Day 2: Outlet shopping in Bicester Village

Our second day in the UK was spent in Bicester Village.  It was overwhelming and we didn't really come prepared.  Clothes, shoes and bags were 30-70%, everything was hard to resist.  There's also a lot of dining options where you could rest from all the shopping.  We enjoyed dining at Villandry Grand Cafe so we ate there twice, breakfast and late lunch.  Had to try the Fish and Chips!

Also had snacks at itsu to keep our minds off more shopping or we would be bankrupt on our second day!

Hoodies

I love hoodies, they help me look young and keep me really warm! So, in a span of 2 days, I have bought for myself 2 hoodies, one in purple/violet from Kohl's at USD12, and one in off-white from an H&M outlet for USD15. From then on, I knew I couldn't spend more than USD15 for a hoodie!

Next Stop: Los Angeles County

Carlsbad Premium Outlets
Glendora

Are we in the States or are we in Manila? (West Covina)
E's special request for dinner

January 12-13, 2008. Our friends A and G (E's sister C's very good friends) will be hosting us for one night in their home in Glendora (Los Angeles county). Being good friends that they are, they drove all the way down to San Diego to pick us up. On our way to Los Angeles, we made a stop at Carlsbad Premium Outlets for still more "bilins" and last minute shopping. We found out here that prices for the same items were already higher than when we shopped at Woodsbury in New York and Jackson in New Jersey. So, that's one more lesson in outlet shopping, sometimes timing is key, we just have to figure out exactly when prices are at their lowest. Sales tax in San Diego is 7.75%, while in the Los Angeles county, it is 8.25%. So, bilins being bilins, we still had to buy even if the same items cost a little higher. After a few hours, we headed to Glendora. A and G treated us to a Japanese dinner of bento. And it was good! Thanks, A and G!

The next day (Jan. 13, Sunday), we went to Holy Mass, and then A and G treated us to brunch at IHOP (International House of Pancakes). I had the International Passport (two eggs, two bacon strips, two pork sausages and crepes), and I finished it all --- my excuse: it is BReakfast and lUNCH...

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of shopping : TJMaxx, Walmart, Target, Ikea...

At TJMaxx, we bought a couple of bed linen for our home and my Mom (prices of bed linen we bought ranged from USD27-35, containing fitted and flat sheets and 2 pillowcases) and more bath towels at USD4. At Walmart, it was a couple of bilins (Airwick, shampoo, etc). At Ikea, our favorite things such as tea light candles, flatware, colored paper napkins.

Oh, and I am impressed with how Filipinos have made their presence felt in Los Angeles County (West Covina) --- a whole mall of Filipino groceries , restaurants, banks, etc. It was just like being in Manila!

Back in New Jersey

E with R at brunch in Garden Buffet
Jackson Premium Outlets
Princeton University Town
Princeton University
Inside the Princeton University Campus

January 6, 2008, Sunday. We're back in New Jersey, but this time with E's cousin R in East Windsor. We started the day with a big brunch at a Buffet. Yum! Thanks R, for the treat! Then R brought us to Jackson Premium Outlets to look for more bilins and pasalubong especially clothes because we should take advantage of the 0% sales tax in New Jersey-- so it was the usual Polo Ralph Lauren and Gap. But for ourselves, we went crazy over dinnerware at the Corelle and Corningware outlet store. There were so many things we wanted to buy but we were constrained with the fact that it will be difficult to bring all of those home. Another reason why we wished we lived in the US. We had to content ourselves with the white-colored dinnerware which you can purchase in singles and were on extra reductions at buy 3 get 4. We figured that even if they didn't match what we had back home (we had white ones with a sunflower design which are no longer available) we couldn't go wrong with pure white ones. We also bought a couple of steak knives.

Before we know it, it was getting a bit dark ( it starts to get dark at around 5:00 in winter), and since we really wanted to see Princeton University, we had to leave.

Princeton was pretty. From the town to the campus, I felt that it was a place I would love to live in. Peaceful, with the right amount of activity around you. There were a lot of quaint stores, cafes and bookstores around the town. Inside the campus, the old buildings were beautiful, it was really nice to walk around. Being part of the academe, I felt inspired in that place. Maybe it's something I can dream about --- to teach and study there.

Last stop for the day was Walmart. We decided to send a balikbayan box from NJ because our stuff were already really hard to manage at this point (what with the dinnerware we bought and a lot of other things). Here I found a lot of bath things (which I also obsess about), good quality towels at USD4.50 -- can you believe it?