New Year, New Goals - Hydration by S'well

I went through a horrible and messy break up in 2017, and the entire 2018 was filled mostly with moving on. Moving on was such a long and tedious process, and now that I'm back, I have also started focusing more on things that will keep me healthy, and keep my idle mind busy.

I rediscovered Lego during the last few months of 2018, and I have been building playsets that I purchased on... yes, SALE! I'll be posting on that pretty soon.

Recently, I resolved that I should be drinking more water. I don't get to drink the minimum number of liters per day, which, disastrously, has resulted to several ailments that plagued me in 2018, one of which was dehydration.

How do I force myself to drink water? I bought a S'well bottle in Rustan's.

I have actually been meaning to purchase a S'well bottle, but thought that the price was quite steep for a bottle, which a Starbucks tumbler, and Starbucks mugs (You Are Here mugs at that) fulfill rather well. If I had so many of the latter two, why was I still not drinking water?

I realized it was because water kept in a tumbler or a mug for quite a time doesn't keep cold. And when I take a sip, and it isn't cold, I don't bother drinking at all. Add to the fact that I'm tamad to walk all the way to the water dispenser (about 10 meters away), thus spelling disaster in maintaining hydration.

Thank Rustan's further for their end of season sale, I could not resist not buying a S'well bottle. The bottle I purchased was steeply discounted, and I was able to purchase it for PhP 1,170.00. Its original price was PhP 2,850.00. It's a crime not to buy it!

At that price, I also bought a bottle for my mom, and a bottle for my outgoing Finance Manager - a despedida gift.

These are all part of the Love Collection of S'well.

borrowed from shefinds.com

I purchased the 25 oz. bottle size, the largest that they have. The black bottle with  hearts design, I had Rustan's giftwrap for my mother, and the white bottle with stars for my outgoing Finance Manager.

I kept the bottle with Cupid's arrows.

(I will update this blog with a picture of my S'well, when I get enough courage to hold a photoshoot on my office table.) Here's a snapshot of the 25 oz. bottle that I purchased from Rustan's:

And to be honest, since there's limited stock, and the price is really affordable for a S'well bottle, if I keep thinking of the white-starred bottle, I might just go and get a 25 oz. bottle of it for myself!

I got so obsessed with S'well, I started researching on it. Because of the its vacuum seal, and its double insulated wall, it can keep cold drinks cool for up to hours. I've tried this in the office, and my 8-hour workday is just a fraction of the entire day that the water is kept cold inside the bottle. On the 2nd day I was using it, I was easily able to drink about 60 oz. of water in the office.

I also did some online shopping, and discovered a seller who had hoarded S'ip by S'well in the US, probably when it was on clearance in Target, and he is now looking to unload some of his stock. He was selling it for such an affordable price, I also ended up buying a Jelly Bean Green S'ip by S'well bottle - not for me though, but as a gift for someone.

There was a gentleman who messaged me inquiring about my Bencab Swatch watches, and he reminded me of how much fun I had blogging. This is why I started writing again as soon as I got home. Hope you find a pair of the Bencab Swatches!

Update for January 13, 2018

I went to Rustan's Makati today as I had decided to purchase the 25 oz. gold-starred bottle. Guess what surprised me on the S'well table:

They had brought out 17 oz. bottles. My head went into a tizzy. They were only PhP 1,237.50. 

I had no choice to but to pick one out from the three designs. Since I had been viewing videos of S'well online, prominent in the videos was the Ombre Speckle water bottle. I scooped it up, and brought it to my office. 

And here it is, sitting proudly on my desk!

I washed it and am now leaving it uncapped for air-drying, and will fill it up for the drive home. The size is handier for traveling, and I'm sure it'll fit better in the cupholders compared to the 25 oz. bottle.

White Antibes by Potentilla Home Fragrances

This is going to be my first post on the scents that I use for my oil burner/oil warmer.

White Antibes is Honeydew Melon

Surprisingly, I didn't start off with my go-to brand, Itsom. I find that in selecting the perfect scent for my oil burners, I have to use essential oils that are more potent. Lavender may smell the same regardless of the brand of the essential oil, but some manufacturers create that special potent formula, which has a lingering effect when placed on the burner, vs. the watered-down versions that are easily available. And, it isn't really about the price, because, sometimes, the potent essential oils are quite reasonably priced. I digress, because, I discovered last December another brand of burner fragrance oil, that although at first sniff may not seem to be potent enough to linger in the room, actually resonates the air with vibrant notes.

I chanced upon Potentilla's kiosk in Robinson's Magnolia while waiting for Kim to finish having his  hair rebonded. Their booth was on the topmost level of the mall, and my attention was first caught because there seemed to be a lot of people purchasing bottles.

They sold an array of room scents, from reed diffusers to water soluble fragrances, to oil burner fragrances.

I looked at the names of their scents, and with names like Mint Chai, Tea Party, and Baby Powder, I knew that their little bottles held refreshing new notes compared to the usual scents that are readily available elsewhere.

And then there was White Antibes. It was love at first whiff. The scent was mostly composed of honeydew melon. Milky. Sweet. Fresh. Tinge of fruitiness. Smooth all the way.

Here's the White Antibes bottle with tealight oil burners I seldom use

My theory about ensuring to purchase the potent smelling oils were completely thrown out the window, because here was a scent that didn't seem to have enough punch to fill my room, and yet, I wanted it.

I bought it. It was a tad bit pricey compared to Itsom, which can be had for less than a hundred bucks in Landmark, but it was a scent I knew I couldn't get off my head. I have had no regrets.

Now the reason I'm posting about this, is because I have had a bad day at work. I was in the office at 6AM, and I got home at 1AM the following day. And as soon as I got into my room, I cleaned out the Itsom Green Tea scent on the dishes of my oil burners, and I put in White Antibes, and all of a sudden, I feel at peace. The stress from the day is gone. It smells like an easy Sunday brunch in the lanai, at 2AM in my bedroom.

The scent is not overpowering. It doesn't confuse your senses. It calms you. It slows down your thoughts.

And I love it. If Potentilla were to cancel this scent, I would hoard every last drop of it, just to ensure I would have a good enough supply.

And so I just wanted to share.

Well, and if you're interested and happen to chance by Robinson's Magnolia, or their 2nd branch in Glorietta 2, then do give White Antibes a shot.

Farthest shot for the night!

Potentilla Home Fragrances
L3 Robinsons Magnolia, Aurora Boulevard cor. Dona Hemady
New Manila, Quezon City
0917.528.1294

Celtic Love Knot Warmer by Scentsy

I have another baby in my growing collection of candle warmers, or as I use them, oil warmers or oil burners. I was able to acquire a Celtic Love Knot Warmer by Scentsy!

It's another one of my fabulous finds from my Scentsy source. As I have said in several posts, I have been collecting oil burners/oil warmers since 2006. There's a dearth of beautiful electric candle warmers/oil burners here in Metro Manila, so having discovered Scentsy here was such a reward for me.

I have several types of warmers. My first electric oil warmer I purchased from the Assumption Bazaar in Intercontinental sometime late 2006. It was made of wood and parchment, made in a Japanese Zen-style. My next purchase was a blue-glass electric warmer, which I found in Greenhills, that was 2007. In 2009, I discovered Red Clay Factory's terracotta oil burners in Legaspi Sunday Market, and I purchased 2 for myself (a medium straight terracotta burner, and a large pyramid terracotta burner). Unfortunately, only the large pyramid burner survived. During that year, I had gifted the Red Clay burner to some friends, and my dear boss. In 2013, I purchased a Mia Maison warmer, which I still believe was quite expensive!

Then in 2014, I had the luck of discovering Candle Warmers, Etc. in True Value, and to end 2014, I discovered a treasure trove of Scentsy warmers! I have one Candle Warmers, Etc. burner, and 6 Scentsy warmers, the Celtic Love Knot warmer being the latest jewel in my collection.

This warmer, being my flavour for the month, sits atop my antique night table.

I'm currently burning Rosemary, and Ylang Ylang alternately in my room. All the other warmers/oil burners are scattered in the house. I think I try to average about 2 electric oil burners in a room for maximum aromatherapy.

Aromatherapy has a lot of benefits. I often get migraines, and to avoid having to pop a pill so often, I would place essential oils and in the burners and turn these on. Eucalyptus, Rosemary, and Mint are the scents that help with my migraine.

If you're interested in acquiring a Scentsy warmer for your home, by all means, do not hesitate to send me a message, and I will hook you up!

Candle Warmers in True Value

I first purchased an electric oil burner back in 2006, and it was a better alternative to oil burners lit by tealights. They're less of a fire hazard, you can leave them on overnight, and they slowly diffuse the scented oil - you don't run the risk of drying out the water quickly.

I grew to love these and they soon became beautiful accent pieces in my previous condos. In one of my recent trips to True Value in Trinoma, I saw a nice owl-shaped oil burner. 

candlewarmers.com

It was being retailed at PhP 795.75. I did a quick search online and stumbled upon their website - candlewarmers.com. Online, these were retailing at $16.99. They were actually designed to melt scented wax - which are also readily available in Mia Maison stalls. For my purposes, I wanted to use it to diffuse essential oils, my favorite scents being Citronella and Water.

I didn't buy the owl candle warmer right away, instead choosing to wait a good 3 weeks, and lo and behold, my patience was rewarded as it was put on sale at 30% off. I only paid PhP 558.00 for this pretty owl candle warmer/oil burner. 

As usual, my limited photography skills do not do justice to the product at all, hence, let me share more pictures of the owl candle warmer from their website. 

Owl

As soon as I'm able to find a nice spot to place the cute owl in, I'll take a picture and update this post. 

Purchasing the candle warmer wasn't as easy you'd think. Although I had resolved for quite some time already that I'd be getting the owl, when I saw the other options in True Value, I got a bit distracted. Now their website lists about 39 Illumination Fragrance Warmer designs, and True Value carries 5 of these:

Live, Love, Laugh

Vintage Turquoise

Tuscan Cream

Cayenne

I was choosing among Vintage Turquoise, Tuscan Cream, and Owl. However, since there were only 2 pieces left in stock for Owl, I opted to purchase it instead. Anyway, the shape of the fragrance diffuser was unique - I haven't encountered an owl-themed oil burner aside from it.

I was about to buy a 2nd candle warmer, my mom wanted one also, but since I was with Kim, being the economist, he dissuaded me from doing so.

So, I will purchase another candle warmer from True Value perhaps when Kim isn't with me. Who knows, hopefully by that time, they might be on sale at 50% off already!

If you want to know more about Candle Warmers, feel free to visit their website: www.candlewarmers.com

They have an interesting video there of their products. They actually started by warming candles - a safer alternative to burning candles. I'm actually short of convinced to buy their original candle warmer. 

Should you feel the urge to contact True Value in Trinoma to check on the availability of the other candle warmers, because I know I want to purchase the other 4, here is their contact details:

True Value Trinoma

Level 1, Trinoma Mall, Quezon City

0932.629.1658

Honestly, these are quite affordable compared to how much Mia Maison would sell their oil burners. If I were you, I'd buy one while they're on sale. 

Love Advice on Valentine's Day

I got home late last night because I had dinner with Derek, and I was feeling rather overwhelmed with the things he told me, so I ended up coming up with this Facebook status of mine. Really, it was just from the top of my head, not quite thought out.

Much to my surprise, in the morning, I received a hate mail expressing that offense was taken over the top statement, and that I was bitter. Whoa. Really now, I didn't mean anything by it.

I replied, and then went on my way. Before I left the house, I received a message from a good friend of mine from high school requesting permission to share the status on his Facebook timeline. I agreed, by all means, right?

When I checked on my Facebook, there were a good number of likes and about 4 shares already, so I am totally surprised as to why the status is garnering attention.

Anyway, I thought I may as well post the status here in the blog. For today, I will give everyone unsolicited advice and wisdom.

borrowed from http://hungryindc.com/2012/02/07/valentines-day-advice-from-her/

Excerpt from Isaac's Facebook status:

In my 30 years, here are some lessons on love, just in time for Valentine's Day:

1. People get scared when told, "I love you."

These people are cowards, and have no balls. Lose them. And no, the let's be friends crap is, well, bull.

2.  Love is not a contest. A partner is not a prize to be won. 

In the words of She's All That, "Am I a stupid bet?"

3.  Commitment means including your partner in your plans.

4.  Hold on tighter at times when your partner wants to let go. 

That's what a marriage is all about. Forget the crap about setting someone free. When you love someone, fight to keep that person.

5.  Make time. 

If you spend more time with your friends, well, something's wrong. Unless you're doing your friends, well, that's just sick then.

6.  Learn from each other.

Hey, nobody's perfect. Whoever is perfect, is an asshole.

7.  Inform your partner of your whereabouts.

It isn't because there's no trust, but its so that in case the zombies rise from the dead, you know where to get your loved one.

8.  Communicate.

Talk. Text. Email. FaceTime. Post on timelines. Keep the lines open.

9.  Be honest.

Are you sad? Are you scared? Do you need to fart or go to the john? Just say it!

10. Play boardgames together. 

In other words, do fun things together.

Keep  you guys posted for more!