Say it with Island Rose this Valentines!

Getting flowers for your special one this Valentines just got a whole lot easier and more convenient with Island Rose. With Island Rose's online store, all you need is a computer, an internet connection, and a credit card to deliver flowers to the Philippines.

You know how it is every Valentines. There are always hordes of people scrambling about buying flowers and trooping to restaurants. This year is even worse since Valentines is on the same day as Chinese New Year. I can't even begin to imagine what a huge traffic jam will ensue, since now you also have people buying tikoy and families lining up in restaurants to celebrate the coming of the Year of the Tiger.

The good news is, getting the perfect Valentines gift doesn't have to be tedious and torturous. If your loved one fancies flowers, you can easily pick out the perfect petals by logging on to http://www.islandrose.net. As you can see in the screenshot above, Island Rose's online store interface is very easy to understand and use. Their extensive catalogue of floral arrangements is readily available for online viewing. If your special person isn't into flowers, you can also order Belgian Chocolates, stuffed toys, and fragrances among other romantic gifts from Island Rose. You can send gifts to the Philippines even if you're abroad since Island Rose also accepts US dollars via an international credit card.

To make the love month even sweeter, Island Rose is giving 10% discount to online buyers this Valentine's Day. All you have to do is key in the promotional code VDAY022010 upon checkout. Reserve on or before February 12, 2010 to make sure your gift is received by Valentine's Day! :D

Red Ribbon celebrates Valentines with Roses & Kisses and Chocolate Heaven cakes!

Roses and chocolates have forever symbolized the love month for most people. Not me though. I absolutely HATE flowers. They're useless, expensive, and they wilt after a few days tops. Chocolates I understand, since there are those deliciously decadent smooth and rich treats like Royce and Sachi... or Belgian chocolates like Leonidas. They're pricey and worth indulging in every once in a while, so yes, chocolates I can actually appreciate. Instead of wasting money on flowers, hand me a video game instead -- I'd be so much happier.

This Valentines, Red Ribbon puts it all together in one cake -- Roses & Kisses (pictured above, P330). Moist, rich, and chewy chocolate pound cake with a middle layer of chocolate chips covered with sweet boiled icing and topped with sugar roses and Hershey's Kisses. Did I mention that there's a yummy soft fondant strip that outlines this heart-shaped cake?

I love this cake. The only thing I didn't love about it were the sugar flowers and leaves. We were told that they're edible but wow, please do not attempt this stunt at home. I made the mistake of trying to chew on a sugar leaf and almost ended up in the dentist's chair. That is one tough leaf. It's so hard it's like trying to bite on a piece of ceramic. Thus I removed the candy stuff and just left the Hershey's Kisses on the cake. Yum yum yum! I wish they'd make an all-occasion cake with the same chocolate pound cake they used here... because Roses & Kisses will be gone after February 14, 2010. You can pre-order your very own Roses & Kisses before February 9 and add a personal message to that sugar tag on the cake.

For Red Ribbon's second surprise this love month, the Chocolate Heaven Cake was launched (pictured above, P335 for the junior size and P560 for the regular size). Chocolate overload would best describe this creation, combining four types of chocolate -- curls, mousse, brownies, and icing all in one cake. It's soooo chocolatey that it's not for the faint of heart. Personally, I found it too sweet and I can only consume one extremely thin slice at a time plus I need my hot coffee to go with it. The Chocolate Heaven cake is now available at select Red Ribbon branches, and will be everywhere by February 9, 2010.

Chocolate lovers rejoice, it's your time at Red Ribbon! For more information and a complete list of stores, log on to http://www.redribbonbakeshop.com.ph

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Unveiling the Sony VAIO Prestige Spring Collection

In another life, I probably would have ended up in the IT industry -- being very much inclined to techie and geeky pursuits like html coding, tinkering with the OS of my son's Sony PSP, and playing video games till the wee hours. Since my series of choices didn't exactly lead me down that road, I'm ecstatic to be able to try out, write, and blog about a wide array of cool gadgets like the Sony VAIO series.

I was greeted by a whole line of Sony VAIO computers at 145 Spasso Italian Tapas and Wine Bar last February 3, 2010. There were laptops, netbooks, pocket pc's... I was confused as to which I should play with first.

The star of the night however was the new sleek, sexy, and slim Sony VAIO Z. The Sony VAIO Z contains the power of a full desktop computer in its ultra-portable frame. It is equipped with 2 graphics accelerators, the external NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M GPU with CUDA™ Technology and the internal Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD, so you can actually play 3D games without a hitch on it. Now how many other laptops can claim to do the same?

My only complaint about this P150k machine is the rather small 128GB of storage space. Sony VAIO's lower models can easily reach up to 500GBs of storage. If I'm shelling out that much dough for the top of the line Sony VAIO model, I should theoretically be getting more storage space! The folks over at Sony explained that the Sony VAIO Z uses an SSD (Solid State Drive) instead of a traditional hard disk drive. An SSD utilizes flash memory and has no mechanical parts so it's lighter and less prone to breakdown. As such, it is also more costly to produce. They even showed us this test video wherein they dropped the VAIO Z from a certain height in the factory and it still powered up and worked.

Another model which caught my eye that night was the Sony VAIO W in pink. It's a netbook. It's sooo cute and it matches my pink Sony Cybershot TX-1 perfectly... and you can get one equipped with MS Windows 7 for P28k!

Sony also introduced its new green Sony VAIO W. No, it's not colored green but its top cover, palm rest, and bottom cover contains approximately 20% reprocessed plastic made from DVD and CD waste. With Sony VAIO, green is all about caring for the environment. By using the recycled plastic parts, carbon dioxide emissions from the production process are reduced by approximately 10% compared to using regular plastic. In addition to the recycled components, you will get this machine in a Sony protective carrying bag instead of a cardboard box. This packaging is stylish, unique, and its exterior fabric made from 100% recycled plastic bottles (PET) material. Kind of reminds me of Starbucks' Clean and Green Tumblers which I love so much.

Here's a bit more of good news... buying your Sony VAIO from the Philippines covers your unit with an international warranty honored in Sony Service Centers worldwide.

Ah, I don't think I'll ever outgrow being a gadget girl.

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