After seeing the movie yesterday, we strolled around The Block for a bit.
I saw this store, and fell in love:
The Soap Factory, Etc just really drew me – nay, sucked me in! With such yummy colors and scents so delish, I’d have stayed to try each and every variant if I could. Their products are all hand made and all natural. The factory is in the shop itself, and you can sit and watch the staff as they make them!
Their space isn’t so big. It’s just this wall of shelves arrayed with their products, then the factory on the other side. There’s a private place at the end of the room. By the entrance, that’s where their POS system is, and there are jars (what do you call them?) for their small selection of massage oils.
I was short for cash so near the next payday (tonight, yay!) so I had to scrimp. I ended up going home with one slice each of the Geisha soap and Choco Cream (that’s what I remember their names are). You know I cannot resist chocolate, soap isn’t any different. 🙂 Each soap slice retails for 99 pesos, with a discount if you get a dozen. They have specialty soaps too that come in the form of your favorite desserts – cakes, donute, and yes, cupcakes too! They have about five product lines with one being Save Our Skin. I don’t have the details, but you can check out their site.
And you know what this is?
That’s the bag I used to take home my two slices. It’s a small reusable bag and they have bigger sizes too, and a few other colors, though I can only remember seeing pink and brown. A killer combination. Haha. Next time I go to The Block to buy soap, I’d be taking this bag with me. PLUS points for The Soap Factory. Now, I’ve saved the best photo for last. You saw the photo of the cashier and the display rack there right? The one that looks like what you’d see in cafes housing cakes and pastries? Well see what’s on the top shelf:
My uncle is here for a short vacation, and with him are the three books I ordered from Amazon last month. Yay! 🙂
Tales of Beedle the Bard is actually available locally but I think I got it cheaper from Amazon anyway. Hehe.
I will definitely have to test my oven again in the next couple of weeks, and I’d make do with all it’s flaws so I could sample some of the recipes from these books! See that bag next to the books? A bag of chocolates for everyone! And I was totally surprised to see these inside, specially for me 🙂
I took a nap around noontime amidst the scorching heat and then woke up to see that mail was delivered while I was knocked out on the couch. As soon as I saw the envelope I knew it was mine and I knew what was in it!
Like a kid on Christmas eve, I excitedly opened the envelope, gave Dette’s note a quick read (thanks dear, I did read it first, promise 🙂 ), and turned all my attention to 1/3 of my first ever online winnings.
This travelled many many miles and had to take an airplane to reach me. Mammadawg sent it all the way from her corner of the world.
I checked out the Best Buy online store and was a bit disappointed that they don’t have international shipping, but that has never stopped me from doing any shopping has it? I don’t know what to do with the card yet, but will probably purchase something for a gift to send to a friend/relative in the US or purchase something downloadable. The possibilities are exciting. Haha. 🙂
If you’ve been following me around you probably know this about me already. I love shopping at malls, bazaars, corner shops, and even online looking for the best deals on technology or other unbeatable steal not to be passed up. I was actually surprised to see that my Shopping category for my blog posts don’t have the most number of posts in them. Surely, that must be a mistake! So I hopped on over to my Vox page, where I blogged for a brief period and found my shopping posts, those definitely brought back good memories 🙂 Too bad my Bravejournal doesn’t make it as easy to browse through posts…
I am such a shopaholic, in fact, I am currently downloading the digi goodness that I just shopped around for. Yes, you got that right, I made another online purchase and added to my ever growing stash of digital scrapbooking supplies. Alfred will probably have something to say about that. But it’s just so difficult to pass up, check out what I bought at The Daily Digi.
I come from a family of shopaholics. Perhaps the least shopaholic of us would be my brother – but only in the sense that he doesn’t shop as frequently as we do. Maybe because when he goes shopping – he really goes shopping, you know what I mean? My dad has got to be the most shopaholic of us, or at least he comes next after me. He and mom always go out on weekends and there were times, specially when he started his fitness conscious phase, when it seems as if he was always carrying a shopping bag home. So whenever he tells me that I do so much shopping, I kid him back – “I get it from you!”
These days, the only time we go shopping as a family is when somebody comes home from a trip abroad. Duty Free shopping, I tell you, could be a family event. Haha.
Lucky for me, I’ve found the perfect shopping partner. Okay, partners. I always have my foldable reusable shopping bag in my bag (wah too many bags in one sentence) and I whip it out whenever I buy small stuff, or even when I buy foodies at MiniStop or wherever. It is especially handy when shopping at Greenhills or Divisoria – sando bags are just so un-chic, eh? Hehe. And of course, the boyfriend is such a gem for a shopping buddy. Sometimes he acts like konsensya (you know, from those Safeguard ads?), but he actually enables the shopaholic in me. He loves shopping himself! In fact, it was his idea for us to brave the multitude of people at the recent three-day sale at SM City North Edsa.
His favorite item to shop for? Rubber shoes. How many times have we gone in and out Adidas/Nike shops in the past year alone? If you add pa The Shoe Salon and the shoe section at department stores, hay. Here’s a better question: how many times did we emerge from these shops carrying a box or two? Haha.
He’s also the perfect companion to Divisoria, not because he knows all the good shops, but because he will patiently do the rounds with me and he’s better at remembering where we’ve already been and where else we wanted to go. Lately, he’s also been practicing his bargaining skills, something I mastered while shopping in Bangkok (ah those were the beginnings of my shopaholic days). He’s not just good for carrying shopping bags around, he’s a true shopping companion.
Without a doubt, one of the reasons I look forward to the Christmas season is all the shopping it entails. Granted, I haven’t enjoyed it so much the past two seasons but I am gearing up for the next one. Haha. I’m serious. 🙂
Our favorite shopping digs now include Trinoma, Gateway, SM Cubao (yes, I just love their Plus Size section), Greenhills and Divisoria Mall and 168. Tiendesitas is up there if we’re looking for Zune(=dog) specific things. Actually, we’re game to shop anywhere, as long as it’s easy to get a cab home. SM North used to be a favorite destination, but after the horrifying transpo situation we had there last Christmas, we’re not too enthusiastic about going back (getting a taxi there during the recent Sale was a breeze though, or maybe it was just because we were there and left pretty early).
Shopping for bargain books is another aspect of my Shopaholic-ness. I used to be a regular at the previously owned books section at National BookStore (the Main branch at Cubao). I also used to frequently visit the Books for Less branch along Roces Ave. I spent hours browsing books at both locations, and spent good money on books too.
My current favorite bargain bookshop is Pick-a-Book at The Loop at ABS-CBN, both for it’s accessibility and for the selection of titles they have. They also let me put some books on reserve for up to a week. Last time I was there, I picked up two books, and snapped this photo.
Fully Booked has recently been added to my list of faves, because they have a hard-to-find titles too. It is a bit pricier than NBS though, but for some books, it’s worth it. It sometimes breaks my heart when we visit FB Greenhills and I’m on a budget. 🙁
Sometimes I do try to rein in my shopaholic tendencies so I don’t end up 6-feet in debt like Becky Bloomwood of Confessions of Shopaholic fame. But it’s so hard, isn’t it? Haha. Come to think of it, it wouldn’t be so bad to be like Becky – as long as you take away the part where she had to fall so deep into debt, haha. Wait, this actually reminds me that I intended to buy Shopaholic Ties the Knot last Christmas, it’s the third in the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. It’s been years since I got to know Becky, it’s about time for a follow up.
Oh and I can’t miss the movie! I’d have to say, pretty as she is, somehow Isla Fisher doesn’t fit the picture of Becky in my mind. So I also want to watch the movie so I can find out how she can change my mind. No doubt, a day out to see the movie would also mean some shopping on the side 😉
Catch “Confessions of a Shopaholic” in Cinemas on February 18, 2009!
I wish that my title really meant taking home Bamboo’s frontman Bamboo Mañalac home…
@the NCO Christmas Party - 2007 (taken by me or Vanette)
But what it really means is that I have reached deep into my pockets again, and bought yet another gadget to guarantee that I will be spending every waking hour in front of my PC! Haha. Yep, I finally have a Wacom Bamboo!
I’m still looking up info about using it with my PSPX or with Photoshop so if you know of any site that will give me free tutorials, please please please share the link okay? 🙂
Lucky for me, I’ve found the perfect 
Shopping for bargain books is another aspect of my Shopaholic-ness. I used to be a regular at the previously owned books section at National BookStore (the Main branch at Cubao). I also used to frequently visit the Books for Less branch along Roces Ave. I spent hours browsing books at both locations, and spent good money on books too.
