I didn’t know that as simple as a new pair of jeans could me happy. I’ve been spending these past years for my kitchen gadgets and appliances that I’ve been neglecting my clothes. I’ve been using my old jeans for years and it has given up on me. There was a big sale in SM the last 3 days so I begged Mommy to go with me to buy a new pair of jeans and wow it felt so good. By the way for some reason, the trolley there was so hard to push! It will help if it has some kind of utv power steering hehe.. Honestly, our car is easier to drive than that thing! The new pair of jeans makes me feel like I’m sexier and now I made a mental note to buy at least a pair a year. This is a case of being so frugal it did hurt me!

A stainless steel measuring cup, an egg ring/sunny side up egg mold/cookie cutter, a pineapple peeler and a handy size rolling pin just perfect for rolling out Indian chapati or Mexican flour tortillas (which is a favorite of mine these days) are the small cutie things I have found in my happy place (where you’ll find great quality vintage hardware pieces) in addition to the Japanese Rice cooker which is our favorite, the personal Sukiyaki Hot Pot Nabe Set and of course my Takoyaki pan which I has used a lot of times already, also used for my experiments with Aebleskivers.

You just have to have an eye when going in these stores. My current favorite thing that I’ve been using frequently that I bought from there is my small rolling pin. I found it under a pile of what looked like junk. It looked dirty but I know I could clean it. Even I was amazed how much it “sparkled” after I cleaned it. It was just dirty when I bought it but it’s steal at it’s top most shape. Bought it for Php10! I love these kind of stores. Heaven sent for someone like me. I wouldn’t buy spoons by the way.

Wheww! I’m so excited. I love this feeling when I found something I would love to have and get it at a fraction of it’s original cost. I have mentioned in here before that while other women love shoes and bags ( I do too, but not that much) mine is kitchen gadgets. Specially ones that are new to me.

I have seen an iron cast takoyaki pan in Singapore years ago when I roam around in one of my happy places which is the kitchen appliances section of the mall and I remember it was so heavy and expensive. Like more than SGD 100 plus so even though it intrigued me, I didn’t buy it. Also, it will be very heavy to carry to bring home. Luggage allowance is also another thing I considered.

Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, I’ve been frequenting second hand shops. I discovered them while I was researching on where to buy affordable and yet quality folding bikes.I love it there! You can find so many interesting things. But I’m careful with what I buy. And I try to stop myself from buying expensive things. I try to stay away from electronics as it might be defective.

Once Mommy and I were in Emilio Aguinaldo Highway on our way to Imus and as usual it was traffic. I’ve been bugging Mommy to accompany me to surplus shops in Pier 4 in Manila so when we passed by a surplus warehouse in Imus, we decided to park the car in Cavite Coliseum(?) not too sure though and walk back to the place. We like a set of really nice stemmed glasses and a few ramekins.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s almost Christmas now with only two more weeks to go and I’m savoring these days. This the season that I’ve been waiting for the whole year round.

And comes with Christmas is gift giving (or is it something created and hyped by commercialism?) but we are now in hard times so we try our best to look for cheaper options for our shopping. It is pricier in malls so Divisoria and bazaars (tiangge) are preferred by most. It is way more crowded in Divisoria so most people prefer bazaars and they are everywhere!

I for one doesn’t do a lot of shopping. It actually stresses me out. I only buy when I need it and I really like it but I don’t go around waiting for something to catch my eye. This is why I like bazaars. There are so many new, unique and innovative things to see! So many food to try you don’t usually find in malls. Of course most if not all things there are local products and we cannot find the types of schlage hardware there because there are mostly food and gift stuffs there.

I wanted to go to the bazaars in World Trade Center like last year but didn’t get to go. Next time maybe. That’s where I bought the charcoal stove above. (EDIT: As of Aug.22,2011, I have since found a new obsession and this stove has been left  in storage. It’s still new, used maybe a couple of times. Whoever wants to buy this, please leave a comment and I will sell this at a low price.)

One I find really interesting is the Mercato Centrale in The Fort. I am just drooling with all the photos I see online, it’s just that I’m not used to that area so I’m still thinking if I should go.

Last week, after Typhoon Basyang hit and left us with no electricity, I headed to SM Mall of Asia (SM MOA) thinking there is electricity there. But I forgot the enormous size of that mall, it was hard I guess for generators to cater to all the stores there that’s why 90% of the mall has no electricity.

I bought this laptop table  in CD-R King. Then we cannot assemble it no matter how we tried. I was a pain in the a$$ actually especially when I thought I have to go back to SM MOA to exchange it. Yesterday I tried my luck and headed to SM Bacoor (which is very near to our place) to have CD-R King people show me how to assemble the laptop table.

To my amusement, even they can’t assemble it. They admitted it can’t be done. So they offered a new one. Lucky for me this one is real easy to assemble and an eye candy unlike the first one which is tad boring. This can be folded too. Easier to carry.

Eye candy!

Read the rest of this entry »