Matilda Jane Trunk Show

I went to session today. During my retail therapy session today I slapped on my latex gloves to go digging in the Goodwill Outlet bins and found just a bag full for the school and a bag full of pottery for myself. I'll air my finds later today on my youtube channel.

But the highlight of my day was attending the Matilda Jane trunk show at a friends house. My friend, Elyse, has three lovely little girls who have a funkalicious wardrobe that I adore. Most of the Matilda Jane fashions are geared towards little girls but there's a fun adult line too. C'mon, moms have to be cute too...and so do their friends! Elyse knows my taste well, so of course she let me know when she was going to have such a shindig. After oohing and ahhing over all of the pieces I narrowed it down to two things. For my more practical everyday side I chose the Lindey capris. Then I chose the Cher dress for work and the occasional social gathering. I might have to break out the ivory cowboy boots on this dress! How I love Matilda Jane.

Goodwill Outlet Song and Dance

Tomorrow I venture to the Goodwill Outlet where I let out (or out let, ha) all of my frustrations and start diving into loads of junk to take home with me. Trust, I will have a video up if I have good finds. Til tomorrow. Ready, set, gloves those hands!

Pictured above...the awesome Ray-Bans that I actually have not used yet. Oh, and they're totally real...case and all.

Bump It Up!

I must say, when you want a little flair in your hair, reach for a bump it. This is my Fump It. I bought a set of them at the Dollar Tree. What a winner.

Sorry I didn't take a picture of the plane toilet

I can't live without the toilet. You can't either, stop blushing. I might write a book soon on toilets if I can stomach it. I was fascinated by my porcelain thrones abroad. I have been on a plane many times but hate using the lavatory (oh, ain't that fancy) on the plane. I hate the cramped space, the fact that we are not on the ground and I constantly think of where all the poo is going, the smell that lingers and the scary sucking noise it makes when I flush. I knew that I couldn't avoid it on my flight to Japan though. 14 hours with no pee pee break ain't gonna cut it sister. I used it and it was the same as before. It doesn't get better on long flights or on ginormous planes. It is almost worst. EVERYONE is going and there are 400 people on the aircraft. Oh, the thought. Bleh and a *shake*.

When we got to Japan, I knew the potties would be a bit different. I knew they would be holes in the ground. I knew if I held it on the plane for the last 4 hours I would have to go in the airport. I stereotyped too. I was thinking, Japan will be clean. It was. It was very clean especially in the bathroom. But you know what? I still freaked out. I walked into the bathroom and the first stall I opened I saw inside, a hole in the floor. I rushed out only to be stopped by Joyce who said, "Look Gina, you have a choice!" She was pointing at the signs that I never read. It had western toilets too. I was so relieved. There I went, 3 stall doors down, there was a pretty bowl to sit on. It was decked out. A nice clean seat, a smaller attachment for children, a child seat to the side if you needed a bathroom babysitter, a nice seat guard dispenser, hand sanitizer, and a toilet paper dispenser all nice and full.

When we were all done using the BR, what 4 hours from then would be called a CR, we discovered Paul used the squatty potty. You could only imagine what that conversation was like after. Pretty funny is what it was.

I am impressed, you kept up with us

Thank you to all of our readers who kept up while we shared our Philippines trip. It was hard living without the internet especially when I have it at my fingertips all of time time whether it is at work, in my car, or in a cave. I can't live without iVan the iPhone or Marcia the Macbook, but wait, I did. For two weeks I did.

I will get back to retail life shortly but I shall basque a little more in my rude awakenings and teachings of the Philippines.

Finally, you have all waited for this one...really? If you're interested visit my youtube channel for videos of us in action at http://www.youtube.com/user/PSILoveSpam

Going to the Philppines? Here are some tips

There are some things we compiled while travelling...some tips if you are going to the Philippines especially if you are Filipino American like us. Or in Michael's case, a white guy. No matter what, they can spot an American, asian or not.

1. Dress for the weather. It is really hot and humid. Maybe even bring a hanky or small towel if you sweat a lot. You will see a lot of people wearing towels around their necks.

2. Tsinelas (flip flops, slippers, etc) are acceptable pretty much anywhere. Construction workers, road crews, etc. wear them on duty too. Oh, and perfect for playing basketball, and even riding horses up a mountain.

3. Be prepared to take cold showers. Hot water is a commodity. Good point though, supposedly cold water is good for your hair.

4. Bring immodium and other things to help your tummy. Remember, their food is different even if you eat filipino food often here in the states. Their health regulations are different too. Joyce thinks "do they have any actual regs?"

5. Only drink bottled water. Sometimes you can get nicer restaurants to serve purified water from their "fountain" but you have to be very careful. It is advised even if you are brushing your teeth. Also, make sure the ice is purified or from a legitimate vendor. It can get tricky.

6. Wear a money belt, sling bag that is not easy to get into or a neck pouch to keep your passport and money on you when going out.

7. when you get your money exchanged try to get small bills like 20's and 50's. Cashiers like smaller bills and exact change.

8. If you take a taxi, make sure he will use the meter before riding with him. Sometimes they will have a flat fee to rip you off especially if you are a tourist. You could be paying 500 pesos for a ride that is really 120 pesos. Be careful. Locals are even skeptical of taxis in the Philppines especially in Manila.

9. With any public transportation know how much they are going to charge you before you hop in. (Tricycle, jeepney, taxi, etc.) Hire a driver during your stay if you can. It is so much more convenient and a lot safer.

10. Most restaurants already charge a 10% service charge to your total bill.

11. Bring toilet paper/tissues and hand sanitizer into any public restroom. You cannot guarantee that there is any supplies in there for you to use. Sometimes there is a toilet paper roll outside of the bathroom for everyone to share.

12. Restrooms are called Comfort Rooms or CR's. "Where is the CR?"

13. Mangoes are delicious, but they can cause severe tummy aches if you eat too many.

14. Prepare yourself for a mysterious smell that lingers from sewage

15. A small child asking for money, a little old lady guiding her blind husband while holding a cup asking for money... beware. it's a scam. and lock your doors. that's when they come out of the woodworks - at red lights!

16. The way they drive in traffic is completely normal and honking the horn and flashing your high beams at people is a source of communication, not road rage.

Feeling beastly as I shopped

Greenhills what?!

My cousin took me back to Greenhills to do my favorite thing...SHOP. Now this is the place to do it. If you want any kind of replica anything it's here. And if it is popular in the US then the chepaer it gets and the more you can bargain. Take a Louis Vuitton Mongram Speedy 30 for example. This is a popular bag back at home but will cost you about $750. Here you can get a replica for about Php1200 but you can talk them down to let's say Php900. That's about $20. You can get the Class A bag which is closer to the real thing, even made of leather (they'll hold a lighter up to it to show you) for about Php2000 which is about $45. Here is the best part, the more you buy from the same vendor the more you can save. They keep adding on the discounts. Oh, even better, they will even give you a Louis Vuitton Class A dustbag and shopping bag. It was a little overwhelming and very fascinating.

You can get other things at Greenhills like Filipino handicrafts, linens, clothes, t-shirts, jewelry (there is an excellent pearl "mall" there), electronics, etc. They wanted to also take us to Divisoria or 168 mall because the bargains are even better but they said it was too dangerous especially because we were foreigners. Michael would've given us away. We actually had him stay behind in another aisle or part of the store while we were bargaining so we could get away with more. I was advised not to talk but you know me. I couldn't resist while shopping!