My Lucky Finds

     Every time I go to Divisoria, I always stumble upon fashion pieces that I feel lucky to find. More often than not, they're unique pieces. Thus, I feel entirely lucky. 

  

     On my latest trip there, I found the perfect wedges for me! ♥ I have been looking for it everywhere. Literally. Whenever I see a pair of these, there's always no size 9 (I have big feet, i know). So imagine my happiness when I stumbled upon the very same pair of shoes that I've been drooling over for months now... and the store actually has my size! Hallelujah! 

Aztec wedges by Jellybean

     I don't normally wear heels or wedges when I'm out and about, so I don't know where I'll be wearing these aside from some Sundays when I find a dress that matches. But I don't mind. I'm just so happy that I finally found a pair in my size! Yay! Watch out for my outfit post and see where I decide to match this up with. ;)

     Anyway, I also found a couple of rings that I find interesting. I've been seeing a couple of these on Instagram. I don't know what brand originally made these, but these babies are surely 10x cheaper than the ones I see online. 

Starfish ring and Talon ring 

      Aren't they pretty? Alright, pretty is not the word... But they are so me! They're unique (quite) and they're cheap. :) Also, I bought a few neon accessories just to see if I can pull off that trend. I like colors and all but I personally feel like it's not really for me. But what the heck, these are nice.

Neon Party! 

     Midterm exams are coming. So I'll be out for a while. I hope you all enjoy your weekend. 

     Have a GREAT September ahead of you! Cheers! 

     A. 

     

Online Shopping's Unspoken Rules

     All of us have tried online shopping, have we not? I've personally only done it twice. And in one of those cases, my order did not arrive for almost 3 weeks. I admit, I panicked. I've paid 3 weeks ago and the store does not bother to reply to any of my 2 messages. When the package arrived, I was devastated to see that the garment I ordered was far too small for me -- even if I ordered the medium sized one already. 

     But that did NOT give me any right, whatsoever, to demand a refund. Why? Because the product I ordered was made-to-order. It was made especially for me. 

     Since I am a co-owner of a small online store myself, I know how it would feel to be bombarded with demanding messages, discount privileges, deadline pressures and the such. It's part of it all. It is our duty to create and give our customers their orders according to how they want it and when they want it. 

     However, on an online shopping transaction, keep in mind that there is a minimum of 2 people involved - the online store and the customer. As an online store owner, I know where we stand and how we should react to certain situations. 

     You guys, as customers: please keep in mind that you have rights but also have limits. 

     RIGHTS:

• You have the right to ask many questions (When will the package arrive? Where will I pay? Where will I place my order? How long will it take you to make it? Are these still available? What other colors are there? Do you have discounts for wholesale buying? Etc.) 
• You have the right to be annoying and nagging when it comes to asking questions and following up orders. 
• You have a right to rate us badly according to how you see our services to you. But please be fair when doing so. Permanently damaging our store's name on your account will do no good to both parties. 

     LIMITS: 

• You have no right to demand. 

           - As an online store, we make sure that we talk to you and respond to your messages ASAP. But keep in mind that you are not the only customer on who's orders we are working on. If we can't meet with the said date as to when we'd finish it, we ask for an extension and ask for a delay. Please be considerate and do not demand and bombard us with threats. 

• You have no right to be inconsiderate.

           - When we ask for an extension, please be considerate. It is hard for us to admit that we are delayed and cannot meet to your demands but we gathered courage and decency to inform you about our fault. Do not threat us with pulling out your orders especially if they're Made-To-Order (MTO) products and we have already started making your orders. 

• You have no right to demand for refunds. 

          - Yes you have a right for refunds. But the cases are different: for MTO products, there is absolutely NO REFUNDS. If the product is damaged when it arrived to you, there is a 50% to full refund. However, when the product arrived to you in good condition and the product got damaged after you handled it, you have NO right to demand for refund. Consider it a warranty void once you handled the product already and it go damaged. 

      There you go, ladies. This applies to all of us. Let's keep in mind how our actions and words affect one another. Do not think that since you paid for our services and products, you have the right to bully us around and demand for all kinds of things. 

     In online shopping, the motto "Customer Is Always Right" does not apply at all times. 

     A friendly reminder from an online store owner and customer,

     A. 

Filipino Music Icon

     It's weird how I can sometimes be so ahead of all the people (fashion trends) and also be too late (this) about other things. 

     What is it that I'm referring to, you might ask -- Liking The Eraserheads, or in this case, Ely Buendia. 

     Everyone knows who he is, who they are. Well, who they were since the band's broken up now. But still, I have never appreciated Filipino music. Honestly. But all along, without knowing how, I know the songs of The Eraserheads. The popular ones, of course. Who in the world - or in this case, the Philippines - does NOT know the song "Ang Huling El Bimbo"??? I've been ignorant, yes. But not that ignorant. 

     After watching the movie "The Reunion" (which I later found out was the title of one of Eraserhead's albums), my eyes and ears opened up to appreciate the Filipino music icon that has been there all along. I shake my head in disapproval to myself. I am in shame for not having been present at the band's concerts before or even listening to their music. 

     Anyway, to the fans out there, I am not your enemy. I never looked down at your fave band. I just never noticed. But don't worry, I now noticed, alright. I am living in deep regret. 

     To make up for time loss and all, I made it a point to go to the mall show of the ever famous and talented Ely Buendia at Glorietta, Makati a few weeks back. Not only did I get to watch for free, but I had the time of my life! I wasn't expecting the few songs I actually know that Ely Buendia sang to be performed that night aside from Ang Huling El Bimbo, I only know Magasin (which I only found out from the movie - which I will later talk further about). 

     Long story short: it was an awesome night and I enjoyed the music! Also, I was so excited and happy to see that one of the violinists that played that evening was my friend who was majoring in Music at the previous college I attended. 

Scored a SEAT! One had to spend 500pesos in any store in Glorietta to get a ticket. I didn't
purchase anything - but I borrowed a receipt from someone and claimed the ticket for free!
I spend zero pesos. Hahaha. Yay! 

     Of course, I after the show, I had to have an "outfit" photo shoot. Hahahaha. I've been seeing posts in Instagram, Lookbook and Tumblr regarding this pair of shorts. Seems that they all got theirs from ZARA. I also saw this kind of shorts there once. But as usual, I couldn't afford it. So, typical me... had to find a look alike! 

     Will talk about the movie on my next post! This post is far too long already. ;) 

     A. 

Lace shorts! ♥ 

To balance out the femininity of the shorts, I wore a WTF shirt. Hahahaha.

Even My iPhone Loves COSMOS

     By chance or not, I stumbled upon an online store while I scrolled through Instagram. It featured photos of different iPhones with different "skins". I never really liked the thought of sticking anything on my phone for the fear of having to scrape off the sticky residue stickers tend to leave behind wherever they've been stuck on. But the designs were so pretty...and well, my will power to ignore the urge to buy some for my phone was zero at that time. 

     I showed the page to one of my closest college friends who also owned an iPhone and she's not really the type of girl who liked 'girly' things and the designs struck me as girly but lo and behold, she ordered one for her phone as well! Hahahaha. Guess I wasn't the only one with zero will power that time. 

     The store's name is called Oh Oh Manila. I'm not sure whether they have any other online accounts aside from the one on Instagram, but go check it out! It's 350/design and it may sound quite pricey, but it's worth it. 

     You'd never want to put your iPhone back on its case or inside your pocket. You'd just want to keep looking at it even if you're not really using it. 

     A. 

When the package arrived. Yay! 

Tada! Here's my phone... Filled with 2 of my fave fads of the moment: cosmos and triangles! 

My friend's phone. :) 

Our Internet Connection Sucks

     I haven't posted anything since... I don't even remember. That's how long it's been. Here in my country, we've been experiencing nonstop rains and floods and strong winds and the such. It's so scary and at the same time, annoying. I couldn't go out of the house for an entire WEEK! And alas, with all of that, electricity and internet connection failed. 

     Bad scenario gone worse is that all of my friends have their electricity and internet connections back when the weather finally calmed...but here in our place -- nada! My sisters and I have been meaning to call and report this to the customer service of the companies who provide us with the utilities but guess what: even our phone line is busted. 

     For weeks and weeks, I felt like I was living in a cave or brought back in time where internet didn't make sense or cellphones haven't even been invented yet. My phone's been dead for I don't know how long. But thankfully, our electricity connection was fixed about 3-5days of complaining and living in darkness. But as for the internet connection? Ugh. Don't get me started. 

     For weeks, my sisters and I have been going in and out of the malls just to go to one of their branches and ask for assistance. But hell, all they ask us to do is call customer service and report the freakin complain! Then what? They continue on with their lives and do nothing. I wanted to rip their heads off. 

     Not only did I miss out on doing and submitting papers and other school works, I also missed out on blogging. My apologies. Our internet connection provider sucks. Big Time. 

     Guess what company is out net provider. 

     A. 

Monday "Tradition" with the Sisters

     I remember posting something before...about my sisters and my Monday escapade in BF, having milk teas and eating. Well, it has sort of become an informal tradition for the 3 of us. ;)

     We once again, ended our Monday by having dinner somewhere and grabbing dessert a.k.a milk teas and French macarons from Bon Appetea. For this certain Monday, we were supposed to eat at Papa John's Pizza but the waiting line was beyond reasonable. Especially for our growling stomachs. So, we ended up devouring big burgers at Zark's Burgers.

Would you eat a burger that tells you outright that it will kill you? Hahahaha.

Decisions, decisions. 

This is the smallest burger they have... I hardly finished it.

     
     After dinner, we had our desserts! Or was it the other way around? I can't remember. Either way, we ate a lot of things that night. So, I'm saving up this week for the upcoming week so that when my sisters and I decide to dine out again, my wallet is ready.

     A.

My usual orders at Bon Appetea: Nirvana Milk Tea with Pearls, Red Velvet and Pistachio
French Macarons 

Eagle Shirt: Top and Bottom | Leggings and Sandals: Forever 21 | Bag: Betseyville by Betsey  Johnson  |
Watch: Relic | Bangles: The Landmark 

SALE Season Finale

     I've been gone. I know. Miss me? Hahaha. It's been storming around Manila for the past week and the wind is crazy! Felt like it could blow away an entire Nipa Hut...and alas, electricity failed and well, I lived in the dark for the longest few days of my life. Thus, my absence from blogging.

     I'll be talking about the ending of mid-year sale in this post, though. Last week, my sisters and I went to Mall of Asia and attended the opening of the 5th branch of Forever 21 here in the Philippines. The entire mall was on sale. Seriously. Practically all items were sold for half the price. Due to that, I've been eating less to no food at all in school.

     ZARA had its prices up to 75% off and TOPSHOP had their anual Buy 1 Take 1 event. Ahhhh. Heaven. So, this is what I wore:

Purple top: ZARA | Leggings and Black camisole: Forever 21 | Sandals: Celine | Bag: Betseyville 

Senior Citizen parking spot! ♥ Sweet. 

     So... since it's the end of the season sale, I decided to spend my allowance on things I don't really need but since they're on sale, i was like what the heck.

     Next year, I will make sure that I have savings allotted for the season sale! They sell the best clothes on sale during mid-year season sales... I will make sure to be prepared. Hahaha.

     A.