[sale alert : SM DEPARTMENT STORE & OUR HOME]

I went around Megamall the other day after my doctor's appointment. I found out SM & Our Home are on sale. 

*CLEARANCE SALE at SM Department Store (from 28 June to 7 July 2013)

[RUSTIC MORNINGS & QIZIA with good friends]

Neither time nor distance can affect friendships that span years, even as far back as college days. This  holds true of my bond with these three ladies, two of whom are my 'kumares', Joy & Auji. I always meet up  with them & their families for a simple gathering during the holidays. 

And so we got together one Monday morning, just one  of those spur-of-the-moment things.  We had to find a place that was within Marikina only because Joy had to attend to her son & prepare him for school. It was then that I remembered RUSTIC MORNINGS,  a quaint, country-style restaurant somewhere in Marikina, which another best friend recommended.

[store finds : WALL STICKERS & TEALIGHT HOLDERS]

While doing my last-minute errands today for my aunt's condo unit, I went around the home section of Robinson's Metro East & chanced upon these.

*Decorative stickers to prettify your walls. 

almost Php 100 per sheet

[chanelling JLo]

Remember the outfit that Kirsten wore in her friend's debut party?

source

[store find: UP FILIPINO DICTIONARY]

This book, UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino, has been in my shopping list ever  since I saw this in NBS a couple of years back. It's a complete edition which I know would be a good resource book for my girls in their Filipino subjects.  But the Php 2,800.00 hefty price tag was a deterrent. So we resorted to just buying the cheaper dictionaries with limited contents. But they just turned out to be bad deals.

So, when I saw it again early this week, with a price cut-off of almost 75%, I readily got in line & paid for it along with Jill's other purchases.

Glad I dilly-dallied then. Buying it at the discounted price now made it worth the wait.

***National Bookstore

   SM Taytay branch

[SG part deux 2013 : ESPLANADE - Theatres on the Bay]

It was a 3-in-1 trip to Marina Bay on our second day. We had a planned meet-up with a former colleague & his family within the area. So, we decided to pass our time there to take in the sights.

ESPLANADE

We had late lunch at Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe in Marina Square.

[DYMO-happy]

Label-making on textbooks & notebooks has never been this fun, for my youngest, at least. ;) Two months before school started this year, she asked me to buy this gadget because she didn't want those sticker labels anymore. 

[ITALIAN food & sweet CREPES on FATHER'S DAY]

It was Father's Day yesterday. The malls were jampacked, so understandably, parking spaces were hard to come by. Restaurants teemed with families who went out to celebrate the occasion. We were among them.

After not getting past the long queue of vehicles in all of Megamall's parking structures, hubby decided to go all the way to Trinoma & try our luck. Fortunately, parking wasn't much of a concern there so we went in. 

Lunch for a party of 7 was at Ristorante Bigoli.

source

[healthy RICE MEAL]

The first time hubby & I had a taste of this rice meal, we knew we will be having this every time we're in  PANCAKE HOUSE.

This dish is one of two brown rice meals from their Fiber Rich Cuisine options.

[store finds : CANVAS TOTES & COLORFUL ORGANIZERS]

CANVAS TOTES

There's no excuse anymore not to use eco bags if you have something like this when you go shopping.

[FROZEN YOGURT fix]

My youngest & I treated ourselves to a cup each of frozen yogurt at White Hat after a round of browsing  through books & magazines at Fully-Booked BHS.

From their REGULAR COMBOS (at Php 125.00 each),

I had the HEALTH NUT HAT

granola, cranberry & mango

[store finds : BW & RED home accents]

If you are into bold color accents, these red, black & white pieces will help you get the look that you want in your homes.

[BLESSED]

I finally bought the pillows I chanced upon in SM recently. 

[store finds : WHITE CANDLE HOLDERS]

These white metal candle holders would look good as whimsical tabletop decors for your homes or accent pieces for parties such as weddings, birthdays, bridal/baby showers & the like.

bird-topped or
drum-shaped

[in her ORIGAMI SKIRT]

Kirsten had been eyeing this skirt for a long time since she first saw this in fashion blogs. 

source

[doing the ALPHABET MEME]

Doing this slumbook thing reminds me so much of my GS/HS days. Thanks to Denise for tagging me.

Attached or single?
*Attached to J, for better or for worse.

[store finds : BAKED CRACKERS & CREAM PUFFS]

I enjoy grocery shopping because it is sort of therapeutic going through the aisles & picking your purchases as well as discovering new food finds. 

Like these two.

[SG part deux 2013 : CRATE & BARREL]

Among the lifestyle stores that are inside the ION Orchard mall is CRATE & BARREL. It has an exclusive collection of home furnishings & housewares (classic to contemporary).

There are two Crate & Barrel stores here.

The one on Level 3 was where I got a lot of the pictures, thanks to the guy sales clerk who was manning the store. He allowed us to click away, no second thoughts, no conditions. ;)

[store finds : INSPIRATION PILLOWS 2]

I found another set of accent pillows with words of inspiration. 

almost Php 280/piece

[SG part deux 2013 : ION ORCHARD]

When we took the MRT at SOMERSET station & alighted at the next one, ORCHARD, this was the mall we entered into.

ION Orchard has become the 'centre of gravity' in the retail scene with spectacular frontage & cutting-edge designs & concepts.

It houses flagship stores of the world's best loved brands, like TOPSHOP, GIORGIO ARMANI, LOUIS VUITTON, DOLCE & GABBANA & CARTIER.

Aside from retail brand stores, there is a concierge, a food court, a supermarket, restaurants & cafes (casual & fine dining), furniture stores, an art gallery  etc.

Take a closer look at ION.

Facade.

 

[store finds: INSPIRATION PILLOWS]

Let positive vibes into your home by having these pillows with printed words of inspiration as interior accents.

Only Php 150.00 per piece. At the home section of SM.

[SG part deux 2013 : ORCHARD ROAD]

Orchard Road is Singapore's retail & entertainment hub. It is a major tourist destination, aside from it  being a popular shopping haven.

Retail malls, offices & hotels dot the area

[SG part deux 2013 : MORNING BUFFETS & EVENING SHUTEYES]

We spent 4D/3N in this hotel within the Orchard Road area.

This was our room during our entire stay, where we had  restful shuteyes all through the night. Comfort at its best.;) 

The room, particularly the toilet & bathroom, was always spic & span.

[SG part deux 2013 : GASTRONOMIC STOPOVERS]

Our four-day foray in Singapore not only took us to tourist destinations but also gave us chances to try out the restaurants they have there. No, we did not go the adventurous way but just safe choices that left us tummy-happy. ;)

FOOD REPUBLIC at 313 Somerset.

The interiors.