Bye, bye bag

I got my new weekend bag last week but I had to promptly send it back after two nights of mulling if it was a keeper or not.

It looked really nice and all the girlfriends who saw it said it was a head turner. It was roomy too and could fit a small elephant into it. But try as I might, i didn't like the way the bag stiffly held its U shape even when I filled it with my everyday bag stuff. I would have preferred it if the canvas was softer so it would just sort of collapse into a comfortable lump swinging by my side instead of it standing proud and U-shaped.

Also, the material, which was white canvas interweaved with a matted gold thread, rubbed not so nicely on the skin. All told, it didn't feel right on me.

And so, the bag's snaking it way back to the US as I write this. Boohoo.

But I have to commend Hayden-Harnett for their excellent customer service. When I wrote to say I would be returning the bag, I got this email from them:

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Hi, Joanne-

So sorry the MOSA didn’t work out for you! Of course, you can return the bag, no problem.

Just a suggestion, but we do have another style, the MALIA, that is a very soft city basket with woven trim...these
Are also a limited edition of 50! Anthropologie just bought them from us for their catalog/website....very cool bag and I think the
Strap, fabric, etc. would work really well for you this summer.

If you are interested in the exchange, then please let me know and I’ll hold a bag for you...maybe I can throw in a handful of goodies for
you also :)

Best,
Toni

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Now THAT is great service, huh?!

For that alone, I will continue to look through Hayden-Harnett's bags for a possible replacement to my Mosa. (I don't like the Malia bag they recommended. It is too tribal for my taste, not to mention that I think I can get something similar in Manila for much much less.) AND recommend the site to other girlfriends.

As for me, it's back to oogling weekend bags!

What's your net worth?

I was desperately looking for the name of the woman who started the Jimmy Choo luxe shoe business yesterday and so went online to hunt for the elusive name. After a few seconds, Google Search not only spewed out the name (Tamara Mellon), but also this interesting story: Bloggers open up about money matters.

Read the story here.

I love stories and books about financial planning, personal finance, and anything that teaches me how to up my financial intelligence quotient. I devour these kinds of reading matter. I get excited reading about the ways of the frugal millionaire next door and want desperately to be money savvy like them so I can hope to retire early.

But of course, reading about being frugal and actually living like that everyday is not for the weak. And anyway, I don't want to be frugal to the point of excluding all of life's little pleasures, like holidays, the occasional expensive latte, or a lunch or dinner at a nicer place with loved ones or friends during weekends. A balance must be struck, right?

Will write more on this in another post. For now, check out this Net Worth Calculator I found in the course of looking for Ms Mellon's name. This one's real easy to use, with the accounting terms decoded into language we lay people understand. Check it out and see where you stand financially at this point.

Photo credit: designershoes-uk.com

Strong arm tactics to get a treat

Yesterday midday, the hubby casually mentioned during a phone conversation how he had bumped into a former landlord/casual friend who, after the usual pleasantries, asked him how come the hubby (and by extension, me) never even called him after our wedding to invite him and his wife out for a treat. (The friend said something like 'Hey, how come you never organised something? Surely you could have organised a dinner, at least!)

Say what? Did I hear that correctly?? Did I really hear someone demanding to be fed?

I couldn't believe it! Somebody actually had the gall to chastise us for not treating his ilk to dinner just because we got married!! Now we have to pay 'toll' to him for getting hitched?

Errm, we signed papers to be able to have sex and hope for progeny with the church's blessing, you know. NOT win the lottery!! HELLO!

The scary thing is, his wasn't the first 'demand' for a treat after the wedding!
The hubby's ball mates also prodded him many times to host a drinking party cos he got married. And this from people who never even sent a small note to say, hey, heard you are getting hitched. Congrats! Or something like that. (Ok, the hubby's reacted to this. He said his mates DID send us congratulatory notes on our wedding website. Oops! Sorry babe! My bad.)

(Hmmm, I seem to be typing wEEdings instead of weddings. Could it be that I view weddings as the weeding of unsuitable people from the happening dating scene? Hmmm. Freud, was that a slip?)

Anyway, I am incensed because of these demands! But the hubby, when asked if he was annoyed by it, said no. Why? Because well, it's how it is in their popular culture.

Can't help thinking now that this behviour is so like the Filipino penchant to tease, hint, badger, demand (depending on the time of the day) for a treat from a person celebrating his birthday. I've always thought it was strange that in the Philippines, a person who is celebrating a birthday is the poor shmuck of the day who is pressured and expected to produce the gimmick, the food, the spirits. The person just turned older, for crying out loud! Isn't that a bit sad enough? Wouldn't it make more sense then for friends and family to give the fellow the treat instead? It being his special day and all? (Of course, it's a different story altogether if the birthday boy or girl insists on throwing himself/herself a bash.)

Anyway, I've told the hubby that he is free to give a treat to his entire community if he feels like he should or must do so. But I also told him to please, leave me out of it. As far as I am concerned, I had a reception exactly to make merry after our union and if friends didn't or couldn't make time to attend that, well, then, they sure missed our party, didn't they?

Harrumph!

Enuff said.

Photo credit: weddingfads.com

My bag's left the US!

I'm tracking the delivery of my weekend hobo online. As of last check, it has left the US! I hope it gets here tomorrow, the weekend! I'm so excited :-)