Bobble Water Bottle - Purifying Water on the Go

I need to drink a lot of water every day because of my previous bout with kidney stones. In addition, when I go to my yoga classes, I always want to bring a water bottle with me.

The problem with single-use PET bottles though is that it is both expensive in the long run and damaging to the earth as it contributes to the tons of PET bottles disposed into the earth's landfills every day. I could always fill my water bottle before heading out but in order to get my 2-liter quota of water for the day, I would need to refill my bottle somewhere. Now how would I know if the source of my refilled water is potable enough?

Well, I recently got a Bobble water bottle to try out and based on first impressions, it looks like a healthy solution to my dilemma.

(taken from waterbobble.com)

Bobble is the creation of renowned industrial artist Karim Rashid - the man behind numerous luxury goods and popular product designs such as Christofle, Alessi, Umbra, Bonaldo, Vondom and Hugo Boss. It features a curvy form that makes it easy to grasp and carry around - perfect for workout sessions like my yoga classes or simply something to hold when outside the home. The plastic bottle is also BPA-free.

But the killer feature is its built-in filter. Its carbon filter is replaceable and recyclable, purifying potable water even further by eliminating chlorine and organic contaminants. There goes my worry about the cleanliness of other water sources once I drink up the water I brought from home. I can just refill the bottle and still be sure the filter eliminates anything in the water that can be harmful to the body. Caveat: Bobble should NOT be used with water that is microbiologically unsafe.)

My red Bobble!!!

A new gustatory experience - Starbucks international coffee and food pairing

White wine with fish. Red wine with meats. That's the standard way of pairing wine with food, right?

But recently, some of us sat down to a food tasting lunch paired with -- Starbucks coffee blends!

The Starbucks team, combined with the Spanish restaurant Tapella put up a gastronomic menu interspersed with 4 different coffee blends.

Choosing the right coffee blend to go with a particular dish is very important, we learned. Most of us in the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia, according to Starbucks, are in the developing stage. Not everyone is well educated in coffee. We probably go to Starbucks, order our favorite beverage, then walk out without really paying that much attention to the blend or how it is prepared.  But that is a good thing, they say, because it leaves so many possibilities for us to be educated about coffee. And yet in emerging countries, like Europe, people know their coffee. They order a double shot of espresso, want their coffee black, and specify other add-ons to go with their favorite drink.

Let me digress first and tell you about the latest Starbucks coffee blend.

Creating the New Asian Blend

For the longest time, while some blends could be identified with certain regions (e.g., espresso is identified with Europe), there was no blend identified with Asia. This time, Starbucks launches the Asian Dolce Latte, strong and smooth, with an Asian twist. Double shots of the premium dark-roasted Starbucks Espresso Roast give the latte its distinct flavor complemented by a dolce sauce created just for this blend.

Tip when drinking Asian Dolce Latte: DO NOT STIR! Drink it as served and you will get a better coffee experience as you savor the flavor and texture of each of the layers of the latte.

Electrolux HUSH Happier at Home

I have a blender and two (2) vacuum cleaners at home. They do their job but I do not use them all the time. Why? Because the volume level is just too high for my low-noise tolerance ears.

See this little baby that looks like R2D2, the cute robot of Star Wars fame? It's the newer of my two vacuum cleaners.

It does its job; it can handle both wet and dry cleaning. Almost perfect -- save for its terrible noise level which cannot be adjusted. The first time I turned it on while trying to vacuum away the cobwebs from our bathroom ceiling, I almost went deaf. Because our bathroom was enclosed, the cacophony surrounded the entire small space, amplifying what was already very loud noise to begin with. Add to that the fact that it strongly ejected very warm air while it was running, making me wonder whether all that air being emitted was clean or whether some of the dust it was sucking in was being thrown back out into the air.

And this is my current dilemma. I need our home to be as quiet and as clean as possible.

You see, my husband just recently underwent a surgical operation. We spent our Valentine's Day in the hospital. It has not been a week yet since we've come back home after spending two long weeks there and everyone around, including the kids, are tiptoe-ing around trying to be as quiet as possible so our patient can get his much-needed sleep (because who says you can sleep decently in a hospital, right???). I also know that sudden loud noise is jarring to the ears and can elevate blood pressure unnecessarily.

While we were away, the house went through general cleaning so our vacuum cleaner was put to good use. But now that our patient is home, he needs to rest most of the day and yet the room where he is in as well as the rest of the house need to be regularly cleaned to keep it free of dust to minimize risks of infection. How do I do that with my fully functional but extremely noisy (and possibly less-than-clean) vacuum cleaner?

His diet also requires a lot of fruits and vegetables so we have resorted to blending smoothies so he gets a good concentration of them. Wouldn't it be neat if I had a silent blender to replace this 20-something year old blender of mine?

My dilemma may soon be over if I can get my hands on either or both of these Electrolux products:

#1 - The Electrolux Powermix Silent Blender

Showing the silent settings of the blender

Force without the noise...

#2 - The Electrolux Ultra Silencer Green

Silent but strong...

With attachments

Beautiful Hair Reborn with Cream Silk

I am not someone who watches a lot of TV so I have not really seen Heart Evangelista in a while. Oh, I've seen her before and thought she was quite the beautiful chinita. But did you check out the latest Cream Silk TVC with her in it? I remember admiring her long hair whenever I'd spot her on teleseryes before but now that she's more mature, the way she carries her hair in this TVC really suits her!

Well, if you have not seen the TVC, watch it here and see just what Cream Silk's effect is on Heart's lovely locks.





I want you to try the same Cream Silk hair care given to Heart's hair. Thanks to Unilever, I will be able to give away two (2) gift packs worth P1,000 each to two lucky winners. Whoever joins must be capable of picking up the prize in Makati City personally or through a representative.

Here are the mechanics on Rafflecopter. Giveaway ends March 6, 2013, 11:59 PM.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BPI eCredit - a credit card for internet payments

Are you paranoid like me about disclosing your credit card number when purchasing stuff online? 

If you are, you should be rightly so. There are so many horror stories out there on the internet about syndicates who are able to get hold of your credit card number and max out its credit limit with illegal purchases. Most times, when my kids want to purchase games online, I use PayPal and decline their requests if the merchant site requires a credit card number instead of PayPal.

Now my kids will be a lot happier. Here is something I just recently got in the mail from my bank, BPI (important card info were blurred out).

In the flyer that came with the card, the BPI eCredit card was described as "a companion card to your existing BPI Express Credit Mastercard. This card is for virtual and internet payments only..."

Here are some of its features:

1. Attached to your credit card - the eCredit forms part of your main card's credit limit. Anything you purchase using the eCredit card is also deducted from your main card's credit limit.

2. Security - though connected to your main credit card's limit, the eCredit uses a different card number. This means that even if compromised, your entire credit limit won't be compromised. You will be exposed only up to the eCredit's sub-limit.

3. Flexible sub-limit - With the card, I was assigned a sub-limit. However, if I felt it was still too high, I could request for a lower sub-limit (minimum sub-limit is P5,000). Conversely, if I wanted a sub-limit increase, it cal also be done. There are 2 ways to do this. 1) by calling the 89-100 hotline or 2) by logging on to the BPI Express Online account, if you have one, click Other Services > Credit Card Services > Increase in Credit Limit. Fill out the required fields and indicate "Adjustment of eCredit sub-limit". Requests are processed after one (1) banking day.

4. Convenient payment mode - Your online purchases can be settled together with your main card. But when you log on to your BPI Express Online account, online purchases are reported separately so you can monitor usage. Here's what my account looks like:

5. Rewards - Just like the main credit card, online purchases using the BPI eCredit card entitle you to 1 reward point for every P35 spent.

6. No annual fee - eCredit comes free with any BPI Express Credit Mastercard.

Does it work?

It sure does. The day after this card came in the mail, my son wanted to buy two online games. We tried doing so by using the BPI eCredit and the purchases went through. I'm just waiting now for those transactions to show up on my BPI Express Online account.

So far, I think this is the solution I've been waiting for and I am glad BPI thought of it. More and more, as transactions are done online, features such as these allow me to shop virtually without worrying about exposing my credit card.

Knorr's Homecoming Treat for OFWs this Christmas

I remember when I lived abroad for 2 years while working on my Master's. I sorely missed home. Filipino friends always took opportunities to get together and partake of Filipino food. But despite those get-togethers, being away from home meant missing a lot of familiar stuff. I particularly missed Christmas, seeing our native parols, being with the family for Noche Buena, hearing the Filipino Christmas carols and even the local food - Chinese ham, queso de bola, spaghetti, and native delicacies like puto bumbong and bibingka during Simbang Gabi.

So can you imagine what it must be like for returning OFWs who have been away from the Philippines for many more years, even decades? Can you imagine what it must be like for them to see Philippine soil from the air, excitedly looking through the windows as the plane prepares to land? Can you imagine their hearts longing to see their dear ones even as they collect their baggages from the carousel? And can you imagine them planning exactly what Filipino food they will indulge in while they are in the country, especially those which may not always be available abroad?

Knorr recently treated returning OFWs to a heartwarming homecoming treat with the homecooked goodness of sinigang. Instead of the usual salubongs of Filipino music playing from bands at arrival areas, the "Knorr Sinigang's Umuwi sa Sarap ng Sinigang" campaign added a flavorful twist. Arriving OFWs at NAIA Terminal 3 were invited to a cozy dining area and were fed Filipino food like fish, pork and shrimp sinigang.

Some celebrities were at hand also to lend additional surprise. Singer Erik Santos gave his own rendition of "Pasko na Sinta Ko". Marvin Agustin was also on hand as part of the cooking ensemble. And the OFWs were given special tokens and floral leis to complete the homecoming treat.

I think the gesture of Knorr meant a lot to those returning OFWs. After all, they are some of the heroes of this country. They sacrifice being away from loved ones, often live under very difficult circumstances, and send a significant part of their earnings home. 

Tomorrow, my own daughter is coming home for the holidays. She has lived in a foreign land most of 2012 and will be with us just for 2 short weeks. But we intend to make the most of the time just being a family and bonding as much as we can - over food, of course. I also have my own homecoming treat for my girl which Knorr also sent over for me to try - several mixes including sinigang. She'll have her share of native dishes, something she has not eaten since she left.

Finally, watch these videos of the actual Knorr Homecoming Treat right at the airport.