Lucky Score

Just wanted to share a quick find that I stumbled upon at the bazaar in Eastwood.

While perusing the stalls, we spotted a giant sign that said "EVERYTHING P10." It was an entire booth hawking all sorts of costume jewelry. I had to dig through two massive bins to find these pieces. For six packs or seventeen pairs, I spent a grand total of P60!

Love the cross pair!

A pachyderm for your ears

P and I also rediscovered some old favorites at Regina's in Greenhills. This store used to be my obsession when I was a kid! I loved hoarding all their stickers, stationary, and trinkets!

Skittles Crazy Cores
Never seen this before! They're regular skittles with tangy/fruity goodness inside.

Kitty Boy fake ice-cream! I used to love squeezing it out of the tube!

Have you tried this? Best gum ever.

Cow Label dried beef (neither of us have tried this but it looks cool)
Doo-doo!! Super old school. I remember buying this for recess at the old canteen of my alma mater!

After all these years, I still get a kick out of going back to Regina's. It's like an awesome sari-sari store with a lot more knick knacks and goodies.We walked away with some notepads, a few pieces of Butter Ball and Toffee.

FASHION

Celio chambray fedora, F21 Men sunglasses, David and Goliath tee, Topman "carrot" pants, HM espadrilles

I hate that during the rainy season, you have to wait for the sun to come out to to wear your sunglasses. On the other hand though, cool weather's good because I'm more inclined to wear pants now instead of shorts all the time. Snagged these from the Topshop sale a few weeks back; an interesting shape that I haven't tried before. It's slightly baggy and drop-crotch before tapering down to a skinny leg. My shirt's from David and Goliath, makers of really comfortable, soft, slightly stretchy, and great-fitting tees. They're a little too hung up on the statement t-shirt fad sometimes though.

Esprit top, SM pleated shorts, vintage belt, white oxfords, Looking for Lola cuff, earrings from Eastwood

I love these royal blue shorts because of the paper bag detail and the pleats. Think I got them for less than P500... Went all Wonderwoman-ish with the color scheme and the giant gold cuff.

Hope everyone's having an interesting week! Can't wait until Friday!

Middle East Feast

A relatively uneventful Friday night started off with dinner at Arya, Podium. Neither of us have eaten here so we decided to try it out on a whim.

FOOD

The place was relatively empty and the quiet environment was so nice after a hectic week at the office. As seen on the right-hand side, the bar seemed to be a popular hangout spot for the servers while ignoring their diners. Not cool. Once they got around to minding us though, they answered our food queries quite well.

P: Look, it's not iced tea! Sharbateh Albaloo, it's called. The menu says it's made with a sour cherry concentrate. I got it half for the name and half because I like cherries. It's a pretty good alternative to iced tea.
D: I don't really like taking risks with my food so I got boring old iced tea. Was considering get a drink called "Dough" until the server told me it tasted slightly salty, very sour, with a fresh mint kick. Ummmnothanks.

Arya Maze Platter (top right, clockwise: sambuseh, falafel, salad shirazi, and hummus. The dipping sauce in the center is for the sambuseh -P265

D: I really liked this platter as a whole, especially the sambuseh (triangle bread pockets with mashed potatoes, cheese, and coriander) with what I think is tamarind sauce. The salad was also surprisingly excellent for such a simple dish! It had a very clean and refreshing taste.
P: I liked the falafel best. The crisp and crunchy exterior belied the soft chickpea center. Great with the tamarind sauce. I wouldn't usually order hummus in Persian restaurants but I enjoyed this one. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't bland like others I've tried.

Falafel - Chick pea and herb patties

The yummy sambuseh

Pita for the hummus

Lamb biryani (Tender lamb shank stewed in spices served with fluffy biryani rice)
Large-P525, XL-P595, XXL-P625
D: For XL, the lamb serving felt more like an M. It was good but I'm not raving. At least the rice wasn't clumpy. They did deliver on their promise of "tender" and "fluffy" so points for that.
P: Agreed on the size bit. It was a bit of a letdown since this is what the waiter recommended as their best-seller. Well-cooked, no doubt, evidenced by the soft and juicy meat. Not as flavorful as a good Moroccan lamb stew though. They should maybe use more spices.

D: Dessert was probably the highlight of the night. Been craving for some Golden Spoon and I enjoyed every last bit of my NY Cheesecake serving topped with Andes Mint. I want more now!
P: I've always wanted to try the buttered pecan topping. It just looks so appealing in its goopy decadence! I paired it with the cake batter yogurt and it melted everything almost instantly, while making the consistency candy-like. Richy rich!

FASHION

Topman button-down and jeans, HM espadrilles, 3am sleepy face
Stole my little bro's shirt for casual Friday in the office. I like the utilitarian pockets and epaulets, the super soft fabric and the too-thin-to-see pencil stripes.
I got the jeans from the Topshop sale at half-off - nice! I had been looking for chinos but this is a great alternative. Fits wonderfully except for the length (which is always too long for me) but all the better to cuff with. Finished off the outfit with these blue-grey espadrilles I found in a pile in H&M.

F21 shirt, jeans and floral ring, HM sunglasses, Dior bag, SM "banig-weave" wedges, Eastwood bazaar earrings

Decked out in a ton of F21 that day. The jeans cost the same as the ring! Only P400+!
I needed a dark-wash, basic pair to wear to work on Fridays and these were such a steal.
The other literal "steal" of the day is this D-buckle suede belt from my dad. He bought it to wear to a beach wedding and refuses to wear it to any other setting. Good for me then.

These Parisian shoes are so comfy and in my opinion, look more expensive than what they actually cost.

Stay tuned for the rest of the weekend's escapades sometime this week. Don't get too wet out there! The erratic weather is such a hassle.

Lusso

FOOD

Boring Friday night with not-so-boring food courtesy of Lusso at Greenbelt 5.
The seating inside was full but a spot opened up right on time for us.

Pretty interiors and well-clothed and attentive staff

The requisite iced tea
D: This had a minty after taste. It reminded me of the iced tea of Cibo, flavorful and not too sweet.
P: A tad too pricey for the amount and the taste though.

Asiago french fries with truffle salt
D: I loved the generously-sized cut of these fries. It doesn't look so flavorful but the melted butter and cheese really adds a nice kick to it.
P: I like that the fries were crisp on the outside and soft inside. The truffle taste permeated throughout.

Lusso Demi-Pound foie gras burger
(with greens, ordinary fries, and cheese sauce on the side)

P: Possibly one of the best burgers in town. The beef is good and juicy on its own but adding in the foie gras gives it an overload of richness. It's super succulent and I can't stop raving about it. It's served in a kaiser roll as opposed to a regular bun and gives it a nice crunch. Eat this quickly before it goes cold though.

Roasted lamb on sour dough bread with zucchini sticks and strawberry jam
(side of greens and potato crisps)

I really love the jam paired with the lamb. I was dying to peel off the zucchini sticks but there were just too many to bother with. I didn't really notice them though, which is a good thing. The greens are actually yummy too! The dressing is nice and light. Oh and I love sour dough but it's a little difficult to eat with poise.

FASHION

HM button down, Zara jeans and shoes

P: I like the collar and the color and the lightness of the fabric of this shirt. So easy to dress up or down.

SM white batwing top, thrifted neon floral skorts, Gojane heels, Dolce Vita bag, HM earrings

D: I love these skorts that I got from a thrift shop! They remind me of the stuff I used to wear as a child. They're high-waisted and I wanted to pair them with a aqua leotard but figured that wasn't a good idea for a big dinner and a full tummy. Check out the funky Indian dude embroidered on the pocket! The stamped leather bracelets in pretty colors are a gift from P's mom.

:)

Preview Ball

D: Last Saturday night, we attended the Preview Ball with a few friends to support Rosanna! There was an abundance of OTT outfits that night given that the theme was an homage to Alexander McQueen. It was great fun to people watch and to spend some time with friends. We didn't get to tag along to the post-ball festivities because I was feeling under the weather.

Yay Sans!

This month's cover girl, Gretchen Baretto

Rosanna looking oh-so-lovely beside her portrait.

Mikko in a cool DIY-ed button-down

Bianca and Alexi

Maina and Anjie

The girls with Amina, Rosanna's date for the evening

Our hodgepodge of prettiness from Aranaz

Topman button-down, H&M suit, tartan pocket square, floppy bow tie
P: D's Divi bow tie makes a reapperance for McQ. Also for the theme, I had this pocket square sewed by D's local mananahi, made from fabric scrounged for in Kamuning.

P: This is a reasonably-priced basic suit I snatched from H&M. I had to have it altered with my tailor though, just to take in the waist, hem and sleeves. It's amazing how much a good fit makes a world of difference. You can have your store-bought suits tailor-fit as long as the shoulders and chest fit about right.

Saks Fifth Avenue x Tadashi dress, Aldo shoes, Aranaz bag
D: Sorry for the crappy state of my picture. This was after we got home, under the poor lighting of our landing.

I got this dress using my Chictopia points a long time ago! It turned out to be way too big for me so I let it sit at the back of my closet. I finally unearthed it and had Manang Rosie take it in for me. After a visit to the dry-cleaners, it seems as good as new again!

Rings from various high-street brands, vintage earrings
Check out the gorgeous beading on this Aranaz!

See you this weekend!