Archive for the Category »shopping «

23
Jan
Flip-flops Country
wendy

Whar’s so fashionable about flip-flops? Why do they cost a lot?

 sany18081

I honestly can’t see the reason for the exorbitant prices attached to flip-flops. They are comfortable, yes. But fashionable? Heck, no! But some people (a lot!) think they are so much so that they are willing to shell out hundreds, even a thousand bucks, for flip-flops. Oh well, to each his own…

Yet… I actually tried to buy a “tsinelas” - that’s what they are. LOL. - to have a feel of what the majority feels when they go around town - malls, restos, cinemas - wearing one. I ended up confident that tsinelas - flip-flops or whatever you call them - aren’t for me.


Category: fashion/beauty products, shopping  Tags:  3 Comments
11
Jan
Choosing the Right Shoes
wendy

I need a new pair of running shoes. My dependable Nike needs a replacement especially now that I am once again actively going to the gym. I checked on Shopwiki for running shoes and found some useful tips on how to choose well. I am not into outdoor running - I’m almost exclusively just into treadmill - but for those into trail running, there are really good trail running shoes to choose from from this site.

I once joined the mountaineers in one of their climbs in college. I was repeatedly reminded not to bring any cosmetics. LOL. I didn’t have to buy my mountainering gears then so somebody had to lend me her hiking boots. It was not so comfortable. I learned my lesson. Shoes are something that I should choose well and hiking boots are very important as one traverses unknown mountain trails.

Shopwiki is not just limited to athletic shoes. It’s good to search the site for all kinds of men and women’s shoes. One can also check out their shoes buying guide and learn a lesson or two from it. Sometimes, it helps to be resourceful before spending:-).

Category: fashion/beauty products, shopping  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment
22
Nov
SM and Robinsons Dominate
wendy


I mentioned in my previous post that I have constantly been to malls here in the Philippines… charge it to lack of safe and clean parks and playgrounds.

But hey, wherever I go I only get to enter SM and Robinson malls. Is there anything else? Okay, here are the non-SM and non-Robinson malls I’d been to since I arrived here in the Philippines: there’s Marquee in Pampanga, Serendra in The Fort, Greenbelt and Glorietta in Makati and… and… and… I give up.

SM and Robinson malls dominate!

In Iloilo, the only mall I went to was SM City Iloilo. In Manila, I am only familiar and comfortable in Robinson’s Galleria but I also made the rounds of SM Megamall and once in Mall of Asia. In Cabanatuan, there’s a small Robinson’s mall. Clark, Pampanga still brought us to SM. And yesterday, we drove to San Fernando, Pampanga and you got right! There was nowhere else to go but SM and Robinsons.


Category: life in the Philippines, shopping, travel/places  Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,  3 Comments
28
Oct
Children and Economics
wendy

 

My internet always opens to the MSN homepage. Today, one of the headlines was “10 Companies  Hiring for the Holidays” and one of them was Toys” R” Us. This brings me back to a week ago when I took a picture of my Little Dynamo happily backpacking his toy purchase.

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The joys of being a child indeed!

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21
Jul
Spelling of July in Malaysia - S,A,L,E
wendy

I didn’t know that July is Malaysia’s S-A-L-E season. So, everywhere we went we see this:

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Why the inverted spelling? I didn’t avail of the SALE season, that’s why! My fault, really. Prices are down up to 70%. So, I kept on looking for more bargains. Tsk. Tsk. I got hold of a beautiful Nine West bag at 30% off which hubby approved but  I kept on thinking there might be more bargains out there. I ended up buying none. Hubby and I were thinking, Malaysia’s Duty Free was still there. The beautiful bag I fell in love with at the Duty Free was a Gianfranco Ferre bag at 70% off. At 70% off, it was still too much. LOL.

I used to be a sucker for bags, especially when I was still unmarried. When I left the Philippines, I had to give away most of them. I just retained those which have sentimental values. These days, I don’t look at bags anymore. Unless, hubby can afford them:-).

Speaking of the SALE season in Malaysia, July is also a tourist season there. It’s amazing to see so many tourists around. Every morning, this is the scene outside the breakfast buffet area:

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We wake up earlier than most tourists (or they wake up really late) so we never had to queue up for breakfast. Otherwise, Little Dynamo would be impatiently running around.

I got us Swiss Graden Hotel located just around the Bintang Area, which is a tourist spot known for its night life. Malaysia must be doing very well in terms of security as many tourists flock to the country.  Hubby and I ended up discussing the security back home (Philippines). We have so much to offer in terms of tourist destinations but we don’t see this much tourists. 

Really, it was quite a surprise for me to see so many tourists walking around almost everywhere we went. There were couples, there were families as well. We got familiar with two or three other Caucasian families who were also going to the pool everyday. Their kids were swimming while they were relaxing and reading by the pool side.

According to the taxi driver who was a regular in the hotel, July and August were mostly tourist months for people from the Middle East. This year, though the H1N1 scared them so the number was significantly reduced. To our eyes, there were still many of them.

It must be interesting to live in such a tourist-friendly place.

Category: shopping, travel/places  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment
10
May
Seoul Fashion
wendy


Going out with Cathy and Joanna yesterday afternoon reinforced my observation that Seoul is one fashionable place. If you like dressing up and expressing yourself through your clothes, come over. Seoul is a haven!

I’m not a fashionista but I do love dressing up. When I first came over three years ago, I was taken by the clothes the women wear. And they wear their clothes without fear! I adore that.

Of course, seeing the women in high heels while climbing the steep Namsan Tower and biking (yes!) in Yeouido are sources of a good laugh but these did not stop me from admiring how they dress up. Seoul Fashion happens to be one of the things I love about Seoul.

Anyway, Saturday was a “ME” time so I met up with Cathy and Joanna in Hongdae (the shopping area around Hongik University). I had been wanting to buy some comfortable shoes. I ended up buying a pair of shoes and a jumper. I sooo look forward to a bigger tummy when I could justify wearing my new jumper:-). It isn’t actually a maternity jumper but it seem to look good and comfortable when my tummy really starts showing. Anyway, the jumper is designed to look and feel comfy… you could convert it to a maternity jumper. Even during my first pregnancy, I didn’t really own (and refused to own) maternity clothes. Until my 39th week (Little Dynamo was born 39 weeks and 1 day), I was wearing regular clothes. Some just ended looking like maternity clothes. LOL. I plan to do the same this time.

While we were walking around, we could only gaze at the women fashionably dressed. Cathy told us of a visiting friend from the US who didn’t buy clothes here in Seoul. She liked the clothes but she knows she can’t wear them in the US. A male Australian classmate in Hangeul class three years ago remarked how “Korean women redefine the word ‘casual‘”. I totally agree. During our afternoon shopping in Hongdae, party clothes are casually donned.

When spring clothes started coming out, streets became a runway (ok, I’m a little bit exaggerating) again. I could only look with envy. These days, I am so limited to comfortable clothes (no tight jeans and skirts!).

Hubby knew I went home yesterday wanting for more. My “ME” time had a 6:30pm curfew. He was to have dinner to entertain his Italian colleagues who are still here in Seoul. Today, he got me to choose another pair of shoes. I can’t resist buying another blouse:-).

He asked if I was tired. I answered, “Women never ever get tired from shopping“.

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Category: fashion/beauty products, life in korea, shopping  Tags: ,  6 Comments