Ibyang Sanchez, Author at Ibyang

Long Weekend Treats

3 October 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, The Married Life

As a wife and home manager, I take care of the family’s social schedule and some weekends, it is a challenge to work out what we have to do, where we have to go and how we will squeeze time for relaxation. Weekends are never enough especially when you still have to do household chores you never get to do during the week like cleaning, washing laundry and ironing clothes. That’s why long weekends (in this case, a 3-day weekend due to a public holiday) are always a welcomed blessing.

Today is New South Wales’ celebration of Labour Day and we had a chance to do more with our weekend. Planning a 3-day weekend is so much easier compared to a 2-day weekend.

Sometimes, we’d go out of town during long weekends but this time, decided to stay in Sydney so we can do more with our free time and have a balance between socialization, play, rest and chores.

Time to Dress Up and Party. We kicked off Saturday with a lunch party with friends at Hard Rock Sydney. Dressing up does wonders to a tired psyche while being surrounded by laughter of good friends brings instant sunshine to anyone’s life.

A Little Reward to Make Myself Feel Loved by Me. The Husband and I went around the shops after lunch with friends and we decided to buy ourselves little gifts as a reward for the days and nights we’ve been working hard at the office.

Time for Us = Saturday Date Night. We’d usually have our coffee dates on Fridays but since it’s a long weekend and we were already out on Saturday, we hung out at Strathfield (one of Sydney Metro’s Korea Towns) on a quest to try out a new cafe (for coffee) and Korean restaurant (for dinner).

We found a stationery cafe called “My Sweet Memory” that serves delicious coffee and sells amazing and cute stationery.

Dinner was at Ce Ci Korean Restaurant where we had a Deep-fried Chicken in Spicy Sauce and Spicy Beef & Tofu Hot Pot.

Time for a Good Read, Health and Beauty. Our weekends will never be complete without a good rest and time for ourselves. I won’t function well the whole week without an afternoon nap either on Saturday or Sunday. I usually exercise inside the home but today, the sun shone so I was able to run outdoors for a bit. What I love most about long weekends? I get to have more “Me” time!

Time for a Naughty Treat. Another little reward to myself in the form of my favourite doughnut for breakfast. Knowing the I have more time for exercise, I let myself have a doughnut this morning.

Long weekends or not, I don’t think time will ever be enough to do everything we want to do. But with the help of a balanced schedule, a wife like me can make the most of what a family can do with a 3-day weekend.

Have a great week ahead!

This is also my entry to Toni‘s It’s A Wife’s Life Blog Carnival

Style Musings: Tips to Sales!

30 September 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Style Musings

Thank God it’s Friday!!! I’ve received a lot of good feedback with my Style Musings entries so as a way of saying thank you to you (yes you, my dear reader) here are some tips on sales I found online.

Payless Shoes‘ Fresh in for Spring available via Westfield’s Online Store.

Le Nord‘s 50% Sale via buyinvite.

Ugg Australia‘s sale via buyinvite.

Calvin Klein Underwear‘s sale via brandsExclusive.

Roxy‘s sale via Westfield’s Online Store.

Designer Sunglasses (Tom Ford, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole) on sale via buyinvite.

Dolce & Gabbana and Moschino Timepieces’ sale via buyinvite.

Osh Kosh B’gosh Sample Sale via brandsExclusive.

Noo on sale via brandsExclusive.

Happy Friday and happy shopping!

Restaurant: Seoul-Ria (Sydney, Australia)

29 September 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Food, Restaurants

At first we just enjoy the art of cooking your food while we eat, chat and drink with friends. That’s how we started loving Korean Cuisine. Nowadays, Korean food is part of our lifestyle. I cook it at home (I learned how to cook Bulgogi, Tuna Pancakes, Kimchi Stew and Kimchi) and eating Korean cuisine when we dine out has become a regularity. We are constantly on the lookout for great Korean restaurants and in one of our quests, we found Seoul-Ria.

Restaurant: Seoul-Ria (Sydney NSW, Australia)

Seoul-Ria is considered one of the best Korean restaurants in Sydney. Located at Goulburn Street, you need to get into an elevator that will lead you to Level 2 of the building and as the door opens, voila! Welcome to Seoul-Ria! It can accommodate up to 140 diners but during busy hours, be prepared to queue up and wait.

It was busy when we arrived on a Thursday evening after work. The place wasn’t full but we had to wait a few minutes for the staff to clear a table for us.

From the Korean staff to the KPop videos played on TV, we get transported to a “Seoul-like” atmostphere.

Their attentive staff served us a bottle of water and banchan (side dishes) as soon as we were seated.

Since it was our first time, I can’t wait to try their Kimchi Pancake (Kimchijeon). We were surprised to see how huge it was when it came.

It was tasty, thick and filling. All you can taste in this beautiful dish is the Kimchi. Also, it wasn’t as spicy as I thought it would be. We only finished a quarter of this dish and had it for take away.

I was specifically craving for Black Bean Noodles that night and this dish did not disappoint. Perfectly-cooked noodles with blackbean and pork sauce.

It looked like Champorado (Chocolate Porridge) hehe. This dish was very saucy but I truly enjoyed my noodles.

The Husband had the very colourful and healthy Bibimbap. Steamed rice topped with vegetables, beef strips and egg.

Enjoyed our meal with their beautiful dishes. We are definitely coming back for more.

Seoul-Ria Korean Restaurant
Level 2, 605-609 George Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Phone: 9269 0222/9269 0272
Monday to Saturday: 11am to 3am
Sunday: 5pm to 3am

Wanderlust Wednesdays: Namdaemun Market (Seoul, Korea)

28 September 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: I Love Seoul, Travel, Wanderlust Wednesdays

A trip will never be complete without buying souvenirs. Although, the Husband and I bought a few pieces of souvenirs in tourist spots where we went, we wanted to go to a real market so on our last morning in Seoul, we woke up early and made a quick trip to Namdaemun Market before we hung out at Myeongdong (which will be featured in next week’s WW).

Namdaemun Market is a large traditional market in Seoul, South Korea. The market is located next to Namdaemun, the “Great South Gate,” which was the main southern gate to the old city.

Namdaemun Market is one of the oldest continually running markets in South Korea, and one of the largest retail markets in Seoul.The streets in which the market is located were built in a time when cars were not prevalent, so the market itself is not accessible by car. The main methods of transporting goods in and out of the market are by motorcycle and hand-drawn carts. It occupies many city blocks, which are blocked off from most car traffic due to the prevalence of parking congestion in the area. The market can be accessed by subway or bus; the location is within a 10 minute walk from Seoul metropolitan station and is even closer to the subway Hoehyeon Station, Line 4.

Much of the market is outside, but there are also many stores which line the streets. Many retailers buy their items, particularly clothing, at wholesale prices at Namdaemun, to resell in their own stores in other cities. Namdaemun is a popular tourist attraction. (source)

Namdaemun Market reminded me of a wet-and-dry market, only this one is cleaner.

The Things We Saw at Namdaemun Market

Something Pink and Girly: Sunvisors, Headbands and Hair Clips

Souvenir Items: Fans, Key Chains, Cellphone Chains, Wallets, Ref Magnets

Silverware

Earthen Bowls, Pots and Pans

Baskets, Decors for the Home

Clothes

Something for the Fan Girls and Boys of Korean Entertainment

Just like in the Korean Drama “Secret Garden”, they sell socks with the Stars’ photo on them

Korean Hello Kitty! They’re soooo cute. I wanted to buy them but they were expensive (40,000won each) and they weren’t even authentic.

Photo Tip: Some store owners forbid tourists from taking photographs of the products they sell.

We spent a good hour and a half going around Namdaemun Market and when we were walking towards Myeongdong, we saw a Korean Chess Board on the side of the street, complete with janggi (refers to the chess pieces). I only see this Korean Chess Board in Kdramas and I’m glad I got to see how it really looks in real life.

Next week: Myeongdong (The Shopping Mecca of Seoul)

Our Binocular Arrived Today

27 September 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Entertainment, Tech World

The thing with online shopping is that some establishments have scheduled delivery times, with some having a waiting period of 2-3 weeks (sometimes a month) before they deliver your order to you. I have no problems with that as long as the duration of the waiting period is always stated in the website.

Last night, while watching a Korean drama, I suddenly jolted and said, “Our binoculars hasn’t been delivered yet! I forgot all about it.”

So there, most of the time, I forget about what I bought online especially when it has been weeks since I’ve bought it.

Just when I remembered last night, one of my packages arrived today (I’m still waiting for two more packages)! The binocular we bought a few weeks back got delivered at my office this afternoon.

I don’t know anything about binoculars. I tried learning about the different specifications online and crossed my fingers that I bought the right one for what we need. I chose one that’s light and handy too. I tried it out when I came home and I’m relieved that I made a good choice. Even the Husband approved. It can magnify up to 288ft and I’m happy that it came with a case.

All photos edited using the Snapseed app.

We bought a binocular specially for this…

We received advise from the concert organizers that cameras/videocameras are not allowed during the concert (WHY????) plus, we intentionally picked a seat a bit far away from the stage, so I took the liberty of buying ourselves a binocular to help in seeing the performers on stage.

Now I really can’t to see the concert.