VNC, one of the top ladies’ shoes brand in the country, is having a midyear sale!
So many shoes… so little time
VNC celebrates its MID YEAR Sale!
Satisfy your foot fetish with up-to-the-minute trends at half the price! Get strapped with fab finds at 70% off!Visit VNC at Robinsons Galleria, Glorietta III, Robinsons Place
Manila, TriNoma, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, Alabang Town Center,
Shangri-La Plaza Mall and SM North Edsa Annex.
VNC is from the same Malaysian company that produces global brands such as Vincci and Padini. All their shoes and bags are made in Malaysia.
What I like about VNC (I have two pairs of sandals and a bag, definitely counting) is the quality. I don’t see stray thread in my bag’s stitching, or smudged glue around the soles of my shoes. When buying shoes or bags, these are the signs (of bad craftsmanship) I watch out for.
What I don’t like about VNC is how fast the good styles run out (especially in my size), and how their bags are so limited. So if you find something you really, really like, don’t let it go.
Anyway, if you’ve seen their stylish shoes and fashionable bags to crave for, you’d definitely be dashing to one of their stores.
I attended a VNC party held for bloggers a few weeks ago, and they gave us a sneak preview into the new collection. Although there are actually a lot of nice flats in their stores, the party displayed mostly heeled ones. Here are a few shots I took –
(Warning: Not for the fainthearted shoe-holic!)
Tags: beauty and vanity, fashion and style, Metro places, Vincci Shoes, Vincci+Malaysia, VNC, VNC Shoes
I first heard of the neem tree and its beneficial effects from the carpenter who worked on our ceiling and roof.
Nate has skin asthma, and dust from the carpentry work aggravated his condition. Koya Carpenter saw my son’s allergies all over his body, and suggested to give Nate a bath using water boiled with neem tree leaves.
iMom: Name tree?
Koya Carpenter: Opo, name tree. Sa India ang tawag dyan ay pharmacy tree. Kasi ho magaling talaga yan, madaming nagagamot na sakit… (and he goes on to enumerate the illnesses)
iMom: Saan naman ako makakahanap nyan?
Koya Carpenter: Meron dyan sa kabilang kanto. Ikukunan ko kayo ha. (Vroooms away in his motorbike)
He returned with several leafy branches of the tree. So I was supposed to boil a bunch of the leaves, and use the cooled water for rinsing Nate after soaping. The raw leaves can also be ground and applied on wounds.
Okay got it, koya.
But of course, I had to google it. Search words “name tree” did not make any sense. So I entered “pharmacy tree, India“. That’s when neem tree showed up. Aaaaaah, neem tree pala! Si koya naman, oh!
But, in fairness, tama si koya! Read the rest of this entry »
So.
Finally, after over 3 months of summer vacation and of almost non-stop rowdy play at home, my two girls went back to school yesterday. I should be feeling relieved, glad for peace and quiet once more.
But what was that tiny kurot, kirot I felt the night before they went back to school? I was actually dreading it??!!
Yeah. I guess we never outgrow them. And I find this cliche - they will always be our babies - truer than ever.
Now I really wonder how I’d feel when one of them gets a boyfriend or worse, a husband!!! *shudders*
That’s too much forward-thinking, hehehe. Back to the present…
I am happy that we enjoy every moment of bonding with each other. And yeah, call me smug, but I’m glad I felt this separation anxiety. It somehow brings comfort that I can still get it.
Tags: A(H1N1) virus, flu virus, motherhood, parenting, school, school life, schooling and education
I love spur-of-the-moment things. And, most especially, this one!
We’ve been meaning to go on a short trip out of Manila before school starts. But because hub is always swamped with work, we kept postponing the trip.
And then, a “pleasant” errand came up - Hub had to inspect a project site in Tagaytay! I thought the kids and I would tag along since it was a Saturday anyway. Then, of course, the next logical thing to do is to spend the night over since it would be Sunday the next morning.
So I immediately went online to search for hotels. The thing with having a big family such as ours - it’s difficult to find hotels that would allow us all (5 family members plus one yaya) in one room. Oftentimes, I’d be told to get two rooms, or settle for a more expensive family suite. I just wish hotels would be more family-friendly.
Then I remembered reading Wenchie’s blog entry on her family’s stay at Potter’s Ridge. Being friends with the owners, Wenchie and her husband were kind enough to make the reservation for me. (Wheeee, thanks, Wench!)
Potter’s Ridge - don’t you just love the name? It’s actually named after the owner, Marissa Potter - a warm, friendly lady!
My family stayed at the Deluxe Family Room, which has a king bed and a twin. I loved the huge windows that open to a breathtaking view of Taal Lake and the forests below.
Because it was a rainy day, the kids and ateJo were holed up and horsed around in the room all afternoon while hub and I visited the project site.
Happy!
It kinda sucked that all our plans of horse-backriding, kite-flying and Taal-trekking were junked because of the damp weather.
VGood even remarked: “We came here to watch Disney Channel and sleep???”
Sunday morning was cold and foggy, but it wasn’t raining anymore! Whoopee! We all got up early to have breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Potter's Ridge Tagaytay, Taal Lake, Tagaytay, Tagaytay hotel, Tagaytay People's Park, Tagaytay Zipline
A few months ago, I blogged about having claimed my Php10,000-worth of gift certificates from Shu Uemura. Back in December, I joined an online rafflle promo of Visa and I was one of the lucky consolation prize winners!
Well, after the Expo Mom event at Rockwell on Mother’s Day, I was finally able to use the GCs at the Shu Uemura Boutique. Accompanied by Julie, I splurged all 10k!
I decided to get skin care products because I rarely wear makeup. Besides, it’s good investment for the future (IF indeed these products work 
).
So how far did the 10K worth of GCs get me?
Tags: Metro places, Shu Uemura, skin care, women's health, women's skin care
For a foodie family such as mine, Benavidez Street in Downtown Manila is proving to be a haven. The original Masuki (Ma Mon Luk) is located there, as well as Wai Ying and Sushi Yum (affordable Japanese - will blog about it soon).
Our newest Benavidez discovery is Lan Zhou La Mien, which serves authentic hand-pulled noodles.
Top - Cha Chiang Mien; Bottom - Pork Ribs Lamien Soup
Lanzhou is a city in Northwestern China that is popular, among other things, for hand-pulled noodles. Hand-pulled noodles have always fascinated me. The pulling and twisting of dough that eventually produces noodles is another Chinese ingenuity. No tools are necessary - just strong arms!
Tags: Benavidez Street, Binondo, Chinese culture, Chinese food, food, food and dining, Lan Zhou La Mien, Manila Chinatown, Manila Life, Metro places
The idea was first broached by Technohub on a hot and humid summer evening.
He had this notion that the presence of water inside the house may cause a cooling effect. Of course, being Chinese, he knew that the water element, when placed properly, will bring good fortune to the home.
I actually loved the idea (of getting rich! Woot! Thus the name, Project: Gold, hahaha). Besides, I was running out of tricks to keep the kids entertained during this summer break. So we immediately went to work on it.
First, I googled up the how-to’s. I came across these articles which offered the following tips:
- To attract energy for wealth and prosperity, the aquarium must be placed in the southeast area of the home.
- Aquariums placed in the southeast direction should be rectangular in shape.
- Never place an aquarium in the bedroom or the kitchen, as these areas should always be ruled by the fire element, the opposite of water.
- Arrowanas and goldfish are good feng shui wealth fish. It is recommended to keep one arrowana or 9 (some sites say 8; the number is debatable) goldfish, with one being black.
- Avoid having 2, 5, 7 or 10 fish together in an aquarium.
- Avoid red-colored fish, as this is of the fire element and will work against the water element. (The idea is to create harmony among elements.)
- The black fish (ideally a Black Moor) is meant to absorb negative energy in the home. If the black fish dies, it means there’s a strong negative force in the home.
- It’s important to keep the fish and aquarium healthy. The water must always be clear, and the fish free from sickness.
- If any of the fish dies, replace it with a bigger and more expensive kind.
- An aerator that makes bubbles in the aquarium will enhance feng shui energies.
- Lights will also enhance the good chi. Good lighting is important for fish health. Sylvania light bulbs and other brands of aquarium lights should provide adequate light.
Armed with these, the family went shopping around for equipment. We finally settled to purchase the tank, tank stand and other equipment (filters, aerator,and accessories) from Manila Aquatic Center, an aquatic shop along Blumentritt Street, Manila that’s been there ever since my husband could recall.
Owners Jojo and Kathy Cotaoco are very accomodating. They even delivered the equipment to our home (for a fee), and set up the aquarium (for free!). And the first inhabitant, Helga, was a starter-gift from them.
Clockwise: Wang, a black moor (RIP); Ying, a redcap Oranda (RIP); this trio (Ching, Ying and Yoko), which came from the same tank at a shop, loves to huddle under the driftwood; Helga, a common fantail, is a starter-gift from an aquatic shop.
Tags: black moor, Feng Shui, Feng Shui aquarium, fishkeeping, goldfish, hobbies, redcap Oranda, ryukin, shubunkin, water element
This is Krispy Kreme’s newest doughnut-to-drool-over -
Even the doughnuts are drooling!
The Apple Cheesecake Doughnut is filled with tart cinnamony apples, glazed with rich cream cheese icing and drizzled with caramel. The top is made even more luscious with a generous dollop of whipped cream and fresh apple slivers. As always, this signature Krispy Kreme doughnut is all melt-in-your-mouth goodness.
My husband and kids looooved it. It was a bit too sweet for me, but there’s nothing a great mug of coffee can’t balance. They go together perfectly.
Head on to the nearest Krispy Kreme and indulge your family with a sweet treat of Apple Cheesecake Doughnuts.
~~~
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Tags: Apple Cheesecake Doughnut, Doughnuts, food, food and dining, Krispy Kreme, Metro places
There’s a new place for women to hang out at.
WMN.ph went live online on Mother’s Day - what a way to celebrate!
WMN.ph, a website specially created for women of all ages, has a theme for each day that celebrates every aspect of womanhood -
Fashionable Mondays (because - yes, when you look good, you feel good!)
Love a Lot Tuesdays
Wellness Wednesdays (I wrote a couple of articles for this section
Treat Yourself Thursdays
Live it Up Fridays
Chill Out Weekends
Blogs of celebrities such as Wilma Doesnt and Suzi Entrata-Abrera, who are both parents themselves, are also regularly featured.
Aside from articles and blogs, there’s a forum where members can interact and exchange views. To be a member, all you have to do is register for free. If you already have an AllAcess account (such as SPOT.ph and PEP), you can already use your existing log-in.
Go, check out WMN.ph, and spread the word!
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: celebrate womanhood, GMA New Media, website for women, WMN.ph
I got tagged by Noemi weeks (or months?) ago to join a global meme for mommy bloggers from around the world. I actually waited for Mother’s Day to do this.
My kids (actually, Patch, but the other two provided moral support hehe) surprised me with this creative piece of work on Mother's Day! I felt so loved.
Here’s how the tag works:
I’m going to link to a couple of other mom bloggers here in the Philippines, and to a couple of mom bloggers from other countries around the world, and they’ll write their posts, sharing 5 things that they love (or maybe what they don’t so much love - this playground doesn’t force conformity) about being a mom, and then they’ll tag a few more bloggers from their own country and from other countries, and so on.
Here are the top 5 things I love with being a mom:
1. I love the hearty hugs and wet kisses. My kids are, right now, at that stage where they love being hugged and kissed. I’ve even coined a term for this part of my job description - on-call hugs dispenser! And I love that they reciprocate! ( Well, okay… sometimes the pre-teen in the house feels awkward, especially when there are other people around. But I understand it’s a phase she has to go through, and that it could get worse. *heart breaking* ) Nate, my little baby boy, is the most malambing of the three. Methinks boys are naturally sweeter. But all three are sweet though.
2. I love the giggling and laughter. Read the rest of this entry »
