Biggest thus far

Schmug's biggest collection (thus far) will be out tomorrow, Monday, March 19, 1:00 PM! Alarm na your phones! ;)

Do drop by http://schmug.multiply.com/! 50++ clothes, 6 bags await!

Oh, and we are also now on Facebook!!!! 

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Healthy Alternatives

You know what they say, prevention is better than cure. Here are some alternatives that could change anyone's life. 

1. Ditch those bottled/cartoned juices and start making your own juice!

Currently, I am drinking three tall glasses of different mixes of fruit and even vegetable juice a day. I am on my fifth haha day of having it thrice (!!!!) a day. I increased it from once to thrice a day for reason I'd rather not divulge. 

Let's face it, it would take lots of time and energy to eat a whole bunch of romaine lettuce, an apple, a pineapple, a guava, a carrot, a celery, a cucumber, beetroot, pomelo, and what have you, but with juicing you get all the nutrients from all these raw food in just one gulp. My golly, it would take a whole lifetime for me to chop, chew, and ingest all those! And if that's the case, no thank you, I honestly won't bother. Thank God there's juicing! You can infuse your body with live enzymes quite (washing, peeling, and chopping fruits and veggies, and cleaning the juicer and all utensils used is serious business, noh!) easily. We peel them and wash them properly because not many of the fruits and veggies we buy are organically grown, thus, loaded with pesticides. :( 

Remember, a juicer is different from a blender. A blender will just puree them while a juicer leaves you with pure organic water from your fruits and vegetables. It is also important to consume your juice immediately because it is highly perishable esp. veggie juice, and ma always tells us that the enzymes die if we don't drink it right away.   

Usual mixes we do at home:

- Pomelo and apple

- Lettuce and apple

- Guava (super rich in Vit C!) and apple

- cucumber, 3 carrots (carrots don't have much juice / water content), and apple

- forgot the others na, so much more combinations you can do! =) But yes, we almost always have apple in our mixes.

OH, and we usually put freshly picked malunggay / morninga, too, in our juices! Sometimes, wheatgrass too. 

If you still have no idea what I am talking about, think juices from Fruit Magic you see in malls.

"...I am firmly convinced that juicing is the final key to giving you a radiant, energetic life, and truly optimal health.

... valuable and sensitive micronutrients become damaged when you heat foods. 

Cooking and processing food destroys these micronutrients by altering their shape and chemical composition. ...

Virtually every health authority recommends that we get 6-8 servings of vegetables and fruits per day and very few of us actually get that. Juicing is an easy way to virtually guarantee that you will reach your daily target for vegetables." --directly lifted from Juicing, Your Key to Radiant Health by Dr. Mercola

For the past number of years, we use the 6-in-1 Multipurpose Juice Extractor by Matstone. They say it's "the only juicer *that can juice malunggay".
Another alternative favorite to tetra-packed juices is buko (coconut) juice... with no added sugar please!

2. Eat brown rice or red rice instead of white rice

Let me just directly quote some lines from Discover Cuenca Ecuador's blog post reg. white vs. brown: 

White rice, like white bread products contribute to many kinds of health afflictions, one being diabetes and at the very least, two being whacky blood sugar levels. ...  White rice, unlike the whole grain brown rice makes you constipated and that will make you feel and look very unhealthy overtime. 

BROWN RICE HAS:

• twice the manganese and phosphorus of white.

• 2.5 times the iron.

• 3 times the vitamin B3.

• 4 times the vitamin B1.

• 10 times the vitamin B6.

• and no blood sugar spikes like white rice

• gives you much more energy

• makes you feel and look healthier

It is a great source of manganese, essential for energy production, antioxidant activity, and sex hormone production."- White Rice and the Almuerzos (lunches) of Ecuador post

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

According to Dr. Gargi Sharma, "Brown rice and red rice are quite similar when we talk about them on the nutritional front. Both are great sources of fibre, B vitamins, calcium, zinc and iron, manganese, selenium, magnesium and other nutrients. One thing that sets the red variety apart from its brown counterpart is it being enriched with antioxidants that can help fight damaging free radicals in our body." -directly lifted from White Rice, Brown Rice Or Red Rice: Which One is the Healthiest?

Personally, I prefer red rice over brown rice. :)

3. Vegetable bouillon and Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Use these flavorings instead

Maggi cubes < Vegetable bouillon

Soy sauce < Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Bragg's Liquid Aminos is a personal favorite!! Whenever I steam vegetables (young corn, beans, beansprouts), I add it (or sea salt!) for the kick I want. =) 

4. Vegemeat!

Personal vegemeat favorite: Bopis!!! It's even better than the 'real' bopis!! Wrap it in romaine lettuce and bam!, heaven in your mouth and tummy.

You can buy vegemeat in stores, um, selling them. ;p Bodhi is one fast food chain known to serve (only) vegetarian dishes. 

Vegemeat > Animal meat

5. Soya milk!

I love soya milk and I know you do, too! So, I'm putting it here =)

So many more alternatives out there! Alternatives to junk food, skin (paraben free) products, vitamins / medicines, yada yada. Bottomline: Plant produced over animal produced, and natural over synthetic. But there's no better alternative to the wonders of (drinking) water. Cheers!

**Made use of the fancy collages from picnik.com because it will be closing on April 19, 2012. :(

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Get Polished! Nail Spa

I got an e-mail a month or so ago and was invited by Ms. Rachel Concepcion, the owner of Get Polished! Nail Spa (yes, with an exclamation point! Spells conviction!) to try any of their 'royal/superstar treatments'. I checked on their website and got stoked right away with the wide array of services they offer! They have nail care, nail enhancements, and even eyelash extension, and waxing services.

Last week, I visited their Katipunan branch together with a good friend. I had Get Polished Spa Pedicure + which includes yes, a pedicure, and deep sea clay foot wrap. It's their detox treatment! The word and description detox totally got me! For my hands, I had classic manicure. :)

Christmasy @ Get Polished! Katipunan!! <33

Sample nail art! 

Ms. Cherry asked me to choose among the available GP! salt scrub variants. I had hard time choosing since everything smelled so revitalizing! 

I ended up having the Citrus and Green Tea scrub which they say goes well with GP Spa Pedi +.

After that, we chose our polish. They have wide selection of nail polish! The brands they carry are really good! They have Opi Nail Lacquer, Essie, Orly, Color Club, Zora, China Glaze Nail Lacquer, and a whole lot more! It made choosing twice, thrice harder!! 

Since I am Ms. Safe, I chose OPI's Manicurist of Seville which is a rich sangria color. 

Elena chose a polish from Zoya --something neon (forgot what the color is called exactly), perfect for the holidays daw. :)

GP Spa Pedi + (450php) starts with a warm soak.

Sigfrid saw the bubbles and wanted to put in his feet too!!! Soo cute!! 

We had to tell him that it's for girls only! Thank God he didn't throw a tantrum! 

Lookit bebe Sigfrid playing in one nook!

Thanks GP staff for arranging a play space for him. Sorry if he kept on running around! Thanks for the patience and for lending him your animal stuff toys on display! =)

Anyhoo, ate silently and carefully doing my feet! 

If you want attendants who will silently (no gossiping, no attendants talking loudly who know that you go to a nail spa to have a quiet time and not some sort of bubbly entertainment) give you the best pampering you need (at affordable service rates), then, Get Polished! Nail Spa is definitely the place you are looking for!!  

Next, they applied the Citrus and Green Tea scrub for exfoliation! So aromatic!

Then, they applied the deep sea clay which stayed on my feet for 20 minutes. 

Felt like taking a nap due to the short but oh-so-good therapeutic hand and feet massages!! 

Classic Mani (160php)

We were attended by two staff each! One who made our feet and another one who made our hands! Felt like I was really pampered and well attended. <3

Happy feet!!

Elena had Classic Manicure (160php) and Classic Pedicure (200php).

Sigfrid having his fries and even fell asleep... While momma feeling all donya with two servants! JK! ;P

They have a drier!! Perfect for those on-the-go and just for anyone!!! Need not worry to get your nails chapped!

I actually wanted to try their eyelash extension (with free retouch after 4 days!!). Maybe next time! I am really happy with my Spa Pedicure + and classic manicure! Staying at their nail spa for 3 hours was totally worth it! Loved the intimate set-up, in between hand and foot massages (AHHH soooo good!!! I actually wanted to request a prolong), and comfy spa sofa chairs. 

Thanks, Get Polished!, for having us!

Thanks, Ms. Rachel and Ms. Cherry! Sorry again for the mishmash!

Till our next visit! ;)

Get Polished! magazine features!

Get Polished! Nail Spa is open 10AM to 9PM daily. Visit them at:
>>Unit 104 Loyola Heights Condominium #23 dela Rosa St. cor. Abada St. Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Tel. No. +63 2 4833224 
Cellphone No. +63 9175779494
>>189-B Aguirre Ave. BF Home Phase 3, Paranaque City 
Tel. No. +632 4915934
Cellphone No. +63 9175779494 
>>38 AC Building Mezzanine, Sct. Ybardolaza St. Timog, Quezon City  
Tel. No. +63 2 4092235
Cellphone No. +63 9175779494
>>They just opened (if I'm not mistaken) their 4th branch at the 2nd floor, One Archers Place beside La Salle. 
Visit their website for more info: http://www.getpolished.com.ph
Visit and like their facebook page for updates: http://www.facebook.com/PamperedAtGetPolished

Some photos from Get Polished! Nail Spa's website and multiply page.

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Coron, baby, Palawan

Who doesn't want to go to places? Scratch that, who doesn't want to visit NEW places and have that YEARNED for breath of fresh air! No one! N O  O N E! Weeks ago, together with two awesome girl friends, we had a swell time at Coron, Palawan for four days! *100 watt smile* 

I feel like I am a transformed being -someone carefree, energetic, and up to any (thinks twice) adventure -every time I walk in awe and get lost and giddy in foreign and unfamiliar street; this is one constant thing that travelling does to me which I find really healthy.

We arrived in primitive Busuanga airport past 4 in the afternoon. Let me take you to all the places we went to thru photos (warning: photo heavy) and captions and more rather informative blahs.

DAY 1: 

From the airport, we were fetched by a van to Darayonan where we lodged.
Darayonan has a pool!!! One of the cleanest swimming pool I swam in! Swimming in a pool never felt that good!! The water is clean and has the right temperature. It was neither hot nor cold! #notOA

5:30-6:30 PM: We were supposed to have a trek to Mount Tapyas, but we decided to couch our lazy bums.

We went to Maquinit Hot Springs right ahead instead (ahhh, very rejuvenating!!! Must visit!). The road going to the place is dark and scary as there are no lamp posts along the way. Any bad soul can harm and can kill you along the way without anyone knowing. You can scream all you want and try to get some help but to no avail, we had that sort of feeling and conversations while riding the tricycle. Good thing there are no NPAs and Coron is inhabited by good people only. According to a local, they hold a record of 0% crime rate. #howtrue

The water tasted salty and I thought that they use saline system. It was something unusual and I really thought that the salt was artificially induced to sanitize the water. But according to research, it is the only salt water hot spring in the Philippines. Ok. So, that explains why. Get ready to plunge in 40 degrees Celsius water.
Entrance fee: 150php for adults

After that, we had dinner at Kawayanan Grill. Do yourselves a favor, do not consider eating here. There are way way better choices (read further below).
The food was actually ok. I ordered sisig and I liked it. Nothing special, but again, I honestly liked it and finished a whole sizzling plate and would recommend their sisig. The thing is they have small servings and they are overpriced. So, no, thank you. 

[Just click on the link to see the photos. I didn't upload and show em to you here since the photos are dark and grainy.]

DAY 2:
We spent two or even three hours sailing and in the middle of our boat ride, we stopped (not once but twice!!!) due to some boat problems and it even drizzled! @%^%$#@!@#$%! Thank God the rain didn't pour or else it will be scarier.

Complementary hotel breakfast every morning!

Basically how each day in Coron started.

As usual, last birds to arrive.

Scaredy cats!
We were the only ones in the group who put our lifevests on, see.

First stop was Banana Island Resort where we had lunch. The beach/shore was stony. Bleech.
Entrance / environmental fee: 100php

CRABSSSSS!

Then, we went to Malcapuya Island. The water's soooo pristine and clean, and the sand is fine! We had a parcel of  the beach for ourselves. Some opted to go snorkeling; we stayed.
Entrance / environmental fee: 200php

We had dinner at Bistro Coron. I enjoyed my meal!! Herbed slices of meat with rice + extra rice! Most customers shared and finished a pizza and a pasta and looked really tempting! We were actually reminded of the food in Bonito's in Los Banos, Laguna.

DAY 3:
This is our most jam-packed day. We went to five tourist attractions. Unlike day 2, we had shorter boat rides and the weather was oh-so-perfect for the beach. Mr. Sun was smiling at us!

We fed fishes at Siete Pecados Marine Park. You stop (in the middle of the vast sea) at Siete Pecados to snorkel and marvel at what lies beneath. And there we were just swimming and pulled by kuya bangkero/guide around. ;P

Oha, lifevest + lifebuoy + kuya maneuvering us!!

Nothing spectacular. Not so much variety.

We went to Kayangan Lake next. It is dubbed as one of the cleanest lake in the Philippines. And wow, we passed through cluster of islands before we arrived at the jump-off point. It was breathtaking!! From there, we climbed up and down (300 steps, if my memory serves me right) huge slabs of stones.
Entrance / environmental fee: 200php

We stopped by a summit and marveled at the view.

There were small small fishes swimming around near the platform.

We also swam through a small cave. It was majestic!!! It was like there were blue lights below! I was a bit scared (closeted scarred) but it was really majestic inside! Look up and you'll see small amount of sunlight passing through walls of jagged limestones nearly rubbing each other. We were reminded of James Franco <33 127 hours.

We had lunch at Smith's Point Beach after. It is just a small paradise but it was our most serene beach stop. The sand was really really fine like powder, crushed polvoron fine!! The sand is not composed of crushed shells and really tiny stones like most white sand beaches we already consider remarkable, rather, its sand evenly disperses in water! AMAZINGGG! Finest one I've ever been too, thus far!

After few good minutes of having awesome swimming time at Smith's, off we went to Skeleton Wreck where a sunken Japanese ship can be seen. They say you can see it just by snorkeling, meaning, it is not that deep. We were actually wondering how a ship (ships are huge, right) sunk there when we have a vivid view, while at the boat, of the life below. Instead of snorkeling, we fed fishes. We were adventurous like that, lelz! There were more variety of fishes here compared to Siete Pecados Marine Park.

See those big floating balls there? Below that mark is the ship.

Them snorkeling around

While we opted to stay dry under the sun and just fed fishes.

See, there are more various pretty fishes here than in Siete Pecados Marine Park.

Last in our itenerary was Twin Lagoons. It was low tide when we visited, and so we passed underneath a cave with pointy edges that can cut your skin, so you better be careful. The water here is really really strange! One moment the water is cold, and the next it is warm! I am not kidding! Just few tiny, really few tiny moves and paddles and the water temperature changes. Awesome, at the same time, pretty strange. They say it is because of the current. You must visit it and experience for yourself!!

Entrance fee: 100php per lagoon. Yes, they're twin but you have to pay separately. We just went to one lagoon.

Drop off point

Passed through that small opening down there to get to the lagoon!
all photos of Twin Lagoon from Google images


We had dinner at Manneken Pis and bam, best dinner in Coron!!!!!! It is where I tasted the best bread in the entire world!!! I am not a bread person. I am actually a rice over bread (sandwiches, burgers) person, but I can be a convert if only I get to have their loaf every single freakin' day!!! Its slices are bigger than the typical pan available in the groceries. The size got me overwhelmed, but when I took a bite with my bacon and egg, @#$%^&*(*&^%$#, there was heaven in my mouth!!!!!!! Every munch was heaven in my mouth, sex in my mouth, and what have you! I MISS MANNEKEN PIS! They can (must) put up a branch in the city and I am damn sure that they will have lots of patrons *count me in*.

The place is nicely interiored and it's cozy inside. They have free wi-fi, some were actually bringing their laptops with them. The meals are really affordable albeit not compromising the quality and taste. Promise me you'll eat here when you visit Coron, Palawan!!

THE BEST!!! THE BEST!!! THE BEST!!!
Two sunny side ups, bacon strips, and the winner bread slices!!!

Lim's! She didn't finish this. Not sure if this one was good!

V's! Ahhh, their bread!! And you can tell with its taste that they use good ham! Affordable yet quality!

DAY 4:
Last day was allotted to scour the market and souvenir shops to buy pasalubong!
And well, pack our things up.

Last breakfast in Darayonan! Last brecky in Coron!

We had lunch at Coron Village Lodge

Yummehhh bulalo!

available @ Coron Village Lodge Souvenir shop

Mode of transportation there

Bought danggit in the public market.

Thank God there's Zagu in/near the public market to quench the heat!! It was soooo hot that day!

At the airport where terminal fee is just 20PHP!!! Dapat lang!:

Had latte while waiting for the plane

Bbye, Coron!!

In case you want to know, we availed of a package tour inclusive of hotel accommodation, 3 hotel breakfast (2nd till 4th day) and 2 lunch (2nd and 3rd day), and boat rentals and tours.
Environmental fee to all beaches and other tourist attractions, dinner, snorkel rental, and air fare (I think we got ours for 876 pesos each two-way already) are excluded from the package. 

We shelved out roughly 8,000 pesos each for this tour.  

WHEN: November 14-17, 2011
Yes, pretty late post! ;P
Some photos from Leemae (fish eye!!) and Vea

      

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