adobe no like leopard.....

i got my spanking brand new macbook pro (love it! love it! love it!)
i got my new leopard os (i loveD it.....)
because adobe doesn't wanna be friends with leopard........ RAWRRRRR
now i've to switch back to tiger...... (-___-")
are you kiddin' me????? argh!
thanks for making me even busier than i already am. damn!.......

give handmade

give the gift made with love

you should too!

Wish I was there...

I dont know, maybe everyone has seen this ad already but it doesnt matter either way because you should see it again even if you already have and if you havent, you are in for treat. The quality is not that good. I cant seem to find the original link which produced a clearer brighter picture but I think you will get the idea. This is a Coca Cola advert filmed at the VLV ( viva las vegas) event a couple years ago. I think it is quite a beautiful thing. Enjoy!

Photos of BYU Noteworthy Ladies - A Capella Female Group

The Noteworthy ladies were pitch and picture perfect! ;) The weather was so perfect and we had such a good time with the group. Okay for those who don't know the group, Noteworthy is an all female A cappella group from Provo. And for those of you who haven't heard them, you should! We hung out for a couple hours and several times while we were taking pictures they would break into song, it was great! I was in a couple A cappella groups in high school, but I must say that these ladies are good. Way good! So if you have checked them out A Capella Female Group. Do so and try to catch a concert, they're definitely "Worthy" it! Thank ladies for letting us take so much time out of your practice for photos!

Nine 75 North: Not your Mama's Meatloaf

I am a fine dining aficionado so this blog will contain restaurant reviews. I tend to rate restaurants based on their service, ambience, appetizer, entree, wine, dessert, and coffee. It is rare that a restaurant does well in all these categories and their score can be dependent upon selections. Nine 75 North is only one of two places in the last two years that managed to score a 100 in all these areas. The other was the Charles Court in the Broadmoore hotel in Colorado Springs but that is another review.

Nine 75 North is located in Westminster of all places. Westminster is not known for its dining options, so the discovery of this restaurant was a delightful surprise. It is a new building with a tan rock interior covered in oil paintings of rock stars. The booths are black and contain a unique lumbar support pillow that all restaurants should adopt immediately. The human body is not formed into a right angle even if our chiropractors and pilates instructions tell us it is possible. The other cool feature of the ambience was the curved glasses on the tables and the strawberry cucumber water in them. It is nice to see a restaurant that did not buy their glassware from an antiques road show reject auction. The bar is in the middle of the restaurant and there are windows running 280 degrees around the outside. Some contain distant views of the mountains, flatirons and accompanying sunset.

I ordered the chipotle lobster tacos for an appetizer. These were dollhouse miniature perfect tacos three to a plate with about two bites per taco. They sat on dollops of guacamole and were refreshingly fun to munch. Next came the meatloaf. Being more of a food snob, I can truthfully say I have ignored all mention of meatloaf on every menu I have ever seen but this time it caught my eye. It was billed as containing both ground sirloin and pork with crispy onions. I decided to step out of character and take a chance. I was not disappointed. The meat was not a pre-fab slab but had a random shape that was far more appealing. The mashed potatoes had a nice bite to them and the onions were not greasy. I rounded out the evening with the Nine 75 twinkie cake which despite its name was a moist pound cake layered with butter frosting and rolled then covered in a Grand Marnier whipped cream sitting on some drizzled carmel sauce. The coffee was illy coffee and it was great. I am not a coffee drinker so coffee that does not taste like coffee is right up my alley.

I am looking forward to going back to Nine 75 North to try the osso buco, baja tacos, or miso marinated black cod. Rather than list everything on their menu, visit their Web site. Check back because unlike mega chains, Nine 75 changes their menu periodically.

George Washington

Alexander Hamilton, a founder himself, one remarked that the thought of seeing George Washington naked was unimaginable, so even in his own day Washington was already a myth. Forget the cherry tree but accept the notion that Washington was born fully clothed, with powdered whig, and stoic gaze. Yes of course he was a man, presumably handsome and slave owning but I can't get beyond the life-sized cardboard cut out I almost bought for last years 4th of July party. Washington is frozen in time and although I try to envision him talking to his cabinet during the first Presidency or encouraging the troops at Valley Forge my mind cannot animate his god-like image. This does the man an injustice because if there was ever a profoundly great man it was Washington and the American soul could certainly use a boost of American greatness right about now. To highlight how low the United States has sunk in the mind of the world, note that while in France last month a local asked me where I was from and when I said I was an American he said he would pray for me! I think we have forgotten what it is that makes a great President. Let us remember for a moment our history and dream idealistically of a better future.

During the era of the Founders, political office was meant to be a burden, a service, and only undertaken when personal interest was eliminated. Washington exemplifies this ideal. He resisted every office to which he was appointed and only after agonizing reflection, did he accept them. His voluntary, if not desperate, desire to leave the Presidency after two terms established the precedent that held until FDR and removed forever the very real threat that the United States would devolve into a monarchy. This is truly remarkable given the political environment of the day, but most of us forget that Washington actually gave up power twice. The first time was after the end of the Revolutionary War in which he symbolically handed over his commission to Congress and trotted dramatically home. This act alone prompted George III to remark that Washington was the greatest man who had ever lived. Certainly Napoleon was not so disinterested nor so virtuous.

Washington was no intellectual, a fact that embarrassed him his entire life, but the man knew how to make a decision even if it was politically unpopular. He was adamantly against political parties and perhaps naively assumed there was one direction for the country. He warned against getting embroiled in foreign wars and surrounded himself with great intellectuals. Uniquely perhaps, he actually listened to them.

Would listening to Washington, if such a feat were possible, bust my bubble of adoration? Would he stutter or drool or inappropriately grab a body part. Somehow I doubt it. Everyone who knew Washington was in awe of him. Awe is not a word I tend to use when think of our current crop of politicians. Thinking of George Washington brings to the forefront of my thoughts just how much we have lost since 1776.

Interested in learning more, try "His Excellency: George Washington" by Joseph J. Ellis or "Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different" by Gordon S. Wood

we love YOU! you! and you!

LITTLEODDFOREST'S WEBBY WILL BE OFFICIALLY
3
TOMORROW!
(sunday 28 october 2007)
sweeet!
so whats in store for you, our dearest awesome customers, fans and friends?

all our VIFF members will get to enjoy 20% DISCOUNT instead of their usual 10%!
p.s. for those of you who have an 'expiry date' stated on your cards, please note that the expiration dates are no longer valid, your membership is lifetime! unless otherwise stated later of course *wink*

all our email newsletter subscribers will be getting a 10% DISCOUNT CODE!
check your junk/spam mail folder, or email us if you do not receive any after this monday 29 october

these celebratory specials will commence tomorrow,
sunday 28 october,
and end next saturday 3 november
if you're a repeat customer at our web shoppe, or have spent above US$200 in either a single or accumulated receipt(s), in the past 6 months, please email us for your VIFF code! we're currently experiencing some delays in sending out your VIFF cards in the most timely manner due to lack of administrative assistance

oh, and please give me a little extra time to set this discount thingie up, it WILL NOT commence exactly at 12 midnight singapore time - i've a halloween party to go to!!!
but i will be sure to update stocks every now and then within this 1 week of webby birthday celebrations!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~irrelevant updates~
dammit. after 3 hrs straight of giving phone conversation therapy to kae, i'm finding it difficult to stop it with my american accent. and now that it's slowly "recovering" back to my singaporean accent, it's like a fucking split accent.... argh. crap.

ohohohh...and i got my new macbook pro g5!!! :DDD (here's b being silly) and a free ipod nano!!!! (but my 2nd generation ipod still rawks. period. it's huge, not only in size,but also capacity, and i've had so much fond memories with it...) b thinks i should open a mini apple museum. whatever. you're just green with jealousy because you're stuck with a silly pc lappy for your work needs. gawd i'm so mature. ohoh! and leopard will be mailed to me next week!!! :DDDDD weeee!!!! *muacks muacks muacks!!!!*

a sneaky peeky!

littleoddforest's first collaboration with super fun tee and toast, all the way from ireland!
weeee!! :DDD

milk bottle felt pin brooches
milk bottle original illustration by tee+toast, given life by littleoddforest
© all rights reserved

sad rainy cloud felt pin brooches
rainy cloud original illustration by tee+toast, given life by littleoddforest
© all rights reserved

coming soon first at tee+toast --> http://shop.teeandtoast.com/
selected items will be available later at littleoddforest shoppe!

incorrect email format detection

.... will finally be coded in..... i always always always forget........ sigh
so peeps, please please please key in your email address, the correct one.....

Feedback Type : About that item

Name : Molly
Email : Egerdie
Time of Msg: 10/21/2007 1:23:35 PM

I like a lot of the stuff on this site, but it often says "sold out" -- will that item be on sale again, or will it not be made ever once it has been sold?

i'm sorry, molly, i don't have your email address to reply to.... it will depend on which design/fabric/combination it is, so please let us know again, thanks!

Saturday visit with new friends...

I was introduced to Liz at the last Shepton Flea market we attended. We have emailed each other since and found we both have a love of not only vintage fabrics but also vintage clothing. As Liz was coming near my area on her way to a vintage clothing fair, she stopped by this Saturday with her friend Bronia ( apologies for the spelling which I am sure I have got quite wrong!) . What a great visit it was. Liz brought some lovely fabrics for me to look through along with some other pretty things I spotted in a photo from her textile sale. We ended up making a trade which was perfect for me as I was in need of fabric and she "fell for" a vintage robe of mine.

My little girl Georgia set out a plate of biscuits ( cookies) for us and although Liz and Bronia managed to eat some I'm pretty sure George ate most of them!

I really enjoyed looking through Liz's new book which was a reproduction of a 1950's clothing catalogue and they had a drool over the gorgeous clothing in my 1940 Ward's catalogue. We all were thinking the same thing, "if only I could go back in time and buy everything!"



We then ventured off to my bedroom where I have a secret stash of vintage clothing hiding in containers under my bed. How wonderful it was to pull them all out and go through them with these vintage loving girls! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and I loved seeing Liz grab my vintage "chenille" coat and try it on, checking it out in the mirror! It is always nice to see others appreciate the beauty and quality of vintage! I wish I would have got a pic of Liz in that coat, her face was a picture!

I had a super visit with them and cant wait to see them both again! Here we are as they were just leaving. From left to right is: Liz, me, Bronia and little georgia in front. Oh yeah, thats my dog, Jet, suspiciously looking like he was about to lift his leg.

i'm on a high...

on a workaholic high! and a work hard play hard high! i can't believe i crawled into bed 5am yesterday (erm.. today) after an awesome night out, and i jumped right out of bed at 10am this morning... wooow!!! i also can't believe that this is my 4th holiday season in business, and yet i'm still so ill-prepared!!! my "office" table is covered with invoices and paperwork, even elsie seemed to have given it a disgusted incomprehensible look yesterday..... i hope she doesn't quit now.... and my dearest mummee who has been helping me with my plushies when she came back to singapore... is being driven nuts by the space constraints.... but she's flying off again, so i think she's happy.. yeah... i actually increased her "wages" but being my good old mummee, she indignantly declared that no amount of my "peanuts" will satisfy her... what the heck.... haha! *muacks

so yeah, my workshop here has no floor to walk on anymore. no floor space, that is. you can go ahead and trample on my materials and ready-made goods and plushies.... i guess you're right, mel, no amount of preparation will ever be sufficient, it's all a game of catching up... ppfftttt... but well! that's still great news right??!?? ;p

and i'll be meeting some friends in phuket! :DD my favorite karon beach.... i miss uuuu *muacks! (sheesh, wassup with all the kissin' dude??? i don't know... i'm in a kissin' mood, i even kissed my poor apple powerbook g4's screen when i saw that leopard will be coming out next week!!! eeee!!! so excited!!!!! and of course i won't be chucking away my good old powerbook, it's my babbeeeee... ) so, next on my list will be back to bangkok once again, thanks to mandy silly-billy :pppp and then hopefully i'll not eat too much into the monies i've set aside for japan (i still can't decide on taiwan, mel, sorrreeeee..it's still to early)....... okie dok. enough of nonsense. official news....

the Luv-able & Hug-able plush exhibition!
littleoddforest has been kindly invited once again by CWC International (http://www.cwc-i.com/ + http://www.cwc-vision.org/) to participate in this show, this time to be held in New York @ Gallery Hanahou.
do go if you're near by and able to make it! many other plushies will be on show there! including one of my all-time favoritest Oneyes! (did you catch her new fruit*eyes range?? i got some for meself.. hee.. i hope they arrive soon!!) show the plushies some lovin' this holiday season.... and the plushies will give you some lovin' back ;)

oh oh! before i forget... don't say i didn't warn ya! please keep your pretty eyes peeled for something "special" happenning next weekend! :DD here's a clue.... www.forestprints.com was officially publicly launched on 28th Oct 2004..... clue enough? heh... have a swell weekend ya all!! xoxoxo!!

but why oh why?

i had only 3 hours of sleep, yet again, last night (for 3 nights in a row now), and am still in the midst of completing some new projects (i'm on a workaholic productive high though, very excited!!) but i've so much to comment about on a piece of news i just read about in today's papers while having my lunch, and also coupled with some events and conversations that transpired last week, that i just can't help myself...

the following does not pertain to the "world" in general, but only within the walls of singapore, since i'm singaporean and this is what i'm most familiar with....

why do we not value the worth of local designers?
why do we not value the worth of the local arts?
why do we not see the worth of the costs of setting up a website or web portal?
for whoever here who speak of supporting local designs/designers/artists, in the real sense (supporting in words, actions, and beliefs), they are all really just bullshitting. superficial empty talk. all amounting to nothing.
i, for one, fucking hate the word, local, for what it has become, or made to become.
which is why i avoid as much as possible to be grouped as being local.
fuck local. stop telling me to embrace being "local". you can go ahead and be local yourself. thank you very much.
we are designers/artists/brands/labels in general, together with everyone else in this entire world.
it is because of "local", that no one here with the $$, gives a real hoot at all.
it is because of "local", that these 'chi-chi atas" people (high-class rich snobbery asses who go all out to label themselves as such) can ooh and aah at a local design, when told the price, nod their heads in approval (nothing ever costs too much for them), BUT when told it's a local label/designer, goes "what?? so expensive?? wow, it's too expensive for a local brand!" well, i've a whole string of wonderful cuss words to use here, but i should refrain myself... why do you say that the prices of some local brands are inflated? are they really? so only foreigners can inflate the prices of their brands, and local ones can't? i say, all prices of whatever labels from wherever in this world are all inflated only if they are poorly designed, cheaply made, mass-factory-produced and unorignal.

people here generally don't know, or simply don't, appreciate art. if they tell you they do, take their words with a huge bottle of salt. they're just saying that because they don't want to look bad, and want to create an impression that they belong to the educated upper-class. when people buy art here, it has to be value for money. who cares whether it's some same old ugly shit or some good art (i'm not defining it since it's subjectve). my point is, they don't care, it just has to have good investment value. "So is this artist famous?" "How old is this painter?" (why not just ask if he's dying soon or if he has contracted some terminal disease). "How's the investment value like for this sculpture?" "i'm not going to spend SG$15000 on a painting if the value is not going to increase you know"

just shoot me.

and recently, with the atas museum make-over, it's not helping at all. have any of these people even seen the kids in fine arts class in la-salle or nafa etc? i know even the gothic/punk/rocker looking arty-farty peeps in europe and america visit their musuems. that's because their society has long already graduated beyond that level, which we are still in now, and their museum has substance (i'm not saying ours have none, what i'm saying is, it's not at that level yet, and is a "different" type of museum i guess) . do you think our gothic/punk/rocker arty kids here in singapore, with their current societal mindset, are going to hang out at our museum?

and how is it that it's the year 2007, almost towards the end, and with all the big hoo-haa of the online phenonmenon throughout the developed world, that most local business people here can still turn their noses away from paying decent $ for a decently designed website?? just last week, my friend was bitching to me about how a former client of his, who hired him to design AND develop his web portal, thinks that SG$1000 has contracted him to his services for life, till the day he dies. what fucking nonsense is this?? SG$1000 for both design and development services and that was already all completed 3 gawd damn years ago, and he's still being such a typical stingy thick-skinned bastard, persistently bugging my poor friend to update this and that and whatever else for him! and have the bloody cheek to actually comment "I paid you so much, i think it was too much, so you've to do all these for me". my friend wouldn't have even done it for SG$10000 now, it was then when he just graduated and in need of some moolah.

if any local business had a website, it is 90 % for sure, BADLY DESIGNED and put up (unless it is a design/ad firm or offering services in the creative line). gif logo images with jagged edges, terrible font use, non-functioning links, un-updated information... it's a long list...

which is why you'll notice that they aren't many nicely designed, fancy local web portals, like say.... flickr or etsy (i cite these 2 examples from the top of my head), or any, if at all. from the top of my head, the closest web community i can only think of that is not too unprofessionally done is emall.som.sg, maybe trustsg. but toooo corporate looking. everything in singapore is too gawd damn corporate looking. fuck corporate! ahhh!! during a meeting some months back (i belong to a local fashion organization), whilst waiting for the meeting to commence, everyone was passing casual comments about going online, having a website, and so on. And as usual, the local brands who already enjoy an annual turnover in the few millions, tsk-tsk about the trouble having a website and email brings for them. "more trouble than worth the money" is what i hear so much, that i've actually stopped rolling my eyes now when i hear it. can't they see that their participation in this aspect will help to pave the way or help push up the younger ones??

you can just google singapore labels/ singapore fashion/ or even the designer's name, you'll get shit. nada. nothing. how am i (if i am) as a foreigner, going to find out more about singapore labels then?

and now, you've decided to work with ebay???? to list your designs online???? dear gawd. they're so out of tune with the online culture that i almost got sick reading the headlines "local designs on ebay".
how's that for upping your local stature. dear local designers, you can't poo-poo at cheapo crap anymore, because your online presence url now shares the same word as them.

someone, pleassseee get your "rich" resources, invest in tastefully doing up a web portal, a community, a well-designed website exclusively for all these good local designers/labels to be listed and even sold online! i know some labels (i love) like hansel already boosts a fantastic website, but i'm not talking about an individual brand's website, i'm talking about a web portal, an online community thingie. it would soooo benefit our brands here as a whole, not only locally, but also internationally! i think it is a must-must for fashion labels ' web portals to be superbly designed in a designery-manner, not the mass-commercial template look, if you get what i mean... ebay???! dear gawd. you are willing to spend more than SG$10k on your montly rental, but not able to fork out $$ just to do up a fantastic website? to this one particular designer i had the pleasure to speak to, your montly rental might be able to convert into more $$, and you think your own designs can command such a high price (in local standards), but you don't think a web designer/developer should be paid equally as much? that's a very very sad and narrow minded view. (all i told her was that i felt really sad she thought that way) both of you are essentially in the creative line, and offering creative services, you beautify people, they beautify the www. and investing in a website will bring more than just $$....but you all just can't see it...

okay, i agree that you can definitely benefit from ebay's expertise, but to have "ebay" inside your url.... le sigh. it's so sad! need i say more?? i love ebay, and i shop on ebay. but i do not think that using ebay to gain online community presence for our good singapore fashion labels and sell at the same time (i say good, because you are good, and i think so too) is thinking out of the box, or will serve its purpose.... so please don't spoil your brand rep.... you can go on and deceive yourself by saying "who says ebay means not good?" well... maybe they won't say it in your face. they will think it in their minds. and sometimes that's all it takes.

it took me an hour to type this out. way beyond my usual 15 mins. ciao for now, back to work on my exciting new stuff!!

holidays are here.. soon!

some spoilers! here's what to expect in the shoppe soon! holiday shopping stuff! weeeeee! :DDD

hang a treeling, on your tree! or anywhere you like to ;)
(these babies are responsible for all sore fingers, crossed eyes, and sleepless nights)
p.s. you don't like hanging stuff? other variations will be on their way soon!
xoxoxo!

rawwrrrr... goes the tiger...

when the bloody hell is leopard for macbook pro coming?????? bahhh.....
the.wait.is.killing.me...
quick quick quick!!! come to mama's arms.....
*strokes screen image like a freaky psycho bitch*

* 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1440 x 900 resolution
* 2GB memory
* 160GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 256MB SDRAM
Estimated Ship: within 24 hours
Free Shipping

S$ 4,267.00

.........

plush shows with lof plushies

plush show #1
(this totally completely slipped my mind.. boohoooo!!!)

3 lof plushies were at this year's plush you! show, held last friday, 12 oct 2007 @ both schmancy, and nancy and fancy+pants (1932 second ave. seattle, wa 98101)
this year's show featured more than 100 artists from all over the world! including littleoddforest :)

for those of you still unfamiliar with plush you! (what???? tsk.), it is an annual exhibit of plushies founded and organised by kristen rask, mistress of schmancy, her gallery-shop in seattle

this year's plush you! is also like no other year's, the show has grown so much since its first show in 2005, and plush you! has worked with f+w publishing this year and released a book -- plush you!: loveable misfit toys to sew and stuff. woweee! you can now pre-order it at amazon here!


I'm not sure if littleoddforest plushies are in the book, most probably not i think, even if yes, it will only be a photo + short biography, because i did not contribute a pattern for our treeling plushies which were exhibited at last year's plush you! show, since we have already contracted the pattern rights to another book prior to this one, which is therese's softies craft book. but! i'm very sure it is filled to the brim with lots of awesome creations from so many other plush artists! so now you've a new book to add to your list eh? ;) yiipp!


plush show #2

remember the luv-able & hug-able plush show with originality held by gallery lele in daikanyama, tokyo, that littleoddforest participated early this year?

well, together with the same cwc group that organised that show, gallery hanahou in soho, new york city, will be having their very own luv-able & hug-able plush show from 8 november - 21 december!

" Located in the landmark Cable Building in the heart of Soho, gallery hanahou is newly established by CWC International, a creative agency for illustrators that has been operating in New York since 1999.

In our business of helping artists to express themselves through commercial media, we have increasingly come to desire a new way to encourage our artists to explore the furthest reaches of their creativity. We hope that gallery hanahou will be a venue through which we can introduce new dimensions of our artists’ work to the community.

We have also discovered many talented artists working in more diversified fields such as pop art, craft arts, and product design, whose work does not necessarily fit neatly into the commercial art business but is nonetheless deserving of exposure. Acting as a forum for these artists in addition to our own commercial artists, gallery hanahou will present the public with art in a dazzling array of forms: not only original paintings and prints, but also art toys, craft art, art products, and more. "

littleoddforest was most kindly invited to exhibit again by the wonderful people of cwc - so 3 of lof plushies will be showing there! this show is meant to coincide with the christmas holiday shopping season, so if you're nearby, you should definitely mark the exhibition dates and maybe adopt some one-of-a-kind plushies for yourself or someone else!

if that's out of the question, and you'd like to give some arty pressies this year (or get some for yourself!), go purchase some art here!
gallery lele's online shoppe
gallery hanahou's online shoppe

4 grown adults...

what were you thinking??? ha!

having fun at amusement park @ navy pier, chicago, on a weekday afternoon. tsk.
they were all very happy kiddos that day.
b's legs are far too wide open for my liking... spot him in the green tee. haha!



we had bought the 7-day chicago go passes so were entitled to unlimited rides @ navy pier, b went up twice on this just so i could catch him on video... LOL

Family Photos in Salt Lake City Utah

Okay, you totally can't tell by the Johnson's family pictures, but it was FREEZING! It feels like it's getting awfully close to winter time. Brrrrrr! So we originally were going to shoot some where up the canyon, but the weather wouldn't permit it. Even though it was cold, and rainy and almost started snowing... they look great! They needed an updated family portrait since their son just back from a mission, so the last family picture they had was about 2 yrs ago.
If you look at the 4th picture down you see our niece Emma.

Eccles Pass

Distance: 9.5 miles RT
Elevation: 9,100 to 11,900 ft
Elevation gain: 2,800ft


Looking north from Eccles Pass
In July I won the lottery with a perfect "chamber of commerce" day in Summit County for a hike up to Eccles Pass. The trail was steep and very rocky right from the start and spends a good deal of time in the trees for the first three miles or so before opening up into wide meadow with peaks all around. The hills were green, the skies were blue and a light breeze blew in from the east. On days like this I pity the tourists who have to spend their vacation dollars to come here. Colorado is a wonderful place to live! Across the meadow, our destination was in view. It looked trivial to ascend to the pass, but after already completing significant elevation gain and distance get to this point, that last bit was steeper than it looked from below. Isn't that true for most things? The reward for that last up was well worth it however. The view over the pass toward the Gore Range is mythical in scope.


Looking up at Eccles Pass from meadow
The valley below is dotted with small tarns and one or two trails disappear into the distance enticing the hiker onward. It is possible to ascend to that valley from Silverthorne or do a shuttle route which could be very appealing. To the right of the valley I could see the route as it ascended through the trees, guarded on both sides by steep walls. The entrance framed the far slopes across from Silverthorne. Every tree on that distant hillside was dead from the bark beetle. The contrast was striking. Here was a pristine view and there, inscribed in Dante's prose, was the gate to a more hellish Colorado. I wonder how long it will take for every beautiful spot is consumed by the rust colored hues of death by Nature's unrelenting petulance? I stayed on the pass for an hour or so before commencing the grueling trek down. Why is it that the last two miles of a long hike seem so long? This is where a nice trail refuge with some refreshing snacks would have really boosted the spirits.

dearest mother nature...

please don't make the typhoon go to philippines.... (-___-")

renegade @ chicago & etc.

we almost didn't make it there!? due to some last minute conflict in schedules and changing flight times..... bahhhh.... but luckily we managed to, and never did i expect it to be SO. FREAKING. HUGE. oh my gawd. i wasn't prepared, and was quite confident that i could walk the entire thing through in about 2 hours. wrong. i was literally pulling b along because i wanted to try my best to see every stall and all the the great stuff that was there. not possible since we were already in a rush for the fucking plane. i could have spent the entire day there because other than renegade, there were lots of other stuff going on. dear gawd.

i was totally impressed with not just renegade itself, size, quality and variety of stalls and artists (it was so colorful!) , but the crowd! woow! waydago chicagoans! the fair was very vibrant and not pretentious at all (am i saying that some are? :p), and very well managed and organized. i bet a gazillion sales were made that day, like seriously a gazillion, plus it was a 2-day thingie, i could only imagine the crowd on sunday... i think the artists went home rich. ha! happy shoppers, happy crafters, happy big heavy pockets. and the weather, even the infamous chicago weather was cooperatively nice! unbelievable. it was like freezing on and off when we first arrived in chicago, and then the weather got warmer, and warmer, and warmer until it was like singapore, without the stickiness, and i was telling b that nyc was going to be warmer than chicago, and he said it was preparing us for our leg to new york... and then in new york, it was o-kay on our first day there, and then it became slightly warm-humid-icky, and su-jin said it was preparing us for home... okay, i kinda went off-track here.... so on our way there, the train was packed, and you could already guess where they were going to.... especially when their loud conversations were peppered with excitement about going to the do-division street fest and renegade... didn't mean to eavesdrop.. :pp

we saw a gazillion nice stuff and a ton of fun ones, familiar ones too (like the little friends of printmaking -- it's weird because melissa, the mistress of the lfop, actually asked her husband if lof was going to be there, and he said "isn't she in singapore?" ha!!!, and india romeo, smitten kitten, etsy booth!, boygirlparty, sew darn cute, pink loves brown... too many!!) .... there were also lots of food and desserts but all we had time for was a delicious chocolate ice-cream (we had to right??? i was there with a sweet-tooth fella :p i can't believe that we were in a mad rush, and yet had time to queue up for ice-cream!!!) and not forgetting the new renegade store!!! i so love the cute owl... i would not do it any justice with my brief descriptions.... you know what? we might have to get our asses down there the next time again! next year! i don't know.... maybe you should too if you didn't get to go! b was in awe throughout, but was slightly irritated with our rush... :S our favorite, and i think almost everyone's favorite was the super fun postcard machine! It's a fake-o robot, totally man-labored machine that spits out handmade postcards and change!

we didn't get to cover the entire thing of course.... sadly :(( there were 200 over stalls and the area was just too huge, each stall occupied a pretty big area as well, i guess it's a standard size for the fairs there? don't know... it is huge for singapore standards... so yeah... the next one...??? i really really hope so.....

i'm typing this in a rush... so if it's not making much sense.... well, please forgive moi... i had no idea that being away for a while longer than usual has resulted in so many things gatecrashing... elsie was really good at helping me reply customer/urgent emails, but many things she couldn't decide on, and even though we had b's laptop -- i insisted on not bringing my powerbook or using his lappy because it was a holiday dammit! i didn't wanna check emails and worky worky on a vacation????? boooo..... but i did. checked. just a couple. and replied. i've sold my soul. sad.

suddenly, all i can think of now is the word "auto-pilot". hmmm...

to not end it off with such a sad note (i know! my post is of such manic levels of feelings! happy, sad, happy, sad, happy, neutral..... i can be happy and sad so many times a day, it's really pointless to "update my mood" in facebook. LOL! no, i'm not cuckoo. tsk.)

you totally made me smile -- (it was from awhile ago but i just came across it again while frantically clearing emails)

"why do you have to torture me with your little shindig being at singapore!!

i have nothing to look forward here in the states...maybe just convincing someone to buy me all your cute collection for school...

if only.

keep on making the cutest things on earth!!"

and i love love love this uber cool tree coat hanger so i just have to share it with you while i still remember to... so many forest-ty goodies around... can't imagine when i have my own pad... all to meself... all me... muahahaha :p

Bridals in Salt Lake City Utah

How pretty are her bridal pictures!?!?! You might recognize Rachel from one of the previous blog post in August "Rachel and Steve Engagement" We'll were excited for them and will be there for their wedding ceremony this weekend. It's been neat getting to know you both! Congrats!!! I'm sure Steve can't wait to see his beautiful bride in her gorgeous dress! The location for the bridals was perfect up at the lovely temple square in Salt Lake City Utah, especially with the fountain on! Utah brides are a lot of fun to work with.

Autumn wreath....

I admit to missing home this time of year. Where I grew up we generally had long hot summers with almost everyday being bright and sunny. By the time Autumn comes around it is a nice change. I loved pulling my cosy jumpers (sweaters) out the closet after months of being hidden away. The early Autumn was usually dry so we would rake up the leaves in huge piles and jump in them and throw them around. What a sight it was to see the bright coloured leaves floating and blowing "en masse" across the streets. Many people would decorate their front doors with wreaths or Autumnal decorations of brightly coloured gourds and pumpkins. We even used to make "scarecrows" out of old clothing; we would stuff them with leaves and sit them on our front porch with a small pumpkin sat on top for the head. We had good fun using markers to draw silly faces in them.



Feeling just a touch homesick, I decided to make my own Autumn wreath for our front door. Georgia (our little girl) and I went for a walk down our pretty country lanes in search of bits of foliage. I was planning on doing a large wreath but I could not find a double wire wreath ring at any of the local shops, so we made a simple wire circle and used little pieces of wire to attach the foliage. I used a couple pieces of hydrangea along with some brightly coloured garden flowers to create what I think is a little Autumn masterpiece!

shoppe updatesss interlude....

i've replied all your comments! ;)

and yes yes fret not! i'm NOT still in a holiday mode, unfortunately for moi..ha... it's just the pile load of sewing work PLUS dreadful paperwork that i'm furiously trying to clear!!?
soooooo.... shoppe updates soon! cross my heart...

watch out for these starting this coming weekend!
# summer bird-bangle clutches (not in pink! lol can't believe the number of people asking me for that.....)
# leaf pocket bags (in new fabrics and variations!!!)
# snotty crowned bird cushion covers (finally printed enough to restock for the shoppe!!!)
# snotty crowned bird totes (silkscreened onto brand new awesome colored-denim!!!)
# petit leaf straplets (in new fabrics and variations!!!)
# brand new cutesy item under accessories (surprise surprise!! heee)
# brand new tank top designs (we waited toooooooo long!!!! woot!)
# oli the pompous elephantus bag (blue is already restocked! brand new color variations coming up!!!!)
# and more! (my choked brain can't seem to recall......)

already re-stocked!
# snotty bird bags (almost all colors are re-stocked!)
# lof shopping bags (almost all colors are re-stocked, final batches!!)
# stumpie stool covers (waited too long huh!!)
# stumpie seat/chair cushions (yayyy!!!)

yes, i was shouting and screaming throughout this post... exclamation marks galore.... xoxo!

Wedding Photography in Salt Lake City

I seriously loved how they planned their wedding day. It was opposite, so much more relaxing. We first took the wedding couple portraits, then they had the luncheon, then they had the ceremony and a couple family photos be for they headed off for the honeymoon. Everything worked out so great. We're were worried about it raining, but the weather was perfect! We got to see how excited/nervous groom Tyson was before he saw Bonnie in her beautiful wedding dress. It was so cute! He was outside pacing right before she showed up. They both had the a wonderful wedding party with family & friends. As well as the most adorable nieces and nephews! Bonnie and Tyson really just go well together as you can definitely see in their photos. Congratulations you two!!!

some of my precious loot

here are just some of my precious loot i came back with, excluding many clothes i got for myself and pressies i got for everyone, including my dad... who as usual, was indifferent towards his new ralph lauren leather clutch (the one he brings to church for his bible now is also ralph lauren but was quite old, so i thought he'd like this.. but i guess not! :p) old men are hard to please.... my mum's coming back next week, so hope she likes her pressies! i got her the most stuff.... because mummies are bestest... haha i sound so immature... whatever.. ppffttt...

hard to pick favorites, but i adore adore adore my new awesome pink-colored "fake" cuckoo clock from urban outfitters (i got 1 for you too, mao!!! they only had 2 left), the pinnochio measuring tape from the MoMA store in new york, 2 kick-ass tops i got from ragstock (b was super amused that the front entrance was at the side alley, i told him ragstock's entrances were all? like that... well at least those that i've been to! we've to either climb up or down or bothways from a tiny door)




and my US$1 (!!!) nut cracker from the unique thrift store at kedzie, which has gotten much dustier than i last remembered it to be.. i also got 1 huge duffle bag worth of awesome fabrics from the thrift stores in chicago! ahhh!!!! i had to try hard to contain my screams (i gave out tiny ones) everytime i laid my eyes on those bags full of fabrics! that means good stuff in store for new goods ;) weee!

b truly adores chicago for all its quirkiness, and has declared that his favorite place to go to was the belmont area... after our refreshing brunch at orange cafe, i brought him around the cool shops there, and his favorites (other than the costumey and s&m ones!) were hollywood mirror and uncle fun.

this was his first-time in an actual thrift/vintage store, and he went berserk! he was like a wide-eye kid in willy wonka's chocolate factory! i gave him a huge appreciative hug because... seriously... how many singaporeans... men!... actually enjoys shopping... and in a thrift store????? i was really apprehensive, and prepared to let him go walk around elsewhere while i went to my long list of thrift/vintage stores... i guess i worried too much. *smuacks!* we also got ourselves some fun halloween costumes, a pair of awesome thrifted cowboy boots and hats each. other than some vintage shirts and pants, he also got a little decent lootful of crazy toys (we call it ba-ling-long... and all the way during our trip, he kept asking me to bring him to more shops that sells ba-ling-long!!!?!) HAHAHAhah! he was sad to leave chicago for ny because i told him that chicago had more ba-ling-long stuff than newyork.....

and we both decided that if ever lof decides to open our own boutique, it has to be in the armitage area. that's my favorite place in chicago to live also, if ever.