Thursday, July 26, 2012

A Cinemalaya Gem

My godmother is the project manager for the closing ceremony of Cinemalaya 2012. Last night when I went to her office, I chanced upon a very young girl who turned out to be one of the performers at the closing. At first, she looked ordinary but when she told us her story we were moved and became instant fans.

Her name is Jerica Villanueva.

Jerica is a member of the children's group, God's Little Sparrows. Her story was first made public when Wish Ko Lang featured Jerica in their show after seeing how good she was. Her life story called out to them-- She's from a poor family but brimming with raw talent-- y'know, the stuff that hits every soft spot.

Jerica's video on youtube got the attention of Cinemalaya's President and so here she is... the chosen artist to sing Cinemalaya's official theme song, Balanghai.

I cannot wait to see Jerica's performance on Sunday! So excited for her-- this could well be her big break. You go girl!


Saturday, July 21, 2012

Cinemalaya Saturday

By some bizarre twist of fate, classes got suspended, my exams did not push through and I ended up watching 3 Cinemalaya films today.


To be truly honest, I'm not too excited about the films this year. Due to the lack of promotion perhaps?

Of the very few I've heard about, I'm disappointed to say that the buzz was not substantiated. I'll not say what film it was but one film (that has been creating so much buzz online) is a total letdown. To think I purposely rearranged my schedule so I can watch it today :( The story was too amateur and was far from artistic. If you follow me on twitter, you'd know what film it was. (Clue: chirp, chirp, quack, quack, moo!)

But let's not focus on the bad. Here are two of my favorites from the films I watched today:
Ruweda by Hannah Espia
This film blew me away! The first time I watched Cinemalaya, I fell in love with a film from the Shorts category and now on its 8th year, a short film, has again won my heart. The film itself is a thesis submitted by Hannah to the UP Film Institute. This alone made me admire her more. I mean, this is just her thesis! Think of what else that girl can do when given the right opportunity! It was so artistic and well-executed. The story was simple but deep at the same time. Amazing job Hannah!

Intoy Shokoy ng Kalye Marino by Lem Lorca
Two thumbs up! If I had an additional thumb, I'd raise it too! Super good! I love how the story was deep yet not dragging. The acting was superb and the scenes were well executed. I loved it. This film is Cinemalaya personified-- good script, amazing actors, great direction-- yes, it is artistic excellence at its best.

For now  my bet is Intoy Shokoy and Ruweda. I'm excited for the awarding!--and oh, let's help them win audience choice too, okay? ;)

It's only the start of Cinemalaya and a whole week is ahead and I'm getting super excited! See you at the screenings!

Friday, July 20, 2012

Sweets to take the blues away

A couple of days ago, a colleague and I attended a meeting in Makati. It was another of those "impromptu" meetings where you don't know a thing about the issue but just had to go because your office has to be represented. Well, like how it always is when you're unprepared, it is bound to end in disaster.

My colleague and I were grilled during the meeting. We couldn't give them the information they needed for the simple reason that we did not know the answer. We do not handle those issues so everything they were asking were foreign to us. It was a total disaster!

Since we were feeling down, we decided to drop by Karen's kitchen before going back to the office.

 I've been wanting to try her velvet cake because a lot of people attests to how it is the BEST red velvet cupcake they have ever eaten. I'm a red velvet fan and I am yet to identify my "ultimate red velvet" so I felt doubly excited to try Karen's.

Like I said, we were feeling a bit down after the meeting so we bought a couple of desserts and parked our broken hearts in UCC beside Karen's Kitchen for cups of Joe.
 Now, that's what you call a meal!

Top- clockwise: Red velvet cake (Php185.00), apple crisp (Php(45.00), Japanese lemon cheesecake (Php90.00)
We finished these in a flash and our favorite was, as expected, the red velvet. Let me now zoom in on the product:
The cake itself is moist and is not too sweet-- just how I like my red velvet. The cream cheese is nice and thick but honestly, I'd like it to be more tangy. Still, it's very good!

Thank you Karen's kitchen and UCC for the tasty food! It turned our frowns into smiles. Oh yes, that's the power of sweets and coffee ;)

Karen's Kitchen
Petron Dasma, Makati or Palm Village, Makati
www.karensskitchen.com.ph

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Cinemalaya season

It's that time of year once again! Look what's up at the ramp at the CCP:


Oh yes, it's time to satisfy our appetites for the best indie flicks-- time for Cinemalaya at the CCP! See you at the screenings!

For the schedules and other details, click here

Sunday, July 15, 2012

When in KL...

One of the things I like when travelling abroad is getting stuff that "tourists" don't normally get. Instead of the cliche items on souvenir shops, I like getting what the locals get. Hence, I like getting insider info before my trips so I'd know what the locals like and what unique items/restaurants/shops I should drop by.

Well here's one thing you SHOULD get when you travel to Kuala Lumpur:
Beryl's Tiramisu with almonds! Seriously, these are super good! (Again, this coming from a NON-chocolate lover!)
If you're from Kuala Lumpur, you'd be familiar with this brand co'z they even have a big chocolate factory in Genting Highlands but for foreigners, this brand might not ring a bell-- and that's exactly why I'm so excited to tell you all about it! This info is vital especially for Filipinos who frequent Malaysia (guysss, don't forget to buy this!)
My godmother, who I told about this, gave me a lot of chocolates as pasalubong but she, herself hoarded the shop! She got chocolate bars, chocolate mints, white chocolate versions, the works! She instantly became a fan!

Note that these chocolates aren't exactly cheap. They are a bit on the expensive side and the price tag might discourage you... but believe me that these are worth every penny! 

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

A cup in hand...

Good morning everyone! Hope you all woke up on the right side of the bed-- well, even if you didn't, let's turn that frowns upside down by drinking a nice, warm cup of coffee :)

I was never a fan of instant coffee--that is until now because the coffee maker at the office got broken so I had to make do with a bunch of 3-in-1s. Well my latest "discovery" is instant Nescafe Gold:
 
 Why is this different than other 3-in-1s? This is why:

See how large the coffee granules are? It is so aromatic and because the granules are big, you really get to taste the coffee. Don't worry, it's not too strong. I was actually surprised to find that I did not get palpitations.

Have a good day everyone! Let me leave you with this picture I took of my cup of brew:


Saturday, July 7, 2012

Tv junkie

I admit I am not much of a tv person and I honestly am too busy to stay home and watch tv. But on rare occasions (like today, since I'm sick), I like sitting in front of the telly and watching relaxing tv shows. Normally, it's National Geographic or Discovery for me but today, I found a new favorite channel:
Be Tv! I've been stuck watching tv shows all day and I can't get enough! I've been living under a rock and I hate myself for discovering these shows just now:
I grew up reading Sherlock Holmes so this one is a no brainer. I loved it! A LOT! It's so much better than the movie adaptations. My friend told me they're about to come out with Season 3 this year but no worries because Be Tv is showing re-runs! Season 2 will be aired July 23! Hooray!

 If you're a fan of the legend, you'll LOVE this show! What I particularly like is the fact that it doesn't feel so "historical" aka boring, this adaption is young and fresh which makes it incredibly enjoyable.

The day is not yet finished and I am so excited to watch more shows. To see more of their offerings, you can visit their website, www.betv-asia.com

I sure hope your cable channels carry Be Tv so you could see all these shows I'm raving about! Have a good and carefree weekend everyone!

Friday, July 6, 2012

Pocketful of Sunshine

It's been so dreary the past few days that a small part of me is missing nice sunny days. Don't get me wrong, I'll still be a "rainy day" kind of girl, it's just a bit difficult to keep on loving the rainy days in Manila especially with the flooding problem and the really bad traffic.

Still, let's stay optimistic.
Let's channel positivity and bring on the good vibes!
I haven't had the chance to post this outfit during summer but I'm glad I forgot because right now, summer feels like a dream and these photos remind me that summer DID happen and I DID enjoy every single moment of it.
Despite the weather, may we all keep on smiling and try to keep our "summer personalities". Keep smiling! Stay upbeat and perky :)
May we all breeze through the rainy days with grace. Have a good July everyone!


Floral dress - Ensembles
Dusty rose wedges - Charles & Keith

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Shopping Ban: FAIL!

I imposed a shopping ban on myself since April but I have been failing miserably. Here are snapshots of what I've purchased so far.. well, I decided not to take pictures of small knickknacks such as nail polishes and a few dresses. Hehe. Anyway.. Below are the stuff that burned a teeny tiny hole in my pocket..

Indigo Urbanears (Yey!)
Speaker Dock

and

a handful of books

 So much for saving for the future. Hahaha.

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