I rediscovered this place we used to frequent when I was younger.

I had to buy a wedding gift and since I was too lazy to go to Southmall, I suddenly remembered Tag Tales and dropped by after I bought dog food from the market.

Tag Tales used to be beside Tropical Hut grocery and we'd go there for school shoes, gifts, toys, vitamins, towels, soaps etc. etc. It was the only PX shop in BF Homes during that time and thus everyone went there for their fill of PX goods.But I guess the mall culture caught up with this little store and with Rustans and Southmall 15 minutes away, it suddenly lost its niche.

So anyway, Tag Tales can now be found between Watson's and the old Nelo photography shop along Aguirre Avenue. The stock is no longer as impressive as it once was but I found a treasure trove in its glassware selection.

I bought 12 pieces of great crystal glasses in 3 sizes for 540p including giftwrapping! Mrs. Anciano, the proprietor, still has the touch when it comes to fancy giftwrapping. I remember before, I was so amazed when she made these ribbons suddenly curl up just by running a scissor blade through it. Her personally wrapped presents always had this air of elan about them.

The shelves are sadly mostly empty now and dusty as hell, but there were still quite a few good finds. I wanted to snap up the Revlon mini mascaras, which were selling for 185p, but I just ordered a big stash of makeup from Everyday Minerals so I'm currently on a makeup moratorium. There were also these children's leather shoes which would be perfect for my godchildren this christmas. I'm not gonna put the price here because I intend to put it in a fancy box and make it appear 5x more expensive than it actually is :)

Somehow, being there reminded me of Meg Ryan's bookstore in "You've Got Mail". The effect of the big establishments on the mom and pop stores was the same with Tag Tales. Even Mrs. Anciano said that she's even thinking of moving on to another business venture because her sales have dropped tremendously :C

On another retail story, I was shocked to find out that Scholl's Party Feet costs 509p in Mercury Drugstore but I bought mine in PCX Glorietta for 644p just two weeks ago!! Talk about a total rip-off!

So if you're thinking of buying soft soles for your killer heels or pumps, avoid PCX Glorietta with their overpriced wares.