Trick-or-Treat 2017 Loots

Wanna see the result of my son's hard work and perseverance?

Here's a closer view.

Haha, my bestfriend Raxie commented na she remembered TanTan's 3 candies last Halloween 2015. Ang laking improvement daw lol!

To be honest, hindi naman namin kinarir ang trick-or-treating because of the candies. I am diabetic (also my husband) and Nathan doesn't eat chocolates. At kung tutuusin ang dali-daling bumili ng sandamukal na candies sa Walmart at Costco noh. Pero it was super fun lang talaga, ewan ko ba. Saka nakita naming nag-enjoy ang mga bata, ayaw nga nilang tumigil eh.

After our pictorial, Nathan wasn't even tempted to taste the sweets in front of him. Itong Hotwheels lang talaga (na binigay ng isang grupo ng riders) ang trip niya.

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So what to do with all the candies and chocolates? We'll bring them to Pinas this January. For sure marami kaming taong mapapasaya hehe (particularly our employees and their kids). Dadagdagan ko na lang. =)

Hello, Miniso!

I "discovered" Miniso in Instagram where one blogger I follow posted something about it. I instantly stalked Miniso's IG account and learned that they'll be opening soon in SM Marilao. Bigla akong nabuhayan ng dugo. Sa sobrang boring ng buhay ko dito Marilao, a store like this is very welcome.I love love love kawaii things! Kaya nga sobrang fan ako ng Daiso / Japan Home, Dollarama, Dollar Tree, Target Dollar Spot, etc. Yan ang mga tipo kong tindahan talaga.

So yun nga, for so many days, I waited for the opening of Miniso. Sobrang excited ako. Php99 daw mostly ang products. Mas mahal kumpara sa Daiso pero naisip kong keri lang kasi nga "Japanese designer brand" naman daw.

February 28, 2017. Nathan and I were there at around 6pm and I was shocked with the crowd that greeted me. Nagkakagulo ang mga tao, grabe! Akala ko pa naman hindi gaano considering that it was a Tuesday. Pero suweldo rin kasi kaya maraming tao sa mall.

Nathan was on a stroller and I was tempted to leave right away. Ang sikip nga kasi ng store (stores in the Philippines are not stroller-friendly). Pero nanghinayang naman ako sa effort ko na pumunta doon. Saka low EQ talaga ako, parang di ko kayang mag-antay pa ng ibang araw lol.

Sa sobrang dami ng tao at sikip ng space, hindi ko talaga na-enjoy ang first Miniso visit ko. Idagdag pa ang isang batang makulit. I wasn't able to inspect the commodities one by one (haha, seriously) but I noticed na relatively "konti" lang ang 99-peso items. Mas marami pa nga yatang 149 eh.

Just for the sake of buying (at dahil gusto ko ng souvenir sa unang punta ko ng Miniso), I bought these:

Chicken stuffed toy -- Php149 / Kid's backpack -- Php299 / Coin purse -- Php99

I super love their stuffed toys! Ang lambot kasi tapos mura pa. I am contemplating kung bibili ako ng mas malaki. I also like their water bottles / tumblers, super cute kasi ng design.

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By the way, we went back the following day and without a stroller na. Nathan was literally pulling me out of the store, na-trauma yata sa experience namin the other day haha! Buti na lang napilit ko rin.

Their toys are reasonably priced.

 Again, super daming tao sa store. I realized na hindi lang pala ako ang adik sa mga kung anik-anik.

I think Miniso in SM Marilao is "small" as compared to other branches. Parang ang konti lang kasi ng plushies.

I only bought a blusher (ang ganda kasi ng case, may mirror and brush pa sa loob) and a paper sticker set nga pala. Ang gusto ko na lang balikan dun ay yung cute hand towels.

Php99 each

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Anyway, because I was sad to leave another "nice" store here in Pinas, I did some research and found out na magkakaroon na rin pala nito sa Canada.

It's sad though because they were not able to open up a store last December 2016.

I am keeping my fingers crossed. Kelangan ko ng additional entertainment pagbalik ko sa Canada.

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NOTE: As of now, I like Daiso more. More cutesy items eh. 

Loots from Michaels

If there's one store that I miss the most in the Philippines, that would be NATIONAL BOOKSTORE. I am a self-confessed stationery addict and I would go to National almost every day (no kidding) just to buy pens and other supplies.

Here in Edmonton, I feel so deprived. They do not have National Bookstore-like store here. Nope, Staples won't suffice. National is different. There you can buy ballpens piece by piece, here in packs. Plus there's so much variety of anik-anik, so many items to choose from -- at affordable prices!

Stationery here costs a lot, I noticed. That I why I told myself that when I go home in Pinas I would hoard as much stationery as I can. I will really splurge!

So for the mean time, I would have to make do with my "cheap" finds here. You can get the cheapest office/school supplies at the following: Dollarama, Dollar Tree, Target (look for the Dollar bins), Walmart...

and occasionally, Michaels...

Michaels is an arts and crafts store that sells anything and everything for one's creative needs. I actually love their merchandise, except that I find them so pricey! I still convert dollars to pesos that's why.

I can only actually afford Michaels if they are on sale. My tip is never to buy their items for a full price. You may subscribe to their newsletter and they send out coupons all the time. You may also check out their clearance bins for items that are up to 90% off.

These were my purchases last Saturday. I was happy kasi parang sa dollar store lang ako namili. At $9.45 or approximately Php380.00, still not cheap though. Pero pwede na.

Someday, if I win the lottery, I will put up a stationery shop here in Edmonton that will sell items na tingi-tingi, katulad ng concept ng National Bookstore. I will import so many Asian stationery which I am sure Canadians will like. Feeling ko deprived din sila eh, hehe.