red lips

I'm alive I promise

Sweet heavens where have I been? Sorry for my sudden unexplained hiatus. Please accept as my apology this dream-like photo of my boyfriend and a small furry friend we encountered during our travels. Meow, she's sorry, meow, please forgive her. If not, I hope at least this friendly image makes you smile just a little, it certainly does for me. :) <--- see. Here's a super quick run down of what I've been up to over the last six (gasp) months:

a. completed my placement in Macau. ate a lot of food, mostly in the form of buffets.

b. graduated from my education degree = I'm a real teacher!! yippee!!

c. petted a lot of furry friends. they really love dogs in Macau...not to eat, only to pet.

d. traveled to Malaysia. so so beautiful.

e. then to Guilin, China. don't let the "hot dog" on the menu fool you.

f. boyfriend visits after five long (long) months. love.

g. more travelling, first to South Korea. first time at a public bath house aka. nude spa. kinda liberating.

h. next to Qing Dao. home of the Tsing Tao brewery. yep, that beer you buy because it's cheap.

i. and finally Beijing. climbed the great wall of China! hard work but breathtaking!

j. return home to Canada. wow I missed you and your clean-I-can-actually-see-the-sky air.

k. fill my void of thrift store shopping immediately. lol.

l. commence ukulele re-learning. missed you little guy.

m. getting ready to head back to Macau at the end of August for an another year! (what?!)

Crazy right?! I figure I'm young (ish) don't have too many things I'm tied down to... and when will I ever get this opportunity again? So I took a leap and signed on to teach for another year. I'm really excited to start my first real teaching job and put all my education to good use. So here I am, putting finishing touches on my lesson plans and packing once again for the big move. What comes next? I don't know! that's the fun part!

Don't worry I didn't forget about you, more posts coming soon!! What do you think of the new template? I thought I'd spruce things up a bit since it's been in hibernation for so long. haha.

Thanks for reading! Meow!

What's In Your Bag

Oh how fun. I got this idea from Punky Style's blog and thought it would be neat to share with you what's in my bag, or my bag of the moment:

Bag: "Jimmy Choo" satchel from Malaysia. It's a really nice light taupe color but it's hard to tell in this picture. Clockwise from the top: Red China Blues by Jan Wong...it takes me foorrrevvveerr to read a book so this will probably be in my bag for a while, Sunglasses from Malaysia, Guess wallet...again in taupe, E.L.F. mineral eye liner, E.L.F. blush and bronzing duo, Maybelline eyeshadow quad in "stylish smokes" (such pretty colors), E.L.F. blush in "candid coral", Everyday Minerals blush in "summer stroll" (can you tell I love blushes), Everyday Minerals sunlight concealer, Ecotools retractable kabuki brush, Carmex, Kiehl's mango lip balm, Cover Girl lipstain in "bit of blossom", Camera, USB stick, Ipod shuffle, Ipod touch, The Body Shop tea tree oil blotting sheets, Moleskin journal and charcoal, Keys. P.S. Notice the lack of CELLPHONE, haha. I decided not to get one in Macau and it's actually really liberating.

A little note about Ecotools: they produce eco friendly makeup brushes made with sustainable resources such as bamboo, recycled aluminum, and cruelty free taklon bristles. I have the full set and they are the softest brushes I own...soft like bunnies, wahoo!

I TAG all of you who have a little blog space of your own to create a post about what's in your bag...share your link in the comment section below so we can all have a little look see. I had so much fun making this post and I know you will too....ooooh, have a lovely day.

Featured: Milwaukee Art Museum!

Oh wow oh wow! Last month Kristin Nelson, the Lead Instructor for a program called the DIY Studio at the Milwaukee Art Museum contacted me about featuring my recycled t shirt knotted bracelet as one of their MAM after dark projects. Every after dark event has a theme and guests have a chance to learn how to make DIY projects that coincide with the accompanying exhibition or theme of the evening. Last month the event had a green theme with a recycled art fashion show, so the focus was, as Kristin says, repurposing materials! Here are a few pictures of the bracelet making in action:

Haha, look at those boys crafting away :) For more information on the Milwaukee Art Museum and the DIY studio, visit their website here, and for a more images from the event including the recycled art fashion show, visit their flickr page here. oh AND here's the original recycled t shirt knotted bracelet post if you so wish to mosey on over. Yipee! thanks, SUPER thanks to MAM and Kirstin for featuring my project as part of the after dark series, I feel nice inside to have been chosen. Aw. Real nice.