travel-inspired jewelry

the necklace

look for jewelry coming to the shop inspired by my recent travels: the rich reds and oranges of the red sandstone, the aqua blue of the water, the faded tones of the desert. i’m pretty excited about these new pieces! {and this new way of taking photos of my gorgeous gemstones to show them in their best light. whaddya think?}

the inspiration

a heart-felt shout out to pugly pixel for her great–free!–digital washi tape. she has solids, too! here and here. {how awesome is she?!}

i’ll be here

havasupai falls

photos from the journey…

last night we went down to the waterfront for a lunar new year carnival. on the way there we spotted some silly little buildings {the artscience museum and the marina bay sands: someone missed the harbor but apparently there’s a giant infinity pool on top so i guess they can be forgiven for their architectural choices}.

once the sun went down, the lights came on and it was much the same as a carnival back home. it had the prerequisite kiddie rides–including some that would never be allowed stateside–cotton candy {called cotton floss here}, and all the light-up, animatronic goodness you could ever want. afterwards we splurged on a kilo {that’s over two pounds} of chili crab, which is messy enough anyway, but downright hysterical when eaten by two westerners with chopsticks.

went for a long solo jungle hike today, and i quickly worked up a nice lather from the combo of heat, humidity, & uphill climb. {but every time my inner princess whined about being too hot or too sweaty or feeling tired, i just told her to shut it and reminded her that i’m way more awesome than that.} and i was rewarded when a troop of long-tailed macaques came across me on the trail. it was sort of magical how they ignored me and let me take photos. they must’ve played for about half an hour all around me before taking off. they were so much fun to watch and so quick that i didn’t get too many photos but i managed to snap these two.

tonight we’re off to a night safari, where i imagine i won’t be able to take too many pictures, what with it being night and all. a good day all around!

photos from the journey…

despite flying 18 hours {total travel time? over 24 hours house to hotel.} the hubby and i arrived in singapore feeling pretty okay. yesterday {saturday here}, we went to chinatown, where we gawked at cheaply made merch, crashed a traditional wedding {oops} at the sri mariamman temple, and marveled at the 100 buddhas lining the walls at the buddha tooth relic & museum. we rounded out the day with a delicious chinese meal capped off with cold aloe vera for desert.

today, sunday for us, we went to the botanical gardens {amazing! that’s us with a banana tree–all those little tiny green things are baby bananas!} and ate dim sum with friends, where we bravely consumed jellyfish {not bad}, chicken feet {actually quite good} and a number of other delicious things we’ve had before {though never quite as good as this}.

tonight we’re off to the riverfront to get in on some lunar new year action. so far no naps, which i consider a major personal feat. usually jet lag just kills me, but i seem to be hanging in there.

in other news…

• gosh it feels like the flurry of pre-christmas activity just ended…and here i am looking for spring shows to be a part of. first up is the penelope lane boutique in los alamitos, ca. there’ll be loads of cool vendors there {just check out their blog!} including yours truly.
• i’ll be officially putting my shop on vacation mode today as i finish my last minute preparations for heading off to singapore and cambodia. do you ever notice how those “last minute” things take forever?! ugh. but i’m super psyched about my trip.
• i saw bathing suits and sundresses at target the other day on my way to the travel-sized section for travel-sized goodies {a secret thrill of mine is to have everything in miniature. ocd, i know}. isn’t it still january? just checking.
• right now i’m really digging valentine’s day cards by the oatmeal and the cute ones over at whit & whistle, especially the bee vomit one. just my kind of sweet, twisted humor.
• soon i’ll get you some free printables for cards of your own featuring my new photoshop faux letterpress skills and some cute graphics from the graphics fairy. {do you know about her? she’s awesome.}

that’s it for now. wish me luck filling up my small shampoo bottles and keeping my cool on my unbearably long flight. i’m *soooo* gonna need it.

this is me. not travelling.

lotus sunrise by trey ratcliff

i never go on trips. except that last summer i went to alaska, next week i’m going to singapore and cambodia, and in two months i’m hiking the grand canyon with my brother. i swear, i never travel.

picture by tommy rhodes {11 year old!}

i remember when we were planning our trip to singapore and cambodia. seems so long ago, but now we’re taking off next week. eek! i haven’t even thought about what to pack. i haven’t put the mail on hold. {though we did find someone to take care of the dogs. priorities, you know?}

prong tree by clip works {on flickr}

i promise you some pictures of my own after i return. i’ll be putting the shops on vacation mode and checking out. not sure what we’ll be doing in singapore, but we’re making a special trip to cambodia to see the beautiful old temples at angkor wat, where all these pictures are from. i have a short and simple wish list:

1. visit the bukit timah nature reserve in singapore {don’t look the monkeys in the eye}. //  2. elephant ride in angkor wat with a visit to the elephant farm. // 3. maybe one of those pedicures where the fishies nibble at your feet. // 4. eat fabulous food. // 5. remember not to jaywalk or spit while in singapore.

false advertising

i have a shameful secret. it’s embarassing. it’s not sexy. and i hate it when it happens. don’t tell anybody, but i tend to get cankles while flying.

there, i said it. the downside to having low blood pressure {my doctor loves me} is that things don’t recirculate as well as i would like and it has to settle somewhere. unfortunately that somewhere is in the vicinity of my feet. hell-ooooo little piggies!

so this trip, i vowed to suck it up and purchase some compression socks, which is really just a nice-sounding way to say granny hose. what cracked me up about these, though, was the packaging. nobody buying compression socks thinks they’re in for a sexy treat, but the package is so misleading as to be comical.

false advertising at its best

i mean, look at her: she’s wearing pantyhose, opening a little box that i suspect has a ring in it, probably from the guy in the frame behind her. {awwwwww…}

but let’s get back to reality, where these things are clearly not “ultra sheer”, “stylish leg therapy” that make your legs “look as good as they feel”. unless your legs feel crappy, old, and granny-like, that is. {and yes, they go all the way to the knee. hot.}

oh yeah, these things are hawt!

let’s face it: no one will be proposing to me or fawning over me once they get a look at these bad boys. good thing i’m wearing jeans & boots. the only one who’s really seen these in action is the poor tsa guy who looked at my full body private parts invasion scan.

how much are your toiletries worth?

unless you’re flying southwest, you have to answer this deep and troubling question. for me, it boils down to how much i can fit cram into a quart-sized plastic bag without it breaking open. for this short trip {of 6 days} i really wanted to check my bag so i could bring all my toiletries and have a chance of looking awesome in photos. but pay $50 for that round-trip privilege? au contrair bon jour. {to their credit, delta offers an online discount of $4, bringing the total to the low low price of only $46.}

i hate you, i hate you, i hate you

i don’t know about you, but i have no intention of paying $46 for deodorant, sunscreen, shampoo & conditioner, and mascara. but it sure is a challenge trying to cram it all in. i am the queen of small shampoo containers and excellent packing, but a quart-sized bag leaves much to be desired.

clearly tsa doesn’t care about a woman’s needs. what? mascara counts as a liquid?! gah!

when i travel…

other than bolting out of the door at the last minute and doing my makeup in the car {not while driving you silly!}, i have a few other rituals that i always seem to follow when i fly.

this is how i roll

when i have a layover, i like to get an fancy coffee and a book i’ve been wanting to read. {sure, i could buy or borrow a book ahead of time, but i’m never that on top of things.} on this trip–to see my brother graduate from college–it’s a tall {decaf!} soy mocha from starbucks and ape house by sara gruen, author of water for elephants, {another book i read while traveling}.

what are your travel rituals?