Hello girls and boys, I do apologize for not being able to update this blog for the past few weeks.  There were days wherein I was feeling under the weather and then there were days when I was just busy preparing for an out of town trip my friends and I had last week.

Anyway, enough with the mindless chatter.  I haven’t been able to cook and/or dine out at any amazing restaurants for the past few weeks so I’ll just show you some of the goodies an Aunt of ours brought us from Canada.  My Auntie Julie is my mom’s best friend since high school and she’s living in Canada for the past 23 years.  She does come home to Manila once in a while to visit and she’s always been the one to introduce us to delightful snacks that would eventually find their way to our own supermarkets’ inventories (a good example was a nougat product from Canada that was nonexistent in Manila until The Landmark started selling them in their grocery; I apologize for forgetting the name of the product).  This time around, Auntie Julie brought us the following items:

Walkers Pure Butter Shortbread, Breton Whole Wheat Crackers, Milkfuls caramel candies with milky centers

Planters salted Macadamia nuts and Dare’s Vinta crackers

We have yet to try each of these items and see which ones become our favorites, but I have to say that Pointyman and I are taken by those caramel candies simply because they come in the cutest packaging!

And of course, who can forget about the stuff for the girly girls in the family?

Victoria’s Secret Love Spell hydrating body lotion and La Senza’s Heart Song body butter

My Mom and I love the smell of these lotions and we’ve started wondering where we could score these in Manila.  I have to tell you that I’m already satisfied with using my handy Jergen’s Original Scent lotion for everyday, but sometimes I admit on going a little extra and these two products from Auntie Julie’s definitely fit the bill!  The only problem is once they’re both emptied, where will I be able to get them?  I don’t see the Love Spell when I take a look at Victoria’s Secret products and I haven’t seen the local La Senza shop sell anything else apart from lingerie and pajama sets.  But who knows? I might chance upon them one of these days!

Thank you very much, Auntie Julie!

I have no explanation for this, I just know I want a floppy hat like this one from Banana Republic:

(photo from http://www.outblush.com)

Just thinking about it makes me giddy!

The first twelve days of 2009 has been nothing but GREAT!  Apart from being able to catch up with a lot of my old friends’ lives and my dogs returning to their best forms, I’ve also been lucky enough to get some of the things that I have on my 2009 “wishlist” this early.

On top of my wishlist was a copy of Westlife’s Live at Wembley 2006 concert in DVD.  I was able to watch Westlife perform live in Manila during their 2006 World Tour, and this DVD definitely helps me remember that evening.  I’ve been looking for a copy of this concert for such a long time, and I FINALLY HAVE IT! (photo below courtesy of amazon.com)

I also decided to splurge and get myself these shoes from Possibility at The Ramp, TriNoMa last week while I was out with Mom and Brother Dear.  I’ve been eyeing these shoes for weeks, and I’m so thrilled to have them!  These shoes are pretty comfortable, mind you, but the true test is when I wear them to the mall once Dad comes home in a few days!  We’ll see!

Another pair of footwear that I’ve been contemplating for some time are these Sanük slippers in black.  I already have a pair of “shoes” (or sandals as the brand insists) from Sanük and they were extremely comfortable that I decided to get these slippers as well!  Sanük products are a little on the pricey end of the scale, but the way they make you feel like you can walk the whole day without taking a break definitely makes it worth every cent.  And don’t you just love that smiley/umlaut staring back at you?

Just imagine my surprise when I tried a bit of Philosophy’s the Supernatural foundation primer yesterday and seriously considered getting myself a tube!

The little tube contains a tinted primer which acts as a bit of sunscreen (SPF15) and claims to even out your skin tone and smooths fine lines and wrinkles.   I guess apart from these, the thing I liked about the Supernatural was the fact that when I rubbed it on my skin, it only felt sticky during the first few circular motions.  After that, it blended so well and felt so light that I could not keep myself from smiling!

The only drawback?  A small 1.6 ounce tube costs almost Php2,000.  Ouch.  I’ve asked my Best Friend to check it out when she flies to Hong Kong in a couple of days and hopefully, when it’s a lot cheaper there, I can ask her or my Dad to get me a a tube or two.  My Dad’s almost always there anyway!

***Visit Philosophy’s website here to read more about their other products.  Photo above was taken from their website.

With me still being able to enjoy the luxury of time, there are days when I can afford to spend some days immersed in reading about fashion and food.  Today was one of those days.

Unfortunately, I don’t have enough moolah to actually go to the mall and buy the things I read about.  This is where Polyvore comes in.  I’ve heard of Polyvore a couple of months back, and have been enjoying creating my own sets ever since.  I’m no expert in fashion; I just like mixing and matching and imagining outfits I can wear whenever there’s something I would have to attend to.

Here’s one of the sets I came up with: Something I would want to wear when spending a day at the mall:

Try making your own sets at Polyvore and share them with me if you feel like it.

Scored these cute flats from Shoebox in TriNoMa today. Since I’ve really been a shoe person these past few months, this purchase really made me happy!

And as a plus, I was able to enjoy my Dark Mocha Frappe from Starbucks again… *sigh*

If there is one thing that I am engrossed with lately, then it’s going to be surfing the net for various fashion blogs and local online stores. I’ve read through a lot and needless to say that a lot of the online stores via Multiply carry unique pieces that were either designed by the seller himself/herself or were imported from different countries.

There was one particular online store that I found really nice. It’s an online store named Tiramisu Bags which sells bags (of course!) and other accessories. And simply because I decided to try something new every so often to avoid leading a boring life, I went ahead and ordered an oversized tote bag in white and a long, silver necklace from the site!

It was my first time to order something online so while I may be excited to get my loot delivered to my doorstep, I was also apprehensive. This is despite reading through numerous positive feedback from the store’s previous clients. Call it paranoia, but I just didn’t want to find myself with no money and no product. It was a plus that the transaction did not involve giving out my credit card account number, therefore I am spared from my wild imaginations regarding identity theft (courtesy of my background in finance). Anyhow, I filled out an order form from Tiramisu Bag’s Multiply store, made my payment once confirmation from the seller was received, and all I had to do was wait for the courier to deliver the goods to me.

When I got home from the mall yesterday afternoon, I was delighted to see that the package has arrived. The actual products did not disappoint, and I am pleased to know that conducting business with Tiramisu Bags was safe and hassle free. Needless to say, I am LOVING my latest fashion find.

** You can visit Tiramisu Bags’ online store at http://tiramisubags.multiply.com. Click click.