i was featured on Zazzle.com today!!

LOL okay that came out of nowhere. Okay, I just joined and started my own Zazzle.com shop about 3 days ago. I wanted to blog about it today and ask everyone to check out my shop - until I woke up this morning and checked my e-mails. Yup that's right. I go to my pc straight when I wake up every morning and then later brush my teeth (and take a bath). But I do feel better knowing that I brush my teeth before going to sleep every night. Yes. Rationalization is awesome! Anyways I digress.

Where was I? Oh yes, lo and behold, I was utterly shocked to find an e-mail from Zazzle.com to me!

Congratulations!

Your product, It's Raining Fruits: Strawberry T-shirt, has been selected as one of Today's Best on Zazzle!

This means it will appear on the Zazzle homepage for the rest of today and it will also be added to the Today's Best Awards Showcase. Keep up the great work!

Bask. Glow. The honor is yours to enjoy.
-Zazzle

I had to read it twice to comprehend what was going on. OMG!! I just joined Zazzle.com and now I'm being featured. So this is what Tizzie always feels like. I'm so happy and I feel that I should challenge myself for my next product!!


Please check out my shop, Wubblyland on Zazzle.com. I figured that I should create a shop just for my creative design outlet and I always imagined what it's like to have my designs printed on a t-shirt. At least now I got my wish! Now it's a matter of getting people to wear them! Would you buy my t-shirts? *Beady eyed*


If you have a Zazzle account please leave me a comment or message me! If you have some spare cash, maybe you can buy some stuff from Wubblyland (o^_^o) I'll be hoping to add more stuff soon. The shop's just opened so I only have 3 t-shirts and 3 pairs of shoes. Go take a look. Tell me what you think! Thank you!!!

p/s: Before any of you start to wonder about my Etsy store - yes, it's in progress *hehe*

torn between summer and autumn

It's that time of the season again, when I rant and bicker about the seasonal changes. LOL. Well I don't really want to bicker, I just wish that summer would stay a bit longer. Around this time last week it was hot, humid and filled with nature's symphony of crickets. I loved every minute of it. Even when I said "it's so hot!" I actually enjoyed it.

It's getting cooler now. I'm contemplating on wearing socks again and wearing a sweater. I have to shower with the hot water on and I sleep with a blanket. *Sigh* So it is, autumn has peeked its head.

Don't get me wrong, I love autumn. Who wouldn't love the rich colors and the subtle aroma of autumn? Autumn takes my breath away. Suave, rich, subtle, lingering, fleeting - autumn always feel like a short yet wonderful, unforgettable affair. Once every year, and that should be enough.

However summer always feel like home. Summer is simple. Being able to go around with just a pair of flip-flops and t-shirts, sweating and enjoying every minute of it, enjoying an ice-cream cone whilst sitting under the shades of the trees, seeking shelter from the pitter-patter of summer rain and sleeping to the endless buzzing of crickets. All of it, all the embodiment of summer, will be missed.

So goodbye summer days. I shall wait for you to come and grace me with your presence again, in another nine months. For now, hello autumn, I didn't think you'd be early this year.

the berries' first anniversary outing

Yesterday was the 17th August, and that marks our first ever wedding anniversary! For our anniversary presents, I gave Cloudberry about a stack of new t-shirts and shirts (imagine winning a shirt lottery) and he gave me a gold necklace. The pendant is heart shaped embellished with pink tourmaline and diamonds. It is so pretty! Cloudberry said it is so 'me' so he decided on it right away Q(^_^Q ) Even though he works with GemsTV, this is the first time that he ever bought me any jewelry from his company, so it's really special!

To commemorate the event, Cloudberry and I decided to have dinner at a fine dining restaurant at Ikspiari in Maihama. After contemplating on French, Italian and Fusion-Hawaiian cuisines, we decided on the latter and made a reservation at Alan Wong's.

Usually it will be quite the hot weather but somehow yesterday was cool and chilly. Tokyo and Chiba has been raining non-stop yesterday so the coolness was very much welcomed as opposed to the usual hot weather. And I took the rain as a sign of blessing from God. You rock, God!! Woohoo!

Anyways when we arrived it was still early. Our dinner reservation was for 7 o'clock so we decided to walk around and explore Ikspiari. Ikspiari is a shopping complex that is a part of Disneyland, but it is situated outside the park so anyone can come and go. Despite the drizzles, there were amazingly lot of people! Wow nothing stops the Japanese. Not even rain. Awesome.


With nothing to do, Cloudberry and I decided to pig out (which made me feel guilty so a jog is in order today) and he bought a us couple of Pierre Herme's macarons and I bought us a Godiva Chocolixir. The verdict? The macarons are just so rich and savory~ OMG yummy~~ Sadly the Godiva Chocolixir is not something to shout about. Starbucks wins! Yeay!

So anyways, when 7 o'clock finally came, I was giddy as a school girl attending her first date. When we entered, we were greeted with a string of "Aloha!" spoken in unison. I thought it was pretty cool. The restaurant, Alan Wong's, was simple yet stunning. They had leis draped on the walls and there's also a fountain on the outside terrace. It's been a long while since I experienced fine dining so I was nervous and happy at the same time.


After ordering our meals we were given bread and their special butter (butter mixed with a hint of garlic and fish roe) to munch on. We talked and laughed and I still couldn't believe that it's already been a year. And what a year it has been! To finish off our first year of marriage with such an exquisite dinner was truly unimaginable a few months back, so with that I am truly grateful and blessed with our situation right now.

When the starters arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the waiters actually explain to you the whole ingredients and the aestheticism of each meal. It was amazing. I always see SMAP members explain about their foods before they present it to their guests on Bistro SMAP but I never thought I'd have the pleasure to experience that as well. Of course it would have been much better if Kimura Takuya and Katori Shingo were the ones waiting on us, but that would be pushing my luck LOL.


What can I possibly say about the food? Beyond words. Whimsical, explosive, colorful, swirly, melts-in-your-mouth, gastronomical exploration that feeds your tummy and also your soul. I could try to explain about each course, but it would take pages. It was in fact, in all sense, for lack of a better word, perfect. Even though they come in small portions, by the end of our 4-course dinner, we were in fact stuffed as if we had eaten a buffet dinner!


When they brought in the desserts, to my surprise, the crew gave us our own copy of the menu personally autographed by the chef and the kitchen crew. We didn't expect that, and it was such a nice souvenir. That way, we will never forget what we had. After Cloudberry had his coffee and I had my milk tea we decided it was time to leave. When we eventually left I half expected them to say "Mahalo!" but they all said "Arigatou gozaimashita" instead.

I couldn't imagine any other way of celebrating our anniversary. I don't want to even think about next year. Let me just be still and just bask in the glow of this moment for the time being. It is really awesome being married.

our 1st anniversary!

Today marks the 1st year of the marriage between Cloudberry and Milkberry~ Wheee~ I am now officially married for a year. Yes I know, it's only been a year but let me just bask in this moment of happiness and tranquility.

Cloudberry and I have been together since 2003 and this is the first time we celebrate our wedding anniversary so it's really important to me! One year! One. Woohooo *throws confetti on self*

It feels like only yesterday when I followed Cloudberry to Japan to start our lives together. We faced serious hardships, and I felt and had experienced things I never thought I would in my entire life. But as the saying goes, 'whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. And I believe that to be true. Of course there are the unlimited amount of happiness and joy that I hope will always multiply as time goes by.

As for the illustration above, well I love strawberry shortcakes, and honestly I wanted that as my wedding cake but it doesn't agree with Malaysian weather. I was quite sad that I couldn't have it (so I made an illustration instead LOL) but now that I think about it, I don't care either way. *Anyone can have a beautiful wedding, but a beautiful marriage is really what it's all about, right?


*This is my dad's advice to me before we left for Japan. Thanks Ayah!

one world one dream

So yesterday was the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. I was certain that everyone who watched it had the same wish echoing in their mind: for peace. And even for a brief moment, I actually believe that 'peace' isn't just wishful thinking. Also, the lighting of the Olympic flame was uber awesome. Totally the coolest, most original, mind-blowing flame lighting EVER.

wubblyland sneak peek

I've been afraid of opening my online shop but since everyone gave so much encouragement, I am really excited about this. And I've never done this before so I thought I'd give a sneak preview of what will be available on my shop. Tada~~

The name of my shop is Wubblyland, and it will be available on Etsy. Once it's open please visit my shop (and buy a thing or two hehe~)


I've just learned to knit so I've been knitting non-stop. I hope you like the hats in the photo. The macaroon shells are for my "kawaii foodies" jewelry (something like Q-Pot, but more affordable I guess LOL). I haven't showcased the clothes I've sewn. Now that's top secret.

So what do you think? Clear for launch? Or back to the drawing board?

bon odori and hanabi taikai

Last week Cloudberry and I went to a small Bon Odori set up by our community. Cloudberry just came back from work and I had complained about his irregular off days. I wanted to go to a hanabi taikai (fireworks viewing festival) but since he works on weekends and comes home late there is no chance we'd get to go to one. I was a bit bitter, but I decided to let it pass. There's always next year.

We were going out for our night jog (oh yes, we've started jogging now because we figured that we wanted to be healthy and fit when we decide to have a baby - and for the record, as of now, not yet) when we heard music and heavy drumming coming from the town center. Remembering that is was our town's Bon Odori, we went to check and bought some snacks. It was a really small occasion but it was fun to see little children in yukata dancing around. I felt happier a bit, at least I get to see Bon Odori, right?


After that we went back to our apartment to freshen up when we heard constant booming miles away. I was excited and figured out that it was a hanabi taikai in progress so we dashed to the highest floor of our apartment and managed to witness the entire spectacle. Even about 6 miles away (we counted how long it took for the sound waves to reach us) it was really a sight to behold.


And I was happy. It was a real serendipity. I got my wish. I got to "go" to a Hanabi Taikai with my husband! Isn't it awesome when your wish gets granted unexpectedly?