crumb trails

Sending a Christmas card is one of the oldest practices associated with the Holiday Season. I still do that until now. And greeting cards are becoming more and more interesting each year. They’re more than just greeting cards now. Like the ones I saw when I bought Christmas cards for friends and family abroad.

This is more like the usual Christmas card, but it features the painting of a Filipino artist (“Parol Pastillas” by Ging Flores). Aside from that, part of its sales will be given to an organization called l.i. f.e. (leukemic indigents fund endowment), dedicated to save the lives of poor children with leukemia by way of sustained medical treatment.

A three-fold card in pastel colors. Funky design, isn’t it? Youthful. And the message is cute. The little extra? Here:

You can wear these heart-shaped dangling earrings if you like. Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to spend some quiet moments, refresh your mind, feel close to nature and God, Caleruega is the perfect place to go; located in Brgy. Kaylayaw, Batulao, Nasugbu Batangas. As described in the flyer given to visitors at the gate, Caleruga is a house (place) of prayer and renewal. It is equipped with facilities for activities like retreats, recollections, prayer and renewal workshops, and other religious and environmental-related assemblies. But you can also go for a day’s visit. Like what I did last weekend. For 30 pesos entrance fee, you can enjoy the breathtaking views, clear your mind and find peace.

I’ve been planning that trip for a long, long time and been asking some of my friends to go with me. They’d say yes but we’d end up postponing the trip afterwards. I was awed when I saw the pictures in the Dominicans’ website. I was rendered speechless actually, my breath literally taken away for several seconds. I’m really glad that I was able to visit the place this time and was able to convince one of my college friends to go with me.

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After much controversy, the screen adaptation of Dan Brown’s best-seller, The Da Vinci Code is in theaters now. The film opens with the bizarre murder of Louvre curator Jacques Sauniere, who, in his dying moments managed to leave behind a number of clues and messages hidden in the artworks of Leonardo Da Vinci. The French police invites Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) to decipher the code they found near the dead body. Langdon concedes not knowing that he has already been considered a prime suspect. With the help of Sauniere’s granddaughter Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou, Amelie and A Very Long Engagement), Langdon is able to escape the police only to be trapped in a more intricate labyrinth. Soon they find themselves on the run from policeman Bezu Fache (Jean Reno), the albino monk Silas (Paul Bettany), and Archbishop Aringarosa (Alfred Molina). Robert and Sophie proceed to Robert’s colleague Sir Leigh Teabing to ask for his help to unravel a secret that–according to Sir Leigh–had been kept from humanity for centuries.

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I had the chance to finally watch the much-talked stage adaptation of Carlo Vergara’s Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah—the story of an ordinary parlorista, Ada (christened Adrian, played by Tuxqs Rutaquio) who came to possess extraordinary abilities when he swallowed a weird-looking—size and texture—stone and eventually becomes the hero(ine), as Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, of his barrio defeating a giant frog, zombies and men-hating planet women. Indeed it is a story of bravery, not from possessing immeasurable strength, but having the courage to accept ones self as a whole person—capable of loving and being loved—and daring to take a step and make a change.

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