My Fab Finds

I have a habit of buying stuff, stashing them away, then completely forgetting about them! Usually, I'll remember them when I'm searching for something else and then I find them, still with the tags on. Anyway, sharing with you some of these finds, better late than never. ;p

1. I got this embroidered kitchen towel at Metro Department Store for 50% off. I love the design and all the intricate little details. They're so pretty I almost don't want to use them hehe!

love the embroidery

At 50% off, I got 2 towels for just P149!

2. I love cute and quirky decors, especially stuff like fruit. I got this ceramic apple (which happens to be a coinbank) at the Caltex stopover in SLEX. We were on the way home from the beach and we had lunch in KFC. If you've been to this stopover, you'll know that aside from the many restaurants here, they also have stalls where they sell pasalubong. They were also selling other ceramic fruits like cherries and pears, which I might just buy next time (then pwede na pang fruit salad lol!).

3. You all know I love Uniwide and this cowboy set was something I got during one of my shopping trips there. I just had to get the hat since it's perfect for parties - you put the chips on the brim of the hat, then the dip in the center. Super cute right? Or you can just use it for decoration. Total for both is just P150 so you can't beat that! I just need to throw a western themed party and we're all set! ;p

perfect for chips and dip

unbeatable price

4. I wish I could buy all the plates and bowls from Gourdo's Sakura line. The designs are just gorgeous! I just contented myself with buying these assorted miso bowls at P80 each.

I happened to chance upon Gourdo's in ATC one time and saw some items that were 50% off. Turns out these were "damaged". I checked everything thoroughly and the only chip I saw was on the bowl (and it wasn't even sharp and hardly noticeable). The plates on the other hand were just a bit faded, which was fine with me. The plates ended up being P70 each and the bowl P87.50.

5. I just love unicorns! If you're a Sweet Valley book reader like me back in the day, do you remember the "Unicorn Club" which was made up of the prettiest and most popular girls? Hehe, throwback lang... Anyway, I saw this figurine online at Urban Outfitters and luckily someone was able to buy it for me. It's actually a ring holder (you put the rings on the horn) but I'm using it as decor for our living room right now. :)

Stay tuned for more of my fab finds! :)

90's Fashion Revival

What is old is definitely new again. Specifically trends from the 90's! These fashion pieces were all stuff I used to wear back in grade school and high school. I wish I'd kept them all, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't fit me anymore now hehe. At least this somewhat validates my hoarder tendencies. See, never throw stuff away because you never know when they'll be cool again! ;p

OVERALLS

My denim short overalls were my go-to outfit when I was in Grade 7. I remember that was the time I started going out on gimmicks with my barkada and the beginning of my interest in fashion. I remember feeling so cool when I was in my overalls! Oh, and I also had the one with the pants and the skirt version too. ;p

I love how they're now back in style and better than ever. They're still effortless and comfy to wear, but the silhouette is sleeker and sexier. And you can totally dress them up or down by just changing your shoes and accessories.

all images from Pinterest

Here's my own take on the overalls trend. The pink overalls I got from an ukay-ukay, while the denim ones are from Mango. What do you think? ;p

JELLY SANDALS

Remember these? Gosh, I had the clear plastic ones back in the day. I like how there's lots of different colors now though. And it's perfect for the rainy season too since it's made of plastic lol! ;p

all images from Pinterest

TIE DYE

I remember how I had this really bright and colorful tie-dye shirt (rainbow colors ha) that I kept wearing when I was a kid. Like everywhere! I like how it's more simpler and stylish now with the use of just one main color.

all images from Pinterest

BIRKENSTOCKS

Now I was totally surprised to find out these are so back in fashion! I used to own the classic 2-strapped black one (the Arizona) back in high school and I remember wearing them all the time. I have no idea where they are now, but I sure wish I'd kept them around. I know some people hate them and find them so ugly, but I love it! They're so comfy and I'm so happy I now have an excuse to go get myself a new pair. :)

all images from Pinterest

Hubby still has his old pair, so he was so yabang when I said I wanted to buy one again hehe. I went to the Alabang Town Center store and I was kinda surprised to find out a pair costs about P4k to P5k! Parang I don't remember it being that expensive. Although siyempre that was a long time ago na hehe. I almost said never mind but then hubby said it was a good investment since they last a really long time. Ok fine, you don't need to convince me na hehe! And I have a feeling I would probably wear them all the time too. This time, I was torn between the single strap (Madrid) and the thong (Gizeh). There were also so many nice colors to choose from, although I knew I wanted to stick with either black, white, or brown. But the metallics were super cute too...

In the end, I went with the white Madrid! And I LOVE THEM! And why do I have a feeling this won't be my last pair? ;p

Birkenstock Madrid - P3,750

There are so many other 90's trends making a comeback. Like I'm seeing the iconic fashion from the movie Clueless returning too. All I know is I better take care and keep my favorite outfits so that I can pass them along to my daughter when they're considered cool again in about 20 years or so. :)

Shopping loot from Bungalow 300

Here's what I ended up buying from Bungalow 300's sale:

I love buying stuff for entertaining so I got these cork coasters, which were 50% off (original price: P765).

They had different whimsical designs like birds and flowers (comes in black and white too), but I chose the ones with numbers. I love how they're numbered from 0-9, so you and your guests can keep track of who's drink is on it. I think it's also a nice gift idea right? :)

And the reason why I went to Bungalow 300 in the first place - their pillows which were 50% off too! Like I said, I had such a hard time choosing what colors and prints to get since everything was so cute! In the end, I decided to get these prints in pink and coral tones:

CHEVRON & SCALLOP original price: P755; IKAT original price: P795
size: 18"x18"

all their pillows are printed on one side only

I also got these Ikat pillows in indigo as well. The 2 striped ones are bigger in size than the others at 21"x21". The inside cushions are not included in the price btw, but were cheap at only P50 each.

Striped IKAT original price: P795; Small IKAT original price: P625

Just to remind you, here's how my living room couch looked like with my Landmark buys:

And here's how it looks like now after I incorporated the new indigo covers! What do you think? :)

I honestly still think my Landmark covers are the best buys ever - less than P100 each and they're printed on both sides of the pillow too! And don't you think their designs give their more expensive counterparts a run for their money? ;p But I think the Bungalow 300 ones are a nice addition to my collection anyways. And thank goodness they were on sale hehe!

DIY Dress Repair

I saw this dress from Zalora a few weeks ago and fell in love with it immediately. First of all, I'm loving wrap dresses right now (especially for breastfeeding) and this print was also the same one as a Seek The Uniq tunic I missed out on before.

So I had it washed and was all set to wear it out for an event...

But then, my heart skipped a beat when I noticed something...

Oh. Em. Gee. Ang laki ng butas sa collar! Obviously nasunog siya when it was ironed. The dress is made of jersey but it has this tissue-like thing inside the collar (probably to give it shape) so I guess it wasn't able to handle the heat. Pero kainis lang kasi wala naman care instruction label un dress so malay ba namin right?

You know what, the younger me would have thrown a fit and started screaming like crazy after seeing this. Imagine, hindi pa nasusuot nasira na. And super noticeable pa kasi it was on the collar. But I calmly put the dress back on the hanger, picked another outfit and just decided to do something about it when I got back. I guess having kids also made me more understanding that yes, accidents do happen. And instead of getting mad (which only gives you wrinkles), we should just move on and try to fix the situation.

So after studying the damage later on, I realized that the collar was actually the best place for it to happen. Hindi tumagos un butas sa other side, so I figured I'll just FLIP the collar!

Hubby was reluctant when I showed him and said baka masira pa lalo. But I was confident in my sewing skills. Kaya yan! I removed the tag first (pwede pa actually ibalik ulit later on)...

Then I started making tastas the thread which connected the collar to the dress. Hindi siya madali ha! I had to be very careful not to ruin the dress further so I just did this slowly but surely...

Finally natapos din! I then removed all the stray thread, flipped the collar over and got ready to sew...

I just did basic running stitch since it won't be seen naman when worn...

Tadaaaa! Collar connected and looks good as new! :)

I also stitched up the hole pala just so it wouldn't get any bigger...

Yey, the dress is saved haha! I was literally doing a happy dance after!

Now you can't even tell there was a hole to begin with right? It'll be our little secret ha. :)

Goodbye Typhoon Glenda!

Oh my goodness, Typhoon Glenda whipped through Manila only a few hours last July 16 but left behind so much destruction. I honestly have never felt so scared that our house would get destroyed because of the strong winds! I woke up at 3am that Wednesday to feed Skyler and for some reason I couldn't go back to sleep because of the rain. I could already feel the electricity fluctuating because the aircon and the lamp would keep shutting on and off for just a few seconds. I turned off the aircon in our room and the kids' room since it was cool anyways and just decided to go online just to check what was happening. Good thing we had also charged all of our phones and gadgets the night before since we were anticipating that there would be a brownout.

I was still awake at 4:30am when we lost electricity. Good thing all the kids were still asleep so we just held on to our flashlights. It was about 5:30 when Miley and Sabe woke up because they were also scared of the rain. They were asking to open the TV and the aircon, so I had to explain it was brownout and just gave them the iPad so they could play with their apps. We all just huddled in the room and waited for the storm to pass.

The winds were so strong that we could see the trees on the street falling down. One of our cars was parked outside the house so we were just praying nothing would fall on it. Our bamboo wall on one side of the house was slowly falling apart too. We also had some water come in the attic.

Good thing everything was pretty much okay after that. Hubby and our neighbor went outside when the winds died down to clear some of the trees that were blocking the road. Hubby also went around after and he told me so many trees had fallen everywhere, especially in the park. Some of the slides and swings were also destroyed.

We were thankful that the storm had passed and now we were just praying for the electricity to come back on. Our phone line was down too, but good thing our water supply was ok. The weather was pretty cool when it was still raining, but after a while it was just hot again. I just hated seeing my kids so uncomfortable, especially baby Skyler. He was so fussy even if I was fanning him like crazy. I could see beads of sweat on his little head and batok all the time. Miley and Sabe kept asking for cold water and to turn the electric fan on. They were all so sweaty even if I kept fanning them since they couldn't sit still too. Haaay may muscles na ako sa kakapaypay I swear haha! ;p

ang init!!!

We found out the next day that there was already electricity in my Mom's place. So we all headed there Thursday afternoon. And let me tell you, I have never been so happy to have a glass of cold water! And also to go online haha! The little things you take for granted right?

I was asking my friends if they had light already and one of them said it was only brownout in their area for 2 hours! Swerte!!! However, we were hit with the rotating brownout Friday afternoon from about 4:30pm to 8:30pm. We decided to wait it out by having dinner in the mall. Finally, we got the news Saturday early morning that we light in our area already! Yahoo! I almost wanted to comment on other people's statuses on FB when they were complaining of the brownout for only a few hours or just 1 day. Heller, kami 3 days! But honestly, I kept reminding myself that losing electricity is nothing compared to other people who have lost their homes or even their lives...

So we finally went home yesterday morning and would you believe that in the late afternoon (about 4:30pm) our lights go off again??? We find out from our neighbors that only a couple of streets in our village lost electricity this time since there was an explosion near the guardhouse. It was weird (and annoying) since the house at the end of our street had lights! Kapag minalas ka nga naman! Good thing my in-laws (who live in the same village) had electricity so off we went again to stay there. And I'm sure you know how much stuff you bring when you have kids right? Akala mo lilipat na kami ng bahay sa dami ng dala namin every time haha!

Thankfully, the lights came back this morning already. But honestly, I'm traumatized already by all this brownout. We're all sick na naman nga probably from all the pawis and change in weather. It's so stressful for me as a parent seeing my kids scared and confused about what's happening. And also worrying about the stuff in the ref and freezer too! Good thing I don't have an enormous amount of frozen breastmilk (just about 10 bags since I direct feed most of the time anyway) otherwise I think I would have gone crazy!

I just pray we won't have to experience any more storms like this (fingers crossed!). It's just so scary and makes you appreciate the little things in life more. I also hope that everyone affected by this storm is ok and doing good now. And please, no more brownout! ;p

Bungalow 300

I have always loved Bungalow 300's colorful pillows which I first saw in Dimensione and are also available via Taste Central. I was obsessed with the chevron pattern then and I think theirs was the first one I saw with that print. I came thisclose to buying some, however my kuripot side won over since each pillowcase is about P700-P800. I mean that's a lot considering there are super cute pillowcases over at my happy place Landmark for less than P100 each! 

Anyway, it just so happened that I found out they were having a 3-day sale last weekend through Instagram (@bungalow300). I figured I'd check it out since it said discounts were from 10% to 50% off. 

heaven!!!

I immediately zeroed in on the pillows and my heart started pounding when I was told they were 50% off! OMG! Each pillowcase would be about P300-P400, still a lot more expensive than my Landmark finds. But it was a good deal nonetheless, considering I almost bought these at full price before (see, patience is a virtue haha!).

It was so hard to choose! I didn't want to go overboard and buy every color and pattern just because it was on sale (I've done that way too many times!). I wanted to get designs that would work with what I already had at home. I must have looked so confused since one of the owners came up to me and asked if I needed help haha! I told her it was ok, I really take my time when deciding. ;p 

They also sell Domesticity products like these cutlery and glass trays you see on the top shelf below. I've also been eyeing these over at Taste Central, but they were only 10% off though...

I had to restrain myself from buying these placemat sets since I already have so much (still unused) at home. But they would make such pretty gifts right?

Here's some more eye-candy around the store. I love the vintage modern furniture, quirky and bold accessories and so much more!

I wanted that super cute owl on the lower right (30% off) but I already have so much owl figurines...

they also have Luxe City Guides

each corner of the store is like from a page of a`magazine

cork coasters at 50% off!

display outside the store right before you enter

gorgeous bone china figurines

more bone china stuff on the 2nd floor

According to them, this is their very first sale ever! So I'm really happy I was able to catch it. I'll show you in the coming post what I ended up buying. ;p So if you're in the south and you like what you see, definitely try to drop by this store. I also saw that they hold crafting workshops here so hopefully I can join the next one. :)

Buencamino is along Alabang Zapote road right across Honda Cars. You will see Metro Bank- Sycamore building on the corner of Buencamino. When you turn in to the street look for the white row house 50 meters to your left with a big No.7

BUNGALOW 300

No. 7 Buencamino St. Alabang, Muntinlupa

519-3143

www.facebook.com/bungalow300