Absolutely Free: “Almost Vintage” Wine Bottle

 

Looking for vintage bottles? If you’re not too picky, you can settle for wine bottles that have a vintage feel to it like the one my boyfriend’s mama gave to me. Read on for story:

 

I have always wanted a Country cottage feel for my future home: warm, cozy and full of vintage odds and ends. I was inspired most by Robin Brown's guest cottage. Just look at the pictures of her charming home. I can look at them for hours.

 And since I don’t have my own home yet, and getting married is still not on the top of my to-do list, I would have to settle on the limits of what my parents would allow me at home (hehe) and, now that I work away from Manila, at the comforts of our staff house (dorm) room.

Our dorm room is my sort of halfway house/guinea pig for my cottage house dreams (at least my half of it since I have a roommate). Last time I went home to Manila my boyfriend’s mama let me have this used Paul Masson wine bottle so I can have something at my staff house room to put drinking water in . Our staff house is quite far from the “main house” where all the staffs eat and it’s not open 24 hours, so when you get hungry or thirsty in the middle of the night, you’ll have to wait until morning to do something about that.

Paul Masson carafe: free from mama; drinking glass:18 pesos at a local houseware store; bougainvillea: free from nature; wooden table: free use from forester friend. :)

Please let me share with you my attempt of a photo shoot today.

I try to dress it up a bit with bougainvillea and set it on top of a wooden table for more country cottage feel. What do you think?

I got a little crazy and can’t stop taking pictures. I later realized that it looks like the flower is the subject and not the bottle. Haha. Lost in translation. Oh, I really want to learn photography!

oh well, weekend’s over in a while. It’s Monday again tomorrow?

Hope you have a great week ahead of you.

 

the pinay bargainista

 

Cheap Find: Heeled-brogues at 100 Pesos!

Journal Entry: The Pinay Bargainista finally found a pair of brogues after forever at an ukay-ukay for a super amazing price of 100 pesos. Story here:

“If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

That is sort of a rule / mantra / belief / kasabihan that my boyfriend and I have whenever we go shopping specially if we can not find what we are looking for, or the item is just too high skyline-pigeon-fly above our budget.

(okay okay, it applies ONLY to me)

But hey, it’s not my fault that the things that I love are hard to find (or it is?). My love for vintage things and all those things that sometimes feel almost like just figments of my imagination (or sariling mundo?) have caused us countless times of aching feet and super tiresome days.

And for all the aching feet, here comes the shoes.

I’ve been looking for a pair of cheap brogues / oxfords for quite some time now. We’ve been to a lot of places: malls, ukay-ukay, garage sale, the internet, but all our efforts are fruitless until yesterday.

While on the way to meet the doctor, we decided to drop by this ukay-ukay inside a mall in Alabang. We have been checking this place before because our friends from church said that they have nice items there, plus, it is near the PNR train terminal (we love taking the train ride because it is cheaper.hehe)

So that fateful day, we decided for a short detour and just browse through the items. I immediately saw this pair and never let go. I showed it to the boyfriend and he is as excited. I checked the sole for the price (while I silently wish that it is within what I am willing to pay. Of course I know that I will pay for whatever price. maybe a bonus song and dance number if necessary) and it says 380.

My boyfriend brought the shoes to the counter and ask the staff of the price. And the sweet gay guy said…"100 po."

OMG!!!! Is he serious? I was freaking happy I could kiss him. Again, I feel that this gay guy is, again, my soulmate. (For details on my other gay friend / soulmate, read here.)

I cant wait for my mom to finish browsing through all the skirts and dresses for me to pay for the shoes. She keeps on asking me if this and that are nice and I just said yes to all those things without really seeing what she is waving in front of me (bad.)

Eureka! This is it. This is really is it ng bonggang-bongga. I have found it!!!!

Aren’t they a lovely pair? I really can’t help but feel proud of this find. Maybe it is my lucky day.

It is meant to be.

Really: “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

Do you agree? I would love to hear your own shopping mantras. ‘Til next time.

And also, if you happen to be shopping and overheard some couple saying that over and over again while shopping, well, those just might be me and the boyfriend. hehe.

Love,

the pinay bargainista

Absolutely Free: Saving Roses

 Whenever I go to church, I always pass by this rose bush on the side of the road just outside the place where I am staying. Covered in vines and weeds, it is as if someone planted it there to grow on its own.

But despite the competition and bullying of surrounding weeds, it just manages to stretch out its arms, I mean branches, in between that spider web of vines (really, those weeds prove to be merciless) to show off those beautiful blooms. Little pink flowers, almost like carnation, nothing fancy and big like the roses they have on books. I guess we cannot grow big roses here with our tropical weather. (I’m not sure, but if you know otherwise, please please let me know. Having a rose garden is one of my childhood dreams.)

And so Operation: Saving Roses started.

I wanted to get a lone stem and see if I can grow one on a flower pot and place it inside my room. Well, as green-thumb-challenged as I am, I do learn from grade school that roses are one of the plants that you can grow through cutting. Yey!

So I planned and plotted on getting that cutting myself. One, I can look for the owner and ask for a rose cutting. OR. When no one’s around and looking. And it has to be fast. Sneaky.

Only, it did not happen. It was very hard to have no person in sight at that area, it seems that the people planned and plotted too. Sad.

It is not very easy to get that stem ha? And I am yet to learn speaking the local dialect. How do you say “pwede po ba makahingi ng rose?” in waray-waray?

And I’d say “that’s what friends are for.” Hehe.

Of course, I asked my good friend, who to my luck happens to be a forester, to help me. He talked to the guy working there with some bolo and bamboo. (I could not dare approach a man swaying his bolo, though he turned out to be a very friendly guy) He even let my friend borrow the bolo and then forester friend picked the stems ideal for planting. Whoa!

Here look at them:
I took this photo early this morning. We placed the stems on a vase with water to keep them hydrated overnight.

And we will be planting them today. I am very excited. I hope they grow in good health. (and please don’t die.)
Or maybe I should change the title of this post until such time as I can definitely say that they were saved?
Ahh…(cross-fingers)

the pinay bargainista

Bargainista Destination: Tacloban City

Yesterday was a break for me and my workmates so we decided to hitch a ride with our boss to Tacloban where we spent the whole day. It was my first time in this city, well, technically not, since the plane landed in Tacloban from Manila, but we made it directly to our destination (read: work) so I never got the chance to see the city.
We arrived lunchtime and had our fill in Ocho Seafood Restaurant. The food was superb and at reasonable price (and the boss paid, yey!).
After lunch we headed to do our shopping. The whole afternoon is an all-devoted-time for shopping alone.
First stop: Robinson’s Department Store. I was less excited to go to the mall yesterday because I wanted to check the local bargain outlets, ukay-ukay, go bargain hunting! But hey hey hey, I actually bought a nice pair of pants that’s on sale. Woohoo! So I actually had a bargain. It was good then that we decided to go to Rob. And did I say “less excited”? Haha.
Second stop: Gaisano. I am excited to go because I have lots of really good finds from Gaisano when I was in Roxas City and Kalibo. And the price is really unbelievable. Not letting me down, I found two items to add on my collection and this beautiful dress.
 

I am really in love with this dress and can’t wait to wear it soon. And my most favorite part? It is below 500. Love it (ulet?).
How about you? What’s your latest bargainista find?
Feel free to share it here. I would love to hear from all you bargainistas out there.

the pinay bargainista


PS: I almost forgot, I also got myself these journals to take note of ideas and plans, and also because yes, I do tend to forget a lot of things so it’s better to write it down, right? It is a must-have at 99 each. And in case you’re wondering why I have two, well, I just can’t decide which one I like better, the left or the right. Also, I thought it will be useful in case I forgot where I’d put the other one. haha.

Which one do you like better? The left or the right?

My dream phone

Guess who got herself a new phone? And my dream phone at that. It’s just perfect for my work, lifestyle and budget. Read on for more:
 I have been thinking of buying a new phone for a long time now. You see, my 3-year old Nokia N73 almost always gets me in a lot of trouble because of its failing battery. I don’t hate the phone, but won’t you like to wake at the alarm because the phone did not die on you during the night (uh oh), and be able to answer a phone call from bf, mom, dad, boss, everyone?
So my quest for a new phone started. And the quest ended this afternoon. Me and boyfriend went phone hunting in the mall, and this is what we’re looking for:

We had our eyes fix on buying this one phone model because it is all of the above, but I saw somewhere before ( internet maybe?) that it comes in an orchid shade and I was really hoping to get the orchid one (I really don’t know if nokia calls it orchid but I was inspired by the moto v3 that came out with a limited edition orchid color model back then). We asked around a couple of stores and they all have either the black or gray. I was starting to be really sad when we enter the last mobile store there is because the stores are about to close and I will have to leave the next day for a month of fieldwork far far away. They also have the black one on display alright ( I was still holding on to that last chance..argh.drama). I asked the store personnel if they have other colors available, and he said, looking straight in my eye, as if reading my thoughts, “meron po kami nung orchid”. Wow. I was really jumping up and down right after that. I really felt that this gay guy behind the store counter is my soulmate! (and he said orchid, he calls it orchid too.) Happiness. I have to get it. I really really have to get it. And the funny part here is that my boyfriend was entirely clueless to why I’m so excited. Well, he actually thought they will give me a white phone because he thought orchid equals white (well, most orchids are white, right?haha. he’s not a girl. sorry.)
There, finally, after months (or years) of procrastinating, I have decided on this phone.
Tada!

Yup. That’s my new Nokia 1280. I got it for exactly 1000 pesos. The black and gray ones cost as low as 980 on the other stores, but I’m willing to give the extra 20 pesos for this lovely orchid. I got a new phone and it did not cost me an arm and a leg. It’s basic but it’s got my lifesavers: alarm clock and reminders, it’s got a couple of games too, a radio, battery that lasts for 3 days, it’s got a talking clock  and my favorite feature: the flashlight. Honestly, I bought it because of the flashlight. Haha. The screen is large and dust-resistant (perfect for my fieldworks) and it says on the box that it is scratch-free (though, I don’t really want to try that. haha). 

The bonus part is I got it in this gorgeous color plus, when you look closely on the keypads, it has tiny specks of glitter on it. I love it. I'm crazy for this phone.

Here, I also got it a cute bunny friend for company.

So yes, yes, yes, I got myself my dream phone and a matching bunny pouch to go with it (she’s wearing a lilac skirt. lovely). It’s not fancy but it has got everything that I need for a phone, definitely has all the checks in my boxes. Now, I’m ready to go. ‘Til next time. Talking clock, pray tell what time is it?
the pinay bargainista