My girl friend Kring has a baby! Kring and her Korean bf Jimmy are bringing the Korean “Fancy Shop” concept to the Philippines. Needless to say, I'm jumping with joy and excitement. And I'm not the only one. KPop has been growing in popularity in the Philippines. And along with it, the clamor for everything Korean. Enter C.N.A. CNA stands for Culture Nature Art. It's a Korean concept store that sells fancy jewelry, hair ornaments, trinkets, and other stuff Korean! All of the products sold at CNA are manufactured and imported from Korea. Kring Elenzano and Jimmy Kim aka The Krimmy Couple is bringing this cornucopia of everything Korean to the Philippines. CNA Philippines will officially launch in Metro Manila in 2012 but they're giving us a sneak peek this December at various bazaars and events this December. Check out CNA at these venues: Dear Santa Bazaar from December 2 - 4 at The Megatent, Meralco Ave., Ortigas Noel Bazaar from December 9 - 18 at the PICC Forum, CCP Complex Noel Bazaar from December 21 - 23 at the World Trade Center, Pasay The 3rd Philippine Kpop Convention at The Megatent, Meralco Ave., Ortigas I hope to get the…
Category: hobbies and interests
Looking Forward to Iloilo Again
I was able to go to Iloilo City for the first time last year and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The people, the food, the sights, and the over-all ambiance of the city made me feel at home. My Iloilo trip opened with quite a bang. A relative treated Winston and I to a lunch at Breakthrough. Winston declared that talaba was just as delicious as oysters. LOL! Aside from generous amounts of oysters, we also had shrimps kinilaw, crab meat omelette, and grilled fish. All of them memorable. My uncle almost convinced me to take a road trip to Roxas just to eat even more seafood. I was able to go on a walking tour of Iloilo City with bloggers Fitz, Don, Winston, Rina, and our knowledgeable guide, Sam. I enjoyed it even if I absolutely loathe walking. Iloilo has very interesting architecture and old structures from the Spanish era are still in place. Plus, they have many beautiful churches with interesting stories. The tour ended with a sunset view of Guimaras and a hearty dinner at Carlito's, punctuated with Baye-Baye ala Mode. I was able to go out a couple of nights. I ate yummy ribs and beef stew…
Checklist for My November 2011 Manila Trip
I'm going to Manila this November to attend some functions, have a few meetings, and for a little bit of vacation. I want this trip to be a bit different. Instead of coffee shops, malls, and the usual places I go to, I want to go to unique places. Binondo The first time I went to Binondo was sometime 2005 or 2006 with my cousin. We had joined a walking tour. I was fascinated by the temples, old houses, and old buildings. I also enjoyed the food and the other sights that I saw. Kuya Andrew, several friends and I went to Binondo for another walking tour in 2008. Aside from the yummy food we ate, I found walking through Binondo to be an interesting experience. I'm not really Chinese but I found the culture, the sights, and sounds to be very homey. And I do want to go back for another walking tour. Philippine National Museum People suggested that I visit museums. Silly me. I have never been to the Philippine National Museum. Not even when our History professor asked us to go there. But I do want to go. It's embarrassing to be almost 30 and never having…
Alaxan FR Aray Mo, Galing Natin Promo
Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquaio is preparing for his upcoming fight with Mexican fighter Juan Manuel Marquez. Needless to say, Alaxan FR and the entire Philippine nation is behind him and is rooting for him. With every punch, Pacquiao gives pride and honor to the Philippines. Wear your Philippine pride and support Manny Pacquiao by wearing the limited edition Aray Mo, Galing Natin Pilipinas shirts by Alaxan FR. If you're a blogger or a social media user, you can get one of these shirts by joining my simple promo. To win one of these shirts, follow these simple rules: Like the Alaxan FR Official Fan Page at this LINK. Show your support for Manny, by recording a video greeting for Manny Pacquiao for his upcoming fight against Juan Manuel Marquez on November 13. It does not have to be long or complicated but it has to memorable. Upload the video message on any online video sharing site and post the greeting on the Alaxan FR Page Wall. LINK TO THE WALL HERE. For tracking purposes, mention my blog's name "Life with Ria" on your video, either by stating it on the video or by inserting it as a caption or in…
Foot Spa at The Horizon Spa
I don't enjoy body massages and it would take a lot of convincing before I step inside a spa. My good friends Avel and Orman were able to successfully convince me to try out The Horizon Spa in General Santos City. And I had a very relaxing bonding experience with my Mareng Orman. We both decided to settle in for the foot spa. We each wore a comfy robe and picked a fluffly reclining chair next to each other. We were served some tea and our foot spa therapists began to work their magic. After some catching up, Orman easily snoozed while I watched some shows on the television set. It was a very relaxing bonding moment. Our other companions took quite a long time with their full body massages because they also fell asleep. Everybody loved their massages and were very much relaxed after the spa session. The Horizon Spa has a clean space and a relaxing ambiance, complemented by nice and competent therapists. Definitely a great place for spa addicts, and even people like me who are not so keen on getting massages. The Horizon Spa is located at the at the 2nd Floor of Tan Building, beside…
Keeping in Touch
I entered college in 1999, more than 10 years ago. Back then, I had promised to keep in touch with my friends who were going to other colleges. It seemed easy, mobile phones were starting to get more trendy and cheaper. Prepaid mobile services were just starting to get popular. But it wasn't really that easy. Subscribers from one network couldn't send messages to subscribers to other networks. Calls were expensive. Internet connection was mostly dial-up, slow, clogged up the landline phones, and was expensive. While I had a mobile phone and a relatively fast internet connection at my cousin's house where I stayed, not a lot of my friends were in the same mobile network or didn't have email addresses. I did manage to keep in touch with friends in the same network. All the time. Until mobile networks decided to charge for SMS. As for friends abroad, I sent them ecards. That was trendy back then. Haha! And yes, I did send my friend in Baguio some snail mail every now and then. LOL! Back then, I made an email group and a website for my batchmates. It was so we could keep tabs on everybody. It was…