St. Regis Room at The Bay

These days, there are many other things I'd rather spend my hard-earned money with than fashion. With two young girls, my bonus goes to paying for tuition at a good nursery school and private swimming lessons. Even if the Cartier Tank Francaise watch has been on my wish list forever.

Every so often however, I'd get really excited about fashion. Like my recent detour to the sleek St. Regis Room at the Bay flagship store on Queen Street in downtown Toronto.This modern reincarnation of the old St. Regis Room on the third floor is a unexpected surprise for this Canadian institution. Mainstream designer labels fill the racks of course, but I spotted dresses by Proenza Schouler, Brian Reyes, Jasmine di Milo and Repetto ballet shoes.

On the day I window-shopped, I discovered a new designer whose name currently escapes me, but whose clothes I really liked:
Far from being a fashion hotspot, the Bay has been trying to reinvent itself and make its merchandise more relevant to today's shoppers. Which is why I wouldn't mind getting its multi-striped blanket. I think it looks really cool and comfortable. I've also bought a lot of their Vancouver 2010 Olympics merchandise for pasalubong recently. It should be interesting to see if this current experiment of going trendy and upscale will lure the fashionista demographic to this century-old department store.

Spa day in Toronto

Hubby's birthday out meant us taking time off work, dropping off Renee in school and driving downtown to a spa after. He picked Hammam Spa, which literally translates to Turkish bath.
Spa goodies for sale. I liked the Noah's Ark-inspired table

A certified spaholic, he is usually skeptical about urban spas, relishing instead the close-to-nature and the hot/cold facilities of Nordic spas outside of the city.

Although he is neutral about the dark wood interiors and the modern Arabian nights vibe, he is impressed by the steam room facilities. It is large and spacious, with easy access to the showers, and a small fridge filled with neatly rolled face towels to cool down nearby.

What we liked most about the place was what mattered: the quality of the massage. Having a good therapist is plain luck , especially during a first-time visit. We were lucky this time and found ourselves in the hands of competent RMTs. I dozed off during my hour, which almost never happens.

As if getting our stress knots relaxed is not blissful enough, we decided to have late lunch at Craft Burger nearby (upon the reco of the hubby's therapist, Daniela). The burgers are juicy and grilled to yummy goodness. Even the buns puffed up just right, not the lame, almost flattened kind served in your typical fastfood chain. He had the Craft Burger (above), while I had the Cheeseburger. We shared a side of Onion Rings (again, deep fried to full-bloomed crispness) and a bottle of Boylan's rootbeer. Since they're grilled to order, you had to wait about 10 minutes for your meal to be served. It is so worth it though.

As you can see from this photo, it was a good day.

Binondo Food Wok map free giveaway

Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and in the spirit of the novelty, I thought I'd try to have my first ever blog contest.

Between now and February 14 (official start of the Year of the Tiger), I'm going to give away 5 free Binondo Food Wok maps to the first five readers who can answer the trivia questions below correctly.

This is a fun guide if you want to go on a self-guided food tour of Manila's Chinatown that was just released recently by my brother Ivan (of Old Manila Walks tour outfit).

As true blue Binondo citizen, he has been taking the curious and the adventurous to this historic corner of this city to sample the best dumplings, the yummiest lumpia and most interesting hopia flavors in the last five years.

The maps are available for sale (PhP 100) at boutique retail establishments like La Monja Roca (The Crazy Nun) in Intramuros, Silahis Arts and Crafts (Intramuros), Popular Bookstore in Quezon City, and at Bahay Tsinoy museum store and Libros Fiilipinos bookshop at the Filipinas Heritage Library.

And now for the trivia questions:

1. Who was the American celebrity chef and author who went on a Binondo food tour in 2009?

2. Who is the first Filipino saint who was born and raised in Binondo?

3. Other than monggo hopia, give 3 hopia flavors that are available in food stores today.


Please send me a private message with your answers. Five winners will get Binondo Food Wok maps through regular mail. Cong Xei Fat Choi!

Lansinoh for the lips

Photo credit: Lansinoh
This should probably be filed under weird uses for nipple creams, but yes, I've started using Lansinoh recently to moisturize my lips.

I got the idea after reading an article on how Angie Harmon uses Lansinoh as a lip balm, and it was a lightbulb moment. I did have leftover cream (after two baby girls, in fact, I had a barely-used tube), and it was still shelf-stable after all these years.

I did not have had much use for it when I breastfed the girls, but I've been nightly to satisfying results. In the weeks I've been using it (apply it before I go to bed and in the morning, before going to work), I've notice my lips chapped less than during previous winters. Let the cream settle for a while before putting on lipstick though.

Occasionally I've substituted it for regular lotion when I do my lotion-and-sock cover ups at night. Though it has a very thick consistency, it does not have leave a slimey residue and is pretty much tasteless.

The good news is, even though medical grade lanolin is primarily marketed as a breast cream, there are many other uses as well. I'm just glad I didn't throw out my tube (at approx $10 for a 2 oz tube, they can be quite pricey), and found alternative use for leftover product.

Must do list

Photo credit: Strong Museum of Play

I was hoping to kick start the year doing with a More and Less goal list. But it's the second week of January and I'm still working on it. So I decided to come up with a things to do list instead. Sign of these multitasking times, indeed.

I was so psyched up after my aforementioned website editorial classes that I went online this weekend to look for a new blog template. I went to the first free site that popped up on Google and was overwhelmed by the choices available. I realized shopping for a new look is not unlike looking for the perfect black dress: it has to reflect the tone of this blog, and easy to tweak at the same time. I'm still looking.

Rachel is turning 3 in March and we're (belatedly) moving her out of the baby bed to a big girl bed in her sister's bedroom. Which means some room reconfiguration, moving around furniture, adding shelves and maybe some painting. Time to roll up the sleeves.

Speaking of March, spring break is around the corner and time to think of road trip options. The hubby and I are taking half the week off so going any further than a 4 to 5 hour drive will not work for us. Last year, we looked at a map, did some math on the travel time, and decided to head for Pittsburgh. This year, there is talk of going a food trip around the Finger Lakes area. Now that the Rachel is older, we want to take the girls back to the Strong Museum of Play. Her sister loved it the first time we went. We're also thinking of checking out the outlets near Rochester.

I really need to start checking off things of my list. And soon.

Hello 2010!

Photo: Living Arts Centre, New Year's weekend. At the showing of The Wizard of Oz, Broadway national tour

New year, new start. Also a new course on website editorial management that started tonight that is inspiring and exciting me.

Thinking of making some changes. Coming soon.

A Portugese dinner

Of the many Christmas lunches and dinners we've attended and will still be hosting this holiday season, our dinner at the Romaos deserve extra pogi points for the food novelty and tabletop elegance.
Our seasonal get together had the usual elements - great company and conversation, plus an introduction to carne de porco a Alentejana. Apparently, this is Pierre's (who is of Portugese heritage) favorite comfort dish. Maggie also served spinach pie, which Renee and I really loved. The frango de churrasco (Portugese roast chicken) with piri-piri sauce was enjoyed by everyone as well.
Another thing I look forward to seeing every time we visit is their growing collection of artworks. Maggie's sister is part of an art collective; she tells me I should check out the Square Foot Show that her sister's group organizes annually. This popular event exhibits paintings done in - you guessed it- square foot size. It is a great (and reasonable) way to collect original works by artists on the rise. Definitely something to add on to my Santa wish list for next Christmas, I hope.

Merry Christmas!