Monday, October 14, 2013

Celebrating My Birthday with a Few of My Favorite Things + a Special Giveaway!


October is my favorite month of the year! In New York the leaves would be turning burnished golds, bright oranges, and all shades of browns, there's a Thanksgiving meal to look forward to, there's Halloween - which is an excuse for me to watch Hocus Pocus again (Sarah Sanderson is the best character Sarah Jessica Parker has ever played), and to add to all of that - my birthday!

Yours truly is turning 28, and I have been given so much this year that I want to share my blessings with all of you! So I'm doing a very, very special birthday giveaway! This isn't to be scoffed at as each loot bag holds a few of my favorite things - from waxing, to food, to nail care!

Read up on a few of my favorite things and find out what's in store for you when you join the raffle:

Browhaus
Nothing highlights a woman's face better than beautiful eyebrows - and that's exactly what Browhaus does! All of their Brow Architects have been trained in the art of painless threading and tweezing for at least three months in sunny Singapore, so I know I'm in very good hands whenever I pay them a visit. And because of that, I'm throwing in a gift certificate to Browhaus in each loot bag! How's that for a brow-wow day?

Strip
Nothing is worse than overgrown clump of vajizzle hair. Not only is it unhygienic, it just looks like a small animal just decided to lie on your crotch and die. I urge all you ladies and men who have never gotten their Brazilian deforested to try it at least once, at Strip, to see the difference and realize it isn't all that painful as movies make it to be. And what's more, the more you strip it off, the less and less pain you feel 'til it's virtually pain-less. The Striperellas are all very professional and well-trained, and the wax always smells of something delicious, I have to keep reminding myself that the wax isn't edible. So all the winners get to go home with a gift certificate from Strip, too!

St. Nails Spa
I have recently been turned into a gel polish convert. The polish hardly ever chips and feels like another layer of nail. Using LED lights, it dries in a matter of minutes and can last you up to a month. You will just have to come back in to get it taken off, and probably have a new coat of gel polish applied. My favorite place to get this done is St. Nails. The plush purple seats invite to you get cozy, and you get treated with a warm herbal compress and hot tea while well-trained nail technicians take care of cutting, filing and buffing your digits to however you want them - round, square or squoval! Two lucky ducks will get a gift certificate added to their growing loot bag!

Sentro 1771
I was never a huge fan of Filipino food until I came across Sentro. Now I go there with every chance I get - savoring everything from their Fried Kesong Puti, their popular Corned Beef Sinigang, their deliciously rich hot chocolate, and their Leche Flan with Quezo de Bola and Salted Egg. Their modern Filipino dishes are friendly on the pocket and crazy good, giving new meaning to what panlasang Pinoy means. And yes, all the loot bags will have gift certificates courtesy of Sentro!

Fruitas Shakes
When it isn't raining in the tropics, it's scorching hot, which is why Fruitas is one of my favorite cheats I use to beat the heat! Not only do their shakes make sure you get some fruit in your diet, it's also proudly Pinoy owned and very, very affordable. So yes, Fruitas gift certificates for everyone who wins the loot bag!

Yabu: House of Katsu
When you say katsu, I say Yabu! Katsu? Yabu! Katsu? Yabu! I've fallen in love with this local katsu joint over, and over, and over again. Whether you get their premium katsu, their Cream Dory Katsu, their Menchi, any of their curries or their bento boxes, there is never a dull order at this place. Plus, with unlimited miso soup, shredded cabbage, and rice (you can also ask for brown!), each trip there is worth it! And as an added bonus, if you look at their blogger wall, you might just catch my review there! So from the very generous folks at Yabu, I get to give away gift certificates to the winners of the raffle!

Zomato
When I think of the best online restaurant listing in the country, I think Zomato. They have the prettiest website with the easiest navigation ever, which makes it so easy to check out restaurant menus so I can set a budget for myself before heading out. I also downloaded the Zomato app, which makes it super easy to check out what restaurants are nearby that I could try that won't be a waste of money. Also, I've gotten quite a few gift certificates from them just for posting restaurant review of my own, which is pretty sweet! And because I asked nicely enough, I have seven random restaurant gift certificates to give to the lucky seven winners!

Breakfast Magazine
The premier food magazine in the country, the people behind Breakfast Magazine make sure every issue is packed with interesting stories, restaurants, and people. It just so happens that this month I happen to be a contributor to the swag mag, so each winner gets Breakfast Magazine's latest issue! Happy reading!

Schmuzter - a company of The Good Life Now, Inc.
I am so proud to have founded this company and see it grow from a baby start up to a booming business! We now handle the social media accounts of some of the top companies in and around the Philippines, in New York, and have recently expanded our operations to Singapore! Every great loot bag needs a pen, so I'm slipping one in each bag. Lol. Sorry, we ran out of t-shirts.


Running amuck in Manila can be pretty hard work, and I just want to say thank you to everyone who has read and supported this little blog along the course of this year. I hope you've enjoyed reading the posts as I have enjoyed featuring them, and I'm crossing my fingers and toes for an ever more spectacular year 28!

Join the raffle below. I'm picking out seven winners on October 29th!

Good luck!


Just mucking around Manila,


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