Birthday

Yeap, today's my birthday. It seems like I'm edging into an interesting chapter in my life. I don't feel excited about my birthday like I used to. I would jump around, tell everyone its my day and make them say happy birthday. Afterall its the only day I could make everyone do that. Apparently at this time, everything sorta feels bland and exhausting. I know for every passing year, or even day, that I'm closing in on real adulthood - the big 3-0. To me, 30 marks adulthood. When I really have to get serious, don boring suits and get a hellish job where I hide behind mounts of paperwork and don't see the light of day. I'm not sure I look forward to that but maybe the money for a nice apartment and car. Its amazing how much people would go thru for a lifestyle. I do want a life, crave for one, but really unsure if I wanna go to that much trouble. And in fact, would I enjoy it after all that staring at the computer & dealing with ofice politics? Not to mention my terrible phobia of commitment to a job (or anything else for that matter!). I thrive too much on change.

Anyways, its been a really really nice weekend. I had to be in school for most of yesterday for class & projectwork but AJ took me to a concert at The Esplanade. I used to be a regular concert goer but somehow had lost that for sometime. The last time I was there was for The Phantom of The Opera last year. I got kick ass seats for that and it was a great show. We watched A Time To Dance, where the adorable Rossen Milanov was the conductor and the amazing Arabella Steinbacher was the solo vionlist for the second piece, Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46 by Max Bruch. Itw as walking thru Scottish fields! She has amazing control over her violin and can do the most amazing things! But nothing beats watching Rachmaninov live. I didn't quite realise it but I was watching the last composition of Sergei. I personally love Rachmaninov coz its NEVER boring listening to his music. Every piece is like a movie by itself. All the dynamic, dramatic movements....timpanis (!!), very very old world Russian village. I can just feel like I was walking through one and actually experience the life as if he described in his music. Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 is an amazing composition. I can feel his exasperation, his moans & groans, the anger, and mostly his resignation. Its amazing just to watch the music come alive. Its truly one of Rachmaninov's best, considering its his last. I love Rach 2, especially when played by Lang Lang. :+)

Oh but not forgetting to thank dear CT for the wonderful surprise! She gave me a beautiful tea for one set. A really adorable vintage-y country-esque teapot & mug set by Ginger Snaps, Decole! And a beautiful tin of Earl Gray tea from Harrods! I'll picture them a bit later coz I have trouble believing I own the tea set! LOL She's such an amazing person & friend, and for the success of florspace, I have to thank her profusely & publicly! *hugs to CT!*

Oh and of course, DH. I told him not to send anything coz the shipping is pretty nuts from Australia but he did anyways! I just opened the box and its a bit like Christmas morning! He actually found the original M*A*S*H, The Recovery Collection, bought it and sent it here! Goodness me! Tough to believe my eyes so I have it right on my desk, at least for a while! I have been yearning for this set for ages and always panicked when it disappears. Its so hard to find and the last time I looked, only one store in Sydney had it. Not sure how he found it but hoooray for DH! We have the most amazing DVD collection and its growing in numbers all the time! Oh of course, he couldn't help buying Dora. I'm not sure why but he thinks she looks like me. *roll eyes* I don't like her very much though. I much perfer Lilo (& her pet Stitch just in case you were thinking of LindsayL hehe) if I had to pick but oh well. So there, its the birthday girl sitting right up there, excited about all the wonderful surprises she's been getting these days!

And to everyone who's remembered me and have sent their greetings, electronically & via text messages, huge thanks to you guys! I feel all sweet now! *___*

EDIT
ps: I'm only 28 this year. 2 more years for fun! yaaaay! Jek, I like your thinking. ;+)

Let's get naked....

How many of you guys actually recycle the plastic baggies I send out? Be honest! Actually, its prolly easier said than done! Reuse it my friends. Store beads, buttons & whatnots. Don't be a tosser! Tough, but it'll get easier, you'll see!

Its my birthday soon and I've been dying to lose the professional-looking plastic wrappings for the purses in my store, at least for a while! I send out all purses wrapped nicely in resealable plastic bags so they would look good, repel impending dirt & would make great gifts. But its time to lose the bags for the greater good! Think about it! No bags to recycle, no hassle, no guilt and if you're wrapping them as gifts anyhoo, it'll be perfect naked! Or even better, some of my dear people actually use the purses as the wrapping themselves! Put something nice in it and off you go! Purses will come semi-wrapped in clean & available recycled paper, tied with a twine.

Op to have your purses sent without the plastic wrappings and you get 2 bucks off each purse! That means, MiniZs are $5 and MiniBs are $7! Tell me to lose the bags in the "notes to seller" section when you order at etsy. Stock up for gifts and Christmas!

If you want to "naked" any other of my purses, convo me and I'll work out a better deal for you! ;+)

Let's get naked!

(The whole naked idea is borrowed from a dear friend/fellow etsyer/talented girl, Erin @ naiad.etsy.com Do hop on over for great body products!)

Festival!

Happy Mooncake/Lantern/Mid-Autumn Festival everyone! ;+)

Huggable Hobos

"Hi! My name is Soda. I was born on a hot summer day when my creator was dreaming of lime sorbets and the deep blue sea and clear skies of californian beaches!"

Law mid-term is over, bit of window here. Time to talk about the huggable hobos! I love love love hobos! I'm not sure when it started. Hmm....I think it was a couple of years ago? Gucci launched their big and functional horsebit hobos, the one with the tooth/leather rope handle thingy? Jessica Simpson was carrying still with Nick and was lugging a caramel version all over town together with a string of other celebs. Obviously I had trouble paying for something like that, not to mention I was never the Gucci fan. I loved the rich caramel buttery leather but I keep having the PETA voice in my head so I opted for a faux leather version for uni. It went perfectly with anything, I mean ANYTHING! I lugged it in wide-legged tailored pant, denim, even to the beach and it still looked fab every step of the way. The ease of the single handle and fuss-free design made it literally my everyday bag. Just lug and go, my friends would tout.

So there, couple of years later, not to match Gucci or Bottega or anyone else, I made my own. Fabric choice is almost my first priority. I didn't want the hobo to be too structured coz, hell, its a hobo! But but but, I still wanted some sort of form. It needed to be functional yet decent looking at the same time. I went straight for home dec weight canvas. It was the only way to go without the lumpyness of thin cotton or the stiffness of interfacings. To double the fun, and to further maintain the puffy-semi-structured-flowy look, I took the fabric inside as well. The opening of the hobo is about 13-14 inches, big enough to dump things in, but small enough to prevent naughty hands from dipping into your hobo pot. All in all, I could make it reversible! How cool to have the versatility of 2 bags in one! Woo-hoo I thought that hot summer day, Bingo! Naturally the double pleat is to add puff and space for your stuff. The size was made to fit anyone. Its puffy and cute on smaller gals but not ridiculously tiny on my big gals. The wide 4 layer strap is comfy and sturdy on the shoulders. Added a D-ring on the side, so the gals who love to hang something "you" on your bag, go ahead and make it yours! I was ready to take my hobo out! Not sure if its a good thing, coz I came home with several orders for it. :P More work for us! But I feel so happy that you guys find joy in my stuff! Its the greatest payback, ever!

So yeah, thats my little hobo story. Oh wait! The little hobo! LOL I almost forgot about MiniHobo. I've been reading too many bag in bag stories. Hey, we all want more bang for our buck! MiniHobo is perfect for your little girl, or its the perfect cutie for your camera or essentially tinier things that might get lost in the Big mama. ;+) She's reversible too! Yaaaay!

I know Soda's bit summery, but I had to do it! The colors was just begging me to. hehe Anyhoo, Diablo is a real bad ass and Mod Blobs had been SO popular I got orders to fill! I'm still a little weirded out by that. Hm. So yeah, go check them out and I've got a whole pile of fall fabrics just waiting to be turned into Huggable Hobos!

ps: They're Huggable Hobos because if you put something soft in them, they turn into a comforting pillow. Seriously!

White rose

white rose
Originally uploaded by FotoCath.

Its been quite a weekend. Some one in my extended family has passed on. My cousin's father to be exact. At about 80, the poor man had lung cancer. A month or 2 ago, the same cousin's wife's father passed on. He was my uncle. Its been really difficult for the family to deal with 2 beloved fathers passing on in the same year. My thoughts goes out to them at this difficult time.

I will resume my usual sewing duties this week amongst school stuff. (Took bit of time today to run errands too.)

Looks like Fall....

The beginnings of our Fall Collection. Besides these long awaited additions to the traditional Japanese section to our little store, more things are coming! Apologies to the lovely peeps whos been waiting for these. I'm kinda picky about fabrics and without physically being in Japan, these are my personal selections. I'm particularly in love with the oat background with weeping willow like sakura blooms on it. It looks amazing in person, so understatedly chic and subtle. I know, kinda different from my usual loudly adorable prints! Yeah, we're going subtle for fall.

But, I had to add some cuteness, like the puffy mums (yummo-ly cute!), Luckyness with cute little lucky objects on soft pink & cute hopping bunnies amongst more blooms! Something for everyone there, I hope!

Psst.....I've just overspent on beautiful fall fabrics, expect orange, mustard, olives, blues, blacks and grays on everyday versatile bags! Coming, coming, coming....

Some not so nice updates in my life. I've landed in a big pile of crap, assignments half done because of incompetent & lazy people (deadline is here!), missed test (byebye 10%! yikes.), & a big law test on Saturday. Hm, I realise that when I my deadlines loom, the more I wanna run away from and just make stuff in my own la-la land. I have to learn to like my course more. Seriously. Maybe even love it. DH says, "you're running a biz and you're doing a biz course. whats the problem?" Yeah, like I really run florspace like a biz! Hmm....time to learn to be shrewed & calculative? Believe me, how I tried! Not happening.... :P Well, its not a good week, but I'm keeping myself happy by looking at my pile of fall fabrics & sniffing Erin's Sugar scrubs (We have the same weird tendencies!) Oh, hot Earl Grey tea keeps me happy too.

Anyhoo, isn't fall a great season? The time where it isn't too cold that we have to be wrapped up in a unglam bun, isn't too hot that we feel too exposed in bikinis & drinking one too many Daiquiris. When I was in Sydney, fall was my absolute favorite season. I almost treated every beautiful fall day as if it was my last, drinking alfresco, chatting with great friends at cafes til the cows come home, general gallavanting & frolicking in the golden leaves. Everything was bathed in this beautiful orange, especially during sunsets & sunrises! I do love the bare branches in winter but that was when life was great with DH around, that I had the energy to feel gray but not really just plain sad like now. Then again, though there's really hardly any fall to speak of here, I intend to just imagine it!

Still tough to keep my hands off the fabrics! *slaps naughty hands*