Nothing but a 2K Lesson Learned

Disclaimer: I am writing this with no intentions of bad mouthing this store I frequent nor would I like to create social media chaos for this brand. Well, as if... I'm just a small glitch in the entire internet world anyway but I really just want to share an experience that many of you can probably relate to, or if not, hopefully this post can simply merit of you becoming more conscious consumers. 

So, here's the story. Last December, we bought these super nicely packed juices that looks yummy as Christmas gifts for our ninongs & ninangs. We have already given away about 60% of how much we bought but few bags are still left with us, which we were supposed to hand-deliver to our ninongs & ninangs who lives up north two weekends ago. Before that could even happen though, I got a panicky call from my mom telling me that the juices we bought were already expired "01 2013."

Well, on our defense we picked up the items, we ordered in advance, all wrapped up and ready to go so, of course, we wouldn't know how soooooon the items were expiring unless they tell us so. And since we have full trust in the brand, we also didn't bother to ask. Our bad. 

With temper rising, I called the branch I bought the juices from as I soon as I had the time and told them about my concern with the big question "You know for a fact that we'd be giving these as Christmas gifts (with scheduled gift-giving from December 25 onwards). Why would you sell us something that would expire in a few days?" And they were NOT sale items, take note. 

Few responses I got that really irritated me were (note: these are semi-edited quotes because I cannot remember the full conversation anymore) 

"Usually when people buy items from us, they give them away right away" 

Ummmh.... don't assume that from your consumers. They're Christmas gifts that can be given December 25 onwards

"The items were not expired when the purchase was made"

Okay, you have a point there but you should have at least informed us that they were expiring very very very soon so we know.This should be part of your Customer Service at the counter. (Again, we picked up the items all wrapped up and all ready to go so we really wouldn't know unless we unwrap everything)

"The 01 2013 is until end of January"

If I give you something that's expiring, will you appreciate it?

Then somewhere in the conversation, I told the person that I will elevate this concern with the Department of Trade and Industry.

Then she just said, "Go ahead..."

There were still a lot of words thrown back and forth but they're just too much to mention. ANYWAY... *blowing off some steam now*

After the stress this caused me and after a short fight with my hubby because of this, we talked about it and we decided just to turn a blind eye on the situation to avoid more stress. I know we should fight for our consumer rights that not a lot of people are aware about but we thought that it's just not worth it. Well, *sniff*sniff* it's worth P2,000 waste of money. *ahuhu*

Now that I have shared this, I leave y'all with this...

To all consumers, please be mindful of expiration dates specially if what you're buying are for gifts. And I know I have set a bad example for not fighting for my consumer rights but let's all be aware of our consumer rights. Yes, there is such a thing and I'm going to share about that soon.

To M&S, I hope you really consider adding "Ma'am/ Sir, please be informed that (products bought) will expire in __ days. Please consume them no later than the expiry date indicated here." This very simple courtesy could have saved us money, time spent calling you and all the headache and stress you caused us. 

Well, again, this is nothing but a lesson learned worth 2,000 Pesos. *sigh*

PS- to our ninongs & ninangs who got our Christmas gifts, please consume them very very very soon...

xoxo,

The Clueless Mrs.

The Big White Dress

While the rest of the world is talking about Halloween, I still have butterflies in my stomach sharing about my wedding story on my Love month this October. And what better way to start the week with a post about... well, just the most important detail in every wedding, "the Dress."

The Dress, which alter any engaged girl's senses and make everything sink in in heightened emotions at the very first gown fitting;

The Dress, which all eyes will be on as Brides walk down the isle on the biggest day of their lives;

The Dress, which will encapsulate any Brides' memory about her wedding day.  

I can go and on about the importance of the "the Dress" but do you get the point how much pressure it is to find/ create the perfect wedding dress? *phew* I feel a little tense now... 

Before I even got engaged though, I already had an idea how I wanted my wedding dress to look like. I'm usually very insecure about my fiercely real figure but on my wedding, with Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez as inspirations, I embraced my full figure and my hips that don't lie with a mermaid cut wedding gown. Ergo, the Peg.

The Peg

I had few magazine cut outs and sketches with me when I visited my designer but when I was looking through magazines while waiting for my turn, I saw this gown and fell in love. I knew then this was IT. 

Tito Bill, my designer, is my mom's friend who I've known every since I was in high school when we borrowed a gown for my United Nations pageant, which I won by the way. *yabang lang* 

He owns the famous boutique in BF Homes, The Dream Maker, and because I've always liked his designs, there was no doubt in my mind to have him design my wedding gown. Lucky for me, when you book with him a year in advance, he'll also give 50% discount for the whole entourage package! *kaching kaching*

The Moment of Truth. 

When it's time to take your measurements.

It will take about 6 months to finish my Wedding gown so, I followed a systematic timeline. One that will give Tito Bill the flexibility of time to polish my gown and for me to lose some pounds. Tip for Brides-to-be, when you have your measurements about to be taken, wear a fitted dress and bring heels with the right height that you're most comfortable with. 

To also prepare for your fitting and look good on the big day, do 10x crunches every morning when you wake up and lift some dumbbells to tone your arms and lose the batwings! 

My First Gown Fitting

Yes! pumayat ako!

I look so puffy. I'm like a walking pom pom.

Daddy's Girl.

Tip, remember that every designer has their own interpretation of their designs. Key thing is to trust your designer because they have no other priority than to make you look and feel pretty on your wedding day. So, since the mermaid cut will be more flattering to taller girls, we opted to move the skirting up to my lower hips. 

My Second Fitting

Trivia. Did you know that my wedding gown weighs about 8-10 lbs. heavy? No kidding! This dress consumed 60 yards of Silk Organza. 

Time to face the Spotlight.

French Lace embellished with Swarovski crystals
to support the weight of the gown

My Wedding Gown &
my After-party dress, a gift from Tito Bill.

Glowing Bride

When the big day comes, drop all your woes and enjoy the day, whatever happens, you'll be looking radiant the whole day.

Dream Maker Couture

Bill Calubaquib

#21 President's Avenue

Tahanan Village, Paranaque City

T: (02) 401-7192; 809-9886

M: (0917) 8407541

E: tdmcouture@yahoo.com

LIKE Dream Maker Couture on Facebook

xoxo, 

The Clueless Mrs.

Think Pink

My morning was greeted with an inspiring email from AVA - The Home of Beautiful Things   about their Think Pink Sale to support Breast Cancer Awareness by the ICanServe Foundation Inc.

The ICanServe Foundation Inc. provides hope and help to women with breast cancer. It promotes early breast cancer detection through high impact information campaigns and community based screening programs. Its network of cancer survivors light the path for women with cancer towards total healing. 

This is something that's close to my heart because one of my closest titas was struck by this illness and didn't survive. I too suffer multiple benign tumors in both my breasts and have already undergone mammotome biopsy in 2010. Though they seemed to be benign, my tumors continue to grow and even multiply in numbers that I have to see my doctors once in a while with a high probability of undergoing another biopsy before the year ends. I live in fear everyday that my tumors might mutate to something ugly and cripple my life that I hold so dear. 

I love the fact that AVA gives us a chance now to show our support to the survivors and those women battling breast cancer through the Think Pink Sale. Through a simple purchase for as low as P220, we will be able to help the ICanServe Foundation Inc. to continue its advocacy of early detection of the big C.

Awareness is the key and it's time to do our part to battle this disease.

THINK PINK SALE

Here are some of the items for SALE. Products from ICanServe Breast Cancer Foundation.

Limited Edition Swatch Watch P5,000 

Limited Edition ICanServe Fan P1,000

Monchet y Cia is a  tribute to the heritage of handmade abanico fans, using sustainable wood, local hand loomed fabrics, and embellished with artisinal rings and silk tassels. The fan collection is limited  in number and kept to the seasonality of color and pattern. There will only be 80 ICanServe Limited Edition fans to be produced so, be sure to be among the first to avail of this unique, beautifully designed product.

ICanServe Tote Bag P490

ICanServe Charm Bracelet P280

ICanServe Hoodie P2,185 designed by Team Manila

BUY NOW

For more beautiful things, go to AVA.ph 

You can also LIKE AVA's Facebook Fanpage or

Follow @AVAfashion on Twitter

Show your support! 

LIKE ICanServe Foundation Inc. on Facebook

xoxo,

The Clueless Mrs.

Great Expectations

Sorry guys, I was experiencing writer's block so I just had to de-tech for a while to revive myself. Well, you know what they say, "you can't rush art." *haha*

So, where was I in my Love to Wedding Blog Series? 

hmmm... *light bulb* Oh yah... 

Have you ever imagined what your wedding will be like when you were a kid? From the dress, decor, even the church where you will say your "I Dos" up until the whole wedding reception? Well in reality, when you reach that point in your life when you're actually engaged already, some of your ideas or even the whole thing will be scrapped! Why? Simply because it's not just about you... that's the ugly truth. 

JM and I were the first ones to get married from both sides of the family. Aside from the fact that there's no one to tell us the dos and the don'ts of planning a wedding, imagine the pressure of "EXPECTATIONS." *I'm saying this in a big low voice in a very slow manner*

Before the pamamanhikan----

Pamamanhikan - a Filipino ritual where both families of the affianced pair meets so that the guy's family can officially ask the girl's hand in marriage. The guy's family is required to bring food for everyone. There, both families ask the couple about there wedding plans, when they plan to get married, ideas on where, how much the whole wedding will cost and sometimes who will take care of what. The custom symbolizes honor and respect for the parents. Want Tips?

----there are five important things you both need to discuss and agree on. 

1.) Date

When selecting the date for your wedding, think about the weather/ season or if you're a lil workaholic, like us, choose the month when you think you're the most relaxed. Avoid "planning" season, usually October to December, because it will be hell for you both. For us, we chose January 14, 2012 - second Saturday of year 2012. "Planning" season is already over, the weather is cool and we'll have a reason for an extended Christmas break every year! *haha*

Oh, also consider how long you both need to save up for the wedding. JM made use of his budget planning skills by creating an excel template to plot our cash inflow & outflow schedule. Good thing our wedding planning OC-ness match. 

2.) Number of Guests  

This is critical especially when you're starting to look at possible venues already. You both must agree whether you like an intimate celebration (50 - 200 guests) or an extravagant one (200 guests & up). Draft a mock guest list so yo'll have an idea how small or big your wedding will be like. You also have to be very firm on this as you go high-speed in wedding planning and remember to apply the 20% no-show rule. If you're looking at 200 guests, your invite list should be for 240 guests to avoid empty tables, which will cost you an est. P10K - 15K per table loss, just so you know. 

There might be some tears and conflicts as you filter and filter and filter your own guest list, your dads', your moms' and your siblings' but try not to easily give in because you'll suffer the bills after if you're both lenient too.

3.) Concept 

To start your wedding planning, make sure the overall concept reflects you as a couple. Ask each other simple things like "do you prefer light colors or dark colors?" then agree on the color set that you BOTH like, maybe your two favorite colors combined? How about "formal or fun", "traditional or modern," "simple or extravagant." Once you agree on the core details of your wedding then you now have an idea on where the whole celebration will revolve around. 

For our wedding, we wanted dark colors, modern and fun! So, we came up with this inspiration board.

Wedding links I love:

Bridalbook

Bride and Breakfast

Wedding by Color

Style Me Pretty

The Knot

Wedding Wire

Pinterest

My parents wanted to kill me for some of my ideas (ie. black invitations) and for sure your parents might want to kill you too but remember, this is YOUR wedding and this will only happen once in your life so, be sure to make it uniquely YOU!

4.) Venue Options 

When choosing a venue, consider again how intimate or extravagant you want your wedding to be, your budget and the ambiance that you want to create for your guests. Do you want your guests to stay long or you both just want a quick celebration to head straight to the honeymoon? 

If you want an intimate, short & sweet wedding, go out of town. Tendency is, less guests will come and they also won't stay long because they still have to travel a distance going home. 

Now, if you want to "parteeee" and max out your venue rental, do it within the Metro. Just make sure you have a good mix of party music + overflowing booze to make your friends stay. 

I know my reception tips are bitin but don't worry, I'll give more in my succeeding posts. 

5.) Budget 

As much as you just want to go on and on with planning every money-burning detail of your wedding, you simply just can't avoid facing the inevitable truth - the BUDGET.

Sit down and agree on how much you both are willing and capable to spend for your wedding. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT just go straight to the nearest bank to apply for a loan to splurge on your wedding. You do not want to start your marriage in debt, right?  

Now, the OC cash inflow/ outflow template JM authored really helped us in keeping our major expenses within budget--- I'm just sO proud. *blush* If you're lacking funds here & there, don't be distressed, blessings will come your way in the most pleasant and magical ways. 

---

Take note, it's never too early to start planning your wedding. Trust me... We had one whole year and two months to prepare for the big day but it still seemed too short.

For newly engaged couples out there who get to read this post, hope this helps!

If you want to get a copy of our OC cash inflow/outflow excel template or if you need more wedding planning tips, just email me at aiza.soller@gmail.com and I'd be more than happy to help.

xoxo, 

The Clueless Mrs. 

The Proposal

I know you guys are waiting for this. The lowdown on "the proposal."

Good thing I had this drafted for our Bridalbook.ph feature so I didn't have to rewrite every single detail... So, here it is.

It was the eve of our 7^th year anniversary, 22^nd of October 2010, which was also JD's birthday, JM’s brother, so we had dinner with his family as usual. It was nearing midnight and we were still out having dessert at the Peninsula lobby and I was getting really tired and sleepy and I wanted to rest to save some energy for the next day’s simple anniversary celebration. When we were finally heading home and my eyes were heading south, JM kept bugging me to stay awake with his “energizer” playlist. 

When we got to my place, we greeted each other happy anniversary then kissed each other our usual goodnights. 

I went inside, then as I reached the stairs, I was greeted with a parade of roses tied on every handrail with a sticky note indicating every anniversary from October 23, 2003 all the way up to October 23, 2010. My first reaction was, “awww… nag-effort, ts ako greeting card lang that I bought just the day before our anniv, with no composition yet.” =(

JM's partner in crime? Ate Vangie, our househelp.

From October 23, 2003 - October 23, 2010.
7 years of an imperfectly beautiful love affair.

To add to my surprise, when I entered my room, a 3-rose bouquet and a card with a CD inside were waiting for me on my bed. Then again, I thought "awww... nakakaguilty naman, sya merong gift, ako wala"

The card said, “Play the CD then call me”. The CD was a photo montage of our sweet years together with background music “Just Say Yes” by Snow Patrol (courtesy of my now sis-in-law, Cielai). #nowplaying: Just Say Yes (Acoustic Version) by Snow Patrol.

I was crying my eyes out while I was thinking to myself, “eto na ba toh?! I don’t want to assume but I’m always wishful thinking” then again, “inaantok na ako…” ahuhuhu… [PS- I'll try to rip the CD and update this post with the video soon]

I thought the video will end with a big “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” but instead, it said “HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I LOVE YOU!...  *hahaha* so much for not assuming…

Following JM’s instructions, I instantly called him after watching the video. I was still crying when he answered the phone then he said that he still has a surprise for me. He asked me to look outside my window then I saw that he was still there. Funny that I asked, “bababa ba ako?” (Duh- ofcourse diba?)

As soon as I opened the gate to greet him, a banner affixed to his car read “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” shocked me. I immediately slapped my face with both hands covering my eyes as tears flooded my face. 

Banner courtesy of my now bros-in-law, JD & Jake.

He got down on one knee and showed me the ring. 

To tell you the truth, I never saw him kneel because I was covering my face with both my hands, just crying and crying... I was floating with joy, sleepiness and amazement. It was so surreal, I don’t know if I was just dreaming or was it really (finally) happening. When I finally got myself to calm down, I answered “Oo naman”.

I loved the ring! It was tapered with side stones and the size of the diamond is perfectly just right. Just the way I imagined my engagement ring to be.

It was just so funny coz we didn’t know which hand to put the ring on.  

Coincidentally, my brother also arrived just when I was just about to say yes…. So, we went for the movies version and put the ring on my ring finger on my left hand. 

Then again, my brother said it should be on the
right hand so, I transferred the ring to
my right hand instead.

Enggggk.... Sa left pala talaga dapat! 

Since I didn't see him kneel,
we had to re-enact the scene. 

If only I had even a slight sign that
that was the night he was going to propose,
I would have worn something nicer.

The best night of my life,
even if I was already half asleep.

Acknowledgements:

To my brother, for trying not to be there when JM proposed.

To my sister, for keeping JM’s proposal plan to the extent that she had to sleep somewhere else the night before so there’s no way she can spill the beans, and for taking the pictures.

To Ate Vanjie, for arranging the roses.

To Cielai, for the video/ photo montage.

To Jake & JD,  for the banner.

To Ate Jai & to Ate Gail, for helping JM choose the ring.

To Daddy Bong & Mommy Tess, for extending the night with a dessert in Manila Pen to make sure it’s already October 23 when we get home.

To my parents, especially my dad for keeping his cool.

xoxo, 

The Clueless Mrs.