Puppies' Big O-N-E!!

What a fun 4th of July weekend party the puppies had! We were hoping for good weather as it had been raining all week. We took the dogs to two different dog parks over the weekend and boy were they all tuckered out!



On the first day we took them to the William R Davie dog park and then the next day we took them to the Ramsey Creek Park. The first was a big 5 acre piece of land, with lots of shade and swimming tubs for dogs to splash around in! The dog park is divided into two - 20lbs and under for small dogs, and 20lbs and over for big dogs. Scuffy borders between the two so he followed his brothers to the big dog park!

The puppies loved mingling with the other dogs. The largest dog in the park that day was a Great Dane named Friday. Sadly, Scuffy was one of the smallest. He was a little intimidated at first, when other dogs came over to sniff him out. But after awhile, he was having a riot running around with the rest! It's Scuffy first time ever visiting the dog park. I think I will continue to take him on a regular basis. It's good for his socialization!



Then their birthday presents arrived! We bought NFL jerseys for the puppies to get them ready for football season. It's also Scuffy's first time wearing anything other than his harness. He's a little squirmy in it, and in this picture he actually looks kinda miserable. But it pleased his Papa to no end that his boy is wearing the Bears' colors!

I am so glad that Scuffy's brothers went to our friends, so we can always meet up for play dates and gatherings. It is a joy to see how different their personalities are, and to watch them grow! I hope you had a 4th of July celebration too!

Happy 4th of July!

What are you plans for this weekend? I hope all my American friends get a nice long weekend even though Independence Day falls on a Thursday. Me? I have to work Friday, so I'm going to make the best of my Wednesday night and all of Thursday. My holiday weekend started out perfect -- I come home to sunflowers!!!

Most of them look like this, but I have three sunflowers in full bloom! 

Just waiting for those finches to come feed on them! *birding heaven*

Today is also very special for another reason. This is the day my puppy turns the big ONE! 

We had plans for a grill out at one of our friends'. She is the owner of Scuffy's brother, Buddy. 

But she had a last minute trip to Florida, so we're watching Buddy instead! This afternoon, we're heading out to one of the biggest dog park in Charlotte to meet up with Scuffy and Buddy's other brother, Beckham! It's a dog playdate birthday party!!!

I can't believe how much Scuffy has grown. I know it sounds silly, but I never thought i was capable of raising this little munchkin from 8 weeks to now! What with all the potty trainings and spankings and snuggling and cuddling, this little baby stole my heart completely!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and beautiful weekend! 

We're off to the pet store to get some birthday treats for the puppies!

It's the beginning of celebrations....

Beginning with J's birthday!



Happy birthday baby, I love you more than I love sambal belacan!!!

(And that's saying a lot. Singaporeans never joke about their food.)



Yes blogging world. I'm back! Can't wait to catch up on all your blogs!

Favorite Things : Photo Booth Frenzy

:: 1 :: 2 ::




:: 3 ::




:: 4 ::

These photo booths are popping up all over the place, you just can't go somewhere without seeing one! I especially love the ones with props. The laughs and possibilities are endless!!

:: 1 & 2 :: At D's daughter's graduation party!
:: 3 :: Me and Jess at a wedding fair
:: 4 :: Celebrating my 30th @ the Breakfast Club!

Birthday Celebrations

Thank you all for your birthday wishes! I had a long weekend of celebrations and fun!

First up, as I walked into my office first thing in the morning.

Balloons, confetti and a cup of my favorite Dunkin' Donuts coffee to greet me!

      

Then I got some flowers









Somebody must have sent out a memo, because everybody gave me coordinated colored gifts!



The J-man made a scrumptious meal of Spaghetti Vongole in white wine.

I had such a wonderful mid-week birthday!

Uh-oh. It's the Big 3-0

It's a big year. Goodbye twenty-something, here comes the big THREE-OH.

I'd like to think my birthday begins at dawn on the other side of the world and ends when night descends on this hemisphere this time tomorrow. So technically I get 36 birthday hours.

No bells and whistles.

Just some mid-week quiet time with the J-man.

And for a birthday treat, I get to go to Jason Mraz's concert at the end of August. I've been listening to his newest album Love Is A Four Letter Word

Does anyone else think that the cover of this album is super clever? I don't know if it's just the pre-school teacher in me that marvels at our mind's ability to recognize symbols and translate them into meaningful associations. Just four simple shapes, what do you see?

I'm addicted to this one song, in the Deluxe version of the Love album - I Never Knew You

and here I will share it with you. I CANNOT wait for his concert. I am completely enamoured by this man, his voice, his guitar, his music...

"... Why do we forget things… especially our ex-es or past relationships… why do we forget what they were about and why we left…

... What is it about our humanness… we remember, we forget, I think it's just for the opportunity of enlightenment, the opportunity to awaken again and again and again, 'cause it feels good … to remember our greatness, you know. We wouldn’t be so bright if there wasn’t a shadow every once in awhile…

... This song is about forgetting and remembering... and I realize it’s so that we can achieve enlightenment but then, alas we still have to do our f***in laundry..."

Giveaway: ElephantisLove is ONE!!!

Via



ElephantisLove is ONE!

I cannot believe how time flies! Only one year ago, I took the plunge and started my very own Etsy store. It has been a whirlwind of adventures, and I'm very grateful for all the experiences I've had and friends I've made.


Looking back, here are a few worthy mentions of the year gone by:

1. My sewing skills have improved drastically. As always, practice makes perfect. I'm not quite anywhere near perfect, but I am proud of my progress!

2. Deviated from making the usual bags and tried out a few different things that I would never have thought I was capable of. Most notably, I picked up embroidery and made quilts.

3. Participated in craft fairs and watched with joy when people actually came forward to buy the things I made! Definitely very encouraging!

4. Started a blog (well, technically I continued blogging but renamed it ElephantisLove) and found some talented and crafty friends on the blogosphere who share my joy of crafting. Special shout out to Ashley of The Feisty Redhead, Jordan of Trailer Gypsy, Jamie of Love in Everything, Jane of Projects by Jane and more! It was such a great pleasure meeting friends from all over!


As a special token of thanks,


there will be a 10% discount on all items in ElephantisLove + FREE SHIPPING in the month of April. Use Coupon Code ANNVSRY1ST for discount, and I will also refund listed shipping costs!

And I have also made a lavender sachet to giveaway to one special reader! Lots of hand sewing involved in this one, but it comes packed with some sweet smelling goodness! You can hang it up in your closet, place it in your linen drawers or even by your pillow for a good night's rest!






To participate,

You HAVE to be a follower of ElephantisLove on Blogger. Click on the button in the sidebar on the right that says "Join this site!" and then leave a comment below with your email address.


For additional entries:

1. Leave a comment below to tell me about your favorite item in my Etsy store.
2. Like ElephantisLove on Facebook
3. Tweet about this giveaway. Copy and paste this "Win a lovely handsewn giveaway! ElephantisLove turns ONE! http://bit.ly/HqfvHN @punkychewster"

Leave a comment for each when you're done to get an additional entry for the giveaway!


Giveaway will close April 22nd 11:59PM EST, and open to international readers too! Thank you for your support and I hope to create more new items for the Etsy store in my second year!!!

Happy Easter everybody!

The Story behind the Chocolate-Cake-Recipe-for-Dummies.

Tried and tested. And true.

VERY SIMPLE!


So the story begins like this.

Last month, I was home in Singapore for my mother's birthday. I decided I wanted to do something special this year. Instead of getting her a present, I was going to do the un-thinkable -- bake her a cake!

Now, if you know me, or have read my past cooking entries, you know that I dread cooking. I like to eat, don't get me wrong, but I like to have food appear magically in front of me, piping hot and ready for chow. In return, I am most willing to do the clean up, however big the mess in the kitchen. And if you've seen the J-man cook, you'll know I REALLY am game to clean up.

So back to the story. I embarked on this lofty grand plan of baking a cake, but i really wanted the simplest possible recipe. I consulted my long-time food provider P (ie my ex-housemate), i researched the internet and finally settled on this Chocolate Cake recipe. Chocolate. Everybody likes chocolate right? Sure-win formula!

Then came the NEXT obstacle. I have not stepped into her kitchen for years. I had no clue what ingredients or equipment I needed. So i had to concoct a story. I was also going to attend my friend's wedding at about the same time as my mother's birthday. So i told my mother that I was charged with baking a cake for the bridal party. It never crossed my mind she would find it strange why they would ask a non-baker to do that, instead of just buying one.

In any case, she bought the story.

So she got out all her baking equipment, we went out shopping for the ingredients, and she even watched me while I baked!

That night, she invited our extended family over for a family reunion dinner because I haven't seen my aunts, uncles and cousins for a long time. While she was busy preparing a feast, i roped everyone in on the surprise. When dinner was over, everyone gathered in the living room while my mother was busy washing up (that woman never stops for a minute!) My uncle called out to her and told her to stop for a moment to chat. Meanwhile, I hid in my room, cake in hand, candles waiting to be lit.

When she walked out, we dimmed the lights and brought the cake to her!

She stood in front of the cake, surprised but beaming as we sang her the birthday song. When the song was done, we told her to make a wish before she blew out the candles. She closed her eyes, but after a second or two, burst into tears. Actually she bawled rather loudly, and frightened my baby niece in the process.

It was a few minutes of extreme awkwardness for everyone; and for me, it was the hardest thing to see. I tried to give her a hug but had to walk away because I was about to burst into tears myself. It was supposed to be a joyous celebration! I knew in my heart what her birthday wish was -- for me to come home. It didn't help I was leaving in 2 days.

I'm still tearing as i write this :(

But, long story short. This is a really simple recipe! If i can do it, so can you! Thank god for cake mixers! I know it's not the most complicated, mind-blowing, delicious cake, but for me, it's a leap from Betty Crocker's Pre-mix brownies. Although I did use powdered sugar instead of castor sugar at one point.

The picture above was my second attempt at the recipe. Much. Better.

Birthdays are FUN!

Hello blogosphere!

Firstly, I'm done with my summer camps! I was completely getting into the groove of it all and then they ended. Bleagh. I wish they'll let me teach some day classes soon! I miss my babies! My gardening camp was so much fun and the kids so enthusiastic we could go on forever!! D said on the last day of camp, "i will miss you!" and made my heart melt. I took them on a nature walk in the park. We caught a caterpillar, seen beautiful spiders and their webs, found a dead (crispy) cicada and picked acorns and pine cones!

These are the babies from my two camps! I love my youth volunteer assistants too!!








And then I got new kicks for my birthday. Rocking it out at work everyday now. New Balances are sooooo comfy!



My manager G baked me some special cupcakes because she missed my b-day dinner! So sweet of her! And the cupcakes were gorgeous and yummilicious!!!



i'm going car hunting this weekend! Wish me luck! I hope i find my dream drive soon!

Birthday Bonanza in my Etsy shop!

Hello friends!!


Because my birthday falls in August, I'm making it a month long celebration in my ETSY shop elephantislove.


I'm offering FREE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING on all items in my shop. Just enter the code

BDAY2011

to get your free shipping!

Also DANIELLE, winner of the Amy Perrotti giveaway, I have no way of contacting you to send you your prize. I'm hoping you read this, because you need to claim it! I emailed the wrong Danielle to claim her prize, and she was so sweet to reply and told me that I've made a boo-boo. But in case the first Danielle doesn't reply, I'll have to pick another winner. So Danielle, please reply by the end of this week, 7th August, 11:59pm EDT. I hope you see this!!!


So a few lessons learnt doing giveaways:

1) Closing comments after the giveaway is over

2) Asking readers to leave their email addresses in their entries

Do you have any advice to add? If you do giveaways too, what are some rules that you include to make sure the giveaway is a smooth one?