Clean, condition, touch-up: bag-cleaning day

As today is a holiday (i.e. the 119th Independence Day), I took the whole day to sort my things and clean my bags. I had already run out of leather-cleaning stuff, and I’ve been wanting to drop by SM Megamall to buy some.

It was a quick and breezy ride going there, as there was no traffic. As expected, there were a lot of people inside the mall, though.

Getting the good stuff

I went straight downstairs to the Lower Ground area, where this leather-care Mecca is found. I have been hoping to go there again, but could not find the time as SM Megamall was out of the way.

After careful consideration of what I needed (not to mention foresight of not being able to go back again for months), I was able to buy a couple of products to help me on the day’s agenda.

A shelf of leather care products

Continue Reading

Clutch and cats: they have all arrived!

Last Friday, I have paid for a vintage Christian Dior clutch bag via deposit to the bank account of the Ebay seller. I was hoping to get the item as early as possible, so I was relieved when she said that she’d be shipping it the following day. Normally, when a seller sends an item on a Saturday, I receive it the following Monday — I should know that because I’m also a seller and I know very well the shipping period of both JRS and Air21.

Vintage Christian Dior monogram clutch

When Sunday came and I asked the seller for the tracking number, she said that she was not able to ship the item the day before as she ‘accidentally’ left it at home. I was slightly furious. The clutch was not meant for me, rather for Mon’s sister who will be using it for her prom. Besides, I can’t imagine myself using it at all. I was, then, still able to hold on to my promise not to buy a bag this year. ^_^

Anyway, I originally thought that Lot’s prom will take place last Tuesday but it was on Valentine’s Day, so the seller still has more time to send it. It was eventually sent on Monday so I thought it would arrive yesterday (a Tuesday). But it did not arrive until a few hours back and we can now breathe a sigh of relief.

Details of the vintage Christian Dior monogram clutch - enamel 'CD' logo and ECLAIR zippers with goldtone 'CD' zipper pulls

When I first saw it for sale on Ebay, I was really enticed by it. Unlike Louis Vuitton and Gucci monograms, the Christian Dior one is less ubiquitous and not a lot of people associate such pattern to Dior items. Dior also did similar collections a decade ago, such as the Girly collection (often in pink, accompanied by white patent leather flower appliqués
) or the Rastafari line (with leather details in the Rastafarian colors of green, yellow and red). If I’m not mistaken, the one we got from Ebay was made way earlier, probably from the 90s. I have been eyeing this item for months already but I had no justification to get it. It was indeed a pretty, typical vintage Dior but the design is a bit too feminine for my taste. And then Mon mentioned that Lot will be attending her prom, her last prom before graduating high school, so I thought it will be a nice present to her, considering she passed the UPCAT. It was the perfect reason I was hoping for.
Carrie Bradshaw late for the Stock Exchange, carrying a vintage Christian Dior monogram clutch in Season 6 Episode 1 (To Market, To Market)

Carrie Bradshaw hailing a cab in New York city on her way to the Stock Exchange, carrying a vintage Christian Dior monogram clutch in Season 6 Episode 1 (To Market, To Market)
Most notably, the clutch instantly reminded me of that SATC episode (i.e. ‘To Market, To Market”) where Carrie was running late to go to the New York Stock Exchange and ring the bell as their newspaper had gone public. Rushing from the door, to the cab, and entering the building, I instantly recognized that she was carrying a vintage Dior bag. However, the one that she had was a convertible bag — it folds in half as a clutch, then unfold to show a handle for an open tote bag. It was very nifty and versatile.
Bommie viewed from the window screen

On a different note, Mon’s adoptive kitty we named Bommie (guess the provenance of such name? LOL) gave birth to three beautiful kittens this afternoon! Since last night when Mon got home from work, he noticed that Bommie had been very agitated and constantly moving from one place to another. Then this morning, she was really having a hard time, constantly lying down and raising her leg. Mon even momentarily got a glimpse of her tummy ‘rippling’. They realized she was on labor and most probably be giving birth a few hours later.

Bommie's kitties

We had bought our dinner at around 7:00 PM and Mon got a message after from his mom, telling him that Bommie already gave birth. All three of them were fortunately
alive and in good condition, as most cats giving birth for the first time usually have some difficulty in delivery. One of the kittens totally took after Bommie’s fur, while the other two ‘sampled’ a particular shade. They were so tiny and fragile, but still amazing looking. Just imagine, a few hours ago, they were rippling inside their mother’s tummy and now they are finally out! I told Mon that I can finally recite my favorite ‘Three Little Kittens’ lines and can actually put on miniature mittens on these three. That will be extremely cute to look at! Well done, Bommie! 😀

Christmas Lunch with the team at Chef Laudico’s Bistro Filipino

Wonderful Wednesday and it was a perfect day for a lunch with the team. Technically, they are not my team but since I spend most of my work time with them, it did not even matter. As we were not familiar with the area, Mon and I even printed a map of the Fort area just to make sure we won’t get lost. We were already running late but fortunately, the roads were not that congested and we arrived in the venue in just about 15 minutes. The first thing I’ve noticed was this giant cutout of two chefs by the door. It was then I realized that Laudico was actually Chef Lau from the Pinoy Masterchef on TV. As I usually watch the show every morning because I wake up at around 10:00 AM, I suddenly remembered that he was extra critical of Filipino dishes prepared by the contestants. Now it made full sense.

A very prominent picture of Chef Laudico in the menu

The leather-bound menu of Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino

The 4-course set was actually very good and its price - Ched Laudico's Bistro Fiipino

We were the last person to arrive and everybody we’re already eating their pica-picas or appetizers, so we also immediately ordered ours. It was actually a 4-course set and I was a bit taken aback by the serving size of the appetizer but maybe I was not really used to eating course meals. LOL

Pica-pica -Sisig Basket, Lumpia Cone and Wagyu Salpicao - Chef Laudico's Bistro FilipinoNext was the soup and we ordered this Molo Binakol. It tastes almost like the traditional tinola, with the siling labuyo leaves and all.

Molo Binakol - Chef Laudico's Bistro FilipinoAnd the part I was waiting for, the Main Course. I tried this Crispy Tilapia Cocoloco and it has the most amazing tomato curry sauce on it. It was so lovely that I did not even eat the breaded fish and just went straight away to the curry and rice.

Crispy Tilapia Cocoloco with Tomato Curry Sauce - Chef Laudico's Bistro FilipinoMy teammates ordered other dishes as well:

Adobo Trilogy - Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino

Kare-Kare - Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino

But expectedly, the part where Mon was most excited of was the desserts! Similar to the the pica-pica, we were to choose three out of the list. We chose Sans Rival Moderne, Yema Bicho-Bicho and Tsokolate Oh! They also have Halo-Halo sherbet served on little shot glasses.

Sans Rival Moderne, Yema Bicho-Bicho and Tsokolate Oh - Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino

Yema Bicho-Bicho - Chef Laudico's Bistro FilipinoHalo-halo sherbet - Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino

While eating, we also proceeded with our little exchange gift and I got a coffee maker! ^_^ Thank you so much Rev for giving me that lovely gift! We were also planning a day in Enchanted Kingdom this January and hopefully we will push through with it because it has been years since Mon and I went there.

Photo with the whole team

With Ayen

Mon and I

Surprisingly, the Mind Museum was just across the restaurant and it won’t be long before we go back to the area. Tomorrow, we will be using the tickets that my dear nephew won two months ago at a company event and I’m very excited to see the exhibit inside the museum!