pink

It was a serendipitous walk around the basement of PowerPlant Mall that led us to a cheerful little stall all ablaze in pink. Called “The Sweet Life by Ange”, this home-based bakery purveys cupcakes; “Sweet Surrender”, their variation of Brazo de Mercedes with French vanilla ice cream; and cheesecake cookies.

The adventure into their take on the sweet life begins with the adorable packaging. The box combines my favorite color -pink – with complements of ivory and chocolate.

When you open the box, a delectable sight greets your eyes – a dozen cupcakes, generously iced with artistic swirls, cherries, candy hearts, or chocolate beans perched atop.

“Couture Cupcakes”. Top, L-R: Marie Antoinette (vanilla cupcake with Tequila Rose Buttercream), Chanel (moist chocolate cupcake with Valrhona Buttercream). Below, L-R: Satine (red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting), Sugar Daddy (moist chocolate cupcake with Bailey’s Buttercream).

Their sampler box of 12 mini cupcakes is dressed with a pink bow.

Twelve bite-sized chunks of cake tempt and delight.

“The Sweet Life by Ange” will be at Rockwell during the “Bakers’ Dozen” sale, every weekend until December.

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Some of my favorite things – my fountain pens and Moleskine. When it comes to pens, it seems I have only one criteria. As for the Moleskine, I’m wondering when, if ever, will there be a pink one?

From the top: four Inoxcroms – two Jordi Labandas, a kukuxumusu, and an Agatha Ruiz de la Prada; below them, a Schneider zippi. Cheap, true, but pink and dependable. The Schneider, ARdelaP, and kukuxumusu wrote smoothly the instant the cartridge went in. (I have not loaded the two Jordi Labandas yet). I’ll be using them as everyday “road warriors”.

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So the kids and I dropped by Fully Booked at the Powerplant Mall today. Guess what I should see inside a glass case but an attractive display of Inoxcrom fountain pens? Among the selections were the latest mini Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, the new Jordi Labanda ballpoints (with the “ball” on the clicker), and two sets of the old (from two years ago) Jordi Labanda FP-and-BP set including one that looked exactly like my old one that died! (see previous post)

Both of the old sets on display were PINK. One set, as I said, in the exact same design and color as my old one (dark rose). The other set was light pink.

Now, I ask you, what are the odds of that happening? That of all the stock of items left over, that they would have the old design. Not only that,but that both remaining sets would be pink!

I think you know there was only one thing I could do, right? the stars in their courses laid down the destiny that these pens and I should meet. Who was I to argue? or to resist?

I also picked up an Inoxcrom kukuxumusu with an adorable pattern of hearts on its barrel. Of course it was pink too. Despite the medium nib (I prefer fine), it’s slim and short enough to suit me, while still having enough room in the barrel for a spare cartridge! Now that is what I call a good pen.

It will go nicely with my teNeues “hearts” notebook that I got for Christmas.

“Kukuxumusu”, according to ever-helpful Wikipedia, means “the flea’s kiss” in Euskara (Basque).

For Ik, I got this stripey ARdelaP as a reward for being rank #5 in class (up from #7 last grading period). She loves pens almost as much as I do. Congratulations, Ik, first on your academic achievement,and second on being a new “pen”-atic!

Amazingly, the pens are cheaper here in Manila than in some places online. Each Jordi Labanda set of FP-and-BP went for P685 or US$16.70, that’s for a set of two pens, while online, a Jordi Labanda fountain pen alone goes for US$18! The kukuxumusu, US$6.95 as against US$10 online.

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Pilot and Platinum, along with other brands like Smiggle, Schneider, and Inoxcrom, have embarked on a new adventure in fountain pen manufacturing and marketing by creating the cheap disposable fountain pen! Their way of bringing fine writing instruments to the masses, these colorful FPs appeal to the young and young at heart with their bright colors and affordable prices.

The latest trend is to package the FPs much like what is being done with gel pens – a set of rainbow colors in a transparent plastic case.

The Pilot Varsity (below) is lightweight and disposable. An ink supply window in the barrel shows you how much ink is left. It comes in black, blue, red, green, purple, light blue, and pink. This set of seven pens costs around US$17.

Platinum, a brand well known for quality, doesn’t compromise when it comes to its Preppy line. Packaged in sets of six, it comes in black, blue, red, yellow, pink, and green. The nib and ink are the same color! Around US$3 each pen.

Pilot has another ace up its sleeve with the Petit1, for “the young and modern adult”. The nib is fine, stainless steel, and uses ink cartridges. It comes in a wide range of sixteen colors, and is around US$4.50 each pen.

To buy online, try Jpens or Jetpens.

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When I have time, I make coffee using a French press. Mine is a four-cup pink Bodum that I bought at Starbucks four years ago. I get beans at Starbucks on their Coffee Passport promo (buy a total of eight bags and get one free! no time limit, I think). As for creamer, I prefer vanilla-flavored.

A French press is very convenient and easy to use, a truly inspired and wonderful invention. Just put in ground coffee (around two tablespoons per cup), add very hot (not boiling water), and steep for four minutes, then slowly press down the plunger to strain. Pour yourself a cup of fresh brew!

Make sure to have your beans ground “very coarse”, otherwise not all particles will be properly strained and you’ll be spitting out bitter bits of ground beans. Do not re-use coffee grounds; the resulting fluid will not taste good. (Believe me, I’ve tried it. Blecch.) Used grounds make great garden fertilizer and skin exfoliant (try it next time you’re in the shower).

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Ik and I were walking through Powerplant mall the other day when I decided to drop by Office Warehouse to see if they had any fountain pen converters.

They don’t, but they do have these scrumptious Schneider fountain pens for kids. Called “zippi”, they come in blue, gray, pink, orange, and green, have an “A” (beginner) nib, and take a short international cartridge. They are very short, so you can’t “piggy-back” a spare cartridge inside, but they write very smoothly. I got a pink one for myself, a blue one for Ik, and a gray one for Alex.

They are quite cheap – P89 each (about US$2.17 by present rates), while a six-pack of cartridges costs P21 (US$0.51). I told Ik it was her first fountain pen, and that she could work up to a Waterman or Montblanc later on – much, much later on.

Since Ik loves to draw and doodle, filling notebooks full with her manga sketches and stories, she really appreciates her new pen.

Schneider is a German brand that’s been around quite a while, but is synonymous with affordability and functionality rather than luxury. But because of their efforts, users now have more choices and those who felt they could not afford one before, can now have more than one colorful fountain pen if they wish!

The company makes other models of fountains pens (go to http://www.schneiderpen.de/), but all are geared to students rather than older professionals. They seem very dependable and the quality is good. Actually, it is the smoothest and least scratchy of my three pens, the other being an Inoxcrom Jordi Labanda and the other a Parker Jotter. The ages of the Inoxcrom and Parker might have something to do with it (I got them two, three years ago), but I was still very pleased that the Schneider performed excellently right off the bat.

My latest “cheap pen” buy was an Inoxcrom Agatha Ruiz de la Prada. It is a “mini”, very short, just a smidgen longer than the short cartridge. This one writes smoothly also, no skips, no blots. The ink flowed the second I stuck in the cartridge. I love this pen to pieces because it is very very pink with yellow flowers. Got it this afternoon from National Bookstore for P230 (US$5.60). It’s from the 2007 Tutti Frutti range.

Is this my new Moleskine companion? I guess so, at least for now, because it’s compact, cheap, and PINK!

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