Something's Cooking!

There's one thing I've been wanting to do for the LONGEST time now. My excuse for not having done it? Lack of time. Whatever free time I had when I was still working fulltime, I wanted to devote it to my family. If I wasn't out of the country travelling, I was tied up at the office in back-to-back meetings. When I got home, I was too exhausted to do anything else. Weekends were spent either catching up on sleep or taking the kids out. I hardly had any time left for myself. So these plans had to be put in the back burner for a while.

Now that I'm no longer a fulltime corporate slave (literally) and spending all my free time at home in between consulting projects, I no longer have an excuse not to mobilize the plans that have been sitting in a corner for years. I'm not superstitious at all, but I'm just not ready to disclose full details at this point. I'm kinda busy working on all the details, with the help of my eldest daughter, Anissa, who serves as my artist. Eventually, I know she'll also be my roadtester and biggest critic.

I can't wait to get started on this. The other night, I sat down to a meeting with somebody who will work with me on this. It was quick but very productive. On our way home from the meeting, barely 20 minutes on the road, my phone buzzed with a new message in my email. I was pleasantly shocked to read it :

I couldn't totally ignore the fact that this message (which I get twice a week from Bo Sanchez), could have come at another time. But right after the meeting??? This was no coincidence, I know it! I'm so grateful to HIM for His perfec timing. I just know things will all work out.

Last night, because she didn't have any homework, Anissa started putting my ideas on paper. She's very talented and can draw really well (got the talent from my Dad) so rather than pay for someone to do the job for me, she happily obliged.

That's all I can share for now. I'm hoping that I get to kick this off before the summer months or right in the middle of summer. I can hardly wait!

It's Been 25 Years

I can't believe we're less than 2 weeks away from celebrating our high school batch's silver jubilee! My teenager told me last night, "Wow, Mom! 25 years since you graduated from high school?!" I'm not sure if she meant to insult me, the way she always does (jokingly, of course) but there's really no other way to say it. Yes, I am a Silver Jubiliarian this year.

After countless meetings with the Core Group (some of which I failed to attend, admittedly), fundraising activities and casual gatherings to just catch up and reconnect, we are now in the thick of preparing for our production numbers to be staged on the 6th of February. I have to say, it's been so much fun getting to know former classmates. A lot have been out of touch these past years and although we would be happier to see more people involved in the preparations and the performances, we're somehow okay with the fact that those who have been helping out are there consistently for the batch.

I am so proud to be part of this group and this batch in general. We all have our weird moments but that's where all the fun comes from.

Go, SSC Manila Batch '86!!!

Found The Perfect Bronze Heels

With two weddings to attend in the 1st quarter of this year alone, I began my search for a pair of heels that I can use to these events. It took a while to figure out what color I needed because I didn't want to be impulsive by buying more than one pair. Luckily, the dresses I'm going to be wearing are not too complicated in terms of color. So I narrowed down my search and decided I would go for bronze.

Went from store to store only to be disappointed. Too high, too low, not bronze-y enough, more gold than bronze. I was beginning to feel serious frustration. Why is it so easy to spot a nice pair when you're not in urgent need of one?

Then one afternoon, Neal and I were in Megamall to buy something and I decided to browse around SM's shoe department. Still nothing. I saw this particular pair in the Charles and Keith section but they didn't have it in my size. The SA advised me that C&K has a free-standing store within the mall and that I might want to try my luck there. We don't go to Megamall often so I took advantage and asked Neal if I could go.

I have to thank that SA for making that suggestion because there I found the perfect shade of bronze and the style I really, really liked. But my misfortune didn't end there. They had all sizes EXCEPT MINE. I asked them to call the Rockwell branch to find out --- no dice. Greenbelt? Still none. There was only one last branch they could try that carries their Signature Line and it was Mall of Asia --- daaaaarn! But guess what? MOA had it! So with just a little hesitation (because MOA is a place I've tried to avoid going to time and time again), I told the Megamall SA to please reserve the pair for me.

The next day, I found myself walking inside this humongous mall looking for the store. After a few minutes, I had my shoes.

I sat in Starbucks after purchasing them, tired from all that walking but happy that my search had finally ended with these pretty babies. I used them for the first time yesterday and they didn't fail me. Did I mention that Charles and Keith heels are comfortable? I have cursed my way through formal events while wearing Nine West heels but I've never had the same experience with my C&K's. These were totally worth the wait and the price!

First Bag 2011

He always asks me what I want for my birthday or Christmas

No more surprise element

It took a while to get used to because although I don't really love surprises, I wouldn't mind getting one on special occasions

For my birthday (last year, November), I chose this

It's a good thing I waited a while because the colors in the 2nd batch are more my type. I got one in grey. Other colors in the 2nd batch are lilac, brown and camel.

Thanks, Hon!!! Love it!!!

Pantene's Nature Fusion Line

After coming from our yearly Subic (post Christmas, pre New Year annual) vacation, we decided to drop by Clark to see what the duty free shops there have in store. Since the stores are not positioned beside one another, we decided to stop by Puregold, since we are so used to shopping in Puregold Subic anyway.

I was surprised that the store in Clark is like 5 times bigger! It's a huge warehouse filled with everything from groceries, toiletries, household needs, hardware needs, toys ... you name it! And there were so many items on "buy one, take one" mode. I was in shopping heaven!

Other than a king-sized "bed in a bag" which we got at 50% off and the usual groceries, I also got bathroom rugs and kitchen towels at "buy one, take one". But most of our purchases were from the toiletries section. The girls had a fiesta choosing their shampoos and lotions and powders. I, on the other hand, spent some time only in the shampoo section because Pantene's Nature Fusion line caught my fancy. I had not seen this in the store in Subic and I really wanted to try it. After a few minutes, I decided to go for the Smooth Vitality variant.

I tried it out for the first time yesterday and I'm filled with regret for buying just one bottle each of the shampoo and conditioner. I really should've gotten more! I'm not sure if S&R in Manila carries this line, but I'm crossing my fingers because S&R also owns Puregold. It smells really good, not overpowering at all. And it made blowdrying so much easier. My hair is still soft and smooth this morning upon waking up. I hate to sound like an endorser but it's true! If I have to go back to Clark to get stocks, then so be it!

I kinda forgot how much they cost me, but I'm very sure that each bottle wasn't over $10. More like $7.00 each. Someone please let me know if they've seen this in S&R?

Coming Soon : MAC Lustering

I recently blogged about an epiphany of sorts, thanks to my good friends P and S.

I didn't realize (more like, I refused to accept) that I could get away with wearing red lipstick. But thanks to them, MAC Russian Red is now part of my lipstick collection.

Here's the 2nd part of that epiphany. Another color I've always been averse to (when it comes to make-up atleast), is pink. Who knew that they'd be able to convince me to wear it?! I still can't wear light pink shades though, they make me look so pale. DEATHLY pale, to be precise. Darker shades are definitely more "me".

Coming soon, because another friend snagged it for me in HK

It was "out of stock" in MAC Power Plant Mall, which didn't really come as a surprise to us.

Good thing HK supposedly never runs out of this.

Thanks, J for grabbing this for me! I can't wait to use it.

During our last family vacation in Subic though, I walked into the Body Shop store at PureGold and browsed through their lipstick selection and found a really nice shade of Fuschia. Their #69 lipstick is supposedly the best in their line. The best part? The shop turned out to be an outlet store! I got the lipstick for just P400, about 30% off its original price.

First Make-Up Purchase for the Year!

I got wind of the news on Twitter. The 2011 Spring Collection is available in Duty Free and guess where we were really planning to go yesterday? Such great timing! So I Googled to get a sneak peak of what's there and from the entire collection, my eyes zoomed in on this...

It's the Joeues Contraste Blush in Espiegle (a silken rosy peach shade, according to the site). When it comes to blushes, I'm more partial to peachy shades. The really pinkish ones don't suit me. I can have a touch of pink but it has to be really minimal, never the cotton candy type. I read a few reviews on it and it sounded perfect.

I hit the Chanel counter at DF Philippines and and when I looked at the pan, I panicked slightly. It looked too light, I was almost sure the color wouldn't show on my skin. But you know what they say, you'll never know unless you try. So try it on I did and VOILA. It DID show up! I made a small mistake by putting too much though. Now I know I don't need a lot.

At $40 a piece, it might be a bit painful for some pockets but I didn't hesitate. I know that with the other blushes I have, it would take sometime before I run out of this. Plus I heard it's going to be part of the permanent line so that's a relief as well.

Here are the other items in the 2011 Les Perles de Chanel Make Up Collection

The Limited Edition Ombres Perlees de Chanel Eyeshadow Palette

$59.00

Le Vernis in Pearl Drop and Black Pearl

$20.00

And here's the entire collection

I'm not a total make-up junkie so although everything else looked gorgeous, I decided to stick to what I needed and what I use the most. The eyeshadow palettes were so tempting, but I don't wear eyeshadow all the time, so that would be a complete waste.

I heard there are stocks available already at the Chanel counter in Rustan's Shangri-la Mall.

Ensogo Deal : Ysa Diamond Peel and Facial Session

I've just jumpstarted 2011 with this fabulous deal I found on Ensogo! A diamond peel with facial session for only P312 (originally priced at P1,500+). I got two vouchers, one for me and another one for my teenager.

This is my first time to purchase from Ensogo so I really don't know how efficient the service is. I'm supposed to settle what's due within 24 hours (quite tight, if you ask me) and I chose BDO as my payment option. You can also settle via Paypal if you have an account or use or Bancnet account as well. Other payment deposit options are BPI and Metrobank.

Will keep everyone posted on this. Meantime, I'm looking forward to our mother-daughter skincare bonding.