Review of Bandolino Shoes

When I was growing up, I used to wreck my school shoes a lot. A pair would normally last me 3 months at most and then my Mom would have to buy a new pair. Eventually, she got sick and tired of having to buy new shoes so she asked around and a lot of people recommended Bandolino.

To cut the long story short, I ended up wearing Bandolino from Grade 3 till I was in high school because it was the only pair of shoes that would last a whole year with me. 

This year, I got the chance to have another pair of Bandolino but this time, it's not for school but for everyday wear. 

I chose this because I don't like heels and I wanted something comfortable.

A Bandolino pair of shoes is all about comfort cushion. Even if I have to stand in line for a few hours at the groceries, I won't feel tired because my shoes are really comfortable. I know this to be true because I've actually experienced it.

If you want something fashionable and functional, Bandolino should be the shoes that you choose to wear every day. This 9.9, they will be having a massive sale on Shopee so make sure that you get your hands on Bandolino shoes and buy everything that you can!

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Mia Maison helps you Stay Home and Stay Safe in Style

Home fragrance is one of the biggest things these days. The fact that most people are still staying home to help flatten the curve and as part of the whole self care routine, ensuring that your home stays fresh and smells good has become a necessity. 

 

For some people, it can be linen sprays, for others humidifiers, while others light up candles. When you add Mia Maison Home Fragrance to the mix, it takes everything to a whole new level.  

 

On their official store on Shopee, you can easily see that they have a whole range of scents guaranteed to keep your home smelling fresh. I personally don't know where to begin so as always, I'd end up getting almost everything.  

They recently launched their Mia Maison Clean Essentials Linen & Room Spray that can kill various germs, mildews and viruses keeping your household clean, fresh and worry-free. It provides 99.99% bacteria and virus protection. It not only makes your house smell good, it will keep your house free from bacteria. 

The protection can last up to 6 hours via air and 12-24 hours on linen. As a Mom, this is very important to me especially since I have a teenage boy and a 6 month old baby. 

 

 

Thankfully, Mia Maison has gone full digital so there's no need to go to the mall and visit one of their many stalls to get the clean essentials as well as the other home care products that they offer. 

 

 

I got mine without ever leaving my home. I have the Green Menthol which I really love because you guys know I'm a fan of anything minty. I do have back ups but I'll discuss them in a more in depth review.

 

You can place an order here.  Now be sure to order from legitimate platforms only so that you are guaranteed to receive authentic Mia Maison Home Fragrance because sadly, there are many imitations out there.

 

There are 3 avenues where you can legitimately buy Mia Maison. The first one is their official Facebook Page, the next one is their official store on Shopee, and their store on Lazada.  

It's really great to see Mia Maison Home Fragrances opening more digital distribution channels and cashless/online payment gateways to reach more people during these trying times. After all, we're really not supposed to leave the house unless it's essential or inevitable.

I also love that whenever a delivery from Mia Maison Home Fragrance comes in, I don't need to worry too much. Commitment in ensuring utmost sanitation and sterilization of workplace, products, and packages are done by them so customers can have peace of mind that every Mia Maison Home Fragrance product they receive is safe for them and for their household. After all, there has been talks that the unknown enemy can live on for hours or days on inanimate objects.

For those who are particular about the smell of their kitchen, there is also Odour Away. I have yet to try this though because our kitchen always smells good. When you have a baker constantly making Too Much Chocolate Chip Cookies, you can never get tred of the cookie dough smell. For others though, this will be necessary

We may be stuck at home for the meantime but it doesn't mean that we can't feel like we're on a staycation. With Mia Maison Home Fragrance working hard to become fully digital so they can bring hotel scents to our home, we never have to worry. We can always stay home and stay safe in style with Mia Maison. 

Prices:

S.A.M. - starts at Php 4080
Clean Essentials - starts at Php 1775 (Aerospray with 300ml scent)
Mia Maison LUXE collection - starts at Php 825 for the 100ml water-based oils

Buy here.

Review of Diwatang Maria Soap

A few months ago, I received Diwatang Maria Soap as a gift. I remember loving the packaging because it was truly a stand out but it was the smell that got to me most. However, I didn't get the chance to give it a try then because I still had other soaps that I bought and I wanted to make sure that I applied the first in, first out to ensure the soap wouldn't expire. 

Last week, I finally got around to trying out the Diwatang Maria Soaps.

 I was able to try the Diwatang Maria Sinukuan which is their Gluta Kojic Soap. 

Initial impression was that it was soapy which is how I like my soap. I don't know about you guys but soap that don't lather just doesn't do it for me. I find that it feels wrong and that it's like I'm not really bathing. 

Again, that's just me. 

I love that it smelled really great but it wasn't overpowering. I love that it left me feeling refreshed. It has a certain minty smell to it which reminded me of my favorite peppermint soap. I just think that when a bathing essential is minty, it makes you feel more refreshed and that's exactly how Diwatang Maria Sinukuan left me feeling. 

There are two more variants, Cacao and Papaya.

I cannot wait to get my hands on the other two and try them out soon as Sinukuan is gone. I look forward to bathing more now because I know that I will leave the bathroom feeling refreshed and rejuvenated whenever I use this soap. 

How does your soap make you feel? 

You can buy your own Diwatang Maria Soap through their official store on Shopee.

Secret Package from Sagada Harvest

I had the chance to receive a secret package from Sagada Harvest and I literally grabbed this chance before they could change their mind. After all, Sagada is known for fresh food, fresh air, and fresh stuff. 

This is what arrived. 

When I opened the box, this is what greeted me. 

I was really excited. It was filled with a lot of fresh produce all the way from Sagada!

We already cooked some of the veggies and turned it into chopsuey. The bananas we turned into Baked Peanut Butter and Banana Bread with Cashew and Oatmeal Strudel. 

This was so good because the bananas were so fresh and good. It really does make a difference. If I can get Sagada harvest week after week, I wouldn't worry anymore about being healthy.

For those interested in buying the freshest produce they can get their hands on, contact Resly.

3 Reasons We Drink MILO Everyday

I know that a lot of people find it weird but in our home, we drink MILO everyday. My son and I both do and it has become a staple in our home. For me, MILO is a comfort drink while for my son, it gives him more energy. 

Nowadays, we order our MILO from Nestle's official store on Shopee. 

This is the one we normally buy and we'd need two of these in a month so buying in bulk really helps us because less shipping and sometimes, we even get free shipping when we buy through their store on Shopee. 

So here are 3 reasons why we drink MILO daily. 

1. It has less sugar compared to other choco malt drinks.

 2. Extra Energy

There's just something about MILO that fuels you up after drinking it. I guess it's the choco malt that revs you up but whenever we need a pick me up, I make Iced Milo and everyone ends up with a smile on their face. 

3. It's a tradition. 

I grew up with it. I passed it on to my firstborn and now I am planning on passing it on to my youngest as well. It's something that we do to bond at home so I don't see us stopping anytime soon. 

Remember that you don't need to go out to buy MILO. You can simply download the Shopee App via Google Play or App store and have it delivered right to your doorstep. 

4 Journaling Essentials You Didn't Know You Need

If you ask anyone who journals, they will say that the things you need would be a journal, stickers, stamps, washi tapes, and pens. This is true but what people don't realize is that there are also other essentials needed to make journaling more fun and relaxing.

 

Here are 4 journaling essentials you didn't know you need to make journaling more fun. 

Extension Cord

This is important because when we journal, we'd most likely be using our phone, have a fan, have a ring light, and all of that all at the same time because most of us want to document the process. An extension cord like the one below from Omni is good because it's super affordable, safe, and it even has USB ports. At less than 300, this is already a steal and shipping fee is only Php40. 

Desk Lamp 

A desk lamp is very important if you don't have a ring light. This helps to ensure that you won't damage your eyes because when we journal, we naturally strain our eyes. 

Speakers 

A lot of us love listening to music but sometimes can't because there are people around. These JBL speakers are perfect because they are wireless and won't have wires that our arms can get tangled in. The sounds are just right but we can still hear if someone calls us to avoid those heart attack inducing scares when we're too focused on journaling. 

 

 

Overhead Suspension Boom   

For those who want to YouTube their creations, this is the perfect solution. Just attach your phone holder to the end of this suspension boom and you can have the perfect, professional looking video taken from above for less than Php600. 

I got this for myself and I am SO HAPPY with the outcome. It really levels up the quality of the video.  REALLY LEVELED UP!

Of course, I only recommend this if you have spare budget. These are mostly affordable things that you can buy. I do not encourage getting things just because it's a want if it will damage the budget and make you miserable in the end.

Always remember that journaling should relax you, not add to your stress.

4 Cleaning Products that I Swear By

The past week, we have been doing a lot of general cleaning in our home. The stay out help has left which was apparently a blessing in disguise because we found out that instead of cleaning our home, she has simply been stashing dirt and trash in the nook and crannies of our home.

This explained why:

1. there was always a certain smell permeating that we could not pinpoint
2. there were clothes that have gone missing (found them in storage that were meant for floor cleaners)
3. our stomach always ached (the storage for our dishes was DISGUSTINGLY dirty)

Now because we have taken over cleaning, we've been using a lot of products that would help us out. I have learned so much from my Mom in how to clean oily dishes, slippery floors, and even tiles that have gone really dirtied and sullied.

I also learned of alternatives to popular products and even some organic ways to clean things. Since a couple of friends have asked for the list of products that I used at home, I decided to create this post.

Let's be clear. THIS IS NOT SPONSORED. 

1. To clean oily dishes and pan, POUR HOT WATER first on it and let it sit for a few minutes. Do not immediately use liquid soap or dish paste.

Once the hot water has sat for a few minutes, you can rinse the dish or pan then use liquid soap on the dish or dish paste on the pan. 

If the oiliness is still present, wash the dish 2-3x. This really is the only way you can get rid of the oil or grim. There's no shortcut to this but the hot water cuts it down by 75%.

That ad saying that ISANG PATAK is not true. Trust me. It's not. 

2. To bring back dirty tiles to it's former glory, you can scub until your fingers are bare to the bones OR you can use Zonrox. Pour Zonrox on the tiles and leave it overnight. An alternative to Zonrox is Winrox. They have the same effect and Winrox is cheaper.

The next day, pour water to wash off the Zonrox and see your tiles come back to it's former glory. Then you can go ahead and do some light scrubbing and cleaning.

3. If you have dogs or cats and they are not litter trained, their pee or poo tend to leave a certain smell. Scoop the dirt or wash off the pee then pour detergent soap doused in water on the soiled spot. Leave it for 3 minutes then scrub. This guarantees that the smell will go away. You can also pour lemon or peppermint oil on the water or mop you will use to seal in the smell and leave the house smelling good.

4. If you're cleaning your toilet's nook and cranny, you can also use Mr. Muscle. Much like Zonrox, do the cleaning after taking a bath. Once you're done, you can put Mr Muscle on all the nooks and crannies of the bathroom and also on the sink edges and corners as well as the toilet bowl. Leave it overnight and rinse in the morning.

You will see that grime has dissipated and your bathroom will smell and look brand new.

Hope that helped you guys out. If you have questions on other cleaning things, just leave a comment down below.

PS. 

 

These days, you also need to add Lysol because it is the only one approved by WHO to sanitize, disinfect, and clean the virus. Luckily, you can order Lysol from their official store on Shopee. 

We have stocked up our homes with these items because of COVID-19. We also have the Lysol Antibacterial Hand Soap, Lysol Multi Action Cleaner, and the Lysol Germ Protection Hand and Body Wipes. 

You can never be too sure nowadays so we stock up on Lysol products just to be sure. You can download the Shopee app via Google Play and App Store to take advantage of the 30% Off and Free Reusable Face Mask with min spend of P1299 on Lysol Products. 

This post has been updated. Original upload date: August 19, 2019

Review of Hwaiting Food featuring their Korean Fried Chicken

Sometimes, you just need to step back, cook awesome fried chicken, and gorge. This is how Hwaiting's Korean Fried Chicken makes me feel. 

I mean, just look at these huge pieces. Wouldn't you want to just grab one, take a spoonful of rice, and gorge on these fried chicken goodness? I definitely would and I did!

The best part about Hwaiting Korean Fried Chicken is that it can actually be cooked in different ways.  A pack contains 7-9 pieces.

You can either fry it.

You can also add sauce to it. There are two options: Sweet and Spicy as well as Soy Garlic.

After frying, pour the sauce in a pan and then you can marinate the chicken a little bit on  the sauce to let the flavor seep in.

We decided to cook it another way too. We figured that the chicken was also going to taste really well when poured with lemon chicken sauce and I was right. IT WAS SOOOO GOOD!

This is definitely one of the best Korean Fried Chicken that you can cook at home. If you have a big appetite, one pack is more than good enough to really fill you up. If you have a family with a big appetite, then you definitely need to get 2-3 packs. 

No need to worry about the sauce because it's more than enough for a pack. The next time you have a craving for Korean Fried Chicken, message Hwaiting Home Food.

5 Diamond Painting Accessories You Need to Have from Shopee

I've been doing diamond painting for 5 years now and over the years, I've come to realize that there are certain tools that you need to have and there are certain tools that you can do away with.  

This is a Japanese doll project from Shopee that I would like to do but for me to be able to do this well, I would need a few things to help me out.

Here are 5 tools that I believe any diamond painter should have in their belonging to make life easier for them. I'll also link down the stores below so that you can just click and buy when you want to.

Tool # 1- Drill Pen / Tweezers 

Knowing which one works for you is important and making sure that you have the right drill pen or tweezers matters because you want to be comfortable while working for hours on your diamond painting.

 

Tool # 2 - Bead Tray Organizer

 

Tool # 3 - Pink Wax/ Blue Tac

This is needed to get the beads to stick to the drill pen so that it can be transferred from the tray to the canvass.

Tool # 4 - Mini Rolling Pin

The mini rolling pin is useful for making sure that the beads stay stuck to the canvass andnot fall off. It's pretty therapeutic when you use it. 

Tool # 5 - Bead Container

Anyone who has done diamond painting has at one point or another suffered the unfortunate accident of having your beads fly out. I am telling you that it is not a happy moment when you need to pick the beads up one by one from the floor. 

I also made a video discussing the different diamond painting accessories that you need. You can watch it here.

Different types of investments that are most favored by Investors

In investing or investment a person allocates his or her resources, usually in the form of money to start a business, expecting to generate an income or profit. In the case of assets, such as purchasing real estate; the investor hopes of reselling it at a higher price in the future.

There are different types of investments and they intimidate a lot of people. There are a lot of options, and they make it hard to figure out which investments are right for you.

Sharing you some of the most common types of investment. If you’re serious about investing, you may want to check them out for guidance and to gain more knowledge on investments.

Stocks
Based on polls conducted by Gallup in 2020, 55% of Americans own stock and this is identical to the average 55% recorded in 2019.

Stocks may be simple yet most popular type of investment. Investing in a stock means you’re buying an ownership share in a publicly-traded company. Many of the biggest companies in the world are publicly traded, and you can buy stock in them.

In stocks investment, you’re hoping that the price will go up so you can then sell it for a profit. The risk is that the price of the stock could go down and you could lose the money you invested.

Bonds
In a recent study conducted by the St. Louis Federal Reserve - one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that make up the United States' central banks - direct household participation in the bond market has fallen to 1.3% in 2016.

Bond investment means lending money to an entity. Companies issue corporate bonds, local governments issue municipal bonds and the U.S. Treasury issues treasury bonds. 

The bond matures once it was held for a predetermined amount of time. That’s when you can earn back the principal you spent on the bond, plus a determined rate of interest.
Typically, the rate of return for bonds is much lower compared to stocks, but the risk is also lower.

Mutual Funds
In mid-2017, an estimated 56.2 million households in America, or 44.5 percent of all US households, owned mutual funds. Currently, there are around 100 million individual investors owning mutual funds in the US. 

In a mutual fund, there is a pool of many investors’ money that is invested broadly in a number of companies. Mutual funds are either actively managed or passively managed. When a fund is actively managed, there is a manager who picks companies and other instruments in which to put investors’ money. Meanwhile in a passively managed fund, the major stock market index is simply being tracked.

Investing in mutual funds has also risks like stocks and bonds, but the risk is lesser because the investments are inherently diversified.

Real Estate
According to a new data from 2019 and 2020, real estate remains the most favored investments in the US. The latest Bankrate survey also revealed that 31% of Americans think real estate is the best way to invest money that they won’t be able to touch for a decade.

In real estate investing, the person involved purchase, own, manage, rent and/or sell real estate for profit. When a real estate property is improved as part of the investment strategy, it is called real estate development.

Buying and owning real estate is both satisfying and lucrative. It attracts investors from all walks of life because it is a highly customizable investment.

A lot of people may still find investing difficult because almost everything in life is static such as the spending, personal health and well-being, tolerance for risk, and income - they change over time. So to make investing a bit stress-free and hassle-free, you might need an investment calculator, that you can bring anytime and anywhere. 

Investors can use this calculator to determine the average annual rate of return on their investments even if those investments have irregular investments or withdrawals. This free online tool is also helpful to those who are not yet ready to engage in a financial advisor or join financial talks, lessons or coaching that might cost them some amount of money; but are still eager to start investing.

5 Blogging Myths You Need to Know

I recently did a talk for Writing Hacks Academy a week ago to discuss the Popular Blogging Myths that aspiring bloggers need to know about. 

It was a really delightful experience and probably one of the easiest interviews that I have ever done in my entire blogging career. Miss Jonah Chipeco was such a gracious host that it felt more like a talk with a friend rather than a Facebook LIVE watched by hundreds of people.

Myth # 1 - Blogging is EASY. 

Blogging is hard work. When you blog for an audience or blog with a brand, it's hard work. You need to ensure that your blog is aesthetically pleasing, easily understood, and loads fast. 

On top of that, you need to constantly churn out new content on a regular basis to keep yor readers coming back again and again. 

Myth # 2 - Not everyone can be a blogger.

Contrary to popular belief, everyone CAN be a blogger. After all, a blog is really just an online diary and anyone can maintain an online diary. HOWEVER, not everyone can be a good blogger and not everyone can be a successful blogger. 

Myth # 3 - Blogging is EASY money. 

It's almost impossible to make a lot of money on the first year of being a blogger. Unless you are very lucky and you did an intense research on the very specific niche that you are getting into, do not expect to make a lot of money on your first year. 

Successful, money making blogging involves a lot of ground work from coming up with content, planning the photo, writing the article, syndicating the article, and promoting it on different social media platforms to ensure reach.

Afterwards, you need to ensure that you reply to any engagement that your post would have generated which means replying to comments, retweets, and likes. 

You CAN make money but it will take a while for you to get to the point where you are making money. 

Myth # 4 - Blogging does not require proper grammar because it is just an online diary.

If you are just blogging for yourself, then there's no need to worry about grammar and spelling. However, when you start blogging for an audience, then you need to be responsible about how you convey your message because you may have impressionable readers and a good blogger knows that with power comes responsibility. 

Be responsible.

Myth # 5 - Blogging is just writing. 

A successful blogger knows that there's always room for improvement and that there's always room for innovation. A successful blogger is always on the lookout on how to improve his blog, his writing, and the photos, that he publishes on his blog.

You can watch the full video here. Hope you learned something. If you have other myths that you would like debunked, please feel free to share them on the comments below. 

Get 30% off on Storage from Seagate when you buy from Shopee

Who needs more space? We all do right? 

This applies not just physically and mentally but digitally too. This is why we need hard drives, because sometimes, our laptops can't handle the baggage. 

Seagate offers up to 30% off on their 500GB and 1TB hard drives via their official store on Shopee.  

The Seagate 500GB Expansion SSD Ultra Portable Storage is perfect for those who just need a little bit more space on their laptops but don't really want to commit to a big purchase. The price point is reasonable and Seagate is one of the tried and tested brands when it comes to hard drives.

I personally have one of these and I have linked up the store above. It's functional and definitely heavy duty. 

The Seagate BarraCuda 1TB Fast SSD Type-C Portable External Sold State Drive is perfect for people like M. Since he is a photojouralist, he stores high resolution files of his photos and needs a lot more space than the average person.

 

 

Don't miss the chance to buy this at up to 30% off. I know that I wished that I waited but I just really needed it asap so I already got it even before the sale. 

 

Download the Shopee app via Google Play or App Store now.