TOP SALE

From October 3 to 31, this sale shall TOP all sales!Topshop
Alabang Town Center
Ayala Center Cebu
Bonifacio High Street
Greenbelt 3
Power Plant Mall
The Podium
Robinsons Galleria
Robinsons Place Manila-Midtown Wing,
SM Mall of Asia
Shangri-la Plaza Mall
TriNoma

Topman
The Podium
Power Plant Mall
Robinsons Galleria
Robinsons Place-Manila-Midtown Wing
SM Mall of Asia
TriNoma

Dorothy Perkins
Glorietta 3
The Podium
Power Plant Mall
Robinson's Galleria
Robinsons Place-Manila-Midtown Wing
SM Mall of Asia

TOUGH LUCK, THIEVES!

Exactly a year ago, on this date, I was victimized by identity theft.

It was a day before my son's 3rd birthday celebration when a thief casually strolled into our office, and walked away with my wallet containing cash for our party payments, my IDs and more importantly my credit cards! It was such a harrowing experience that I wouldn't want to wish it even on my worst enemy.

If I had read up on LifeLock Reviews that time, I'm sure I would've been more relaxed in handling the situation. I would've just given my LifeLock Promotion Code and voila, my credit cards would've been locked, thanks to LifeLock and a LifeLock discount.

Despite the panic and stress, I was able to cancel all my cards in the nick of time just before strangers started unauthorized (and declined) purchases on my stolen cards. The thieves, according to TV reports (she was apprehended a few months a string of incidents in Makati), were part of a syndicate making the rounds of offices in the commercial business district.

While I wouldn't want to go through that experience again, I realized that LifeLock is indeed the way to go. The system would certainly save vicitims such as myself, the time and effort of having to call credit companies one by one just to report identity theft.

HOW DO I LOOK? (06)

I call this my Tita Shawie look. Hehehe!

IT'S MAVER'S TURN!

A few clicks during my quest for nice Christmas invitations made me discover that this blog's "older sister" was just nominated as Filipino Blog of the Week (on extended run, by the way!!!)...
Thank you to the anonymous, gentle soul who nominated Gossip Gehl. Dear friends, would you be so kind enough to vote for maver here? Please?

THE IKEA IDEA

Although an official IKEA outlet in Pinas is still nowhere in sight, you may be pleased to know that there are some resellers in Manila that could help satisfy your IKEA fix. Check these out:

Rooms 101
Enrique St. Palanan, Makati City
(632) 833.5590
rooms101.multiply.com

New Manila 23
23A Calvary Hills St., Rolling Hills, 9th Street, New Manila, Quezon City
(632) 774.1780
newmanila23.multiply.com

Ikeaph
120 Kamias Road, Quezon City
(63920) 9276514
ikeaph.multiply.com

From office furniture, kitchen and dining utensils, decor and lighting, and a host of other cool stuff, these resellers offer an interesting array of IKEA collections. Best of all, they offer pre-ordering services!

So who says you need to go abread to for that coveted IKEA piece? The IKEA idea is now just a car ride away!

Happy shopping!

THE TYKE LIKES BIKES

My son, the Haligilet, is getting to be more amusing by the minute. His fascination with cars has reached even greater heights now. Aside from his obsession with all things with wheels in every model, make, color and size, Haligilet's fetish has now expanded to include motorcycles. You see, his lolo (my fil) owns one and our little boy had a grand time tinkering with it during their brief Batangas vacation this weekend.
Now if you're interested to see those two-wheeled beauties (which, thankfully, have not caught Haligi's fancy)--especially Harleys and Harley parts and accessories and their "Mad Dog" owners, then do check out Handle Bar over at Polaris Street in Makati City!

Handlebar Bar and Grill
31 Polaris St., Brgy. Bel-Air, Makati City, Philippines
(632) 898-2189 / 1976

HALO-HALO ATBP.

After that sumptuous Japanese dinner, my folks and I did a bit of calorie-burning at Greenbelt 5, which of course, included both yosi (yes, Haligilet's grandmaver smokes!) and bladder breaks. I was waxing sentimental when I entered the G5 washrooms because the Haligilet loves playing with Grohe-like faucets and hand dryers.

After which, we decided to go Pinoy and grabbed some dessert at the neighboring Travel Cafe Philippines. TCF is an interesting concept cafe, the primary purpose of which is to pique people's interest in the various tourist attractions of Pinas. There's even an in-house travel agency (or concierge?) which accepts onsite reservations to various Philippine destinations.

We ordered the Pinoy Triolet, a solid sampler which includes leche flan topped with macapuno, turon in mango sauce, and suman with coconut and one Halo-Halo. The "senior citizens" also grabbed some kapeng barako.

My parents and Uncle Jamie, my dad's balikbayan brother, gobbled up the desserts before I could take a decent picture. What I did get to capture was my Uncle Jamie posing with the gigantic Halo-Halo that we ordered. And that's no exaggeration. Check it out and compare it to my uncle's six-foot frame!

Not bad for a lonesome weekend, eh?

Travel Cafe Philippines
2/F Greenbelt 5
Legaspi Street, Ayala Center, Makati City
(632) 729-2233

TURNING JAPANESE

Over in Greenbelt 5, a Japanese resto has been steadily drawing in lunch and dinner crowds since it opened late last year. John & Yoko, the more "sophisticated" version of its brother, Sumo Sam, is a modern take on Japanese cuisine, a welcome contrast to the hippy-ish roots of the restaurant name.

We've been loyal patrons of anything and everything Japanese and John & Yoko is no exception. Dinner tonight was a welcome break from my rather lonesome weekend (Haligi and Haligilet are out of town), and doubly delightful since we were having it at one of our family's favorite restaurants.

The menu, peppered with photos of interesting dishes, is almost identical to Sumo Sam, though with a wee bit steeper pricing. We ordered the usual--two rounds of tempura, the dynamite rolls (salmon sushi with spicy dressing and sprinklings of crunchy salmon skin), crunchy tuna rolls (tuna sushi--also with spicy dressing and with crunchy sprinklings, this time of tempura coating bits), uni sushi, miso soup, asparagus wrapped in beef strips, steamed and fried gyoza, and two humongous bowls of all-meat japanese rice. Dining was guilt-free this time--no consequent acne treatments needed! Hehehe!

Since I was too busy yakking (and plurking), the only photos I managed to take were these... Despite some so-so reviews of the place, I still think John & Yoko is an interesting attempt to put a modern twist to Japanese cuisine. If you're into the whole Teriyaki boy, Tempura, Sumo Sam taste, you won't be disappointed here. It's probably even a notch higher. Special thanks go out to Steph, who kindly offered to hook us up with Chef BenGon during our stay. Turns out Stephie, we DID get our freebie. They never charged us for this... Shhh, don't tell! Hihihi.

John and Yoko
2nd Floor Greenbelt 5 Makati City
Telephone: (02) 7298698

URBAN LEGEND

At the heels of the Global Bazaar (ongoing at the Rockwell Tent until September 21st), the Power Plant recently released its line-up for the Urban Bazaar Holiday Series. The Urban Bazaar is considered as one of the most sought after bazaar series in Manila, bringing together an interesting mix of both new and and veteran retailers, all promising great buys and steals.

So ladies (and gents who pick up the shopping tab), better get that term life insurance quote ready, this new shopping series is not for the weak at heart.

I'M ZINGING IN THE RAIN

Defying doctor's orders, I had this tonight... A mouth-watering combination of crisp and spicy chicken fillet, a generous serving of zesty dressing and some fresh greens, KFC's Zinger was indeed like sunshine to my rather gloomy menu line-up for the week. Let's just hope the reunion with everything cholesterole-y would not put too much pressure on my already worsening health condition. Imagine, 597 effin calories!!! I'm hoping too, that it'll not be so hard on the beginnings of an acne problem.

CARE FOR A LAPDANCE?

Tired of your old, mundane, black laptop bag? Worry no more. The Snug Team's highly anticipated patent leather laptop bags are making a comeback with their most saleable item--the SENYORITA Snug Mugs! Available in Christina Red, Cameron Yellow, Ivanka Black, Hudson White, Paris Pink and Nicole Blue, these SENYORITAS are considered one of the must-haves of the season...The bags come with multiple compartments, adjustable and detachable straps, and sturdy nickel hardward and links. They also come bundled with funky bag charms!
Here's hoping nobody will be needing a car or truck accident lawyer once you see any of these spankin' and traffic-stoppin arm candies!

REGULAR Price: P2,600
SALE Price: P1,500
Check them out at: www.snugmugs.com!

ITALIAN MADNESS @ THE MIDNIGHT MADNESS

Our Friday dates usually consist of a trip to the chapel and then dinner at any of the Makati-based restos. For this Friday, we decided to satisfy our pizza fix at Greenbelt 1's Piadina, an Italian restaurant which boasts of good, reasonably priced pasta and pizza. Its particular specialty is piadina, a popular flatbread variety that originated in one of the provinces of Italy.

Piadina is one of my favorite pizza places, aside from La Nuova Pasteleria, CPK, Green Tomato and good ole Shakey's, that is. The pizzas are flavorful and generous on the toppings. Ambience is nothing fancy, quite laid back actually. We like the openness of Piadina, allowing diners to enjoy the sight of people walking by (read as: uzi mode, hehehe!). Service is quick and is always with a smile. What sealed the deal was that they served beer, not too common for mall-based restos, at least in Greenbelt 1. Oh in case you're wondering, the beer was for Haligi. I just had iced tea. :)

We had our usual--half and half of the Quattro Formaggi (Four Cheese Pizza) and Pizza Piccantina (Spicy Salami with Olives). As usual, I forgot to bring my digicam, and remembered only to take photos after the Formaggi half was all gone!
For the "guest of honor," we ordered a Pizzette set, consisting of pasta arrabiata, a leg of roast chicken, a slice of pizza and a glass of iced tea, all for the price of P130.00. A steal, eh? It was actually also a welcome break from the popcorn machines that he loves to frequent! Bad mom as I am, I didn't even bother to taste Haligilet's pasta before giving it to him. I was totally caught unaware that the dish was so spicy. No wonder my son was guzzling iced tea like crazy! Kawawa naman!
What meal would be complete without dessert? We opted to share the the panacotta with chocolate sauce. Cholesterol naman bawal sa kin diba, hindi sweets? Hehehe! Sighhh, my thighsss!!!Nonetheless, as in all Piadina meals, ours was great. And despite the hot pasta dish, Haligilet managed to give his maver a smile...
Patawad anak, patawad!

Piadina Italiana
Greenbelt 1, Ground Level
Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St.
Ayala Center, Makati City
Metro Manila
(632) 752-5019

Other branches

Robinsons Galleria
2nd Level, EDSA cor. Ortigas Ave.Pasig City
Robinsons Place
Manila, 2nd LevelM. Adriatico St.Manila

Glorietta, Foodchoices
3/L Glorietta 4, Ayala CenterAyala CenterMakati City

SOME SHANGRI-LA SUN AND SAND

Thank God, Marce decided to skip Cebu.

Who cares if I have to work till the wee hours of the morning. Or that I've had to skip meals? Or that I've been on my feet since I arrived here? Or that the ac compressor is off while I do my ingress?

Nothing else matters once you get see a view of this every morning...

Sky, sun and sand--Cebu style. Shangri-la Mactan Resort and Spa, I love you! Would love to see you again soon, under different circumstances

A more detailed review next time!

BRANSON FOR THE GRANDSONS

Now that the visas have been granted, the apos have been appealing to their grandpa, my fil, for a US family holiday. Daydreaming has definitely shifted to hight gear. After all, dreams are for free, right?

Since my ils have already been to Anaheim, they want to play it differently. Of particular interest is a possible trip to Branson which promises a wide array of world-class attractions like Silver Dollar City, the Branson Landing, live entertainment, shopping districts and so much more.

My ils also fell in love with the impressive line-up of elegant hotels, comfortable inns and cozy cabins at bransongetaways.com, THE recognized authority on Branson vacations.

Here's hoping that we do get to see the live entertainment capital of the world in the very near future!

SUPER SUBARU!

After getting the Town and Country this year, fil and Haligi are setting their sights on a Subaru. The fil and Haligi particularly fancy the new Forester which they first fell in love with at the 2008 Auto show we attended.

Aside from aesthetics, we've heard nothing but good reveiws of this beauty on wheels. A crossover vehicle that combines some of the best attributes of a sport-utility vehicle with the ride and driving dynamics of a car, the Forester has gotten all the males in the family going gaga over it. And they have been dreaming Subaru since. Do I hear new "DADA'S CAR" bundled with that car insurance quote?!?

Wishful thinking to the max!

HOW DO I LOOK? (06)

Here's what I wore to that #)#$&@)%&$)^! KC-Richard movie that I saw last night.

Almost everyone on board would have to learn a thing or two about moving making and more importantly, acting! Cmon, a little bit of research and cinema education online wouldn't hurt. Catch my movie review here.

Hay, please let the nightmares go away!

TODAY'S THE DAY!

Get the television, TV stand and popcorn ready...

Get a load of Serena, Blair, Dan, Nate, Chuck, Jenny and a whole new host of interesting twists and turns as Gossip Girl Season 2 unfolds at CW 8:00 pm EST.

Hollywood is all set to shock us with the second dose of those rich brats from the Hamptons. But who cares if they're brats?!? You know you want them!!!

XOXO

MELISSA ON MY MIND

I have been saving up for a higher capacity SD card when I stumbled upon this...

Despite my earlier resolved not to buy another Melissa pair, their newest chic and comfy styles seem to beckon me once again. Shall I test the Melissa waters given my past experience? Hahahayyy, what to do?!?

Melissa Branches:
- Anthem
- Mia Bella
- Culte Femme
- MixeDenim
- Shop Online: shop.melissaphilippines.com

CRUISIN'

Patterned after those coveted Mediterranean cruises, Philippines has launched its first luxury ship line set to ply the islands of Coron, Puerto Galera and Boracay. Check out this YouTube plug...

Owned and operated by businessman Esteban c. Tajanlangit, Sr., the 7107 Island Cruise Ship offers 137 rooms that can accommodate more than 400 guests with all the luxury a five star hotel can offer.

Must.try.soon.