mosaic mondays - christmas is near!

via flickr.com

Christmas is my favourite holiday of the year! :)

the week that was

via flickr.com

My dear blog,

I have been ignoring you. Life last week was very eventful and I just didn't have the energy & discipline to get round to posting anything.

The Fiancé got into a bad accident last week - all I want to say here is that I am so very, very thankful he is okay. Very minor bruising, mild whiplash but everything (physically) is okay. The entire week was spent at police stations, car workshops and generally wading through the red tape of insurance and everything else. In between, we managed to squeeze in visits with friends before he took off again.

Also it is finally, inevitably, the last month of the year. I always look forward to Christmas and this year, I also am quite looking forward to The Fiancé being back home in a few weeks time. This time he'll be home for a longer period of time (hopefully, touch wood, throw salt, and twirl three times over).

In other news, I have recently grown fond of Thea Gilmore and have just borrowed all six CDs from The Fiancé's collection and will proceed to listen to all of them thoroughly. I also discovered a new cafe/restaurant which I had high hopes but they crashed and burned upon seeing the color of the first latte that I ordered. Desserts there are good, although on the pricey side for the size. My favourites so far are the banana loaf with caramel cream and walnuts and lemon tart. The decor there is industrial chic with witty coffee-related posters, which I love.

I've also noticed I've started drinking coffee and craving it again, after many years of abstinence. It's a bit worrying, I have been drinking a cup of coffee every day recently!

This week is going to be a week focusing on myself, my dear Hugo and Bucky (whom I feel terribly guilty for not spending time with them last week), and sorting out The Fiancé's car matters.

I've also applied for another job, which I hope I get, as the location is good, and the role looks promising, and hope I start in January - that would be a great start to the new year :)

In the meantime, this Christmas looks like a austere one as I don't have disposable income to spend on presents for friends and family. I do so love Christmas shopping with the carols and the jolly, warm vibes in the air. I'm making do with creating wishlists from online window shopping so that I get the feeling/satisfaction of shopping without the guilt and expense!

failwhale cuteness

via flickr.com

The top is Twitter's failwhale picture which you see whenever twitter hits over-capacity.

The bottom is hine's self-made twitter failwhale hat.

Totally awesome! I so want one!

www.flickr.com/photos/sheishine/5140513705/

mosaic mondays - pies!

via flickr.com

1. Untitled, 2. peach pie, 3. Apple Pie, 4. lemon_meringue_pie_large_4004.jpg, 5. Pecan Pie 3/3, 6. Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie, 7. Untitled, 8. Apple Pie, 9. strawberry rhubarb pie, 10. What's for Lunch? July 8, 2010, 11. Lemon Meringue Pie, 12. Home Made Strawberry Pie -Yum!, 13. Old Fashion Double Crust Apple Pie, 14. Sweet Potato Pie, again, 15. Lemon Meringue Pie Again, 16. cherry pie for 4th July

Just in time for thanksgiving! pumpkin pie, apple ple, sweet potato pie, blackberry pie, strawberry pie, peach pie, key lime pie, lemon merinque pie, blueberry pie, pecan pie, banana cream pie, I need some pie right now!

all i want for christmas - my app wishlist

via flickr.com

In order to fight the dreaded afternoon drowsiness that hits me around 4-5pm, I decided to put together 16 of my top wished-for apps. I debated between putting in Jamie Oliver's and Mario Betali's apps, but decided to leave them for the next batch.

The two that I really, really want, is unavailable for the iPhone :( I don't have an iPad, so it renders them virtually useless but I've put them in anyway, because I love magazines and their interactive features are just so cool (rotate products 360 degrees! click and buy! Oprah talks to you!)

The ones that I will use most are probably the photography apps. The ones I'll use least are probably the motivational and to-do lists :P

What's your app wishlist?

friday i'm in love

Today I want to introduce you to the wonderful strange world of poppets, tiny beings that are about two inches high, may or may not have toes (their creator, Lisa Snellings-Clark, won't tell us) and they are made with love, of course.

The original poppet is the little red poppet, featured below.

Then there are Happy Birthday poppets, Rainy Day poppet, Anti-Valentine's poppet, Christmas poppet and a whole infinite number of poppets that are introduced slowly over time and season on their creator's Etsy shop.  There's also mini poppets, and lying down poppets.

Lisa also creates OOAK (One Of A Kind) poppets - such as poppets based on Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book, Alice in Wonderland, and something I really would like for my wedding would be a custom OOAK poppet sculpture for my wedding. Below is an example she did for one fortunate couple.

Between me and The Fiance, we have around twenty or so poppets. They currently reside with me, on a bookshelf, but sometimes they go out adventuring on my bedside table, or inside a black tulip, or spend some time chatting with Bucky the Bunny or Hugo the Cat.

Poppets are a little creepy at first, but they grow on you after a while :)

If you want to get your first poppet, please do visit Lisa's Etsy shop here.  Lisa's art extends to paintings, sculptures, kinetic art and more.

Monday Mosaics - Coffee

Monday Mosaics - Coffee, originally uploaded by mvo168.

1. perfect cuppa, 2. zzz, 3. say one sweet thing, 4. and now for this evening's fix..., 5. Um...I'm just saying ;), 6. He was my cream, and I was his coffee -, 7. my kind of latte art, 8. Caffe Latte, again., 9. Pulling a double, 10. macchiato, short, 11. sweetness needed at monmouth, 12. The Naked Coffee Break, 13. Take Two and Call Me When It's Tuesday!!!, 14. A cupful of bokeh., 15. red cup happiness, 16. Can you imagine life without coffee?