing. Yes, there's a secret stash of Banana Republic here in Manila.



The dress has excellent detailing aside from the flattering material. It's designed to look like separates, but it's actually just one piece.



Then there's this button detailing at the back. These are faux buttons, though, which is good. At least the wearer doesn't need to spend 15 minutes buttoning up each one.



As I was telling D' Frendz, it's really amazing what you can find when you're not looking for anything. So maybe I should go "not looking" some more this week. What I'll find just might shock me.

Double Trouble

Blame it on the recent spate of "Buy 1, Take 1" sales around the metro, but our closets are starting to look like Noah's ark of sorts. This phenomenon usually happens during the last week of January, but surprisingly, some stores have extended their sales. I went around this afternoon, and some of them still have that evil sign put up.

My favorite store has to be Topman, of course. I got these two shirts for a song, and I'm loving the David Hasselhoff tee. Screw the new Knight Rider series, the original is still the best.



CMG is one of the stores that are still on sale, and they've got excellent deals on shoes. Ate Bullet prefers to wear flats when she's in the bakeshop because she has to run around and cook. Serendipitously, there were a lot of flats in store.





Unlike Topman, Topshop didn't have a lot of printed clothes on their sale racks. So in order to maximize the "Buy one, Take one" experience, I just ended up buying the same article. Twice.



Thank goodness for color options.



The same can't be said for Dorothy Perkins, though. Most of their stuff are black and basic, so if you end up buying two of the exact same thing. Which isn't bad if you have two sisters who are just a size apart.



This may be hard to believe, but this round of sales in Manila is better than the sales I went to in HKG last week. And that's probably the reason why I found these deals doubly hard to resist.

How NOT to make a sales pitch

Overheard at a department store this afternoon:

CUSTOMER: (Holding a tube dress) Puwede ba sa akin yung ganitong style?

SALESLADY: Oo naman, Ma'am. Uso na sa mga matataba ngayon ang nag-tu-tube! Kaya kahit mataba kayo, puwede niyong suotin yan.

Needless to say, I never bothered to find out if she made a sale.

Chances are, though, she didn't.