Pleasant Surprise: Black Clutch / Wristlet

Don’t you just love surprises? I went to this local “shopping center” in town yesterday and boy I was blown away, first by the giant electric fan by the entrance and second, by this beautiful black clutch/wristlet.





The studs caught my eye, it’s leathery and it does not help that it has lots of pockets and card slots. It is just the right to hold my plane ticket and boarding pass on travel. And, when I looked inside one of the pockets look what I found:



Aldo? Could it be? Di siguro pero kebs.
Buying it, I said.
I checked for the price pero walang price na nakalagay. But I saw the wallet beside it that looks tacky and plastic but the same size as it is and the price tag is 120. So I thought baka same same lang ang price. Not bad so I decided to go to the cashier and pay. Gulat ko nung sabihin ng cashier na “one-three-one po lahat”. Maygahd! I even asked kung one-three as in one thousand 3 hundred pesos and she said 131 only. HUWAT?! including all the other stuff I bought which is impossible to be just 11 pesos (The kabuki brush was already 70 e)? So I brought out the clutch and asked the girl how much is it. And it is..wait for it..wait for it..(gosh.barney!)…legendary 20.
20. Bente. Manuel L. Quezon.
Say whaaaat!
Yes. Yes it is. Wow. I had the impulse to buy the nude colored one as well but decided out of it in the spirit of pagtitipid. Pamasahe din un. :)
Happiness.
Aldo or not Aldo, I really don’t care. Aldo with it! (nyenyenye..showtime!)

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

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?