The Beauty of Nature & Gratitude

One of  my favourite TED talks is the  presentation done by award winning director and cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg entitled "Nature. Beauty. Gratitude".

He talked about how time lapse photography and  using beautiful subjects found in nature had made him appreciate the beauty of nature even more. He also did a wonderful video filled with colourful visuals showing how a child's perspective and an elderly man's perspective are different from each other.

Children have a sense of wonder and make use of their imagination while an elderly man sees everyday as a gift and feels thankful for every moment.

Here's the wonderful TED talk presentation of Louie Schwartzberg:

The presentation of Louie Schwartzberg reminds us to be grateful for what we have.

Life maybe short but if it is lived in a meaningful manner and each day is treated as an opportunity to be thankful for all the gifts we receive then it becomes an unforgettable and cherished experience for each one of us.

We have to remember that in our own small way we can also be a  blessing to other people.

Be grateful and be a blessing to others. Connect with other people and have a great day!

Pleasant Surprises

I believe that part of being happy and living a meaningful life includes sharing what you have to others and connecting to people in a positive way.

The feeling of abundance in our lives becomes greater when we are able to share our blessings to other people.

I love giving and creating pleasant surprises. Recently, I have been doing quite a lot of pleasant surprise visits and  have been giving nice gifts to people  randomly. The nice thing about creating pleasant surprises is the spontaneity that comes with it and the instant joy it brings to people since it is simply unexpected.

The gifts that I give to people vary and these are not really very expensive gifts. It can be a nice gift that I think the person would like, appreciate and may make a person's day a pleasant one.

For the past couple of days, I was able to  do 10 pleasant surprise visits that cheered up more than 25 people since some of the gifts I gave were for a group. This is considering that the past week has been a busy week for me since I am also doing some important work.

I am a pretty creative person so I also think of gifts like goodies that include food like giving a nice cake to a team, giving ice cream to the guy who cleans your car or the  traffic guy around the village or the helpful ladyguard near the grocery that you often go to, giving a good friend fine food, sharing new and yummy desserts or yummy food items that I have discovered to someone, giving a good book to someone, bringing merienda(afternoon snacks) to a  hardworking team, treating someone to a nice lunch, giving pizza or chocolates to people that you often see like the people at the bank that you go to or bringing some yummy food for the  team at your neighborhood coffee shop, etc.

It is priceless to see how people's faces light up and how they end up smiling when you share with them something that can make them pleasantly surprised.

Currently, I am preparing a lovely gift kit with nice stuff for a five-year old girl. She is the daughter of a good friend and she lives in Singapore. I will personally give the gift to her when I visit Singapore next month. I am still waiting for the cute gift box that I  ordered from a gift wrapping shop.

Life is good and we should share our blessings. I simply just want to continue having fun, share my blessings and make people smile.

In our own little way, we can  make this world a better place. It takes very little effort to make people smile. Try giving pleasant surprises too since you will find out that creating happiness by giving also brings you happiness. and sometimes even you will end up having a pleasant surprise too.

Live life to the fullest, share your blessings and enjoy life!

3 Reasons Why Gone Girl Is a Must-see film

Gone Girl, the movie starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, is one movie that people have been talking about.

I heard so much rave about the movie from people who have watched the film and it made me curious why this film is a must-watch film. In order to address my curiosity and to take a much deserved break, I ended up watching the movie the other day.

The film revolves around the life of a married couple named Nick Dunne and his beautiful wife Amy who just mysteriously went missing on their fifth wedding anniversary.

The media and the police both get confused with the clues and strange incidents that have been popping up after Amy's disappearance. It certainly makes everyone ask the question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

Here's the trailer of Gone Girl:

I would say that this film is very different from the other suspense/mystery films that I have watched before. Below are the 3 reasons why you should watch it:

1) Rosamund Pike is a great actress

Rosamund Pike was able to portray the complex character of Amy Dunne in an excellent manner. 

Her facial expressions and great acting simply transforms the character in different ways that keep the audience on the edge of their seats and keep them guessing why Amy disappeared.

She is also British. I did not even know she was British until I saw a short video interview of her by W Magazine recently.  It is amazing that when you see her in the movie you would not even think that she is British since her American accent is just perfect.

2) Gone Girl is "Intense"

It is certainly an "intense" and shocking movie that people will talk about during dinners with their friends.

The sexy and controversial scenes in the movie may have raised some eyebrows but it is part of what makes the film remarkable.

It's a very risque type of  film that you either hate or love.

3) The story has crazy twists and turns

The scenes that lead to the story's ending makes the audience think more and the pace of the story is just right that it keeps you guessing on who is responsible for Amy's disappearance. It also makes you think who the real crazy person is in Amy and Nick's dsyfunctional marriage.

Overall, Gone Girl is certainly a must-watch film but it is a film for people who do not mind watching an unusual, somewhat shocking but remarkable film.

Organic eats at Green Pastures

I rarely go to malls outside Makati City since normally traffic is heavy most of the time just going from Makati to Ortigas. 

Since I went to EDSA Shangri-la Mall with a friend one time, we made sure that we went to a restaurant that is different from the restaurants in Makati. With this, my friend and I ended up trying an restaurant called Green Pastures.

Green Pastures is a farm-to-table type restaurant which makes use of organic ingredients sourced locally for their dishes. It is a restaurant run by Chef Robby Goco(of CYMA restaurant) and it offers a wide range of  dishes to choose from.

The restaurant has a nice green wall filled with organic plants

Colourful chairs, Edison type lights,and big jars containing
various ingredients are seen at the kitchen/salad bar area

Their menu is quite long and my friend and I took sometime to choose from their menu since it was quite text heavy and did not make use of any photos.

We ended up trying the Farmhouse salad, 80/20 burger and Tequila Joe's Organic beef sloppy cow.

  

Farmhouse Salad with Malagos goat cheese

Their 80/20 burger is a combination of 80% wagyu beef and 20% pancetta mixed together and served with stracciatella cheese. My friend liked the fries since it was served with some grated cheese on top.

80/20 burger

 

If you have been eating at Tequila Joe's restaurant before, I am sure that you remember their famous Sloppy cow dish. The good news is that Green Pastures serves this dish which has tender pieces of  flavourful organic beef.

Tequila Joe's organic beef sloppy cow

On  another lunch visit at EDSA Shangri-la, I went back to Green Pastures and tried their Roast organic chicken and a side salad.

Organic roast chicken with asparagus

Mixed greens side salad with vinaigrette

It is certainly good to know that there are restaurants serving organic and healthy dishes now.

Green Pastures at EDSA Shangri-la is worth trying especially if you are looking for healthy and freshly prepared dishes using organic ingredients. 

Vom Fass + Healthy Salad

I am in a moment where I prefer to eat healthy dishes everyday but at the same time I continue to look for ways to make my meals interesting and delicious.

Since I love eating salads and creating my own dishes it was really a pleasant surprise for me to find new products that go well with salads from a shop called Vom Fass.

Vom Fass is a specialty shop that sells  oils, vinegars, spirits and wine.

Raspberry balsam

Calamansi balsam

Aceto Balsamico Maletti

Liquers in various flavours

Wide range of oils to choose from

Liquers in small bottles

My current favourite  from Vom Fass which I use for my salad dishes are the : Calamansi balsam and Raspberry balsam.

Cute and stackable
 calamansi and raspberry balsam bottles

The Calamansi Balsam is good with argula greens and ripe mangoes. It's the salad that I pair with a good steak for dinner or lunch.

Healthy arugula salad with walnuts, cucumbers,
ripe mangoes and calamansi balsam by Tess R.

The raspberry balsam goes well with mesclun greens, pomelo, cashews and grilled chicken. This is one of my favourite salad meals.

Mesclun greens with pomelo, cashews,
grilled chicken and cucumbers. by Tess R.

There are Vom Fass stores located at SM Aura in BGC(Bonifacio Global City), Taguig City and Powerplant mall Rockwell in Makati City.

Functional Art at the Manila Fame 2014 event

I recently attended the Manila Fame 2014 design and lifestyle event at the SMX Convention Center.

Manila Fame is considered as the country's premiere design and lifestyle event. It features furnitures and home stuff that are crafted by designers, innovative products, clothing and accessories by  renowned Philippine fashion designers.

One of the event highlights include well-known designer Budji Layug's curated Design Philippines Scenography exhibit. It was seen in the center of the event venue and  it featured the artsy, soulful, luxe and functional pieces by Filipino designers participating in the event.

The booth exhibit of artist Ann Pamintuan shows her distinct style and artistry on transforming wire into functional art pieces.

Christmas tree center piece and fruit baskets  by Ann Pamintuan

Kenneth Cobonpue's functional art pieces for the home are fun and wonderful.

Cute reindeer inspired chairs by Kenneth Cobonpue

The beautiful lamp simply attract people to the booth

Lovely and artistic lamp by Cobonpue 

Cute dog made from upcycled metal pieces by Cobonpue

The pieces exhibited by designer Ito Kish are also nice. Kish featured pieces that redefined Filipino Classics.

Rhino decor

The "Josefina lounge chair" by Kish in charcoal gray

The "B luxe chair" by Kish  garnered an award at Katha awards

Vito Selma's creations are also interesting.

Wood and glass table with distinct style that Vito Selma is known for

There are also cool art installations in the event. Below are pieces made by artist Leeroy New.

Leeroy New's lamp is made from shell while the backdrop
 art installation is made from upcycled cardboard

The lamps by Firma are classy and luxe.

The modern LED drop lights and animals in faux leather at Felixx booth are also nice and quirky.  These are made in Taiwan and most of these products have been given Red Dot awards.

The event also featured clothing by well-known Filipino designers. Josie Natori, CEO of NATORI and international fashion icon, is the curator for this edition's presentation of Manila Wear exhibit which featured designers such as Cesar Gaupo, Lulu Tan-Gan, JC Buendia, Rhett Eala, Rajo Laurel, Ivarluski Aseron, Avel Bacudio, Dennis Lustico, and Randy Ortiz.

Fashion accessories are also included in the event.

NIcole Whisenhunt's accessories

Necklace with pearls by Nicole Whisenhunt

It is certainly worthwhile to visit the Manila Fame event as it shows creativity and craftsmanship that combines art and function.

The Manila Fame 2014 event runs from October 16-19, 2014 at the SMX Converntion Center, Pasay City, Philippines.

Chanel: The One that I want

I love watching fashion ads. The most recent ad that I found to be creatively executed is the Chanel No. 5  ad dubbed as "The One That I want" featuring  supermodel Gisele Bundchen and actor Michiel Huisman.

The ad shows a fit and beautiful Gisele Bundchen literally riding the waves as she surfs on a Chanel surfboard. The husband left her a note with the words "To my heart I must be true", she spends quality time with her daughter, goes to her fashion shoot and then drives a cool car to meet up with her husband. Her LBD(Little Black Dress) outfit in the final scene is simply fabulous.

The Chanel tv ad was directed by Baz Luhrmann, director of hollywood films such as The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge. With his expertise in creating great films, the tv ad's cinematography, visual images and music truly captures the viewer's attention.

Here's the Chanel TV ad video:

Chanel definitely launched another cool TV ad with their new Chanel No. 5 "The One that I want" ad.

Blackbird at the Nielson Tower

My friends and I finally tried the much talked about new restaurant in town called Blackbird located beside the Ayala Triangle gardens.

It is the newest restaurant by Chef Colin Mackay, owner of well-loved restaurants such as Sala, People's Palace and Sala Bistro.

Blackbird restaurant is a nice and historical place since it used to be the old  Nielson Tower Airport Terminal which has been beautifully transformed into an art deco designed and Aviation-themed restaurant.

Their menu includes various Asian and European dishes. 

Since my friends and I wanted some low-carb but high protein meal we got their steak dishes.

Dry rubbed Wagyu Hanger Steak with fries

The restaurant also accomodates special requests since I requested to have a salad with my steak instead of the usual fries or mashed potatoes.

Flat Iron steak with salad

Blackbird is certainly a nice place to go to for a nice lunch or dinner with family or friends. The ambience is cool and the interiors of the place was done well.

Blackbird  restaurant view from Ayala triangle gardens