A wise “local” bag buy + A night with the “girls”

Ahhh my only respite from the daily grind called “life” is looking at bags and discovering new and talented bag designers. I’ve been good lately, I’ve been supporting the local economy (I’m doing my part as a proud Filipino :D) by buying locally produced bags by equally talented designers who can very well be at par with the up and coming designers from other countries.

The idea of this blog was really to bring up the good, the bad, and the ugly bags– both local and foreign brands (I’m not THAT snooty to exclude local bags– I’m fair! Tsk hehe). I want tomake sure that my bag reviews include bags for hags who have to work with limited budgets,to bags for hags whose budgets are well, sky high *or something like that* 😀 I’m actually grateful to have this public platform to share my thoughts about bags, and I’m even more humbled that you read my “work”even though I have this tendency to be repetitive, too opinionated, sometimes *or maybe oftentimes* bland (like unsalted pasta haha) and have unnecessary injections of somewhat vulgar thoughts (toilet humor queen haha).

But then again, that’s probably why you read me (admit it: you love it when I go into these bouts of self-degradation hahaha… ok well I have the self esteem of a peanut, thanks to you all *snicker.. kidding!*). Bah, anywayyy enough of this silly self- reflection mumbo jumbo. *yawn yawn ho-hum…* Time for more bag talk!!

I want to introduce you all to bag designer Verushka. I’ve seen her Olivia satchel in blue *heart heart* in the past and I remember even blogging about it. Guess what, her Olivia satchel now comes in different colors too! The design of this Olivia bag is one that I honestly approve of– the exterior pockets will come in handy for someone like me (with a lot of those credit card receipts haha).

The bag is quite roomy too, at 14″L x 9″H x 5″W. It is definitely meant for chic women on the go. The bag comes in these colors: Electric Blue (with peridot green lining), True Red (with sunkist orange lining), Grass Green (with sunshine yellow lining), Chalk White (with emerald green lining), Luscious Caramel (with bubblegum pink lining), Vivid Orange (with shocking rose lining), Basic Black (with sapphire blue lining), Bubblegum Pink (with peridot green lining). Really a clever idea to make the lining in a contrasting color! Love the thought Verushka put into that.Usually linings are just bland blacks or natural colors. This is a detail which many bag lovers will appreciate for sure– I know I am!

The bag is very reasonably priced at Php 5,500. I’m getting myself one– beats getting a Lambertson Truex (the Verushka Olivia satchels somewhat remind me of LT— but without the heavy price tag).

To order the Olivia Satchel, contact Verushka at (+63922) 827-9988. The bag looks great up close and is definitely a wise buy. If you’ve been so used to buying premier designer bags, you won’t even feel the “pinch” when you buy the Olivia. (DH will certainly approve of this purchase :D)

So wait, I shall cap this post with a little writeup about my night. Tonight, the “girls”– (the old Metro Weddings girls– well most of us are former haha) get together once again! there’s MelC, brand ambassador of Ponds and EIC of Metro Magazine, FiL, our former fashion editor who is already living in London and taking up shoe design (one of the reasons why we had to meet up again!! We haven’t seen Fi in a year!!!), DaphP, brand ambassador of Olay and host of QTV’s Proudly Filipina (woohoo I’m soo surrounded by beauty ambassadors tonight haha), and JoS, managing editor of Metro Weddings and graphic artist unlimited :). Woohoo, the five girls, (well, me included) together again for dinner. We used to do this on a regular basis back when we all worked together. Each moment with these gals now is truly special, and if anything, I’m really glad that I still share this bond with them. They’re just fantastic and oh how I miss them so! I loved catching up on what’s going on etc in the social circuit (since I’ve become some kind of a social drain hahaha… jobless and a social drain *just great.*). Sigh, I had to sit back and come to the realization that everyone around me is accomplished in their respective fields while I remain perennially unemployed, and utterly broke *bawl big time…* Why no one wants to hire me remains a mystery… hahah riiiiighttttt. *Hello liabilityyyyy* 🙂

The five of us had dinner at the fully booked Chelsea at Serendra. DaphP and I both had the wagyu steak (I had the ribeye gold, cooked medium), while DaphP had the wagyu sirloin *it was huuuuge!* No, Daph didn’t finish the whole thing 😀 (I did!!). Jo ordered the salmon, while Fi and Mel shared the kielbasa. Food was great, although my steak wasn’t cooked “medium”– it was actually medium well. I think it would’ve tasted better if it were a true medium. It’s not a bad place to eat– the salads are great (lots of arugula!!!). The caprese extreme is wonderful. Very inventive of them to pair the cheese with citrus fruit, tomato, and arugula.

Our dinner wouldn’t really be complete without a photo of bags. Daph and Jo had left ahead, so the 3 of us were left. Fi was carrying the UK version of Anya Hindmarch’s I’m Not a Plastic Bag, while Mel carried Balenciaga 🙂 *I love em! Such bag hags!*

That’s all for this weekend’s post! Have a great Saturday and Sunday, hags! And if you aren’t doing much this afternoon (Saturday), pop by Tresorie— there are lotsa new stuff– Tinsley clothes and D! Luxe Accessories 🙂

xx
Mrs.T