I love shopping at Claire's especially at Christmas time and I have a lot gifts for my tween and…read moreteen godchildren. They have the cutest items that are great for that age range. The truth is, I also buy a lot of things at Claire's for myself. They have a lot of hip accessories like sunglasses, jewelry, hats and bags. The best gift I found there were locked diaries for tweens with cute owl designs and a bejeweled red one. They are also among the few stores that have gloves, we're not really a glove-wearing country so that's a bit hard to find before Claire's. And they also carry the Prism line of Katy Perry. They often go on sale offering buy 1, take 1 promos for items of the same price. If you ever chance upon one of those, I suggest going big on the shopping because you will always be able to find young girls and those young-at-heart to give the items to.

Claire's is every pre-teens dream come true. When i would vacation in the US, my shopping itinerary…read morealways included Claire's for all my kikay needs. Their accessories are the best! They sell colorful hair pieces as well as cute earrings, belly rings (for the rebellious kind) and even boy band merchandise. Just so you know, i didnt buy any of the Justin Bieber stuff when he was super famous. In grade 6, all my classmates wanted to have my denim wallet which had glitters and the world Angel stitched on the front part. When i told them it was from Claire's their faces looked a bit upset because they knew they wouldnt be able to buy it right away. When i saw Claire's open their first branch in BGC i remember feeling what i used to feel when i wouls enter their US stores before. Unfortunately i was already working so i decided to be happy for the preteens instead. I still pass by once in a while and delight in the cute stuff they have.

Michelle and Grace and the rest were so welcoming in my last visit. Today I came back for more plus…read morea hat for my El Nido week at Palawan. Their selections are truly high quality fashion and I truly recommend this shop.

There are so many activities, restaurants, and shopping center in this mall. As basic as grocery…read moreshopping to shopping expensive clothes and make up, you will find many things to do. There is Gerrys grill, jollibee, mcdo, pizza hut to landmark, bench, and many more.

If it wasn't for all the Filipinos inside the mall, it'd remind me of the malls in California. It's…read morea pretty mall with fountains outside and architecture that makes you ooh and ahh inside your head. It gets crowded due to being one of the nicer, fancier malls. Like amusement park crowded. Grab a buddy and you'll be fine. They seem to have everything here too. Even a chapel that has masses. No joke. I was walking through the mall when I saw crowds of people standing. For mass. The masses get so much traffic that people have to stand outside the chapel. People don't stare at you here like at most other public places. I would think it's because most of the people here are middle and upper middle classes and a lot of tourists probably come here so it's nothing new to them. I liked this mall.

The moment I saw this boutique, I wished I could transport the whole store inside my bedroom. Oh,…read morehow much I wanted that all the pieces in Nava were in my own wardrobe and that the accessories and decorations of the store were my own as well. Overall, the store exudes a mix of modern and vintage and its collection is equal parts girly and edgy. Lending an image of strength and modernity to the store are the black bars and straight lines formed by tables and panels. Red bricks and antique-looking wood items lend some vintage feel to the place and feminine details such as flowers and cursive handwriting soften the otherwise structured arrangement of the store. This theme extends to their clothes. You can find sexy blouses, flowing skirts, fitted pants, soft-toned cardigans, dark-colored jackets, checkered-printed tops, floral printed blouses, colorful shoes, and animal skin bags. Girly and edgy, modern and vintage may initially sound contradicting but they all achieve harmony in Nava Boutique. Wearing Nava could just give me the chance to show my secret sassy side while also maintaining the girly image that my friends already know and love.

I chanced upon NAVA exploring a bazaar held by one of my friends in UP Town. They had such a nice…read morecollection of clothing, and I was unfortunately very, very broke (ah, the college life!), so the moment I received my measly tutor's salary that month, I dropped by their outlet in Market! Market! to have a proper look around. Their store is very brightly lit and vintage-looking, and they had an assortment of accessories and bits-and-bobs on display, such as sunglasses and notebooks and little trinkets like compact mirrors and card-holding tins. It was very charming. The clothes are beautiful, and on the vintage side, but not exactly cheap. Not very expensive either, but great nontheless. I ended up leaving the store with a very pretty floral-designed backpack for P650! A floral backpack in Forever21 would have cost me P1750, so I was pretty pleased. Want to shop for your own vintage pieces? NAVA, thankfully, has an Facebook page where you can browse some of their items: https://www.facebook.com/navashop. Happy shopping!

If you're up for all things kawaii, looking for something to decorate your room or organize your…read morenotes with, or just simply wanting a new stuffed toy, Happy Land is the land for you. Happy Land originates from Japan, with their front character, Rilakkuma (Japanese pronunciations for 'relax' and 'bear'). Aside from the world famous Sanrio characters, Rilakkuma is getting quite a huge attention as well. For more information as to how much kawaii-ness Rilakkuma bear could bring you, visit Happy Land!! They sell LOTS of stationery, school supplies, stuffed toys, glassware/some kitchenware, towels, what have you!

Sadly, I am not immune to the cuteness of Japanese Mascots. Sure, everyone's heard of Hello Kitty…read moreby now but how about the lesser known Sanrio-X characters? Kutusitanyanko? Mamegoma? Afroken? What about Rilakkkuma? For the uninitiated, Rilakkuma is a Sanrio-X character described as a bear in a "lazy and relaxed mood". He's simply that: a cute little teddy bear. Might be just me but I enjoy seeing foreign franchises come our way. Happy Land (yes, that's what it's called) sells nothing but Rilakkuma merchandise. Stuffed toys, notebooks, chopsticks, keychains, cellphone accessories... everything that you would expect to find in a quirky Japanese stationery/merch store. And as exected, everything is toothachingly adorable. And unfortunately, walletachingly expensive. Of course, your mileage may vary. If you've got some cash to burn, a huge fan of Rilakkuma and can't resist some decent quality merch, I say go for it. Personally, I might go back to get myself one of those headphone jack plug in things because I can't resist. (There goes my wallet.)