icons & toys

Are there really plans to discontinue Elf on a Shelf? Terrible news and rotten timing - 2024 has been rough enough without this downer. 

Has humanity lost its sense of humor? Elf on the Shelf was intended to create cheerful holiday moments and precious family memories to last a lifetime. 

Russ Toys vintage troll elf

The Elf on the Shelf is the title of a 2005 American picture book for children. Written by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell - comes complete with a scout toy elf. 

Kazakhstan art & beauty

One talented young woman's dedication to her native music and culture is admirable and inspiring. If you have no idea where Kazakhstan is - much less what their national instrument or cultural dress is - you are in for a treat. 

Marzhan Kapsamat

Marzhan Kapsamat of Nursultan, Kazakhstan, is bringing a vibrant snapshot of ancient Kazakhstan to the modern world of Instagram. 

A dombra performance by Marzhan Kapsamat

“I want to show the world our country and our instrument. My dream and goal is to film with the dombra in different countries, [w]hen I am playing the dombra, I am proud and free.”

Read more about Marzhan and her dreams in this Vogue feature. 

origins of the Pinoy queso de bola

Holland shop with assorted Edam cheeses

What’s shiny, red, and almost always bound to make an appearance around the holiday season? Not Rudolph’s nose, but queso de bola - a cheese hailing from Holland, where it is known as Edam - named after its city of origin. 

In the Philippines, though the labels on balls of Edam still tout the marker “Imported from Holland,” queso de bola is inseparable from Noche Buena, and Noche Buena is just Filipino tradition - though it came from the Spanish, Filipinos have made it our own. 

Though the story of queso de bola is part of a much larger history, at face value, queso de bola is definitely distinctly Filipino. 

shamrock & saint

Saint Patrick’s Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and
gold, shamrocks and luck, frolic and drink.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick’s Day is a 
traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide.