japan pictures!!

Here they are at last, pictures from my Japan trip back in mid-July!! These are just a little glimpse of what there was and a tiny portion of the hundreds of pictures taken. Please enjoy :)

We went to a gigantic fabric store, most of them that I visited would have these entire batches of sample fabrics that were so neatly folded. This was perfect to just have a tiny piece of the hundreds of beautiful fabrics available...I spend the most money on these samples!! It's not surprising that I spent the most time looking through fabrics for hours (good thing my friends that came with me love fabric too!)
Here are just a few pictures of the pretty textiles:

My friend Ayako and me!! Here we pose in the hotel lobby (so pretty!!)

Ayako and I went to the official pastry bakery for Totoro cream puffs!! They were amazing; they were so meticulously crafted and filled with either vanilla, chocolate, or peach!!

There was an adorable housewares shop closeby to our hotel - there were so many beautiful teapots, bowl, you name it!! Here are some adorable owl porcelain figurines :)

I've been back for a while - just lazy :P

wow...I am so terrible at blogging these days! I suppose I will start off with how the Japan trip went: AMAZING!! I've never been to a place where people are so nice...everyone was extremely helpful if we were lost and needed to get somewhere important (like a ramen house!) The streets are all so clean and the subway is impeccable!!! All of Tokyo is connected through sufficient underground trains and it was so incredibly quick to get from one end to the other. But one thing that completely put me in heaven were all the OWLS...owls are very popular in Japan and have been for quite some time, so I came back with a suitcase full of owl goods. And to top it off, I got to see a REAL-LIFE owl!! It was for sale (you can have one as a pet!) for about $4,000 USD or something to that pricepoint. If I were able to own an owl in the states and have the money (more of the money part) than I would have got it! I will add the pictures a little later when I've got more time on my hands. I'm going to be in crazy-woman-production-mode until the weeks prior to Christmas. I'll be taking part in a small fundraiser on Dec. 5, then will be in the BizBaz and Renegade Holiday shows! Knowing that I'll be so burnt out and need a month to recuperate doesn't sound that much fun but it'll be all worth it :) Details up soon!!

Japan trip

I'll be leaving for Japan in a day - yay!! It will be my first international trip, so this is very special to me (finally that passport from year ago will come in handy!) Thankfully I have a few friends in Japan so I won't get wondefully lost and will be able to go to the places locals go :) This trip will be extremely short (3 full days) so I have packed the activities to the brim! What does that include??

* Ghibli Museum
* Totoro pastries
* owl gifts
* kawaii textiles
and...of course
* RAMEN

My plan is to have ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - it's definitely my ultimate favorite dish to eat! I just hope it doesn't make me look like a piggy afterwards :D

I will be sure to take tons of pictures, so stay tuned!! See you all in a week :)

sakura baby slings

This post has nothing to do with munaluna BUT it's got a lot to do with me! I think everyone knows I'm baby crazy so this post is dedicated to that. Somehow I came across a baby sling company called Sakura Bloom, and they make the most beautiful and luxurious slings...they're a bit on the pricey side but I think if you ever invest money in something, better to make it something you love using/wearing. A chunk of my next paycheck is to purchase a couple of them - here are some photos :D

sneak peek

Hi all! So today was just one of those days to do some serious online fabric shopping...I always have tons of fun looking for new fabrics for my robots and boy did I find some nice ones! After looking around a while, I came across PINK and white striped fabric - FINALLY! I've been searching so long for pink because there's a need for some girlie robots! There's also a pretty yellow and white too, but I couldn't find the swatch for it. Here are the swatches for some...hope you like :D

conclusion

I think I am still recovering from Renegade - I started getting a cold so I loaded up with a ton of vitamin c and honey tea...now today I am just dealing with a slight cough! hoot hoot!

So from my experience from the fair, I've concluded a few things - and things that I need to accomplish to further my company:

1. get driver's license
2. get a car
3. have a baby

Funny how there are only three things on that list...the top two are the important ones to accomplish! Let's see how long it takes for me to take them off my list...as for #3 of having a baby - I'm just baby crazy and have been for so long! Maybe next time you meet me, I'll have a cute little baby in my arms (cross fingers!)

wedding ideas

Ahh, it's been so long since my last blog post - you're in for a treat! A lot has been going on, I got a part-time job doing "normal" work while juggling munaluna, getting ready for two art fairs...going to Hawaii in a week...and of course thinking about wedding plans! My fiance and I want a very small wedding and after looking at wedding magazines and blogs, I've got some ideas for the big day! Below are some photos I would like to incorporate to real life :D

baking day

Today I made lemon squares for the first time and they were DELICIOUS! I had some leftover lemons, so I decided to make this treat. To my surprise, only two lemons were needed for a huge batch of squares :D This means I have enough for one more batch...

walk in the park

Yesterday, I went out to take pictures at a nearby park. The first few photos were taken with a Nikon D50 and the others that look like polaroids were from using the ShakeItPhoto app on my iPhone - that app is so much fun! I almost didn't end up going out because I couldn't stop taking pictures from home :p It was so nice and sunny out though, so I had to take advantage of this uncommon sunlight in San Francisco :o) I simply couldn't resist!

making stencils

Yesterday, I printed out pages full of my munaluna owl to make a stencil. In order to make a stencil from paper, you have to make the paper translucent, in which I used vegetable oil to completely soak the paper and let it dry. (I let the papers dry on an oven rack!) After it dries, it will be clear enough that only the printed part will be opaque - this way, only my owl will be transferred to my emulsion covered screen! I normally just make paper cutouts of my designs, but for my computer generated ones, I use this method. It's all eco-friendly too - no toxic materials are required :) With this multi-printed owl, I plan to make napkins and maybe print it for tea towels too...still considering it :o)

early morning breakfast

Today I felt a little ambitious for breakfast - I normally have something very simple and easy to eat (is that possible?!). Yesterday, I steamed some dumplings for lunch and thought it'd be nice to have that in the morning for a change. So, I steamed frozen wonton and siu long bao (soup dumpling) on lettuce leaves (so they won't stick to the plate) and made some jasmine tea. With the sun out and the birds chirping, it was so relaxing...I recommend you try it sometime :)

little present

My fiance and I went over to his parents' place over the weekend to celebrate Chinese New Year and as I was looking around in the kitchen, I saw this little ceramic owl! I literally screamed like a kid from excitement just seeing it, and then my future father-in-law said that it was for me! How sweet of them - my new friend makes me smile whenever I see her :o)

valentine owls

What a lucky gal I am! For Valentine's Day, my fiance surprised me in bed with a Swarovsky box, and in it were these lovely owls...they're so adorable! They remind me of how my fiance and I are together - always looking out for each other. I truly love him to bits! It must be easier for him to shop for me now...just anything with owls is a very safe bet :p

tea time

Most every day, I enjoy a few cups of tea - and using this tea set makes the experience much more enjoyable! I got this owl tea set (comes with two small cups) a year ago for a Christmas present to myself and I'm so glad I did! The first time I saw them was in an Anthropologie catalog, then months afterwards, I spotted them at the window of a Chinese gift shop so I had no excuse but to get them. If you're not really a tea person, I urge you to get a cute tea set and maybe it'll change your mind :o)

bag-o-rice

Today I went to get some rice so I can make more rice beanie bottoms for my robots - the one I got came with little handles to make it easier to carry. I don't know why, but I thought it was one of the cutest things :p

*notice my cozy slippers - makes quite the perfect outfit :D

l e m o n s

One of my good friends gave me a bagful of homegrown lemons the other day so I decided to put them to good use by making lemonade - something about those lemons made the PERFECT lemonade! I'm so thankful for her generosity and I'm sure she'll be glad to know that none of them had gone to waste. What would you do with ten lemons? I was thinking about lemon cupcakes, lemon tarts or even lemon cake...

egg-a-day

I've been feeling a little down today because my fiance is on a business trip until Saturday - I try to keep busy whenever he goes away but nothing can fill the hours with happiness when he's around. To make things worse, we're getting my ring resized so it doesn't twist around my finger and that won't be ready until Saturday...I really miss wearing it. It brings comfort to me and makes me smile whenever I look at it - it reminds me of my sweetie...

So I've been busy at work - finished an order of plushes, which I will post later...but for now, feast your eyes on this little egg I made today! I've always had a fixation on eggs since I was little...I think I eat an egg everyday!

big news!

So what is the big news? I got engaged over the weekend! We've been talking about the next steps in our relationship for so long so I knew it was coming but I certainly wasn't prepared for the surprise of my life! It was so beautiful - I can't put all the emotions and happiness into words. My fiance (wow! I'm not used to saying that!) and I went to have a lovely dinner at Le Colonial, a beautiful Vietnamese restaurant and later was surprised by getting picked up by a Maserati that waited for us after we finished! (This is when I started to get VERY confused and knew something big was going to happen) The driver brought us to the Fairmont Heritage Place, which is right in Ghiradelli Square and there we made s'mores at the outdoor fireplace on the rooftop terrace...the view couldn't have been more picturesque - absolutely no fog and the sun was setting on the horizon. My love then brought me to the canopy and it was there that he asked me to marry him...my reaction was first shock followed by crying! I somehow managed to say YES through it all! I love him so much...thank you for letting me into your life...

busy bee

I've been quite busy lately with orders - I think it's been my busiest week since I started munaluna! However, the workload makes me feel energized and alive. It's better to be busy with tons of tasks than have nothing to do at all. I went to visit a nursery the other day and came back with these photos - just wanted to share =)

weekend getaway

MESA grill: spicy chicken - sweet potato hash with poached eggs and hollandaise

NOBU: yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno

NOBU: almond cake with edamame ice cream

entrance of Zumanity show

My boyfriend and I decided to go to Las Vegas for the weekend since he had to be there for business. It was nice to have some time to detach from our daily lives especially since work has been hectic lately. We didn't gamble or drink but still managed to have a wonderful time! Aside from taking strolls on the strip and listening to drunk people, we indulged in fine dining and watched the Cirque de Soleil show Zumanity =)