Thursday, February 14, 2013

Valentine's giveaway! Adoré and Aqua Fresco for you and your guy

CONTEST IS CLOSED

Quick Valentine's Day promo!

Ardent World, Inc. has a new line of fragrances for girls and boys who want to smell really good. They're called Adoré for her and Aqua Fresco for him. Here's the complete line:

That's a lot, right? Two of my readers will win all of that! All you have to do is Tweet!

Steps to win: 
1. Go to your Twitter account.
2. Follow @FrancesASales
4. Tweet this: “Happy Valentine's Day, @FrancesASales! I want a complete set of @AdoreFragrances and @AquaFrescoMen to keep smelling fresh every day!” 
5. Comment on this post with your full name and Twitter name.

Giveaway will run until tomorrow 6pm! Tweet tweet!

OOPS. I DON'T KNOW WHO THE WINNERS WILL BE! ADORE AND AQUA FRESCO WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS THEMSELVES ON TWITTER. I GUESS IF THEY TWEET YOU, THAT MEANS YOU WON!


Adoré and Acqua Fresco are available at SM Supermarket, SM Savemore, SM Hypermarket, Cherry Foodarama, Daily Supermarket, Ever Supermarket, Isetann Supermarket, Landmark Dept. Store and Supermarket, Liana’s Supermarket, Robinson’s Dept. Store, Rustan’s Supermarket, Sta. Lucia Supermarket, Tropical Hut, City Supermarket (CSI), Liana’s Supermarket Calamba and San Pablo, LCC Dept. Store, Tiongsan Dept. Store, Unitop Supermarket, Robinson’s Dept. Store Iloilo and KCC Mall of Gensan  

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Best bedsheets ever! Ever!!!

I've been sleeping in luxury for a while now. Actually, my whole family has been! All because of Butterfly Dreams. Just before Christmas, the luxe linen brand from Hong Kong emailed me to say they wanted to send me bedsheets. I was so surprised! Vince said, "They must've seen our ratty sheets."

Haha, you know, in our defense, we actually have a nice collection of sheets. But I did notice that whenever I post photos of my kids on the blogs, and the kids are on the bed, we happen to always have the striped sheets! And, yeah, those are old.

But now we have brand new sheets and they are the best sheets we've ever lain on. Ever!

We got a queen size set. That includes a flat sheet (350 thread count!) in white cotton, and a fitted sheet and two pillow cases in the signature Swankysuede. We also got a duvet cover (our duvet is from Rustan's, if you're asking) and now it feels like we are cocooned in velvet butter. It is the most amazing experience!

What do I love?

1. The Swankysuede. It's the material the sheets are made of, except for the flat sheet. Swankysuede is hard to describe. It looks like velvet but it isn't. It kinda looks like the furry side of leather but it isn't. What it is is super soft and smooth and it caresses my skin like kisses!

2. The flat sheet is made of high thread-count cotton. That makes it extra smooth and soft. It's edged in satin (ours is serene green to match the Ethan Allen headboard). There are also very subtle butterfly designs all over the flat sheet. My toddler Vito likes looking for them. It's a cute game for him!

3. I really like that the pillowcases are zippered. That way, you don't have the pillow peeking out.

4. Butterfly Dreams is luxurious but the price isn't. Well, it's still more expensive than most bedsheets. My queen set is USD 165 (Php 6,700) and the duvet cover is USD 230 (Php 9,360). But for the quality and the experience, it really comes out as quite affordable!


Okay, to prove to you how exquisite the sheets are, I had them tested by the most discerning people in my life: my kids! You all know how kids are brutally honest and how their skin is so sensitive. But Butterfly Dreams passed their stringent standards! Just look at them rejoice!


I posted Iñigo's photo on Butterfly Dreams' Facebook page haha. It got a lot of likes!

It's so nice that my kids love Butterfly Dreams. Especially since a portion of the profits are donated to Savong, a school and orphanage in Cambodia. Won't that fact give you sweet dreams, knowing you've helped kids while you sleep?

I think every family should get a set or two. Your kids will love them. If you don't have kids, I swear, the sheets are so nice on your skin, they will make you want to make kids *wink wink*!


Sleeping on Butterfly Dreams feels like sleeping on rose petals. Velvety smooth. The kids sleep deeper and longer, too. And what mommy wouldn't like that?

If you want a deeper, more restful, and definitely more luxurious sleep, get a set (or two!) of Butterfly Dreams. While this luxe linens brand is based in Hong Kong, you don't have to order online anymore (although if you want to, order at their website!). Just this month, Butterfly Dreams is now available in Make Room. Soon, the linens will be available in more stores! How wonderful! Must get a set again!


Friday, February 08, 2013

Get your financial life in order. Now na!

I wrote an article on managing money in Good Housekeeping a few months ago. I confessed there my shameful secret (credit card chaos) and how it affected my marriage and how Vince took control of my credit card kalokohan. After just one year of painfully following my husband's strict guidelines, I was free of debt, my finances were in order, and I am now a fabulously wealthy woman.

Well, actually, that last part is still a wish haha. Super I wish talaga na yumaman na ako! Joke. I actually don't dream of money, you know? I dream of a nice house in a nice, secure neighborhood. I dream of traveling with my kids to any country in the world every year (and sana business class seats!).

But most of all, I dream that we'll be ready for any emergency. After growing up and seeing my pets die (we can't afford a vet), my Mama and I suffering chronic pain and asthma (we can't afford medicines), and then—saddest of all—relying on the kindness of everyone who loved Mama to pay for her wake, funeral and burial, I am determined to see my family financially stable.

We've started with this happy fact: Wala akong utang! I'm not saying debt is bad. Debt can be a good thing but only if you use it wisely (for starting a business, for example) and if you can pay it. I don't know everything about finance—I'm still learning!—but I can tell you that these guys know a whole lot:



Sonny Santiago can really coach you since he's been practicing in the field of Attitudinal Training for more than a decade. His clients include San Miguel Corp., Philippine Airlines and First Manila Corp. Gus Cosio is the President of First Asset Management, Inc., managing the mutual funds business of the country's leading investment house. He also blogs at GusCosio.com, so if you can't attend the workshop, you can just read his blog where he dishes out great financial advice.

Okidoki, reserve a slot! 


P.S. Martine, favor granted! That's for all the free blogging tips you give me haha.