text:
Friday afternoon Apple links: pre-Cinco de Mayo edition
This Friday's Apple links include a new iPod ad from Apple, speculation about …
Jacqui Cheng - May 2, 2008 7:55 pm UTC
It's the first Friday in May, so you know what that means: rain! Oh, and some other stuff too, like links to miscellaneous Apple news from throughout the week.
Apple has introduced a new iPod/iTunes ad, and the dancing silouettes are back. They are significantly more colorful than the original incarnation of dancing silouettes, though. To be honest, I really like this ad format, so I welcome it into the fold. Check it out on the iTunes page by scrolling down and clicking the play button on the ad.
Market research firm InStat believes that iTunes downloads will make up 25 percent of all music sold by 2012. Wired has a nice piece on the report, pointing out that Apple has such a strong lead when it comes to digital music that it will be very difficult to unseat it by the time 2012 rolls around.
Apple is, once again, being sued for patent infringement when it comes to the dock connector specifically in the iPod nano and iPod touch. How, exactly, the dock connectors in these two iPod models make them stand out when compared to, say, the iPod classic and iPhone is anyone's guess, but as always, the plaintiff in the case asks for a jury trial in order to stop Apple from selling its infringing products.
Forget China: Russia is the new hotness when it comes to providing a bustling black market for iPhones. The Mobile Research Group in Moscow, told the Washington Post that an estimated 500,000 unlocked iPhones are floating around in Russia, adding that "Russian people love anything that is forbidden." There are so many dirty jokes that can be made at Russia's expense right now.
A report in MacNewsWorld has confirmed what most of us have known for a long time now: car makers are beginning to forego CD players for iPod (and other music player) connectors. I can honestly say that I have used a CD player in a car maybe once, ever, whereas I have used my iPod on the road countless times. I think I've even used the tape cassette player more often than the CD player.
When most of us think of workout videos, we think of watching them on the TV while we perform embarrassing punching and kicking moves in the comfort and privacy of our own living rooms. Men's Health seems to think you'll want to take those videos with you, though, and has begun offering a number of iPod-compatible videos to help people who need a few pointers at the gym. "Pack On Muscle Like a Pro!"
Most of you gamers know that Grand Theft Auto IV hit the streets this week (be sure to read Ars Technica's rockin', in-depth review of the game), and many of you wrote us to point out that there's a nod to the smarmy Apple culture that we know and love embedded right into the game. When you're surfing the web on the computers in the Internet cafe in the game that you're playing on your Xbox 360 in your living room (got all that?), you can visit a few websites, including one for Fruit. Think simple. Think minimalism. Think overpriced.
Are you a really huge nerd? No, seriously. A really, freakin' huge nerd? Because if so, you might want to pretend that your iPhone is a Star Trek tricorder. No, it doesn't do anything functional whatsoever. It does, however, bleep and bloop at you while displaying fake data about planetary biology. If you install this, please, please send me a photo of you using it.
We know that those of you who celebrate Cinco de Mayo have probably already gotten your pre-partying started, some three days in advance, so we'll just advise that you have a safe weekend. Hmm, maybe I'll catch some margaritas tonight...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Full Access Administration – Is it a threat in your Domino Environment?
The Full Access Administration privilege is a very useful and powerful security privilege which allows Lotus Domino Administrators to correct many administration related problems such as misconfigured database ACLs, Domino Directory issues and user mail database problems. The Full Access Administration privilege is so powerful in fact; that it can actually be used to circumvent Lotus Domino server security and allow Domino Administrators to access and possibly make changes to Domino server configurations and even user mail database and/or application database content, without authorization.
With corporate governance and regulatory compliance being more prominent in companies, is yours able to account for each administrator's actions while the Full Access Administration privilege is active? If an audit was to be performed, are you able to provide detailed logging of everyone's activity? How can we control and audit this very powerful tool?
Could they be using Full Access Administration to ……..
access the e-mail database of the CEO or another high profile executive? What are they doing while they are in there? Reading confidential email?, Deleting e-mail? Sending e-mail? or even altering the content of existing e-mails?
access the Domino Directory and make unauthorized changes to Person documents, Group documents or even Server configurations?
get access to Domino applications databases to Create, Open, Update or even worse Delete documents without authorization?
make unauthorized database ACL changes?
The fact of reality is in many cases who really knows what it is that they are doing when using Full Access Administration?
While Lotus Domino does allow you to log every time someone invokes the Full Access Administration privilege, what the basic logging mechanism does not provide is a full audit trail of the specific actions that were invoked while the Full Access Administration privilege was activated.
Extracomm's SecurTrac product fills this void and provides detailed audit trail logging of what exactly the Domino Administrator did while the Full Access Administration privilege was being used.
Log Full Access Administration activity in Mail databases, Domino application databases as well as the Domino Directory for Create, Open, Update & Delete actions.
Log the simple fact that a database was opened, even if no documents were ever accessed. This is especially important since every database has a default view, where document information is displayed in view columns, potentially exposing confidential information without someone ever needing to open a database document.
Log exactly which database views were accessed in a particular database while using Full Access Administration.
To learn more about how SecurTrac can help monitor the use of Full Access Administration within your Domino environment, please visit our web site http://www.extracomm.com/SecurTrac/.


There's something about a simple, shiny metal sphere that is just so mesmerizing. The smooth, brilliant surface, reflecting back a distorted fisheye reflection of us and the world around us... almost as if there is a tiny world trapped in there, staring back out at us. Or are we the ones trapped, looking in?
A Highly Polished Elemental Sphere on your desk will give you plenty to contemplate! Available in your choice of either copper or titanium, each one is 99%+ pure elemental metal, carefully shaped using a precision machining process to get the most perfect finish you can imagine. The process results in a perfect sphere, every time. Each one comes with a ring base to keep your perfect sphere from rolling away, and special handling gloves to help you keep the amazing highly-polished finish.


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Fischers loses its Michelin star
October 7, 2019 October 25, 2019 / martindawes46
Baslow Hall
Max Fischer: Out after 25 years
FISCHERS of Baslow Hall has lost its Michelin Star after 25 consecutive years. It's the second time this decade that a North Derbyshire restaurant has tumbled from the guide.
Four years ago, in 2015, Tessa Bramley's Old Vicarage at Ridgeway lost hers, an award held continuously since 1998.
Some may point to the departure of Baslow's head chef Rupert Rowley earlier this year following changes at the country house, owned by Max (above right) and Susan Fischer, after almost 17 years at the helm but the Guide is as taciturn about its reasons for exclusion as it is about inclusion.
There was a bit of a fanfare locally about Fischers' quarter century of glory so it is all the more bitter the star was lost this year.
I can claim to be the person who first told Max he had earned a star, quite out of the blue. One autumn day in 1994 I was at my desk at the Sheffield Star when I opened a Press release from Michelin to read of the award. These were the days, long gone, when the Guide never bothered to tell the recipients in advance.
Naturally I rang Max for a quote and to my surprise found he didn't know. To my further surprise he also said, during the conversation, that "I suppose we shall get all those people coming wanting steak and strawberries," referring to some (but not all) types of Guide groupies and box tickers.
How Michelin announced the losses of stars
I gently managed to persuade him to let me do a big interview later, pointing out that Baslow Hall was not your steak and strawberries kind of place. I haven't got that interview to hand but recall asking him his favourite dish. It was something his mother used to make.
A few years later Max rang me with an idea. He was looking to groom a future replacement, ideally a local lad, who eventually would take a share in the business, enabling him to take a back seat. Could I put something in? Max had been long in the business, previously in Bakewell, some readers will remember.
One person who read that article was the father of Rupert Rowley (pictured below), who was then cooking away. He had a cv to die for, having worked for Raymond Blanc, John Burton Race and Gordon Ramsay. He sent the cutting to his son.
The upshot was that Rupert joined as sous in 2002 and was made head chef the following year.
Much later the couple and Rupert bought a pub in the village and turned it into a restaurant, Rowleys. Rupert, now studying international hospitality management and working as a development chef, no longer has a stake in it. Nor is his name still on the pub sign; it has reverted to the previous name, the Prince of Wales.
The Old Vicarage was to join the Michelin stellar elite four years later, giving us two in the area. Ironically, now Baslow loses its star four years later.
Sadly, when I put down my fork and spoon eating for The Star some five years or so ago I also handed in my expense account, so have not eaten at either place recently so cannot comment on the merits of the Guide's decision.
But there are fewer people who go around with a copy of Michelin than there are, say, the Good Food Guide or Hardens. let along the AA Guide and I fancy holding a star has more publicity value than anything.
Still, it is the ultimate accolade yet fatal to take it too seriously like French chef Bernard Loiseau who thought, wrongly, that he had lost one of his three stars at Le Cote d'Or in Burgundy. He shot himself. And yes I have eaten there, too, but that is another story . . .
Fichers of Baslow Hall, Max Fischer, Michelin, Michelin star, Rupert Rowley
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The Winnipeg Education Centre was a design competition limited to three participants. The project was envisioned as an integrated community resource centre to house the combined Social Work and Education programs of the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg.
The project was intended to be a social and community hub representing the unique cultural environment of the Selkirk Avenue. Our solution would open the school to the street and the community by providing a large transparent area at the street and position the public uses along the Selkirk Avenue axis.


In our hot and humid weather, having a BBQ is always a sweaty affair – at least that rings true for me. Unless of course if the grilling is done for you and you get to enjoy the barbequed food in the cool comfort of air-conditioning. Well, for this whole month of September, you can do exactly that and in the very comfortable setting of Vasco's in Hilton Kuala Lumpur. Not just any barbeque – you get to experience a range of American southwestern-style smokehouse BBQ!
For this special promotion, Vasco's is featuring BBQ meats and sides from Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, Alabama and Louisiana. Helming the show is their Executive Chef – Michael Donlevy who ensures the different cuts of meat are grilled and smoked the right way and paired with the right sauce. From the BBQ station, you'll be spoiled for choice, from succulent beef brisket, juicy tender beef ribs, falling-off-the-bone lamb shoulder, lamb ribs, spicy whole chicken and chicken wings.
What sets an American smokehouse BBQ apart from the usual grilling of meat is that special wood is used to impart its distinctive smokiness to the meats. Here, mesquite – a hard wood, is used for its strong unique flavor and the smoking process enhances the tastes and textures of the meats.
Mesquite Wood Chips for that special smokey flavour!
If grilled and smoked well, barbequed meats don't really need much sauce as I personally prefer to savour the natural flavors of the meat. However, an American BBQ is not complete without an array of sauces and there's a good selection served. Although they are all generically known as "BBQ sauce", each of the American states featured has its own specific recipe. So, depending on your taste preference, do try out the various versions, ranging from sweet mustard, sweet & spicy or sweet "heat" laced with pepper and Cajun.
Besides beef, lamb and chicken, there are also gut sausages, rustic chicken sausages, Memphis-style pulled beef burgers, grilled corn & vegetables, corn fritters, sweet potato mash, soups and puddings on the side – all ready for a smokin' good BBQ meal!
The US Smokehouse BBQ is part of the daily Buffet Dinner in Vasco's, until 30 September 2018.
For reservations and further inquiries, please call +603-2264-2264.


Imagine this: you are on the last day of your holiday, ready to go home and ready to return to reality – when disaster strikes. You receive a text from your airline telling you that your flight home that very evening, scheduled to depart 5 hours from now, has been cancelled due to lightning storms over London.
For some travellers, this might seem like a dream – fate intercepting to extend their holiday. But for me, it's a worst nightmare. I'm a planner. All my travels are meticulously planned out well in advance. So when those exact circumstances were thrown upon me last month in eastern Germany, it was a difficult afternoon.
After a few minutes with my stress levels through the roof, I took a deep breath and managed to find a seat to bury my head in my smartphone and think through my options to get home. From a small chair in a grey corridor in the (frankly excellent) Stasi museum in Erfurt, a small city in the German state of Thuringia, I began working out what I needed to do to crawl out of this pinch.
As soon as I received that text, my airline (Ryanair) offered me two choices: a full refund, or transfer to another Ryanair flight of my choice at no extra cost. Ryanair do not offer these out of the goodness of their heart – they are forced to by EU law. What Ryanair did do themselves was allow me to administer everything via the Ryanair mobile app, which is pretty good as far as airline apps go.
At my present location in Erfurt, I was very definitely on the wrong side of Germany to get a train back to the UK. I researched many options – "Perhaps I could get a flight to Brussels, and then a train from Brussels to London!" – but in the end, trains were time consuming and very expensive. It would be far cheaper just taking the Ryanair option and transferring to the next possible flight. Knowing I had to get home as soon as possible to return to my job, I landed on this option as the best choice.
Unfortunately, Ryanair only flies out of Leipzig twice per week, neither of which were the following day. So I began to search Google Flights for Ryanair flights to London from the next-nearest airports to Leipzig. I found that they fly to London daily from the nearby Berlin Schönefeld airport. I made the decision and secured my place on the next day's flight, set to leave almost exactly 24 hours after my cancelled flight was supposed to depart.
I hit an unwelcome but short-lived snag when the Ryanair App threw up an unwelcome technical hitch, which meant I had to log into their website over my phone's browser instead to confirm the transfer. Once I had it, I immediately 'checked in' to the fight on the app, and stored my e-boarding pass safely on my phone. This whole process took about 30 minutes in total.
Critical takeaway: there may be flights home from other, nearby airports.
Okay – so I had a new flight home. But it was from Berlin – over 100 miles away from Leipzig airport. So, out came the Deutsche Bahn mobile app. I was very lucky to be in Germany when it came to travelling to the next nearest airport. Late-booked train fares are relatively cheap, with the journey from Leipzig to Berlin only costing €40 and taking just 70 minutes – averaging a fantastic speed of 86mph.
There was another small snag when I forgot my password when logging into the app – a password which I had previously only used once or twice to book tickets. To reset it, I had to go through a verification email, and logging in and out twice. I had a similar situation with my Credit Card when paying for the train ticket – but after another 30 mins, I had it all sorted, with the e-ticket stored safely on my phone.
It was later that night that I realised my booked train ticket to Berlin left me a tight window to get to the airport and reach my plane. Knowing it would make tomorrow easier, I thoroughly researched the options for getting from Berlin Sudkreuz station (in the Southern part of Berlin, where my train was going) to Berlin Schönefeld airport. There was a train that took 30 minutes for just €4, but a taxi might have only taken 20 minutes for a much larger €40, depending on the traffic. The free mobile app Fetch My Way is incredibly helpful for this exercise.
I also downloaded a map of the airport terminal (which I had been to once before, when I was also in a rush) and did my best to find out from where in the terminal flights exiting the Schengen area would be departing, so that I could enter the airport at the right door in case I was pushed for time.
Now that I had a way home and a way to get there, I needed to find a bed for the extra night I'd be in Germany. Since I had a train ticket already booked to Leipzig airport which was also valid to the city centre, the easiest place to stay the night would be that same city centre.
I searched on Hostelworld – another very handy travel app – for all my sleeping options in Leipzig city. There were plenty – all quite expensive, but given the situation I would have paid far more. Having read plenty of reviews, I chose a big family-focused hostel near the station. Hostelworld allows you to book through the app without logging into it – which is just as well, because I had also forgotten my login details. You just have to enter an email address and card details.
When I did arrive later that night I paid the majority of the price with my remaining cash. The room was modest, yet did everything I needed it to – as is often the case with large dorm-based hostels.
Critical takeaway: in an emergency situation like this, you may want to lower your accommodation standards so you can keep costs down and guarantee a roof over your head.
Completing this logistical exercise, I had to get in touch with my employer to inform them I would not be able to get to my desk the next morning. My manager immediately sympathised and allowed me to take the extra day of leave to cover the 24-hour delay. I also sent an email to him to confirm it in writing. I am very lucky to have an employer with this level of flexibility – but I can't imagine many employers who would be entirely inflexible after a cancelled flight.
With this extra day to burn in Germany, I had to quickly research and discover what there was to see in Leipzig. Fortunately, with all the stressful steps above being resolved, this process was far more relaxing.
As I hurtled on the train from Erfurt to Leipzig I downloaded the Google Map of the city to 'offline', logged several attractions and filled myself in as to the shape and scope of the city. I quickly found a map of the city's complex tram network, a map with tourist attractions, a viewpoint to see the city from above, and plenty of impressive buildings to satisfy my love of architecture.
The Tripadvisor page on Leipzig was my portal of choice here, in addition to scouring Google Maps itself and reading reviews of attractions there. You can also use the Tripadvisor mobile app, but it's a bit cluttered so I prefer the using website from a mobile browser.
Leipzig is full of grandiose shopping arcades, such as the Madler Passage.
All in all, although the experience was very stressful for a short period, I was surprised by how easy it was to resolve if you can just sit down for an hour with an internet-connected smartphone and your fingertips – that truly is a luxury people now have for the first time in human history.
The whole process used up about 100mb of data to book a new flight, new train, new hostel, and all the bits of research that accompanied that process.
The total cost of the turnaround was €110 (€30 train to Berlin, €30 hostel, €20 for an extra day's food, €30 for the taxi to the airport). Not a small amount by any means, but also not breaking the bank.
If I were to go through something similar again, I now know I'd relish the opportunity to turn bad news into something valuable – namely, that I may get to spend an extra day on holiday, and discover a new destination, while I find my new way back home.


I'm trying to fit a GAM with multi-membership random effects and nested effects in the package GAMM4, which uses lme4 syntax. Does anyone have any experience doing this in either package? Is it possible, or are we restricted to using another package?
Browse other questions tagged lme4-nlme gam or ask your own question.
Post hoc test for object of class glmerMod in R?
Using gamm4 for generalized additive models with random effects. Use the fitted values from the `mer` part or the `gam` part?
Should random effects be included in fitted values when making a binned residual plot for a binomial GLMM?


text:
#include <fstream>
#include <iostream>

namespace w5
{
	//const int MAX_TWEET = 140;
	class Message
	{
	private:
		std::string name, reply, tweet;

	public:
		Message();
		Message(std::ifstream& in, char c);
		bool empty() const;
		void display(std::ostream& os) const;
		void out(std::ostream& os) const;
	};
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Anritsus 68000C series of synthesizers deliver the highest performance and the highest value available today. The 68Cs common, configurable platform allows Anritsu to configure a synthesizer that matches your requirements. Whether you need a basic synthesized CW generator for local oscillator use, or a full-featured configured 65 GHz signal generator with analog sweep and user-defined modulation, or anything in between. The 68C family offers excellent phase noise performance at a moderate cost.


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G.R. No. 157177 - BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS v. JESUSA P. REYES, ET AL.
[G.R. NO. 157177 : February 11, 2008]
BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, Petitioner, v. JESUSA P. REYES and CONRADO B. REYES, Respondents.
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J.:
Before us is a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court seeking to annul the Decision1 of the Court of Appeals (CA) dated October 29, 2002 as well as its Resolution2 dated February 12, 2003, which affirmed with modification the Decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati, Branch 142, in Civil Case No. 91-3453,3 requiring Bank of Philippine Islands (petitioner) to return to spouses Jesusa P. Reyes and Conrado B. Reyes (respondents) the amount of P100,000.00 plus interest and damages.
The conflicting versions of the parties are aptly summarized by the trial court, to wit:
On December 7, 1990 at around 2:00 p.m., plaintiff Jesusa Reyes together with her daughter, Joan Reyes, went to BPI Zapote Branch to open an ATM account, she being interested with the ongoing promotions of BPI entitling every depositor with a deposit amounting to P2,000.00 to a ticket with a car as its prize to be raffled every month.
She was accommodated, in lieu of the bank manager Mr. Nicasio, by Cicero Capati (Pats) who was an employee of the bank and in charge of the new accounts and time deposits characteristically described as having homosexual inclinations. They were entertained by Capati and were made to sit at a table occupied by a certain Liza.
Plaintiff informed Capati that they wanted to open an ATM account for the amount of P200,000.00, P100,000.00 of which shall be withdrawn from her exiting savings account with BPI bank which is account no. 0233-2433-88 and the other P100,000.00 will be given by her in cash.
Capati allegedly made a mistake and prepared a withdrawal slip for P200,00.00 to be withdrawn from her existing savings account with said bank and the plaintiff Jesusa Reyes believing in good faith that Capati prepared the papers with the correct amount signed the same unaware of the mistakes in figures.
While she was being entertained by Capati, her daughter Joan Reyes was filling up the signature cards and several other forms.
Minutes later after the slips were presented to the teller, Capati returned to where the plaintiff was seating and informed the latter that the withdrawable balance could not accommodate P200,000.00.
Plaintiff explained that she is withdrawing the amount of P100,000.00 only and then changed and correct the figure two (2) into one (1) with her signature super-imposed thereto signifying the change, afterwhich the amount of P100,000.00 in cash in two bundles containing 100 pieces of P500.00 peso bill were given to Capati with her daughter Joan witnessing the same. Thereafter Capati prepared a deposit slip for P200,000.00 in the name of plaintiff Jesusa Reyes with the new account no. 0235-0767-48 and brought the same to the teller's booth.
After a while, he returned and handed to the plaintiff her duplicate copy of her deposit to account no. 0235-0767-48 reflecting the amount of P200,000.00 with receipt stamp showing December 7, as the date.
Plaintiff and daughter then left.
On December 14, 1990, Mrs. Jesusa received her express teller card from said bank.
Thereafter on December 26, 1990, plaintiff left for the United States (Exhs. "T", "U" - "U-1") and returned to Manila on January 31, 1991 (Exhs. "V" - "V-1").
When she went to her pawnshop, she was made aware by her statement of account sent to her by BPI bank that her ATM account only contained the amount of P100,000.00 with interest.
She then sent her daughter to inquire, however, the bank manager assured her that they would look into the matter.
On February 6, 1991, plaintiff instructed Efren Luna, one of her employees, to update her savings account passbook at the BPI with the folded deposit slip for P200,000.00 stapled at the outer cover of said passbook. After presenting the passbook to be updated and when the same was returned, Luna noticed that the deposit slip stapled at the cover was removed and validated at the back portion thereof.
Thereafter, Luna returned with the passbook to the plaintiff and when the latter saw the validation, she got angry.
Plaintiff then asked the bank manager why the deposit slip was validated, whereupon the manager assured her that the matter will be investigated into.
When no word was heard as to the investigation made by the bank, Mrs. Reyes sent two (2) demand letters thru her lawyer demanding return of the missing P100,000.00 plus interest (Exhs. "B" and "C"). The same was received by defendant on July 25, 1991 and October 7, 1991, respectively.
The last letter prompted reply from defendant inviting plaintiff to sit down and discuss the problem.
The meeting resulted to the bank promising that Capati will be submitted to a lie detector test.
Plaintiff, however, never learned of the result of said test. Plaintiff filed this instant case.
Defendant on the other hand claimed that Bank of the Philippine Island admitted that Jesusa Reyes had effected a fund transfer in the amount of P100,000.00 from her ordinary savings account to the express teller account she opened on December 7, 1990 (Exhs. "3" to "3-C"), however, it was the only amount she deposited and no additional cash deposit of P100,000.00 was made. That plaintiff wanted to effect the transfer of P200,000.00 but the balance in her account was not sufficient and could not accommodate the same. Plaintiff thereafter agreed to reduce the amount to be withdrawn from P200,000.00 to P100,000.00 with plaintiff's signature superimposed on said corrections; that the original copy of the deposit slip was also altered from P200,000.00 to P100,000.00, however, instead of plaintiff signing the same, the clerk-in-charge of the bank, in this case Cicero Capati, signed the alteration himself for Jesusa Reyes had already left without signing the deposit slip. The documents were subsequently machine validated for the amount of P100,000.00 (Exhs. "2" and "4").
Defendant claimed that there was actually no cash involved with the transactions which happened on December 7, 1990 as contained in the bank's teller tape (Exhs."1" to "1-C").
Defendant further claimed that when they subjected Cicero Capati to a lie detector test, the latter passed the same with flying colors (Exhs. "5" to "5-C"), indicative of the fact that he was not lying when he said that there really was no cash transaction involved when plaintiff Jesusa Reyes went to the defendant bank on December 7, 1990; defendant further alleged that they even went to the extent of informing Jesusa Reyes that her claim would not be given credit (Exh. "6") considering that no such transaction was really made on December 7, 1990.4
On August 12, 1994, the RTC issued a Decision5 upholding the versions of respondents, the dispositive portion of which reads:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Court finds in favor of the plaintiff Jesusa P. Reyes and Conrado Reyes and against defendant Bank of the Philippine Islands ordering the latter to:
1. Return to plaintiffs their P100,000.00 with interest at 14% per annum from December 7, 1990;
2. Pay plaintiffs P1,000,000.00 as moral damages;
2. Pay plaintiffs P350,000.00 as exemplary damages;
3. Pay plaintiffs P250,000.00 for and attorney's fees.6
The RTC found that petitioner's claim that respondent Jesusa deposited only P100,000.00 instead of P200,000.00 was hazy; that what should control was the deposit slip issued by the bank to respondent, for there was no chance by which respondent could write the amount of P200,000.00 without petitioner's employee noticing it and making the necessary corrections; that it was deplorable to note that it was when respondent Jesusa's bankbook was submitted to be updated after the lapse of several months when the alleged error claimed by petitioner was corrected; that Article 1962 of the New Civil Code provides that a deposit is constituted from the moment a person receives a thing belonging to another with the obligation of safely keeping it and of returning the same; that under Article 1972, the depositary is obliged to keep the thing safely and to return it when required to the depositor or to his heirs and successors or to the person who may have been designated in the contract.
Aggrieved, petitioner appealed to the CA which in a Decision dated October 29, 2002 affirmed the RTC decision with modification as follows:
Nonetheless, the award of 14% interest per annum on the missing P100,000.00 can stand some modification. The interest thereon should be 12% per annum, reckoned from May 12, 1991, the last day of the five day-grace period given by plaintiff-appellees' counsel under the first demand letter dated May 6, 1991 (Exhibit B), or counted from May 7, 1991, the date when defendant-appellant received said letter. Interest is demandable when the obligation consist in the payment of money and the debtor incurs in delay.
Also, we have to reduce the P1 million award of moral damages to a reasonable sum of P50,000.00. Moral damages are not intended to enrich a plaintiff at the expense of a defendant. They are awarded only to enable the injured party to obtain means, diversion, or amusements that will serve to alleviate the moral suffering he has undergone, by reason of the defendant's culpable action. The award of moral damages must be proportionate to the suffering inflicted.
In addition, we have to delete the award of P350,000.00 as exemplary damages. The absence of malice and bad faith, as in this case, renders the award of exemplary damages improper.
Finally, we have to reduce the award of attorney's fees to a reasonable sum of P30,000.00, as the prosecution of this case has not been attended with any unusual difficulty.
WHEREFORE, with the modifications thus indicated, the judgment appealed from is in all other respects AFFIRMED. Without costs.7
In finding petitioner liable for the missing P100,000.00, the CA held that the RTC correctly gave credence to the testimonies of respondent Jesusa and Joan Reyes to the effect that aside from the fund transfer of P100,000.00 from Jesusa's savings account, Jesusa also made a cash deposit of P100,000.00 in the afternoon of December 7, 1990; that it is unlikely for these two to concoct a story of falsification against a banking institution of the stature of petitioner if their claims were not true; that the duplicate copy of the deposit slip showed a deposit of P200,000.00; this, juxtaposed with the fact that it was not machine-validated and the original copy altered by the bank's clerk from P200,000.00 to P100,000.00 with the altered amount "validated," is indicative of anomaly; that even if it was bank employee Cicero Capati who prepared the deposit slip, Jesusa stood her ground and categorically denied having any knowledge of the alteration therein made; that petitioner must account for the missing P100,000.00 because it was the author of the loss; that banks are engaged in business imbued with public interest and are under strict obligation to exercise utmost fidelity in dealing with its clients, in seeing to it that the funds therein invested or by them received are properly accounted for and duly posted in their ledgers.
Petitioner's motion for reconsideration was denied in a Resolution dated February 12, 2003.
Hence, the present petition on the following grounds:
A. In affirming the decision of the trial court holding BPI liable for the amount of P100,000.00 representing an alleged additional deposit of respondents, the Honorable Court of Appeals gravely abused its discretion by resolving the issue based on a conjecture and ignoring physical evidence in favor of testimonial evidence.
B. The Court of Appeals gravely abused its discretion, being as it is contrary to law, in holding BPI liable to respondents for the payment of interest at the rate of 12% per annum.
C. This Honorable Court gravely abused its discretion, being as it is contrary to law, in holding BPI liable for moral damages and attorney's fees at the reduced amounts of P50,000.00 and P30,000.00, respectively.8
The main issue for resolution is whether the CA erred in sustaining the RTC's finding that respondent Jesusa made an initial deposit of P200,000.00 in her newly opened Express Teller account on December 7, 1990.
The issue raises a factual question. The Court is not a trier of facts, its jurisdiction being limited to reviewing only errors of law that may have been committed by the lower courts.9 As a rule, the findings of fact of the trial court when affirmed by the CA are final and conclusive and cannot be reviewed on appeal by this Court, as long as they are borne out by the record or are based on substantial evidence.10 Such rule however is not absolute, but is subject to well-established exceptions, which are: 1) when the inference made is manifestly mistaken, absurd or impossible; 2) when there is a grave abuse of discretion; 3) when the finding is grounded entirely on speculations, surmises or conjectures; 4) when the judgment of the CA is based on a misapprehension of facts; 5) when the findings of facts are conflicting; 6) when the CA, in making its findings, went beyond the issues of the case, and those findings are contrary to the admissions of both appellant and appellee; 7) when the findings of the CA are contrary to those of the trial court; 8) when the findings of fact are conclusions without citation of specific evidence on which they are based; 9) when the CA manifestly overlooked certain relevant facts not disputed by the parties and which, if properly considered, would justify a different conclusion; and 10) when the findings of fact of the CA are premised on the absence of evidence and are contradicted by the evidence on record.11 We hold that this case falls under exception Nos. 1, 3, 4, and 9 which constrain us to resolve the factual issue.
It is a basic rule in evidence that each party to a case must prove his own affirmative allegations by the degree of evidence required by law.12 In civil cases, the party having the burden of proof must establish his case by preponderance of evidence,13 or that evidence which is of greater weight or is more convincing than that which is in opposition to it. It does not mean absolute truth; rather, it means that the testimony of one side is more believable than that of the other side, and that the probability of truth is on one side than on the other.14
Section 1, Rule 133 of the Rules of Court provides the guidelines for determining preponderance of evidence, thus:
SECTION 1. Preponderance of evidence, how determined. - In civil cases, the party having the burden of proof must establish his case by a preponderance of evidence. In determining where the preponderance or superior weight of evidence on the issues involved lies the court may consider all the facts and circumstances of the case, the witnesses' manner of testifying, their intelligence, their means and opportunity of knowing the facts to which they are testifying, the nature of the facts to which they testify, the probability or improbability of their testimony, their interest or want of interest, and also their personal credibility so far as the same legitimately appear upon the trial. The court may also consider the number of witnesses, though the preponderance is not necessarily with the greater number.
For a better perspective on the calibration of the evidence on hand, it must first be stressed that the judge who had heard and seen the witnesses testify was not the same judge who penned the decision. Thus, not having heard the testimonies himself, the trial judge or the appellate court would not be in a better position than this Court to assess the credibility of witnesses on the basis of their demeanor.
Hence, to arrive at the truth, we thoroughly reviewed the transcripts of the witnesses' testimonies and examined the pieces of evidence on record.
After a careful and close examination of the records and evidence presented by the parties, we find that respondents failed to successfully prove by preponderance of evidence that respondent Jesusa made an initial deposit of P200,000.00 in her Express Teller account.
Respondent Jesusa and her daughter Joan testified that at the outset, respondent Jesusa told Capati that she was opening an Express Teller account for P200,000.00; that she was going to withdraw and transfer P100,000.00 from her savings account to her new account, and that she had an additional P100,000.00 cash. However, these assertions are not borne out by the other evidence presented. Notably, it is not refuted that Capati prepared a withdrawal slip15 for P200,000.00. This is contrary to the claim of respondent Jesusa that she instructed Capati to make a fund transfer of only P100,000.00 from her savings account to the Express Teller account she was opening. Yet, respondent Jesusa signed the withdrawal slip. We find it strange that she would sign the withdrawal slip if her intention in the first place was to withdraw only P100,000.00 from her savings account and deposit P100,000.00 in cash with her.
Moreover, respondent Jesusa's claim that she signed the withdrawal slip without looking at the amount indicated therein fails to convince us, for respondent Jesusa, as a businesswoman in the regular course of business and taking ordinary care of her concerns,16 would make sure that she would check the amount written on the withdrawal slip before affixing her signature. Significantly, we note that the space provided for her signature is very near the space where the amount of P200,000.00 in words and figures are written; thus, she could not have failed to notice that the amount of P200,000.00 was written instead of P100,000.00.
The fact that respondent Jesusa initially intended to transfer the amount of P200,000.00 from her savings account to her new Express Teller account was further established by the teller's tape presented as petitioner's evidence and by the testimony of Emerenciana Torneros, the teller who had attended to respondent Jesusa's transactions.
The teller's tape,17 Exhibit "1" unequivocally shows the following data:
151159 07DEC90 1370 288A 233324299
***200000.0018
BIG AMOUNT
151251 07DEC90 1601 288J 233243388
***200000.00
PB BALANCE ERROR
BAL. 229,257.64
***2000.00
***22917.00
***100000.00 ***100000.0020
152107 07DEC90 1601 288A 3333241381
***4000.00 ***4000.00
***3150.00 686448
(Emphasis supplied)cralawlibrary
The first column shows the exact time of the transactions; the second column shows the date of the transactions; the third column shows the bank transaction code; the fourth column shows the teller's code; and the fifth column shows the client's account number. The teller's tape reflected various transactions involving different accounts on December 7, 1990 which included respondent Jesusa's Savings Account No. 233243388 and her new Express Teller Account No. 235076748. It shows that respondent Jesusa's initial intention to withdraw P200,000.00, not P100,000.00, from her Savings Account No. 233324299 was begun at 3 o'clock, 12 minutes and 45 seconds as shown in Exhibit "1-c."
In explaining the entries in the teller's tape, Torneros testified that when she was processing respondent Jesusa's withdrawal in the amount of P200,000.00, her computer rejected the transaction because there was a discrepancy;21 thus, the word "BIG AMOUNT" appeared on the tape. "Big amount" means that the amount was so big for her to approve,22 so she keyed in the amount again and overrode the transaction to be able to process the withdrawal using an officer's override with the latter's approval.23 The letter "J" appears after Figure 288 in the fourth column to show that she overrode the transaction. She then keyed again the amount of P200,000.00 at 3 o'clock 13 minutes and 9 seconds; however, her computer rejected the transaction, because the balance she keyed in based on respondent Jesusa's passbook was wrong;24 thus appeared the phrase "balance error" on the tape, and the computer produced the balance of P229,257.64, and so she keyed in the withdrawal of P200,000.00.25 Since it was a big amount, she again had to override it, so she could process the amount. However, the withdrawal was again rejected for the reason "TOD, overdraft,"26 which meant that the amount to be withdrawn was more than the balance, considering that there was a debited amount of P30,935.16 reflected in respondent Jesusa's passbook, reducing the available balance to only P198,322.48.27
Torneros then called Capati to her cage and told him of the insufficiency of respondent Jesusa's balance.28 Capati then motioned respondent Jesusa to the teller's cage; and when she was already in front of the teller's cage, Torneros told her that she could not withdraw P200,000.00 because of overdraft; thus, respondent Jesusa decided to just withdraw P100,000.00.29
This explains the alteration in the withdrawal slip with the superimposition of the figure "1" on the figure "2" and the change of the word "two" to "one" to show that the withdrawn amount from respondent Jesusa's savings account was only P100,000.00, and that respondent Jesusa herself signed the alterations.
The teller's tape showed that the withdrawal of the amount of P100,000.00 by fund transfer was resumed at 3 o'clock 17 minutes and 27 seconds; but since it was a big amount, there was a need to override it again, and the withdrawal/fund transfer was completed. At 3 o'clock 18 minutes and 27 seconds, the amount of P100,000.00 was deposited to respondent Jesusa's new Express Teller Account No. 235076748.
The teller's tape definitely establishes the fact of respondent Jesusa's original intention to withdraw the amount of P200,000.00, and not P100,000.00 as she claims, from her savings account, to be transferred as her initial deposit to her new Express Teller account, the insufficiency of her balance in her savings account, and finally the fund transfer of the amount of P100,000.00 from her savings account to her new Express Teller account. We give great evidentiary weight to the teller's tape, considering that it is inserted into the bank's computer terminal, which records the teller's daily transactions in the ordinary course of business, and there is no showing that the same had been purposely manipulated to prove petitioner's claim.
Respondent Jesusa's bare claim, although corroborated by her daughter, that the former deposited P100,000.00 cash in addition to the fund transfer of P100,000.00, is not established by physical evidence. While the duplicate copy of the deposit slip30 was in the amount of P200,000.00 and bore the stamp mark of teller Torneros, such duplicate copy failed to show that there was a cash deposit of P100,000.00. An examination of the deposit slip shows that it did not contain any entry in the breakdown portion for the specific denominations of the cash deposit. This demolishes the testimonies of respondent Jesusa and her daughter Joan.
Furthermore, teller Torneros's explanation of why the duplicate copy of the deposit slip in the amount of P200,000.00 bore the teller's stamp mark is convincing and consistent with logic and the ordinary course of business. She testified that Capati went to her cage bringing with him a withdrawal slip for P200,000.00 signed by respondent Jesusa, two copies of the deposit slip for P200,000.00 in respondent Jesusa's name for her new Express Teller account, and the latter's savings passbook reflecting a balance of P249,657.6431 as of November 19, 1990.32 Thus, at first glance, these appeared to Torneros to be sufficient for the withdrawal of P200,000.00 by fund transfer. Capati then got her teller's stamp mark, stamped it on the duplicate copy of the deposit slip, and gave the duplicate to respondent Jesusa, while the original copy33 of the deposit slip was left in her cage.34 However, as Torneros started processing the transaction, it turned out that respondent Jesusa's balance was insufficient to accommodate the P200,000.00 fund transfer as narrated earlier.
Since respondent Jesusa had signed the alteration in the withdrawal slip and had already left the teller's counter thereafter and Capati was still inside the teller's cage, Torneros asked Capati about the original deposit slip and the latter told her, "Ok naman iyan,"35 and Capati superimposed the figures "1" on "2" on the deposit slip36 to reflect the initial deposit of P100,000.00 for respondent Jesusa's new Express Teller account and signed the alteration. Torneros then machine-validated the deposit slip. Thus, the duplicate copy of the deposit slip, which bore Torneros's stamp mark and which was given to respondent Jesusa prior to the processing of her transaction, was not machine-validated unlike the original copy of the deposit slip.
While the fact that the alteration in the original deposit slip was signed by Capati and not by respondent Jesusa herself was a violation of the bank's policy requiring the depositor to sign the correction,37 nevertheless, we find that respondents failed to satisfactorily establish by preponderance of evidence that indeed there was an additional cash of P100,000.00 deposited to the new Express Teller account.
Physical evidence is a mute but eloquent manifestation of truth, and it ranks high in our hierarchy of trustworthy evidence.38 We have, on many occasions, relied principally upon physical evidence in ascertaining the truth. Where the physical evidence on record runs counter to the testimonial evidence of the prosecution witnesses, we consistently rule that the physical evidence should prevail.39
In addition, to uphold the declaration of the CA that it is unlikely for respondent Jesusa and her daughter to concoct a false story against a banking institution is to give weight to conjectures and surmises, which we cannot countenance.
In fine, respondents failed to establish their claim by preponderance of evidence.
Considering the foregoing, we find no need to tackle the other issues raised by petitioner.
WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The decision of the Court of Appeals dated October 29, 2002 as well as its Resolution dated February 12, 2003 are hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The complaint filed by respondents, together with the counterclaim of petitioner, is DISMISSED.
* In lieu of Justice Minita V. Chico-Nazario, per Special Order No. 484 dated January 11, 2008.
1 CA rollo, pp. 109-117; penned by Justice Renato C. Dacudao, concurred in by Justices Eugenio S. Labitoria and Danilo B. Pine; docketed as CA - G.R. CV No. 47862.
3 Entitled Jesusa P. Reyes and Conrado B. Reyes v. Bank of Philippine Islands.
4 Records, pp. 220-222.
5 Id. at 219-225; per Judge Gil P. Fernandez, Sr.
6 Id. at 224-225.
7 CA rollo, pp. 116-117.
8 Rollo, pp. 30-31.
10 Prudential Bank v. Lim, G.R. No. 136371, November 11, 2005, 474 SCRA 485, 491.
11 Go v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 112550, February 5, 2001, 351 SCRA 145.
12 Revised Rules of Court, Rule 131, Sec. 1.
13 Revised Rules on Evidence, Rule 133, Sec. 1.
14 Reyes v. Court of Appeals, 432 Phil. 1052, 1061 (2002), citing Rivera v. Court of Appeals, 348 Phil. 734 (1998).
15 Records, p.21, Exhibit "4."
16 Rule 131, Sec. 3(d).
17 Records, p. 154, Exhibit "1."
18 Exhibit "1-c."
19 Exhibit "1-b."
20 Exhibit "1-a."
21 TSN, May 4, 1993, p. 10.
24 TSN, April 27, 1993, p. 15.
27 Records, p. 73, Exhibit "D-2."
30 Records, p. 6, Exhibits "A" and "7."
31 Records, p. 73; Exhibits "D-2" and "D-2 a"; the entry shows P243,657.64.
32 TSN, April 27, 1993, pp. 10-12.
33 Records, p. 22. Exhibits "W," "W-1," "2" and "2-A."
37 TSN Nov. 10, 1992, pp 59-60.
38 See Jose v. Court of Appeals, G.R. NOS. 118441-42, January 18, 2000, 322 SCRA 25, 31, citing People v. Uycoque, G.R. No. 107495, July 31, 1995, 246 SCRA 769 (1995).
39 Id. citing People v. Vasquez, G.R. No. 102366, October 3, 1997, 280 SCRA 160.


The 2016 Legislative Analysis of Criminal and Juvenile Laws contains summaries and complete enrolled versions of 17 bills - a record for a short session - covering new criminal and juvenile legislation.
Hard copy binding: Print version — 160+ pages, comb bound.
Download the free PDF through this link, which will take you to the Legal Document Library. There, the 2016 Legislative Analysis is included under the Legislative Analysis category.


text:
Home » Teams » Eagles » Report: Connor Barwin to the Giants
Report: Connor Barwin to the Giants
By Kevin Kinkead
Photo Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Barf:
The Giants are expected to sign veteran outside linebacker Connor Barwin, per source. Adds much-needed depth at the position and a quality veteran presence. Also has a strong relationship with LB coach Bill McGovern from their time together in Philadelphia.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) July 23, 2018
Barwin won't be a starter, but he'll get snaps behind Olivier Vernon and Kareem Martin. Rookie Lorenzo Carter is also in the mix as the G-Men convert to a 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator James Bettcher and first-year head coach Pat Shurmur.
The 31 year old had a good run with the Eagles, highlighted by a 2014 Pro Bowl season in which he logged 14.5 sacks and 64 combined tackles. He was very easy to like as a guy who rode his bike and took SEPTA around town and did a variety of charity events. It would be a shame to see him wearing Giants colors, but we'll just have to get over it.
Time's yours.
connor barwin, eagles
Kevin Kinkead
Kevin has been covering Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started on the Union beat during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to Boyertown High School and West Virginia University and used to write for Philly Voice, Philly Views, MLSSoccer.com, Philadelphiaunion.com, the Canadian Press, and the Philly Soccer Page. email - kevin@crossingbroad.com
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VR July 23, 2018 at 4:48 pm
Wow – just literally saw him on an Amtrak (got on at 30th street) at 2:30. I gave him a nod and a "Go Birds" and was oddly not receptive of it (gave me "ah shit" kind of response). Overheard him talking about moving Sampson to the SAM, which I guess is taking over his spot. must be why he wasn't resigned..
Would love to knockout the smelly Indian dude on the 🚂 July 23, 2018 at 5:16 pm
The Hipster Superman is cooked
Chris Long July 23, 2018 at 5:32 pm
Beat it Barwin, I'm the new white woke hero in Philly.
Sal pal July 23, 2018 at 5:57 pm
comment awaiting approval July 23, 2018 at 7:17 pm
Maybe JJ Redick will let him crash at his place in Williamsburg for the year
All Phils can do is hit homeruns July 23, 2018 at 11:00 pm
That doesn't work in October when many games are low scoring and you have to produce runs playing fundamental baseball. All this team does is swing for the fences.
Tommy hunter & Turk Wendell July 23, 2018 at 11:06 pm
Can't wait for the cuz tomorrow morning
Ropes Guy July 24, 2018 at 2:31 am
Staying up all night waiting for the cuz to start his show in a few hours. Im so excited, I can't fall asleep. He's probably still up too, having orgies with eagles and Sixers cheerleaders. The cuz is so lucky. #1 radio show, slaying hot ass on the reg, 10 inch rod, thick ropes, no wonder why the ladies love him and dudes are so jealous of him. Everyone loves the cuz.
Jr July 24, 2018 at 6:20 am
Hell yea bro! I do the same shit. Love the Cuz baby!
Jillian Mole's Tit Freckles July 24, 2018 at 4:55 am
Damn. Reporting is hard.
3rd shift lou July 24, 2018 at 6:41 am
In my warehouse we all listen to Big Daddy Graham, then we switch to the Cuz at 6.
Christian bale sound drop July 24, 2018 at 7:17 am
Oh gooooooood for you!
4 for 4 guy (b dawk is my lord & savior) July 24, 2018 at 8:30 am
Cuz is talking childhood in Philly . Love his advice to the youth to ditch the electronics and go out & play sports


Is there anything better than an easy, comfortable look that's still chic? As most of you know, I wear white constantly, but sometimes when I want to dress it up a bit, I simply trade the jeans for all white. Also, adding a hat makes it even better! This look is great for Spring days, but when Summer temps hit, I'll be throwing on this button-down with cut-offs or over my swimsuit and trading this hat for a straw version!
I hope you all had a beautiful Easter weekend! I was present on instagram, but I apologize for being a bit MIA on here last week! We had company in town, hosted all weekend, and plans every single night. I felt like I blinked and the week was over! However, I'm excited for this week to be a little slower (you know you're an adult when no plans is the goal) and we're headed somewhere fun for the weekend!
I don't know about where you guys are, but our weather has been all over the place lately! After it rained for about 60 days straight (no, really though), the temps have raised and the sun is finally out! Honestly, I prefer a happy medium - I love for it to be warm + sunny all day and then have a little Spring, late afternoon shower or storm. That's when all of our plants seem to do the best - sunny days and afternoon rain. Whew sorry, I got off on a little tangent there for a second! Get me talking about plants or chickens and it's all down hill from there.
Anyway - this outfit is perfect for transitioning into warmer days! I've always loved a good cut-offs + boots combination before it gets too hot. Also, this crop top could literally be thrown on with anything! A skirt, jeans, cut-offs - any of it AND it won't break the bank. See how I styled it last, HERE.
Thanks so much for stopping by and have a beautiful day, friends! X.
I always love a good Shopbop SALE and I've rounded up all of my favorites for you! Most of these pieces I own, others I ordered today! So many neutral, staple pieces that are perfectly versatile for Spring + Summer.
Now through Friday, take 20% off orders under $500 and 25% off orders over $500 with code EVENT19! Stock up while you can!!
Thanks so much for stopping by, friends! X.
No matter what, a good white tee is always a closet staple + basic you'll wear forever. Seriously though, how many things in your closet can you truly say that about? The goal - a lot. Realistically, probably not that much. The best part is a good white tee doesn't have to cost a fortune. In fact, it's something I wear so often (cough, cough - every day) that I don't want it to be an investment. Whatever your go-to style is - a classic, short sleeve, a boxy fit, crop top, button-down, long and tucked in, or fun details like eyelet or a tie front - you can easily switch up your daily look simply by changing your top. Pair any + all of these with a chic pair of Levi jeans or cut-offs and around here, we like to call that THE UNIFORM.
I hope you're all having a good week so far! I woke up super early yesterday and got to fly to Indiana with one of my best friends to finally hear the heartbeat of their little girl that's arriving late November of this year. It was such a beautiful thing to be a part of and we could not be happier for them. Just one of those sweet reminders that everything happens in it's own, perfect timing and the sweetest way to start my week. Aside from that, I have so much going on the next few days around here and a couple of which I cannot wait to share with you! Big things happening over here and we are so excited!
Last, but definitely not least, and mostly because I feel like I haven't told you guys lately, but I'm so unbelievably thankful for you. The support you give me (and us) on a daily basis never ceases to amaze me and I always want my little space of the internet to be about that. Uplifting and supporting each other, talking and engaging about more than material things, and a place you can leave inspired in some way. I love, love, love you and I can't wait to continue to cultivate this family we've found in all of you and pour into what's to come together. We love you!
I hope you all had a great week! I'm so excited to be partnering with eBay today to share an easy + quick guide on how to shop for authentic designer handbags on eBay. If you're anything like me, sometimes purchasing pre-owned luxury pieces can be a bit intimidating. Before this experience with eBay, I was nervous to pull the trigger, not knowing exactly what to look for to ensure quality and authenticity. The good news - eBay has already done all of the work for us!
eBay Authenticate is a program designed to make you feel comfortable + confident when buying luxury items through their website - particularly designer handbags. eBay has sourced their very own industry experts, who carefully verify everything from the seller to the authenticity of the item, so you can shop with complete confidence that you're getting the real deal.
Whether it's a handbag that you've had your eye on for months and can't justify paying retail for it brand new or one that you just couldn't get your hands on before it was sold out, shopping with eBay is so easy.
1. / Simply head over to the eBay Authenticated Luxury Handbag shop.
2. / Sort by designer and/or price.
3./ Look for the "verified authentic"blue check mark.
4./ Order the handbag of you've been waiting on!
Last time J and I were in DC, I went to Dior and had my eye on this particular handbag in either black or blush. I knew I couldn't go wrong either way, but ultimately decided to hold off. After returning home and not being able to get the bag off my mind for the last couple of months, I went to eBay and searched under the Authenticated Luxury Handbag section. Much to my surprise, the Dior black handbag was right in front of me, in great condition, and a fraction of the cost! I placed my order, had the bag on my doorstep within a few days, and received the authenticity cards from eBay letting me know the bag was double checked and verified authentic by an expert in the industry. I couldn't be happier about my decision - this beaut will fit right in!
Lastly, for future reference - you can simply type in eBay.com/authenticatedhandbags into your browser for easy shopping!
Thank you to eBay for partnering on this post - all opinions are my own!
About 3 months ago, J and I decided it was time to give our living room a little refresh. Not only did we want to update our furniture, we wanted to lighten up the entire space and add a few more seats, as well. Our living room is the first thing you see when you walk in the front door, so a clean, minimal vibe to set the tone for the rest of the house is exactly what we were after.
After a few months of searching for the perfect thing, I finally found Maiden Home. I had never heard of the brand before, but the moment I was taken to the home page, it just spoke to my soul. (Literally, the couch on the home page is the one we chose!) The clean lines, bright + airy space, yet cozy layers + fabrics, were all exactly what we were looking for. The more I learned about the brand, their beliefs and their process, the more in love I became. I was immediately drawn to the Dune Sofa because I love the slipcovered look and scatterback pillows. It's such a perfect fit for our neutral, french farmhouse style and I literally couldn't get it off my mind for days. Shortly after, I laid my eyes on the Hayes Chair and fully took it as a sign that this brand was a match made in Heaven for our little cottage. The matte walnut wood is beautiful and the cowhide with the tie-back detail gives our space the chic, French-flare we were looking for.
After deciding on the two pieces we couldn't live without, I ordered complimentary swatches from their website. Within a couple of days, I had all 4 swatches of the fabric colors the Dune Sofa is available in, as well as an example of the different wood colors/tones. We were pretty sure khaki was the way to go for our space, but having the swatches at our fingertips gave us the assurance we needed to move forward. Before we even placed our order, I had an email in my inbox thanking me for my interest and asking how the brand could be of service. Any questions we had or decisions we were on the fence about - answered by a real person, without even having to ask for it. I am all about customer service and that non-pushy, simply helpful email felt like such a game changer.
After placing our order, the countdown began! All of Maiden Home's furniture is crafted within 6 weeks and delivered free of charge. They send you updates throughout the entire process each time a step is completed, too! I loved being 'in the know' on what was happening on the back end - the communication is on point. The brand also has a lifetime guarantee on every single piece and 30-day returns. If you're not in love, they'll come pick it up, simple as that. Which, let's be honest, you will be - so that's not a concern, but between the return policy and lifetime guarantee, it might give you a little extra confidence when purchasing investment pieces for your home.
Finding + purchasing furniture for your home is such an intimate thing. It's what you walk by each morning when you wake up, gather around when hosting friends + family, relax on at the end of a long day, and live with for years to come. Especially at this stage of life, we're investing in pieces we know we'll love forever and truly want designer quality at an exceptional value - with a brand we believe in. From the collections and fabrics to the customer service and the process, Maiden Home was flawless to work with. We're so in love with our new space!
Be sure to take a look at all of the beautiful collections on Maiden Home and order a few swatches for yourself! Also, stay tuned - we may or may not have another project in the works and I can't wait to share it with you!
This post was in collaboration with Maiden Home for The Lovely Cottage, but all opinions are my own!
Ok, so maybe I wouldn't choose to live in a crop top because ya girl here likes to order pizza too often, however, this outfit is SO good! I love when all of my favorite neutrals come together to create a relaxed, yet chic look. I threw this on for dinner in Charleston with some friends last week and it was perfect for an easy night out. I jut purchased in both of the other colors because for $50 it's too good not to! And I'll most likely throw them both on with a white tee, #groundbreaking so get ready for this look to be on major repeat.
I hope you all had a great weekend! We spent all day on Saturday in the yard and all day Sunday surrounded by family + friends. Our motto - work hard, play hard.
Have a great day, babes - thanks so much for stopping by! X.