Noritake Royal Orchard 9416 Salt and Pepper Shaker

I was with my sister today, and we ended up going to my favourite Gourdo's outlet store. She was looking for a soap dish, and they had an entire bathroom set there on sale at PhP 75.00 only. So I got her two sets.

There was also a nice porcelain tea pot in the store which was only PhP 90.00, so I purchased a piece.

The piece de resistance, however, was the Noritake Royal Orchard 9416 salt and pepper shaker they had on sale. 

A couple weeks back, I purchased from the same store a pair of Noritake Opulence salt and pepper shakers. They were on sale, presumably at 70% off.

Now, this design was on sale at roughly the same amount.

It says on the bottom Noritake Japan, which means it came from Noritake, Japan. Noritake used to have a factory producing sets here in Manila, run by Porcelanosa Mariwasa, Inc., and it was located in Marikina, before.

I got a pair, and I have yet to decide whether this will be used on the dinner table, to replace the Gourdo's Swan salt and pepper shaker I purchased from their store in BGC, or if it goes in the antique china cabinet for display. 

Either way, it was such a good buy!

Essential Oils

I love it when the house smells like a spa.

I have about 2 electric oil burners in each room. Now depending on the mood or the need, I switch between so many different scents.

If there seems to be a lot of mosquitoes, I burn Itsom's Citronella on the burner. If I want to relax, then I put in Zen Zest's Grapefruit, or Potentilla's White Antibes, or Chemworld's Eucalyptus. If I have a headache, I burn BC Fragrance's Rosemary.

The scents also have a way of setting the mood. Last Christmas, I used Mia Maison's Pine essential oil. 

I also have several oil burners/oil warmers. I have a burner from Mia Maison, Candle Warmers, Etc., Red Clay Factory, Essenza, and of course, several Scentsy warmers. 

I'll be showing in future posts my reviews of essential oils that I use and discover. And of course, I'll be showing of my beautiful warmers!

Marks and Spencer End of Season Sale (January 3 - February 8, 2015)

Marks and Spencer has an end of season sale until February 8, 2015. I was already able grab a couple of regular fit denims for PhP 660.00. Really great buy!

You guys ought to check them out! Since I'm rather big, I can only find my sizes in select stores in Metro Manila, Marks and Spencer being one of them.

I also bought my dad a pair of Maroon denims for such a steal. Better hie on off to the nearest Marks and Spencer store to take advantage of this!

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

Noritake Salt and Pepper Shaker from Gourdo's

After purchasing the Essence wax warmer, I discovered an As Is Where Is store by Gourdo's. It sells damaged items, and some product overruns of the stores. And lo and behold, I was able to spot some quality products that were obviously unappreciated, but worth so much.

I saw a salt and pepper shaker set from Noritake's Opulence collection:

Now my mother raised me to have a keen eye for the finer things in life, and she practically brainwashed me that the china of choice for the dining table is Noritake. 

Noritake used to have a factory here in Manila, hence purchasing fine china back then was quite easy. Ever since they pulled out, however, the Noritake fix had to come with the expensive price tag that it is well-known for. 

We used to have Noritake dinner service from its Valhalla collection. But then, that was years ago, and the gold edges have already faded. There are some pieces that are still usable though. 

If you were to look underneath the china, you would see which country it was manufactured in. Most of the Noritake plates sold locally are now manufactured in Sri Lanka, however the more expensive ones are those made in Japan. 

This salt and pepper shaker set that Gourdo's put on sale at such an affordable price of PhP 300.00 was made in Japan, so I had to snatch up a set before anybody else discovers it. Definitely a treasure trove of Noritake pieces in that store! There's actually another Noritake salt and pepper shaker set from the Gourmet Harvest Royal Orchard Collection, which I definitely plan on buying. Maybe, I should start a salt and pepper shaker collection?

Essenza Wax Warmer

This is my fabulous discovery. I was able to purchase an Essenza Wax Warmer from a wonderful seller in OLX.

Here are some of the shots I took of the wax warmer after I unboxed it:

Below is a picture of the warmer dish's base bearing the trademark of Essenza:

Essenza is sold exclusively in Costco in  the US. The seller initially had 5, but there were only 2 remaining. I told her after we met that if I dream of the other model that she has, I'll also purchase it.

The only setback was that the warmer's GU10 halogen bulb is 110V. It was a good thing I had a 220V GU10 bulb. That particular bulb is difficult to find nowadays in halogen, as most of the manufacturers are concentrating on LED lights, which is pretty unfair especially if you need to use the bulb as a heating element.

Nonetheless, if I'm unable to find a replacement bulb, then its a matter of converting the electric mechanism to hold an incandescent candle bulb instead.

I tried it as soon as I got home, and placed it in the living room, popped in one of the scents that came with the box, and it smelled wonderful.

Essenza, like Scentsy, makes scented wax bars also. I'll try to post pictures of the wax bars that the seller gave me in another post.

The warmer is a bit smaller and compact compared to my Scentsy warmers, but it is pretty elegant. I also noticed that the dish is shallower than Scentsy's, which limits the number of wax cubes I can melt. Still, I love it!

For good measure, here are some pictures I borrowed online showing the warmer I was able to purchase:

Wonderful Discovery!

I have a wonderful discovery that I am so excited to purchase in a bit. I am just super excited, I can't wait but share before I drive out to buy this beautiful warmer from Costco!

I'll be doing some stocking up of incandescent bulbs later, as well. So that I have a steady supply for my warmers at home.

I'll be posting pictures of my purchase in a bit, although I'm sure by now, you've guessed what exactly I will be purchasing!

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!

Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles

I have been reading quite voraciously again, lately. I finished the Maze Runner series, Tragic Theatre by G.M. Cornell (which had quite a few typographical and grammar errors), Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl (quite interested in Dark Places as well), and John Saul's House of Reckoning (which, I reckon, is the best revenge novel I've read).

My resolutions for 2015, however, is to be able to finally read through Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. There are quite a few novels in this series already. Let me list the novels according to order and published date:

1. Interview with the Vampire (1976)

2. The Vampire Lestat (1985)

3. Queen of the Damned (1988)

4. The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)

5. Memnoch the Devil (1995)

6. The Vampire Armand (1998)

7. Merrick (2000)

8. Blood and Gold (2001)

9. Blackwood Farm (2002)

10. Blood Canticle (2003)

11. Prince Lestat (2014)

I already have Interview with the Vampire, and I started reading it. I also have a copy of The Vampire Lestat, The Tale of the Body Thief, and The Vampire Armand.

Obviously, the challenge here is finding the other novels. I know Queen of the Damned is readily available in National Bookstore, Fully Booked, and Powerbooks, but what about the rest? Will also be checking Booksale for good measure.

So that's my reading challenge for 2015. Hope you guys will also find time this year to read a good book or two.