The Budgetista

Who says that going on a budget means going out of style? I say all it takes is a little bit of resourcefulness and your inner fashionista will still shine through. Here are a couple of run-tos I've become quite faithful to recently.

UKAY-UKAY SHOPPING
Not to be confused with tiangge shopping, ukay-ukay shopping is acyually old news. Even the classiest of people have set their feet here for curiosity's sake. I, on the other hand, have found the lowly ukay-ukay store as my personal haven for individuality. There are some great outlandish finds here. If you want to have an original look, then this is your store. The mixing and matching opportunities here are endless, too. And since everything here is ridiculously cheap, you can get more clothes and accessories for a bountiful world of experimentation.
Oh, if you cough easily, do steer clear of the place. Ukay-ukay shops aren't famous for their cleanliness. It takes some roughing it to get to the item you want, too, since folks really do flock this place (usually incognito, haha!) and it's always a fight for an item --because no 2 of them are exactly alike. So prepare for some action when shopping this way.
Very crucial tip: Wash your 'new' clothes like crazy before wearing. You don't know where they have been. Really.

CATALOGUE SHOPPING
I don't know what happened but family, friends and neighbors have become clothing agents. They go around clutching fashion catalogues earmarked with personal order and size tags. It is a dark mystery where these catalogues come from... but everyone I know who wants to make an extra buck has it, and peddle it.
What's going for catalogue shopping is the 'gives' payment scheme. The items are more expensive than those in ukay-ukays, but in catalogue-shopping, you can pay in installments --the number of which depends on the negotiation between you and your peddling family, friend, or neighbor. You pay every payday, which makes it easier on your pocket. Your order --just like the catalogue-- gets hand-carried to you, so you don't move a muscle all throughout your shopping spree.
Downside: every Tam, Dikkie, and Harrietta loves the convenience of catalogue-shopping. So do not be surprised if you walk out in your new clothes and find half a dozen other people wearing the very same duds you're wearing. So improvisation via accessories is a good call.

And those are how you live through your fashionable tough times. Hey, beggars can't be choosers. But they can't be losers, too, right?

In Praise of the Paper Plane

I don't usually blog about my shopping finds, but I'm starting with this one.  It was one heck of a juicy steal! 
For only P145.00 at National Bookstore, in the deep recesses of stacked up paperbacks and hardbacks, I discovered The Last Airbender ...uh... Sky Riders craft book.
What's neat about it is that it brought back the simple joy-joy that is the paper plane.  Or, if you want to go a little deeper than that --it introduced the beautiful art of origami to my children.


It came with easy-to-follow instructions which made my kids appreciate craftsmanship and detail.


Activity pages and fun stickers which tickled my boys' thinking caps.


A puzzle that became a bedroom poster once completed.


And, absolute triumph as soon as they've finished 10 paper planes in a variety of designs and an assortment of flight patterns.
I guess there was happiness in flying these planes and watching the dog go insane, but that's purely my boys' shtick.
All in all, I think it's awesome that the paper plane made a comeback in their lives ...and in an airbending way!  Once in a while, it's refreshing to just drop the DS and create something with your hands, with your kids.  Instant Family Project Weekend!  And this time, I didn't even have to think.  Woot for me!