A Cheapskate's First Pair of D.G.'s

D.G.: Designer Sunglasses


I have worn eyeglasses since I was twelve. And up until I discovered the joy of wearing contact lenses in college, I pretty much looked like your typical geeky kid -- tall, gangly and wearing spectacles that were never in vogue.


I suppose I found no reason for sunglasses ever. If I wanted to avoid the sun's glare, I wore a cap/hat. Plus, I figured, my contact lenses have UV protection, so what's the point of wearing shades?

But exactly a month ago, I was with a friend at the local Dutyfree shop, we were both going home to the Philippines for our vacation so we were buying stuffs (I was buying orders, while he was purchasing gifts for his SO). Because it was almost the tailend of the summer season in Seoul, they were having a pretty generous sale on sunglasses and since I was bored, I went to try a few.

Well, well, well. I guess because eyeglasses always make me look older, I had the notion that sunglasses would not suit me well. But I was
happily pleased with some of the shades I tried!

I tried a number of brands and was actually smitten by a pair by Vivienne Westwood. Sadly they were only only 10% off, which was way too expensive for me (10k pesos for a pair of sunglasses?! No way!)

In the end, after numerous fittings with the ever-patient shop assistant who practically let me try all the shades that were on salefor 30% and more, I bought this:

These cost me about $125. Yes I admit, they are still pretty pricey but when I consider that I got a 45% discount (Original Price is $228.0) off the pair,I think it's a pretty good buy. I actually got it for less than half the original price haha because I used my Silver VIP card to harangue another 10% discount. :-)


It's an oversized Givenchy shades (Model SGV725 in Honey Gold) that's fully plastic, with a round silhouette. Looking at it, it does seem a bit OA, and too big for my not too big, longish, face but I loved it at first fit. And I pledged to use this pair as much as possible and keep it scratch free as long as I live (because unless I get really rich, I don't think I'll have the heart to purchase another pair for a looong, loooong time. I'm kuripot like that :-P ). And it is totally superficial, yes, but I love going out into the sun these days, if only so I could wear these shades :D

When to wear your sunglasses:
1. When the sun is out (which applies 90% of the time in Pinas)

2. When you've just had a diamond peel/chemical peel/derma procedure which have turned your face into a red tomato. Wear a pair of peepers so people won't recognize you(or at least you hope they won't).

3. When you have conjunctivitis!

But please, por favor, unless you really are a celebrity, do not ever attempt to wear your peepers at night! Wag masyadong feeling, te!

Small Luxuries: Little Splurges for a Happier Me

"It's a basic human trait to have indulgences in one's life, things that reinforce your identity and keep you moving forward."

Times are tough. We have to be careful with our spending and allot enough money for our savings. Something we can turn to when financial shit happens. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Being on my own and living alone, I do try to save. I save up for the rainy days, for my travels, so I can have funds to grow my little business and for some other plans yet to be disclosed. However, there are days when I need a pick-me-upper. Once in a while, I do indulge in little splurges that are not part of my daily budget (i.e. what in ordinary days would be too expensive for me to buy) just because I want to feel pampered, and well, remember that I am worth it.

The quote above sums up why we go about having small indulgences, don’t you think? We want to be reminded that we deserve the small, good things in life ☺

FINE CHOCOLATES

Green & Black’s Organic White and 70% Dark Chocolate, Lindt Excellence Blueberry Intense and Orange Intense Dark Chocolate Bars, Valhrona Crus Chocolate Tasting Bars

While I am a sucker for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Almond Snickers and Ghana Bars, when I can I keep a stash of premium chocs to buoy me over extra-stressful days. Gourmet Chocolates + a good movie at home = a perfect lazy afternoon.


FRAGRANCES

My recent buy: Laura Mercier Eau Gourmande Fresh Fig
Spell Dutyfree and perfumes are what comes to mind immediately. Ever the bargain hunter, I scour the Dutyfree Shops on my trips abroad for nice deals on fragrances. I recently bought this yummy, sweet scent for $45 dollars, down from $65 . It is sweet, vanilla-y but not off-putting as most candy flavored scents are.


BOOKS ON COOKING AND DESIGN

What is Branding?Essential Design Handbook, The Culinary Institute of America’s Baking & Pastry

Because these books fuel my interest in cooking and product design, they are balms to the aspiring kitchen goddess in me.


FINE FOOD FINDS

Chevre Cheese, Hummus, Horseradish Dip, Pesto, Delimondo Corned Beef
Yummy finds I picked from here and there.


BEAUTY SPLURGES
It could be a new powder, a new skincare item or something as simple and pretty as this:

What about you? What are your small indulgences? :-)

The OZ Files #2: Original Source, Lucas Papaw et al.

The only beauty and kikay-related buys I got from my recent trip to Australia are these:

Lucas Papaw Ointment, Original Source Body Washes, Emu Oil Cream

Cosmetics are pretty expensive in Oz. A lipstick from the drugstore brand, Australis, costs the same as a MAC lipstick ☹ Even the Collection for Target Australia by Bloom Cosmetics were pricey beyond belief (35 AUS $ for a blush on?!). So I spent wisely (haha!) and purchased only these affordable products which are either made in Australia or the UK(as opposed to Australian brands that are really made in China):

LUCAS PAPAW OINTMENT (6 AUS $) – it’s a cult favorite among Aussies. Made of fermented Papaya extract. It is an anti-irritation cream which can be used to soothe chafing, cracked skin, rashes and splinters. I have yet to open my tubes as I am saving these to combat the red, dry and flakey skin during the winter season in Seoul.


EMU OIL CREAM ( 6.5 AUS $) – for the size, this one’s a great buy! Made of pure Emu Oil and Vitamin E, this a light, organic moisturizer to combat dry, sensitive skin.


ORIGINAL SOURCE SHOWER GELS ( 3.5 AUS $) – These are my happiest kikay buys in Oz.
I first encountered Original Source in 2008 while living in London. It’s a UK-based brand that uses pure plant extracts and all natural ingredients. The brand’s credo is to pack as much natural stuff into its products. They also do not do animal testing so no guilt over that too. I guess it’s a bit like LUSH COSMETICS and THE BODY SHOP, both UK brands leaning towards the use of mainly natural ingredients. The only difference is that Lush and The Body Shop are pretty pricey brands, while Original Source is surprisingly cheap! It’s a drugstore brand normally found in Boots, ASDA and Tesco in the UK, and in Target, Priceline and Cole’s in Australia.

I bought the Mint and Tea Tree Shower Gel and the Shea Butter and Honey Showe Cream. Both are outstanding in totally opposite ways!

The Mint and Tea Tree Shower Gel delivers and really gives that minty, tingling sensation. Really Invigorating! A perfect shower gel on mornings when I feel really crappy and tired. Sad thing is,I only bought two bottles of this. I wish I bought more!

The Shea Butter and Honey Shower Cream is yummy as any sweet-smelling shower cream can be. Made of honey and luxurious shea butter, it smells like sweet milk candy and feels so luxurious on the skin. To my mind, this is a perfect indulgent bath at night and on weekends, something I use to wind down and give myself some pampering.

I can only vouch for the Original Source Shower products’s awesomeness as I have yet to use the two moisturizers. But take my word for it, these shower gels are amazing! If I get the chance to go back to Oz soon, I would surely hoard on these!

I realize now, that all the items cost less than 7 AUS $ each. Great bargains, I guess, by Oz standards. ☺

DAVAO EATS PART 1: Food Finds and My Favorite Cheese Cake Ever

I went home to Davao in late August for a brief break from my Korean life, a.k.a. vacation. And although I only stayed for four days, my stay was, as always, marked by food and glorious, mindful eating.


TAHO

Truly absence makes the heart (or gut) grow fonder. Finally, after months of living on my own in Seoul, I was back to a place where, I could wake up, and wait for the itinerant vendor to pass by and have this for breakfast:

Taho: white, creamy soft tofu swirled with sweet, brown sugar syrup and little tapioca balls of deliciousness. My cousin and I would bring out our mugs, and tease the vendor who would generously fill each mug with taho for only PHP 20.00 each.
Taho, it's just something I've never outgrown. My taho reminds me how something pure and simple can carry you through the day.

Taho = Best Breakfast Food Ever!


MOOON CAFE

If my brother had his way, we'd just eat at Pizza Pamilya. We all love the pasta and pizza from this unassuming restaurant. But Abreeza Mall beckoned and after walking through the restaurants, we settled for Mooon Cafe. As I understand, Mooon Cafe originated from Cebu. The vibe and the feel is that of a Mexican Cantina. They supposedly specialize in mexican favorites ~ burritos, tacos, enchiladas etc. But their menu is really more of a mishmash
of Tex-Mex, US diner and Filipino dishes, which in this case, works pretty well.

My brother ordered a soft taco for his appetizer. I ordered a platter of Onion rings and a jug of their Fresh Fruits Cooler to share among the four of us. I suspect that the cooler was of the powdered kind (perhaps Dalandan flavored) and was just spruced up with slices of citruses to make it a bit posh.

The onion rings get points for awesome presentation! Sadly, these didn't taste as good as they look. The rings were covered in heavy, pancake-like batter. Blech! Not good at all :-( I wish they'd either scrap this from their menu altogether or change the batter, because it was so thick I couldn't even taste the onions.

We ordered two pizzas: The all-meat variant, and the garden veggie variant.

Both were good. The pizza crusts were of the cracker thin variety. Thin and crisp. We loved the meat pizza! It had just enough toppings and there was aherb-y aftertaste to it which we liked (Was thinking if they added sage to their pizza sauce).


But the one dish that would make me go back to Mooon Cafe was the Baby Back Ribs.

Tender, flavorful ribs that are super duper soft! A "single" serving of the ribs (with veggies and rice) costs only 225.00 and it was big enough for two persons. It is truly swoon-worthy, and enough to make me gloss over Mooon Cafe's mediocre onion rings.



DESSERTS AT LACHI'S

Coming to Davao is incomplete without a trip to Lachi's. After a full lunch, and a bit of roaming around Abreeza, we hied off to Marfori heights for our Lachi's fix. My brother ordered his usual Apple Pie and Dark Choco Cake, Brad ordered the Regal Chocolate Torte. And I, well, I ordered my favorite cheesecake in the world ---Lachi's Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, and paired it with a mug of their steaming hot choco.

What is it about Lachi's that we love? It's the unpretentiousness of the shop -- you don't come here for the ambiance, you come here for nothing but great, sinful treats at prices which might surprise you. These are very affordable sweets! I peg most desserts I've tried in Manila in comparison to Lachi's. While some are pretty good (Cake Planet's Banoffee Pie, Conti's Mango Bravo), these are pretty expensive, with cakes costing more than a hundred bucks each, whereas in Lachi's, our meal of one Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, one Dark Chocolate Cake, one Apple Pie, one Regal Chocolate Torte, one hot choco, two C2 iced tea and one brewed coffee costs us only a little over 300 pesos. Really, nothing beats the good price + great food combination of Lachi's. :-) Plus it still serves what for me is the best cheesecake ever!

The Oz Files #1: Sweet Buys!

I'm back from my blissful vacation! Refreshed and looking forward to work ( so I could save up for another vacation!)

I was in Australia for a week, spending half the time in Melbourne and the rest at my cousin's place at the countryside in Victoria. It was a nice thing really, I was on my own and totally independent while in Melbourne, and was spoiled rotten and super taken care of by my Ate while I was staying in Victoria.

I got the best of both worlds! Melbourne is, well, wonderful. It is, to my mind, very much like London (where I lived for a bit), only safer. Which is to say that I loved it. Where I live, I stick out like a sore thumb in a sea of Koreans. Here, I walked in a sea of different races -- Asians, Whites, Blacks speaking different dialects. It was sooo like London except here I could roam the streets of Melbourne until 10 PM on my own without fear, whereas in London, I would have never attempted it on my own at such late hours.

There are a lot of Oz-related entries coming up soon!! Went wine-tasting, cheese-tasting, visited artisanal bakeshops,ate my fill of pies, went gaga over a market, met up with a college friend plus some other more personal entries. I will make my way through all these soon. But I am a bit lazy today haha, so instead, I'll subject you to a bit of sugar voyeurism. Here are some of the sweets I brought home with me: Enjoy!


Mars Choco Pods in Cherry Bites and Mars fillings. I liked the Cherry Pods!

Cadbury Snack Packs in Flake ( flakey choco bars), Crunchie (honeycomb nubs encased in choc), Freddo (chocolate frog with mint center), and Twirl (Chocolate Swirly bar)

The old staples: Cadbury Dairy Milk bars, Nestle Violet Crumble

Cadbury Chocolate Big Blocks: Crunchie (with Honeycombe bits), Old Jamaica Rum & Raisins (Dark Chocolate with Raisin and Almonds and Rum),Bar of Plenty Berry Fruit and Vanilla Shortcake, Dairy Milk Macadamia, Bubbly White (milk choc with aerated white chocolates), Rocky Road, Bar of Plenty (Roast Hazelnut and Honey Roast Cashews), Dairy Milk Top Deck, Black Forest

Handmade, artisanal chocs from Beechworth Sweet Co. : Pineapple Lumps, Chocolate Honeycomb Slabs, Rum and Raisin Fudge, Chocolate Covered Jelly Babies

My gluten-free chocolate snacks (for my own indulgence! Most of the chocs I bought are for my sugar-lovin' family): Leda Chocalence choco covered cookies, D'Lush Mint Choc Cookies, D'Lush Double Choc Cookies, Carman's Gluten-free Muesli Bars

Green and Black's Organic Chocolate Bars in Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate. This was my favorite choc brand in UK back when I worked there so I just had to buy a couple of bars for rekindle my sweet love affair with this brand.

Cadbury Cherry Ripe: next to Freddo, this is my favorite Cadbury chocolate. it's milk chocolate with a cherry and coconut flavored centre.

Starburst Candies for the kids: Smoothie, Bananas & Cream flavours

A whole lot of TimTams: Dark, Double Coat, White, Dark Rum & Raisin, Original

Arnott's biscuits: Kingston choco-centered, Mint Slice, Choco-topped Butternut Snaps

Fine European Chocs: Godiva 31% Milk Chocolate Bar, Lindt Mint Intense, Lindt Blueberry Intense, Lindt Orange, Valrhona Chocolate Crus Tasting Sets

The most expensive chocolate box in the batch: Valrhona Degustation Grands Crus Chocolate Collection for my foodie brother.

Life is sweet!