MANILA, Philippines?Singer Rachel Alejandro was planning to migrate to the United States when The Sexy Chef?the restaurant business she put up with her sister Barni? took off in 2007 and suddenly needed her full attention.

?I found myself staying in Manila more often to promote The Sexy Chef,? she said.

At that time, Rachel was renting a three-bedroom apartment in Greenmeadows, Quezon City. She would only stay there for a week or two and then go back to New York, where her mom is based.

Jackpot

In July 2008, Rachel joined ?The Singing Bee? TV game show and won P1 million. She used part of the prize money to buy a 59 sq. m. single-bedroom condominium unit at the posh Forbeswood Heights in Global City, Taguig. ?Location is important. I chose this because it?s close to everything,? she told Living Stars.

Renovation was tough on the new homeowner. ?I had problems in the bathroom. Tiles were placed the wrong way. There were leaks on the wall of the living area, too,? she said. Since Rachel was moving into a smaller space, she had to sell most of her old stuff. ?Except for my bed, pretty much everything is brand new,? she added.

For extra storage space, Rachel bought trendy plastic drawers. She also had compartments and drawers built all over the house. ?I?m not a rat pack. I give away stuff that I don?t use,? she pointed out. ?If you noticed, I?ve been living here for almost a year now but I haven?t bothered to put up paintings, pictures or rugs. After all the gastos, stop muna. But really, I just prefer everything to be kind of sparse.?