The Big Bad Wolf, the world's biggest book fair has arrived at the City of Love and just like any other Ilonggo bibliophile, I did waste any second as book fairs are akin to premium ukay-ukay at rock bottom prices. You know, early bird catches the best deal or that hidden gem of a book. As fellow shoppers swarm around endless piles of books (2 million of them!), you just wish nobody will pick up that obscure book that you have always wanted and of course you'd wish it would be dirt cheap. Hah!
I didn't have any book title in mind as I wanted the Big Bad Wolf to do a blitzkrieg, surprise me with books that I cannot resist! In Filipino lingo, it's a budol thing. With glazed eyes, you will gladly hand over your wallet with a big smile and not worry if you will subsist on instant noodles for the next 15 days. After all, the Big Bad Wolf visits once in a blue moon. Yeah, right!
Silly me, I spent more than an hour at the Gen Z and millennial book aisles (the young adult/fiction) not knowing that there are other BBW corridors to explore for Gen X like me. My goodness, those Gen Z kids who saved their allowance for this book shindig not knowing if they indeed got their end of the bargain. Save for a few rich kids with the parentals in tow, there were a few kids with trolleys (or shopping baskets for that matter). Damn, where are the Php 20 peso novels??!! Buy a mid-range priced book and checkout as fast as you can, kiddos! Make sure you have enough allowance left for that every other day milk tea.
Hunger pangs eventually gnawed on my book hungry brain and I decided to refuel at a nearby restaurant. The restaurant was situated next to the Graphic Design/Photography/Home and Garden BBW section which was absolutely my thang! So many art and architecture books that I wanted to bring home! Afraid that I might blow a month's salary on those books, I hastily bought (but thoughtfully considered) a few interior design and cat related books (mostly cute and useless but nevertheless will look nice on my shelf) and quickly ran to the nearest exit door. Will probably visit again (the history and biography section) when the book fair comes to a close (praying there will be more books in the A-E price range). To tell you the truth, I have not seen any Php 20-40 peso books. The VIPs/select buyers (the criteria of how they were selected will always be dubious to me) who were given the chance to shop before the grand opening probably carted the ultra-barato books before regular customers had the chance. I definitely got red riding hoodwinked on this part!
That being said, let the budol games begin!
Concept cafes or multi-use retail spaces have become a trend of sorts lately. Shoppers can relax and unwind while shopping for their favorite products. It gives fresh meaning to the word "retail therapy". NaVhaCu Concept Store and Cafe (named after the owner’s three daughters) located just across Robinson's Place Iloilo (Ledesma Street side) offers that delightful, therapeutic experience to customers and pet lovers. Stop for a cup of coffee or milk tea while you stock up on healthy goodies like trail nuts, freeze dried veggies and fruits and other products. The pet-friendly shop also has a cozy corner for handmade trinkets and crafts, stationery, cosmetics, skin care and decor items. There is also a section for kids and babies where you can find unique and hard-to-find products and accessories.
Books also also available for sale and free to browse if you stay for a cup of coffee or drinks! Definitely a good place to visit during the weekend or after work.
See you at NaVhaCu!
NaVhaCu Concept Store + Cafe + Pabilin Station
Ledesma St., Iloilo City (Beside 168 mall)
It will be utterly useless to hold on to your wallet when the Big Bad Wolf comes to Iloilo City on October 13-22, 2023 at SM City North Point. Touted as the World's Biggest Book Sale, Big Bad Wolf Books is a Malaysian based enterprise that is on a mission to make books affordable and accessible to everyone.
I've been wanting to go to a Big Bad Wolf Book fair since it launched in Manila a few years ago and did a circuit in cities like Cebu and Davao (and other places I failed to mention). In 2021 when the pandemic happened, BBW held an online sale and of course being a bookworm and a sucker for great deals I did not pass the chance to get hold of amazing books at heavily discounted prices. Due to logistical challenges posed by the pandemic, the books arrived later than expected. But boy, the books were worth waiting for! It felt like Christmas when my BBW books arrived. I can't wait to relive that Christmas morning feeling when I go to my first BBW book fair in the City of Love!
For more information and updates on the BBW Iloilo Book Fair bookmark and visit the BBW Philippines Facebook page. See you there baddies!
It's undeniably difficult to look for natural, organic, cruelty-free products in the local supermarkets. Most of the time, we are bombarded by ultra processed, over packaged goods that are not exactly environmentally friendly and good for our minds and body. Enter Simple and Whole, a beautiful place to find curated organic food, lifestyle and self-care products that cater to a healthful and more mindful consumption. If you visit SM City Iloilo, find time to visit this store which opened at the lower ground floor near Toby's Sports.
Here are some of the products worth checking out:
1. Buhay Ermitanyo's vegan cheese and spreads
2. Bach Remedy flower tinctures
3. Plant based milk
4. Besan and almond flour for baking
5. Eco-friendly stuff for kids
6. Four Sigmatic tea blends
7. Tsaa laya herbal teas
8. We Pure concentrated stevia drops for your coffee
9. Vegetable seasoning cubes and fresh herbs and spices
10. Lifestyle Gourmet snacks and chips
Live simply and truthfully. Stay simple and whole!
Finding the perfect scent is a lifelong quest. Sometimes your nose just knows that you have found The One! I have finally found mine in a bottle of 802 Praline Vanilla by Scentsmith Perfumery, a gender-neutral scent. I've always been partial to gourmand scents like vanilla when paired with other notes.
Praline Vanilla has the following fragrance profile:
Scentsmith Type: Sweet
Top Notes: Black currant and pear
Middle Notes: Iris, jasmine and orange blossom
Base: Praline, vanilla, patchouli and tonka bean
Another thing I love about this fragrance is the apothecary style packaging which is perfectly my aesthetic. Definitely a homegrown perfumery brand worth checking out!
Scenthsmith Perfumery
Upper Ground Floor, SM City Iloilo (In front of Aeropostale)
The recently concluded Summer AnimeFest 2023 held at Festive Walk Iloilo was a treasure trove of kawaii finds for the young and not-so-young alike. As a Gen-Xer, I grew up on Japanese cartoons but sadly our generation missed out on cosplay and such. But as generation at the cusp of analog and digital culture, we kinda caught up on the newer Anime stuff, thanks partly to Netflix. Anyway, there were cosplay contests, anime toy exhibition and bazaar. I found myself awkwardly swarming around the bazaar booths with millennials and Gen-Zs (people young enough to be my kids!). Yes, there were good stuff that appealed to Gen-Xers so I am remotely not THAT old.
One of my uber cute finds at the bazaar were these cute waterproof stickers and mini easel cards by Purr Crafts x Studio. I have not outgrown my love for cute stickers and of course anything feline inspired. These inspirational mantra cards sit on my office desk to remind me that yes, I am still growing.
If you love hand drawn cat stickers and stationery like me, visit Purr Crafts x Studio on their Facebook page. You can also find them on Instagram.
Kawaii forever!
*All shopping related posts are not sponsored. I share the shops I love!
If you're like me, I like doing arts and crafts on weekends be it sewing or doing DIY projects. For a long time, Daiso has been my go-to place to buy bits and bobs, as well as art supplies. However, Daiso is a fixed price store where the cheapest item you can buy is pegged at Php 88-Php 98. Your "budol" finds can easily cost you thousands of pesos upon check-out if you don't have retail self-control (so guilty of that!). With the high inflation rate, I tried looking for other stores that offer an extensive range of craft materials at affordable prices. I found out that Mr. DIY, a Malaysian brand that has lots of stores in the Philippines opened a store in our district. Shopping online via Lazada and Shopee is another alternative when you are searching for arts and crafts materials with good price points. However, the stuff I find online are also available at Mr. DIY. Yay, I don't have to pay for shipping!
MR. DIY JARO
#414 The Galleria, Valeria St., Jaro, Iloilo City
Opening hours: 8am-9 pm
There are tons of nice Christmas presents you can give to yourself, family and friends from Bakal Lokal, an online and physical store that is the brainchild of Youth First Initiative Philippines in partnership with DOST-VI. If you love to shop in your pajamas, Bakal Lokal's online shop is very navigable and easy to use but for people like myself who enjoy the tactile experience of browsing products, I highly recommend visiting the Bakal Lokal brick and mortar store located at AAMC Barbo Building in Jalandoni Street, Jaro district. The shop is very cozy and the handmade goods are displayed in a very attractive modern rustic style. The goods are mostly manufactured in small batches so everything looks one-of-a-kind. Definitely no soul less, mass produced products at Bakal Lokal. Every product feels handmade and that's why I love it. Your recipients will love it as well.
After you are done with your shopping, you can even grab a favorite brew at the in-store cafe. Hitting two birds with one stone I should say!
Happy holiday shopping! Remember to shop and promote homegrown products made with love in Iloilo.
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| My tabletop bookshelf from Lar Furniture sourced from Bakal Lokal |
Produkto Lokal Hub
AAMC Barbo Bldg., Jalandoni St.,
Jaro, Iloilo City
Email: hello@bakal-lokal.com
Tel no: 328-1898
Lungsod App on Android
I have been blogging (when Blogger was still with Pyra Labs) and journaling as far as I can remember. For me, bits and pieces of life are worth recording and the ephemera of thoughts are what gives meaning to our days and years. When thoughts, feelings and ideas are cemented into an understandable whole, patterns arise and life becomes a bit more predictable which is a good thing.
Journaling takes many forms and is is both thematic in both digital and traditional formats. Topics and themes are usually compartmentalized as we delve deeper into a particular subject. Food. Religion. Relationships. K-drama. They all deserve their own own journal don't they?
I love the digital side of journaling- the write, edit and press publish or delete button. There's nothing more exhilarating than seeing your blog post go live and out of the 7.96 billion people out there, some sad soul might actually be reading your senseless thoughts in cyberspace. There is also the unexpected catharsis of writing a kilometric entry only to delete it afterwards. The human mind has never been so fickle.
On the other hand, the seduction of a paper journal still holds its allure. The warm feel of paper and the steady push of the pen as you navigate your thoughts on a blank page pushes you think more clearly as the option of having to erase your thoughts on paper is not an option unless you are using a Frixion pen. In between the doodles and the bad penmanship, a paper journal still holds its charm.
Recently, I had the luck of finding Skit Books, an online a shop that sells all the journals, logbooks and planners of my dreams! I'm especially thrilled that the journals cater to a wide variety of interests and subjects--from anime to mindfulness. A K-drama journal too! How sweet.
Skit Books PH journals have thematic prompts that will get you writing about your favorite subject in no time! Best of all, the shop ships nationwide.
Skit Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skitbooksph/
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