ShopCrazy

Magazine articles on do-it-yourself spa treatments have always struck me as a little strange.  Is it really possible to pamper yourself, if you have to do-it-yourself?  Maybe not, because you can’t tickle your own feet and laugh, or send yourself flowers and get kilig.

Home spa treatments have to be done with proper decadence, so they can live up to their self-indulgent promise.  Therefore, they work best when not self-inflicted.  Orange Home Spa is a service that can bring high-quality spa services to your home, with just one phone call.  The manager, Eric Tan, says all of Orange’s therapists are certified by the Philippine Wellness Institute and undergo professional training.  Many of them are college graduates who took up Physical Therapy.

At P300 per hour, these massages are affordable even by out-of-home standards.  Big bonus:  you don’t have to get up after getting kneaded to sleep to put your clothes back on and drive groggily home.  Simply grunt goodbye to your masseuse, and pass out on your own bed.

Click on the jump to see Orange Home Spa’s menu of services and contact information. (more…)

Last December 2006, I attended the opening of Blow-up Babies photo studio in Serendra, The Fort. I’ve heard of its first branch at Gateway Mall in Araneta Center, but never got around to checking it out. They shoot excellent portraits with unique themes and set-ups. I’m glad I went because Diego, the Pooch with the Fro, and I had fun!

(more…)

This pig looks like a logo for spicy chicharon, but it actually represents the Year of the Fire Pig, which will be upon us on February 17th or 18th, 2007 depending on which part of the world we’re in (it’s the 18th for the Philippines and anywhere GMT+8 or higher).

While the taipans play dice games and feast on lauriats at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, plebes like ourselves must be content with eating tikoy at the office . . . no, wait. The Mandarin Oriental, purported to be Manila’s vortex of good fortune at the start of every lunar year, is holding a reasonably priced feng shui workshop on February 5, 2007, 5:00-8:00 pm, through its in-house Yin & Yang shop. Click on the jump to learn more.

(more…)

I flew to Singapore on Cebu Pacific’s new budget flight.  The lowest rate for roundtrip Manila-Singapore is around P9,537 at the moment.  This includes taxes, insurance, and fuel surcharge.  (Webmaster’s note:  The advertised rate is P2,499, but this is a one-way rate that does not yet include all the add-on charges, so don’t expect this to be the final amount you will be paying.)  This is a big difference from the usual US$350 (about P17,000+) cost of a regular Manila-Singapore roundtrip ticket on other airlines.  So what should you expect on the Cebu Pacific budget flight to Singapore?  Does the saying “you get what you pay for” apply?

(more…)

A long time ago I gave my lola an album with pictures of her whole brood (seven kids!), their families, their children, and even grandchildren (that would her great grand children). It was no easy task since it was before the digital age and I had to ask titas and cousins living abroad to snail mail me their pictures. Needless to say, it was a gift that was long in the making but was a total hit.

These days, you need not go through that much trouble. A group of cousins who probably love giving personalized gifts as much as I do have come up with a terrific idea to solve the problem. Click Photos makes photo books in various sizes and covers to fit any budget, desk and wall calendars, and other fantastic products.

(more…)