Oh baby!Now that the news is out, I have to tell you that when I first found out Baby E+Exp will be part of this wonderful community by March next year, I had all sorts of thoughts swirling in my head. I wanted to try out the onesie printing, despite my obvious anxiety when I did it for my friend Adora and baby Poppy. I wanted to knit a blankie for Baby E+Exp, even though I don't know a single thing about knitting! After a while, I calmed down. (Who am I kidding? Everyone knows Exp is waaay much more crafty than I am.) That baby is going to kick arse! I mean, c'mon, look at E and Exp : math geniuses. Calm and composed most of the time. Rational all the time. And best of all, when you are with those two, you know they are besotted with each other. Baby E+Exp will definitely fit right between those two, along with Cinnamon. Did I tell you I love March babies..? (I'm biased.....cos' I'm a Marchie... :-)) making 3 then 4
the news is out and so i figure i'll make it official. yes, the incredible being of feeling that you are part of someone and someone is part of you and that you are about to spend the rest of your life caring and loving so unconditionally that it's beyond your imagination.
yes, baby makes 3.
and cinnamon is coming to singapore. dog makes 4.
and my family is almost, almost together - finally!
{Testing out the macro function of our point and shoot. E bought me a smurf and lots of Hello Kitty paper dolls last december at Cape May, NJ.}
Blue + Red = PurpleWoke up early today on this historic day.
Barely 7.00 EST to the sun slowly rising behind the rising towers in New York City. Somewhere down the block, CNN reported that a queue of people snaking around to exercise their right to vote. Blue or Red. Democrats or Republicans. We must all learn to all live together. The Rev. Martin Luther King once wisely said. I saw that same quote. Muraled on a wall in Rochester. 
diana sudyka
book plates from diana sudyka, they make me smile :) Autumn LoveI sit here, guilty of ignoring this repository for quite a bit of time.
I promise, in time, all will be revealed.
For now, suffice to say, M and I in London.
I sit here in our temporary residence in the old french part of the city. I love South Kensington and have always felt at home here in this part of town.
Autumn. Autumn has always been my favourite season. Fresh crisp air. Leaves of amber and crimson.
For now, I leave you with the view outside our bedroom window:
 orla kiely at heal's
not only can you wear it, you can now furnish your home with it.
oh, how can i resist the cult of orla kiely? the orla kiely range, now available at UK Heal's.
more on calendarsi can't believe the sheer size of beauty out there... in the form of calendars! First of all, there's the letterpress calendar by one of my favorite stores paper source
and then there's the gorgeousness of snow and graham
and a calendar that comes with 12 envelopes to share your special days with loved ones by paperedtogether
finally, pistachio press has a limited edition wall calendar available for pre-order
financial crisis or not, having a kick-ass calendar to keep track of productivity and days gone by is one way to chase away the mean reds (as in the bloodbath...)ilee papergoodsit's the time of the year again... shopping for calendars. having bought letterpress calendars from ilee for two straight years, i can tell you that they really made a difference to the sometimes-dreary work life. they are a joy to look at and every year i relish the beautiful images so lovingly handcrafted by ilee. this year, ilee will donate 10% of her calendar sales to a not-for-profit corporation called “Specialized Options for Disabled Adults” and to an orphanage in Thailand. click here to order yours :)
 porcelain geckos
E and I went window shopping yesterday and my guy was fascinated with little porcelain geckos. to him, even the house lizard is his friend. i'm always paranoid about their detachable tails. in my books, these seem more stable objects to fall in love with - porcelain keys -by Sakai from rare device in san francisco, a place to check out this coming january... yes(!) i'm going to san francisco :)
LightI woke up today with an unstoppable urge to pen this down:
+ that I am my own light.
+ that I have the power to lift myself up.
+ that I have the power to call on my own higher power to surround myself with my own light.
+ that I am shining now.
Have a bright weekend everyone. :-) Of Daffodils and AcrylicIt's been a short working week.
But it feels too long for me.
Exhausted.
Again.
I have all these creativity I know which is swirling in me at the moment that I don't know which to listen to and act on.
I know I need daffodil yellow acrylic to get me going.
Maybe tonight.
Perhaps. john derian for target
my husband is going back to the states to defend his dissertation.
i want to go too...
to shop at target for john derian!
Flickr FunI've been fasting.
Practising and honing restraint the last 3 weeks has been difficult, to say the least. At the end of the day though, it feels good. Accomplished. To know that I have got through another day. At lunch break, I stay in, and catch up on a much needed and never enough snooze.
That, or I go online surfing.
The concept: a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. b. Using only the first page, pick an image. c. Copy and paste the html into your blog or Flickr stream. Or use the Mosaic Maker at fd’s Flickr Toys.
The Questions: 1. What is your first name? 2. What is your favorite food? 3. What high school did you go to? 4. What is your favorite color? 5. Who is your celebrity crush? 6. Favorite drink? 7. Dream vacation? 8. Favorite dessert? 9. What you want to be when you grow up? 10. What do you love most in life? 11. One Word to describe you. 12. Looked up your flickr name and see what pops up.
(Images courtesy of [top to bottom left to right] : Alana (for Marnie), Christine (for Pasta), Pitch08.Gallery (for Cedar Girls Secondary School), http://www.flickr.com/people/fernandoprats/ (for Blue), Cicconeyouth (for Edward Norton), Stephan Segraves (for Morocco), Andre Pipa (for Mocha), Lara Ferroni (for Chocolate Pudding), Spring Globe (for Architect), Pink Sherbert Photography (for Love), Mau®i (for Emotional), Poppyseed Bandits (for Inspirational))
I realise that I live such a colourful life! :-) my little pleasureart should uplift you
even in the dreariest of days
and i'm glad art can be affordable
this came yesterday
yay hellohello world,
i've come to be aware of my liking to address you this way, "hello!"
recently, i've come to regard you as a mish-mash of stuff. of people, of emotions, of nature and of the unknown underwater habitats. and i've come to find out my role in people's lives and their roles in mine. i've come to realize how my day goes depends on so many different things. but i guess, in some contorted evolutionary way, i learned to siphon off noise.
i was in a meeting yesterday - the contents of which were supposed to be off-the-record (the record-taking person was asked to leave so the rest of the participants were free to express their thoughts.) and there was a vote, i voted for an unpopular opinion - unpopular is defined as running opposed to what the bosses think. and this morning, i was confronted by my boss.
bosses were not allowed in that meeting either. someone told a tale. big brother is watching.
i did not defend my vote. it's my vote and i don't have to justify it. but for a moment, i was wondering if i should have been more careful about my thoughts and actions. bordering on second-guessing myself, bordering on censoring myself.
i'm glad i didn't. i take this as a nice little victory i won for myself. i'm okay with the idea that my thoughts and beliefs and whatever i am can trigger discomfort in others.
so, hello world! i know that i can't control others' emotions and they can pound and mould me, still my mind is my bedrock and i'm glad you taught me i need the different forces coming at me so i can learn a little of myself each day.
xo,
exp This Journey is LifeAt a time when I find myself at the abysmal pit (such a drama-mama I am :-P), I was taken in by the haunting strings played by Gustavo Santaolalla and the dreamy imagery of non-descript landscapes and faces of the new Louis Vuitton ad.
It's as if it's meant to be that I stop and listen.
And think.
And know that this is it.
That I come face to face with myself.
And learn.
This journey is life. The Wheel of LifeThis is looking really appealing at this point :
(Card by Harold's Planet) I need to get on and move on from my current wave of depression and anger and practise a little bit more patience. Swing SwingI have to admit that I have been feeling depressed off-late. And somehow, after Exp's heartfelt post, I feel compelled to come clean. The reason for my depression : M and I are not pregnant. It seems so strange (and confusing at times) how getting pregnant is about the only thing I can think about. It's almost an obsession, and for a while, I believe that it's the only reason why I don't feel absolutely complete as a woman. Maybe I still feel incomplete as a woman and a wife, who am I trying to kid? See, whilst all the married friends I thoroughly love and chill with have gone off and get married, they have the natural progression to re-paint their spare bedroom a shade of blue/pink, arguing over nappy cloths vs diapers etc. whilst awaiting the birth of their child(ren). Me? I sort of feel like I've been left in the dust. Alone to fend for myself. I get sick to my stomach when anger creeps up on me, slowly eating me inside. How I question God's plan to fit me in His grand scheme of things. Then there are times, I feel like I could conquer the world on my own. Fighting for the children of the world. Nights when I would sleep next to M, holding his hands, thinking that M is all I need at that moment to get through life and to the next phase of our marriage. Who needs/wants babies? M and I do. We know our love and lives are ready. ~ Inspira doubtsi've been away from the blog and i'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing. i'm using my laptop wirelessly - a message just popped up to say that i only have 22 mins left.
much of my life while i was away was spent dreaming and thinking. both can be accomplished independent of the level of consciousness. but i realized that things change even when you hibernate, and life goes on with or without you. i feel a little lost here. i'm not sure whether i enjoy blogging as much as i once imagined it. sometimes, it (i.e. blogging) feels a little egoistic; like i have something important to say and the world has got to listen to me and most of the time, i feel like i'm such a drama queen - feeling something intense that turned out fleeting at most. well, i'm of two minds. as you can see, i'm still typing.
15 mins left. i got to wrap this up.
i've perhaps told my friends this - that i don't know why i'm here (like physically here) and recently i sorely miss the U S of A (knowledge of the new mozarella bar made things worse). but slowly i'm beginning to feel a little flutter, that being here is cultivating a lesson of patience - a lesson i never had while blazing through my twenties. stuck in a time-space continuum, life goes on stateside, but my life is here - moving at a really slow pace - and my brain is getting accustomed to this slow pace. and now my consciousness seems to understand why this slow pace is necessary. i may never have the chance to be patient, i may never reflect and relearn the path i've taken in such slow mo and now is the time it seems. to just take in deep breaths and learn deeply. to deconstruct a little, to dig and explore. to get my hands dirty, to take my head out from the clouds of materialism, to not chase the wind. and then who knows, i may then be a little more ready for some action - and like all whiny mortal souls, I may then be craving and wishing for my now slow-mo life.
6 mins remaining. i don't want to take any chances.
i'm publishing this. talk about instant gratification.
but if i hate this tomorrow morning, i'm taking it down.
xo,
exp Cinderella....(or not)Eid is about 2 weeks away and I think we are set, M and I.
We just need to give the cats a shower. Clean the Creative Room (yet again); rearrange the CDs and DVDs in the living room. Change the linen, etc. And oh....pick up my baju kurung and M's baju melayu from our dressmaker. In JB. And er....bake cookies.
Ekk....we still have LOTS to do - what the 'eck was I thinking? I must have been living in an illusionary world!
Breathe. Breathe.
At least I can strike off the "shoes" off my To-Do List. I purchased a pair of pretty, not overtly-sparkly strappy, slip ons. On sale. Perhaps a few seasons past. Who cares? They are going to be on my feet anyway. 
I love the shoes. And that says a lot seeing how I hate strappy evening slip ons and hardly wear them ever!
But yes, I am happy. ~ Inspira Psychedelic LoveConfession:
I fell in love with the fabric in an instant I laid eyes on it. It's crazy wild colours remind me of Missoni. I'm not one to usually buy brightly coloured dresses. My usual staple of black, nudes, grey/silver dresses are the norm. I thought this would be a nice change, albeit a bit of a crazy shock. :-P I had my good friend sew a simple dress for me.
I love it. So does M, thankfully.
Now I need green (or pink perhaps?) shoes to go with the dress.
What do you think? ~ InspiraProject : LoveIt's going to be a busy few weeks ahead until I leave for London towards the end of October. It's my best-friend's sister's wedding on 9th October. Doreen is a sweet little girl who has blossomed into a woman. I've been tasked to make the wedding's card/ang-pow box to match the wedding theme of crimson red roses and champagne. Easy peasy. I think. At least I hope so. I need to take a walk down Arab Street and Chinatown for some inspiration. I also have a few friends who are expecting. 2 of whom, in between their morning sickness and stuffing themselves with foods they have been craving, requested me to design/print baby announcement cards for them. What great friends I have! I thrive on these creative sojourns. And with the past month's hellish office move, I need this break to keep my sanity. ~ Inspira Saturday Night LifeM and I had a day out today. Just us. Hanging out. No real destination. No real agenda. It's nice to just chill.
Holding hands. Seemingly in our own worlds in the bustling street downtown.
We meandered into the supermarket and left, amongst other grocery, 5 succulent scallops.
 The scallops would make beautiful starters at dinner tonight.
M prepared them beautifully. They were explosive and melted in my mouth.
An hour later, I made dessert for 2 under 15 minutes.
Sauteed peaches with home-made caramel. Infused with fresh basil. Topped with vanilla ice-cream. ~ Inspira New vs OldIt's the 4th working day in the new office. Not a happy camper. Here's why:-   
(Images courtesy of circulating email headed "Extreme Budget Cuts & New Office Policies")
But seriously, I'm rather conflicted about the new working environment and am still trying to embrace the change.
Change is supposed to be good, no? ~ InspiraScorching HotWhat do you do when you run a 40-degree-celsius-temperature for a whole week?
Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. And more sleep. Did I already say sleep? Yes, s.l.e.e.p.
That's all I did the whole weekend. Slept in. All weekend. And the doctor ordered me another 2 days of rest.
What bliss . . . now if only someone will leave my "responsible me" alone. And oh, stop ringing my bloody cell-phone and leaving me texts about work(!) Grrr . . . . ~ Inspira
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