Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Great find at LRI Design Plaza!


When I got married, our first place was located in the Santiago Villlage/Bel Air area where my hubby and I used to enjoy short walks as we go to Sunday Mass at St Andrew Parish Church. Its one of those very residential yet you-know-its Makati part of Makati. Its where Kalayaan Ave and Reposo now known as Nicanor Garcia St crosses over.

Its this side of Makati where we found our favorite relaxation cum "together time" at Foot Options Sole and Soul Spa at the LRI Design Plaza. Now the LRI bldg is a place known for its home & office furniture, furnishings and fixture. It houses showrooms of really beautiful modern, indigenous furnitures, art galleries and some design studios. LRI Design Plaza calls itself "Your one-stop lifestyle center".

Indeed for its in this place where we chanced upon Foot Options. This spa specializes on Xiamen style foot massages. Unlike the usual Thai foot massage where the therapist would use a stick to massage your foot and toes, Xiamen is like swedish massage, there is pressure yet its more kneeding and rolling. I totally love it. When I was working on a big project for the past 6 months, I frequented this spa more than my usual Suriya (where I have membership). I've brought my friends over as treat, even my work teams I've brought them here to relax after special Saturday work rendered.

What I love about Foot Options, is really the massage and the ambience. Its a small place, it has six (6) massage chairs and has a single room for body massages. Upon entering you right away feel relax as you are enveloped by a minty eucalyptus scent. The treatment area is dim and light relaxing music is played. The therapists are very polite, discreet (not noisy) and hygienic. Their foot massage routine starts with the usual foot soak bath for 15 mins. While your feet are being soaked, the therapist massages your head, neck, back and hands. Now, Ive been to foot massages and they do the same routine but at Foot Options, they even do pepermint oil rub that will leave you very relaxed and sleepy. By the time the therapist starts working on your first foot, you would have fallen asleep already.

Yup, its pure heaven! The foot massage lasts for 60 min. And after the massage, the therapist would use hot towels to wipe off excess massage oil. Really relaxing for only P350! Not bad if you're all worn and stressed out. No wonder I read more than a yr ago, then new P&G chairman hired the Foot Options to service them during their weekly management meetings! Of course, I read the article because P&G happens to be our "best friends" in the industry being our major competitor.

And because I love having my foot massages there, I took my sis who's home from Canada there last Sunday to cap our lazy weekend. She enjoyed! Wished she had more time to spend with me in Manila because we could have tried the Foot Options other services like their mint facials and their hair & scalp treatment. All very good value. In fact was told that they offer P50 off on weekdays (except Fri). I love the place so much that I really recommend it to anyone who needs to relax. You may call them at 899 9645 for appointment. They have GCs too, in fact I think I gave Pia Sangel some for her birthday 2 yrs ago.

Well, I had a great weekend and here's a pic of me and my sis having a lazy Sunday am reading . . . guess who's who?

Mrs Jane B.




Saturday, July 19, 2008

SM City Cebu NORTH WING -- New Space in Cebu Shopping!

Visited Cebu last weekend to be with my family as my sis is home from Canada. My family has been talking about the new North Wing of SM and despite the fact I had been there last month (June) didnt have time to notice the space.

Now I decided to check it out with shopper eyes.

Coming from Talisay City using the SRP (South Reclamation Project) road, SM City is a good 30 min. away. You enter into the SM City complex and the first thing a shopper driving a car would notice would be the weird criss-crossing of the lanes going to the north wing parking. One has to watch out and I did because it was my first time to drive my family's new '08 KIA Sportage. Same as SM MOA (mall of asia) parking was a pay as you exit type which is different from the other SM malls here in Manila where its a pay as you enter type like in Megamall, Manila, Sta Mesa & etc.

The new North Wing parking is much like any other SM Mall shopping (close to MOA set-up) but the beautiful thing about it is that its the open multi-level type which is a 1st in Cebu (I think ...)! It actually gives you a very scenic view of the Cebu harbour and the blue ocean . . . makes you really realize that Cebu is indeed a small tropical island. A pleasant surprise I guess for the locals.

Once parked, we made our way to the new wing and I realize that it shows a very different SM. It indeed looks more classy with the high-end shops (mass premium is the technical term as the shops still don't rival those of Rockwell or Greenbelt 4 & 5) located there (a lot are still under "construction") . What stands out is the spacious and clean atrium that welcomes you to the new north wing. Totally different from the crowded entrances in the mall, which honestly makes me hate going to SM at times. Its just too crowded.

The wing had a touch of Cebu with the Chika-an Restaurant branch being very prominent at the 2nd floor. And it had new store brands as well like Crumpler which only recently opened in Manila this year as well.
Truly, the new north wing has changed shopping in Cebu and has afforded Cebu's AB crowd another place to hang out besides Ayala Center Mall and show off their branded stuff which honestly in CEBU doesnt hold much because the locals really don't mind about imported brands because the City enjoys a lot of good quality locally made items! I will be visiting Cebu again soon and I will write about the shops more . . . but suffice it to say, its a HIT!

'Till my next write-up!

Mrs Jane B.
July 11, 2008

Shopping Robinsons Galleria Style

With typhoon frank raging in Manila, my hubby and I decided to do our grocery shopping in one of our fave supermarket in Mandaluyong. Of course am partial with Robinsons Galleria for a lot of reasons . . .

Reason 1 : Parking never a problem
Although sale days maybe a challenge. The Galleria Mall always has parking. If you know the layout of the parking area, you do know there are nooks and crannies that have parking. The parking near the smkt alone has these special places.

Reason 2 : Fresh Produce is fresh
For a two-person fam like mine, and because I work for Unilever where I get free laundry, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and skin care products for free . . . what else do I buy in the smkt? Fresh food. Hubby works for Nestle Ice Cream, so milk, yogurt, juices are easily bought in the office . . . fresh food it is. Their variety of fruits and ready-to-eat fruits (those peeled and ready for chow) are superb though nothing exotic yet. Meats are fresh and they have a decent selection of fish (dead and alive -- in the aquarium). If I want a delicious "lapu-lapu sinigang", my hubby would go to Robinsons w/o hesitation. And yes, for those looking for fresh salmon, its the place to go too!

Reason 3 : No fuzz shopping
The store is well lit. Aisles are wide though there are areas that are a bit dead like the household section (I dont go there anyway because of my freebies!). The aisles are properly labelled and are updated so you wont get lost. Geez, years back I did the store layout of this store so I pretty much memorized the whole set-up.
Also, the store isnt crowded. I really hate it when I need to navigate with my cart trying hard not to bump someone else's. I'd like to be able to browse and do my shopping in peace. As I've said grocery shopping is therapeutic for me . . . I can get lost in a store and just wander around . . .

Reason 4 : Lines are manageble
Counters are always open and the stores seem to be able to manage the cashier line. We never get to wait too long. And that's a plus for couples like us who want to enjoy more time to do personal stuff on weekends!
As a whole for the Baluya's, Robinsons Galleria smkt is our fuzz-free and fresh supermarket! It also helps that its a good 10 min drive from our condo.

Well, our weekend shopping went ok despite the typhoon . . . so if you're in the Mandaluyong area, maybe you can check out this smkt and see if we're right.

More weekend shopping stories next week.

Mrs Jane B.
June 22, 2008

GARAGE Sale Anyone?

Been planning to do a garage sale a couple of months back. So I took the courage and started shipping since Dec stuff I havent used for the past 3 months and tag them for my sale. A lot of the stuff are clothes and bags, and yes towels and shoes . . . and this weekend I finally got to do it! My parents helped by preparing the place where I was going to sell and even set-up streamers for my sale. So this weekend I went home to Cebu to celebrate my mom's 60th bday and run my garage sale.

I tagged, listed and priced my items the night before and had a pre-sale viewing for my relatives which proved to be a lot of fun as my cousins and aunt tried on stuff. Of course I made money that night already . . . he he he. Proceeds of my sale is going to our home renovation fund.

The garage sale itself lasted only 7 hrs, the Cebu heat was on but despite that people still enjoyed digging into the clothes, trying on the belts and shoes, and haggling with me on the flat iron with steamer I got as corp give-away (unused complete w/ manual). I got rid of years of corp bag give-aways which the shoppers wanted to use as school bag for their kids. Very good deal since I was selling the bags from P25-50. One guy bought 5 bags!
It was pretty good that we have single pricing strat implemented. Yeah, a garage sale with pricing strat! What I meant was, to simplify, we had one price for every item, like pants/skirts/shorts all at P100, the used bath towels which were our bestsellers were selling at P10 each. It worked for us. Easy to remember and account for.

Second, proper visibility of items. We hung the mens poloshirts and dresses to call attention but what sold out were the cheap collarless shirts. The colorful laundry baskets we used allowed the shoppers to dig in and really get lost in all the merchandise. The pricing of the products were visible so shoppers knew exactly how much the items cost. This did not however stop them from haggling.

Lastly was the music! We had our old karaoke playing loud music to announce something was happening in our area. Ha ha ha, it was really loud but it created the festive mood that allowed the shoppers to concentrate on the find and not on the extreme heat of the day. I was so tempted to sell our karaoke too, but I need this for my next sale.
Truly it was a fun experience for everyone! We couldnt believe we could sell off the items. Because of this Im going for round two soon . . . And so the saying goes, "someone's trash can become someone else's treasure . . ." Did I get this right?

'Till my next shopping write-up.

Mrs Jane B
June 15, 2008

Shopping Time Out : SPA TIME

My good friend Alex who's based in HK came home just for the long weekend and of course, the girls wanted a quick get-together with some relaxation time! So off we went to an early lunch at Fridays Bonifacio High Street with the kids and the husbands in tow. After more than an hour of our catch-up chat and planning a possible HK trip in July -- HK sale season. The girls got ready to go to THE SPA. My friend Donna said the place is beautiful . . . its going to be my first time as I haven't gone to THE SPA. Bri and I have special membership at THE SURIYA SPA where we have a pre-paid service that we just debit from. We've been members for more than 3 yrs already. So, we'll see what THE SPA at the High Street can offer.

Donna wasn't kidding, the entrance, the stairs, the water falling . . . THE SPA at the High Street is beautiful with a zen feel to it. I signed up for the swedish deluxe massage for P820. Almost the same price at Suriya. We got in and was given our locker keys. The locker area was pretty clean, dim lights and the receptionist gave us our slippers, robe and towel. Donna and I decided to go to the jacuzzi, while Alex wanted to have the massage right away and Emily wanted to have her footsies pampered instead of a full body massage. The jacuzzi was great! It was big enough to accommodate more than 10 girls. Suriya at Glorietta doesnt have a jacuzzi but they have steam and sauna. We stayed for a good 15mins and prepared for more bodily pampering.

The waiting area had the usual magazines and Donna saw the tea station and got me what might have been one of the best ginger tea I've tasted! Wohoo! I loved it! I glossed over the Preview May issue and before I finished the whole magazine, we were called upon already for our massages.

Well, THE SPA's deluxe massages were done in common rooms. Hmmm something I haven't been into for awhile since the Suriya Spa has individual massage rooms. The therapist started her routine, asked about how the pressure was . . . probably because of the common room, and the therapist's not so gentle hands. I rated the massage as ok or a 6 from a scale of 1-10. I usually get a more flowing swedish touch from Suriya. Could really be just the massage training. Despite this, I got out of THE SPA feeling relax and ready to do shopping. The P820 + tip was still worth my afternoon! Em and the girls were talking about having a spa party here as they do offer such events. We will see . . .

Feeling relax and enjoying the girls company, we trekked down to check out shoes . . . bag . . . food and just enjoying our Monday holiday. Really wouldn't it be nice if we had 3-day weekends all the time!

Will give more shopping stories next weekend.

Mrs Jane B
June 9, 2008

Gateway Shopping

My Saturdays usually allow me to sleep in late and wake up at 10am. This Sat, my hubby and I needed to go to their clinic to have our flu shots. Clinic means going to Aurora Blvd where Brian's (hubby) office is. This also means . . . Gateway is the nearest mall!

So off we went to Gateway after a weird heavy feeling on my left arm where the flu vac shot was injected. He he he, kahit masakit, shopping pa rin! Gateway trek meant visiting Rustans supermarket. There used to be a piano-like playing area here where the Selecta freezer is. Now its been transformed into a mini playground with a kiddie slide and benches for mommy, yaya and lola to sit down and relax as the kids shout and shriek in glee as they slide away! The neighboring Bon Appetit cafe was also full of people sipping coffee eating some pastries and doing business. You'll notice they have paper docs on their tables and really discussing. Mhen! How times have changed! Now people do business in coffee shops and make money . . . thank God for Starbucks! Which if you've been to Rustan's Gateway you very well know there's one beside it, was also jampacked with the weekend crowd!

I did my usual rounds to check on my product category which is SKIN CARE (I work for Unilever Phils., Inc) -- my comments will be seen in my office email by Tue. Rustans Gateway has always struck me as a modern and functional smkt for commuters and those who want to do their grocery shopping fast. The two entrances of the smkt opens up to the MRT and the Gateway mall. Its product ranges are complete. The major brands are available and specialised beauty products like our masstige Ponds line of Age Miracle and Flawless White and if you check out the beverage and the milk ranges -- quite complete despite the size of this smkt. They also have frozen meat and deli for those quick meals that need to be prepared, and fresh flowers -- to brighten up a loved-one's day!

Also, in case you dont know, the Rustans chain have extra services on top of the usual gift wrapping and courtesy booth, you can actually get mass cards in their customer service counters. Not so sure yet if all branches have it but I've gone to Rockwell just for this on several occasions. Let me check on this and report back to you.
My trip in Rustans just took me 15 mins, after that I was off to the mall to check out the shops. Lots of the shops were on sale, the Lacoste shoe shop had a "pila" system outside their entrance . . . he he he, I got my last Lacoste shoes there on SALE!

We stayed in Gateway for two hours, left for Megamall because the crowd in Araneta were wild as it was the Pinoy Big Brother Final Night. Had to go and watch NARNIA somewhere else. But wait, Jane went to Gateway and didnt visit Watsons and Shopwise? Well, I did, but will reserve my write up 'till next time . . .

ENJOY SHOPPING!

Mrs Jane B
June 7, 2008