ST. JAMES CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

         Ayala Alabang Village holds an annual bazaar every November, just in time for the Christmas gift shopping frenzy. I have been hearing about this bazaar for the longest time. But since I like to do my Christmas shopping way in advance, I never had an excuse to check it out, until now.

I have no work today. The kids are in school and hubby left for work. I know that FB will only keep me amused for a good 30 minutes, so I thought of spending my free time in this bazaar…and I am glad that I did!

A WIDE ARRAY OF GIFT IDEAS

What I liked most about St. James bazaar is the line up of unique items.  You will find  items seldom found in the mall or other bazaars, which sets them apart from the rest.

There are also imported and branded items that are being sold for a reasonable price.

A lot of gift items are already bundled in nice packaging, which I find very practical and convenient. Perfect for busy people who are always “on the go”.

PRICE RANGES

Most concessionaires are direct suppliers, so the prices are really competitive.  You can even ask for their calling cards if you would like to contact them in the future for your corporate giveaways.

You will find gift items for as low as 50.00 Php. And since this is technically a “tiangge” the shoppers  are entitled to haggle with the price, most especially if you are buying the items in volume.



Bought myself a gift... An instant sexy body for summer!



By the way, the Bazaar is not air conditioned, so I suggest you either go very early, or in the late afternoon.  Happy Shopping!



HOLIDAY WRAPS

Imagine being a “Jinky Pacquiao” or “Aling Dionesia” who can afford to shop in an Apple Store for Christmas presents for family and friends. A Mac book, Ipad or Itouch will definitely give joy to its receiver no matter how sloppily it is wrapped.  Reality Check: Most of us, are NOT that filthy rich! So we are left with no other choice, but to make do with our pocket’s reach, and use a bit of creativity to make our simple gifts look extra special.

Half of the joy of gift giving for me goes to the overall packaging. How a gift is presented, always makes it extra special. A simple and inexpensive gift can always be made surprisingly special, if it’s packaging is carefully thought of. It brings character to the gift, and reflects the good intention of the gift giver in making its receiver happy.





HOLIDAY WRAPPING STYLES

Here are a couple of holiday wrapping styles that you may find useful this Christmas season.

String Bead left over from your trees can be used as a ribbon accent and a substitute for cherry tie knots.  Cut the beads by two and then tie it in a ribbon.

  

I found a couple of coin banks that costs about 40.00 Php. Since the gifts that I bought for the kids can fit inside, I thought, why not use the coin bank as a gift box? The packaging doubles as an extra gift coz the kids can still use it afterwards.

  

WHERE TO SHOP FOR YOUR CHIRSTMAS WRAPS

 Nothing beats the rock bottom prices in Divisoria, Quiapo and Dapitan Arcade. But as we get closer to the Christmas season, the idea of all the hassle that one has to go through just to shop here, would make you think if the trip is really worth all the trouble.

I have found a couple of alternative shops here in the South, where you can buy nice gift packaging within budget:

Robinson’s Great Bag Sale in Pergola, BF – paper gift bags with tags are sold from 8.00 Php (small bag) 19.00 Php (large bag) and 29.00 Php (xlarge bag)

Pack-Away Multi Sales and Dough-it-All in Palaca St. BF Homes (located at the back of BF Market) – these shops sells native baskets, baking goods, food packaging, boxes and ribbons. Everything is discounted if bought by the dozen.

My most favorite box of all! I bought this from Dough-it-All last year  for just 11.00 Php

At the end of the day, all these nice packaging will most likely end up in a garbage bag. But before that happens, I would like to think that it made people who are special to me very happy…and that is more than enough reason for me to fuzz over with my wrappings once again next year…Ho! Ho! Ho!

FURRY FRIENDS

My daughter Justine with Happy

While browsing through some old photos, I was taken aback with the realization of my daughter’s strong resemblance from me – the innate liking for dogs. Well, we are not actually the first from our family. I have Aunts who treats dogs as if it were their own kids. I guess I should not be too surprised to have passed on this trait to my offspring.

For some strange reasons, I always get drawn to dogs. They are like magnets and I cannot contain myself from going near them, most especially if they are very cute (I try to stay away from the viscous looking ones as much as possible).

The following photos are just some of the furry friends that I have met in my travels. I was lucky to capture some of them in a photo. I hope you enjoy their pictures, as much as I did when I met them.



A Rottweiler that my sister and I met in Baguio, way back in 1996.



My Auntie Cora's Shih-tzu Roxy



Lovely Eskimo Dogs from Ottawa



Scooby Doo (Great Dane) from Mont Tremblandt, Quebec



  

This Burmese Mountain Dog seemed to have posed for me on this picture. 






JT’S MANUKAN GRILLE – “namit gid” (really good!)



JT's mural displayed on the heart of his store

                                                                                                                                                                 Being an artist always has its perks. Most especially if you have already created a very good reputation in the industry. Anything with your name or face on it will sell “like pancakes”.  For a renowned artist like Joel Torre, creating novelty to his restaurant business is definitely inevitable.

I have heard a lot of good stuff about JT’s Manukan Grille, owned by actor turned restaurateur Joel Torre.  It was just today that I have finally gotten to try it.  The store’s ambiance is NOT at all fancy – no airconditioning! But I guess this is the ambiance that the owner wanted to capture so that he can entice people from all walks of life to try his Inasal.

Chicken Inasal

 JT Manukan Grille boasts for its servings of authentic Bacolod Inasal. The setting is like that of a carinderia” (cheap local canteen), but  the irony of it all is that, most diners drive in with a car!

When we tasted the store’s specialty – Chicken Inasal, we immediately understood why the store is being patronized by a lot of people. Their chicken is so good!  It is charcoal-grilled upon order, thus it is tender and juicy, not all dried up unlike the other Inasals that we’ve tried. 

The best part is that, this hearty serving portion of meaty chicken just costs 85.00 Php…not bad huh?

For those of you who want to try JT’s Manukan Grille, it is located in Granada St., Barangay Valencia, QC. Just 5 minutes away from Greenhills Shopping Mall.

STARBUCKS PLANNER..the sticker craze begins tomorrow!



My Starbucks Planner Collection

Hubby and I shared our usual cup of Americano after lunch, and were updated by the perky Barista, that the sticker collection for the 2011 Planner starts tomorrow – November 3, 2010. I got so excited when I heard this! I guess I will be bugging hubby to frequent Starbucks until that 2011 Planner is in my arms.  Until then, I will have to endure the long sleepless nights from all that caffeine!



When Starbucks launched this promo way back in 2007, I have never let a year pass without completing a Starbucks planner card. Acquiring a planner has always been a year ender goal for me…my hubby even tolerated my “planner paranoia” and would even help me collect the stickers.



The Planner that started it all. 2007 Edition

I had the planners stashed away in the safety of my office desk. Even if they are already outdated, I just couldn’t bring myself to dispose it…they are just too nice to write on … more so,  be thrown away!  I have not realized that I actually started a new collection, until now. Next to my “Avon Umbrella Collection”, I guess the planners are not pretty bad.

   





2008 Edition



2009 Edition



  



2010 Edition. Dog Stickers c/o my daughter Justine :-)