Sheepish!

Two weeks ago, during our TVC shoot, I chanced upon this cute sheep and started taking photos of it.

Upon seeing me training my phone camera on it, the sheep stood up and faced me.

A few seconds later, it started running and charging towards me. Needless to say, I ran in panic!

Good thing it was tied to the gate. It would've been quite sheepish if I were attacked by this seemingly docile creature.

The key to fashion

 The past few seasons have seen Dolce and Gabbana come up with some of the most visually stunning prints. It started with their "Theater" collection a few years back, and continues with their current collection inspired by children's doodles.

Among my favorites are prints from their F/W 2015 collection, particularly the "Flower and Key" print.

 

The baroque vibe of the print is so full of character that a simple silhouette is enough to make it a stand-out dress. No wonder it sold out immediately on-line.

Well, it might be sold out on-line, but look what I found at The Haunt!

It's a Flower and Key tunic dress!

Achievement unlocked!

FMM: Stay in love

During Mom and Dad's Golden Wedding celebration, the host introduced Jul and Jen as a newly engaged couple.

Then, the host went up to Mom and asked if she could give the young couple some advice on how to stay married for 50 years. And Mom's advice was simple and succint:

"Stay in Love."

And that inspired by Friday Magic Madness song for today.



With songs as beautiful like this, it's hard to not be in love.

Pop goes the wedding

Last weekend, I saw this Dexter's cake that was ready for delivery. I had to stop and take a snap of it,

The couple must be huge Funko Pop fans. Not to mention Bat-fans as well.

Another excellent cake from Dexter's.

Loud and Claire

Once upon a time, I was a wedding planner. And this was because one of my good friends at Adformatix - Claire - helped me discover that it's something fun and worthwhile to do.

The first wedding we planned was Rache's wedding to Jeepoy. It was just an ad hoc thing that we decided to do. But after that event, people started asking if we could do it for them, too.

So it came to pass, we suddenly found ourselves professionally organizing weddings. From intimate gatherings, to grand weddings attended by the Philippine President!

Eventually, Claire moved to the U.S. and is now a pastry chef. I, on the other hand, still find myself organizing weddings, and getting the same joy that I got back in 1998.

I'm glad that Claire still gets to visit Manila every year. It's always fun to catch up with her and talk about the glory days of our wedding organizing.

(Less than) one week wonder

Shooting last Thursday. Off-line last Saturday. Now, it's Tuesday, and we have an approved on-line. And we're airing this Saturday!

Working on projects as fun as this is one of the reasons why I love advertising so much.

Yes sir, yes sir

Plains and Prints stores during a sale are dangerous places. You find yourself casually meandering in without any plan or agenda, and you walk out with three bags full of awesomely designed clothes on the cheap!

Ate Bullet's closet is going to be a bit fuller - and happier.

Power cookies

Back in the 80s, there was a big battle between Milo and Ovaltine.

These 2 malt drinks were battling it out in the minds and tummies of Pinoy kids. That included me.

Then again, I'm not really a brand loyal chap. So, I'd often drink Milo, but I'd eat Ovaltine.

That's why Ovalteenies was such a thrill for me. Imagine, the taste of Ovaltine, in little candy tablets. At that point, I thought this was the best thing that happened to Ovaltine.

Fast forward more than 20 years later, I discovered that Ovalteenies weren't the best thing that happened to Ovaltine.

This was:

Ovaltine cookies!

One bite, and I was right back in elementary school, snacking on Ovaltine. Now, that's Ovaltine power!

That was fast!

Last Thursday, we were just shooting this commercial. Now, we have an approved off-line!

That was good and fast work!

FMM: Heavenly Voices

Today's Friday Magic Madness is dedicated to two of my favorite musical artists who recently passed away.

First, is Natalie Cole. Her songs always connect with the listener, with her angelic voice, soothing melodies and spot-on lyrics. I'm sure people will miss her voice like crazy.



Second, Ziggy Stardust himself. David Bowie was a great singer and actor, and he was always ahead of his time in terms of sound and concept. He would always come up with awesome songs, even when he was Under Pressure.



With Natalie and David up there, the angels are in for a musical treat.

Work it out!

It's just the 2nd week of January and we're already on our 6th commercial shoot!

Looks like it's going to be a busy-good year this 2016!

Sketchy Stories: The Gold Standard

When the folks finally decided to celebrate their Golden Wedding, Mom's first order of business was what to wear. She knew she wanted to wear something gold and modern, and she also knew that she didn't want to wear a Philippine Terno. After all, she already wore that during her wedding, as well as their 40th wedding anniversary.

Since this is a huge event, I knew I had to sketch something different. One with a higher standard, if you will. Finding the right fabric was the impetus of this exercise.

So, I went to the pile to see if there were any gold lace fabrics, and luckily, I found a few yards of fine, gold lace that I must've purchased a few years back.

From there, I brought out my trusty pencil and drew this up for Mom.

Next on the agenda, what the Morales ladies will wear.

The inspiration was bronze-gold with a touch of white. I went to my usual Divisoria haunt for some neoprene, tulle and lace, and started sketching the rest of the ensemble. Of course, the guideline was it had to be light, breezy, formal and within the color theme. And that guided me to do the following sketches:

For Ate Lissa, it was a sabrina-neckline gown with a see-through yoke. The white lace accents were placed on the shoulders and the bodice, and the dress was cinched with a gold belt.

Ate Bullet wanted something different from her usual strapless gown, so her sketch featured a very deep-V neckline with lace accents traveling down the diagonal road.

Rose has a fondness for halter tops, so that was the springboard for her sketch. It was a gown with a halter neckline, with thin straps holding it up. The lace was placed all over the front panel of a dress, like a bib.

Finally, Liz's sketch was an off-shoulder gown with a slightly asymmetrical design. Her lace went from one end of the shoulder, all the way to the back, and ending just slightly behind the other shoulder.

 The sketches were then brought to our trusty dressmaker, and voila!

Yup, I think these pretty much met their standards.

Spot the difference

This very interesting photo caught my eye during our shoot in Lipa.

I guess when you're hungry, you're hungry.

Church of my childhood, the return

Normally, I don't like taking photos of church interiors. But in this case, I couldn't help it.

Sacred Heart was the church where I grew up, and where my family would hear mass every Sunday when we lived in Morato.

It's been a while since I heard mass here, so I was glad that I had the opportunity to.

Sorta First Day High

Even though yesterday was the 4th week of the 2nd semester, it was actually just the 2nd week of class.  The past Saturdays were riddled with class suspensions and holidays, so it was quite difficult to get into the zone.

But now it's time to get to business.

Enduring work

This is a sticker that I saw during our shoot last Wednesday.

This is a sticker that I wrote and drew when I was in Adformatix.

Almost 20 years ago!

Who would've thought that this simple sticker would be this enduring.

FMM: Holy videoke!

During our shoot this week, I was walking outside the location when I heard a woman belting out a song at a nearby videoke joint.

You'd think she was belting out Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston or Ariana Grande. But no! She was belting out a very old religious song, which was this ditty:



Suddenly, I missed singing "Hesus." We used to sing this a lot when I was with the grade school and high school choir. And I was always filled with emotions because it's a beautifully written song.

Maybe I should sing this song the next time I'm in a videoke joint.

There goes The Ramp

Knowing that the Trinoma branch of The Ramp was already closed, I decided to check out the branch in Glorietta. There's this shift dress that I saw a month ago, and was hoping to get it for Ate.

Here's what I saw when I got to Glorietta.

It's closed, too!!!

Now I'm hoping against hope that the Quezon Avenue branch is still open.

On Target yet again

Speaking of designers, turns out that Jean Paul Gaultier is creating another collection for Target.

The last one he did was in 2010 in the U.S. And this year, he's doing another collection for Target Australia.

If his new collection is as exciting as his last one, I'll do an Altuzarra and stalk it on-line.

Leaving Lanvin

I guess I was too busy with work!

It turns out that a few months ago, Alber Elbaz resigned from Lanvin. After reading it on the net today, I was like WHAT?!?!?!

Two things: I wonder who the new creative director for the brand will be, and where in Alber Elbaz going?

We shall see.

Oh my how they've grown, Part 8

Here are the 10 Morales grandkids with their proud Lolo and Lola!

Yes, they're no longer the babies I used to carry around. (Except for Javier. He'll always be my baby.)

More snail mail

Looks like the 180th anniversary of Los Caracoles (or "The Snails" in English) in Barcelona is really a big deal!

First, I saw a couple of TV features, then a magazine article, and now, they're on-line, too.

Although my Spanish is rusty, I was able to read and digest the article and found out some new facts about the restaurant. That includes the fact that my cousins, Cristy and Yoly, are the 5th generation of Bofarulls who are running the restaurant. (Along with their cousins Aurora and Ramon.)

I have to schedule a visit back there. Soon!

Write on, Carl!

While reading this beautifully written piece by my nephew, Carl, I couldn't help but smile and brim with pride.

We have another writer in the family!

FMM: Our house

I'm in a new wave mood, so I put on a little Madness and played one of my favorite 80s ditties.



A song by Madness on Friday Magic Madness. How apt is that?

Make a note

Yes, I'm stil writing about my parents' Golden Wedding Anniversary. It was such a wonderful event that I can just go on and on about it.

Just to show how involved Dad was, he even asked me to revise the speech that he drafted for the event. This is a huge deal since Dad doesn't like to make speeches during family events. And the fact that he volunteered to make a speech means that this is really a special occasion.

Well, Dad's note was so sincere and heartfelt, it's great as is.

Oh my how've they've grown - Part 7

I still remember it like it was yesterday.

On July 13, 1990, my first nephew was born. He was named Jul Mikhail, and he made our family feel even more complete.

Now, he's 25, and about to embark on a new family life of his own.

Congratulations, Jul! And welcome again to the crazy clan, Jennifer!

And we now return to your regular programming

This song pretty much captures the sentiments of people at the office yesterday.



Imagine, I had 3 meetings for 2 upcoming shoots this week.

Yes, we're back!

New year, Old Frendz

Because the Christmas season isn't officially over until D' Frendz meet up for the annual leftover party.

Now, it's really the new year!

Worth its weight in Gold

I've organized many weddings in the past decade or so. Weddings of relatives, friends, friends of friends, and even accidental friends. And I've always said that it's a thrill to see two people pledge themselves to each other forever.

But there's one wedding that I've always dreamed of organizing - and that's the Golden Wedding Anniversary of my parents. Yes, my parents are celebrating 50 years of pledging themselves to each other forever.

It was a special event many, many, many times over. Aside from the anniversary, this also marked the first time in a long time that the whole family was together. I think it's been about a decade since each and every member of the Regalado-Morales clan was in Manila. And with an event this special, everyone had to fly in. That includes the newest member of the family, Jennifer.

Organizing this wedding was also an exciting challenge because I'm very close to the "clients." I was amazed at how much Dad was involved in the planning process - from selecting the church and the venue, the entertainment, the food, and everything else in between. He has this knack for organizing things, which means Dad and I are alike in more ways than one.

Yes, it was stressful. I was still laying out things and looking for suppliers the night before the wedding. But seeing how happy the family was - from the church to the reception - all the work was definitely worth it.

They said "yes", too!

Five decades ago, in a beautiful ancestral church in Malinao, Albay, my parents made a vow to love each other in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, in richer and in poorer.

Today, in a beautiful church in Greenhills, they made the same vow again.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! We all look forward to celebrating more anniversaries with you!

FMM: She said yes!

After all the preps, shrieks, and tears of joy, Jennifer said yes! And now, she's part of this crazy family who poses for photos like this.

Now that the proposal is done, time for the next step. (Which will be sung to us by the 60s group, The Dixie Cups.)



My first nephew is finally getting married.

*Insert feeling old here*