Back from the ruins ... and happy new year!!

Ok so I've been back from Cambodia a week now, and I know I owe tonnes of pictures from my amazing trip there, so here's a little bit of what's been going on lately in the Challenger home :p
Came back just in time for Christmas which was followed by much eating and partying!! Popped by Chris' place on Christmas Eve for some excellent food - the baking goddess texted me a tonne of strange directions but conveniently left out her actual address so we spent a good hour walking in the rain and was contemplating giving up when we suddenly chanced upon her car!! Talk abt divine leading! Made up for the exercise by polishing off most of her yummy sushi and prawn veggies heh.

Christmas morning was spent in bed opening pressies fr each other before it was time to head out for Christmas service. Guess what I got?? A koala plushie Matt commissioned fr makisquarepatch!! With his name on it heh! Which was quite funny cos I got him a flat dolly fr them too! Got him a monkey makiki cos he kept fighting with me for my teddy dolly so I got him his own as a pressie ~ now we're both happy!!

The hubster wanted to do things the way he did back home so I pretty much had to go along with everything he asked. Except when the turkey took longer than usual to prepare, I became a teeny weeny bit grouchy cos I was starving and just whined abt why we decided to cook our own meat in the first place. Not my most wifely moment. Naturally the hubster got upset cos he'd taken all this time to prepare the home for Christmas and I didn't seem the least bit appreciative so blah blah... several sour moments later we made up and had a most wonderful homey dinner of turkey and roast! :)
The 26th saw another Chris' Pantry gathering at Chel's place ~ Chris and Chel whipped up a fabulous feast of Shark's fin Melon Pork rib soup, Watercress Wasabi mayonnaise beef salad, Braised duck with caramelized Onion jam, Garlic mash & blanched Asparagus with Aoli and Basil Panna cotta with Black sesame lace cookies & sauteed apples. Not to mention lotsa lotsa wine!!! (that explains the hangover)

The Cambodian gang dropped by on the 27th where we pigged out on black pepper crabs!! Yummy!! We'd been hallucinating this crustacean delight since Phnom Penh and just had to satisfy this urge ~ Although poor Eddie did suffer some nagging for getting the crabs fr the wrong place haha... and you wonder how Jeremy survived 2 weeks with 3 obnoxious girls :p More angkor wat stories and pictures later!! We had the most fantastic time even though I didn't know Jeremy and Lorraine very well till this trip - our team dynamics was surprisingly great! Looking forward to our next trip already!

Matt's cousin Ann is visiting en route to Sydney so we've been busy showing her the sights around this Little Red Dot ~ unfortunately some Thai food and many beers later (Reading was playing Man U last night), both of them are now feeling not too good in the tummy. Tsk tsk! Need to go play nanny now and plan the tapas menu for 2 more dinner parties at our place over the new year so yup, busy busy still! Had my first bridal fitting on Sat, and I'm so impressed with Margaret! My white and evening gowns look absolutely divine! And totally glammed out! Feels so red carpet haha. Managed to get Val's bridesmaid dress made too so yay, more things ticked off the list! Hmm...maybe it's time to finish those guest lists... :p I'm driving Val nuts with my procrastination heh ~ Work-wise, I've been working on a few pieces wherever I can and I'm just so excited about Oriental Rose' 2007 plans! Ooh can't wait for 2007 already!!

Delicate Rose - Sold

Rosy Desire was well-received at Tea so here's another ethereal baby up for grabs ~ A delicate rose, lace flower and heart filigree speak affection, adoration and loveliness to the blossoming maiden. (non-tarnish silver chain and sterling findings)

Black Gold - Sold

One sweetie wanted sth in black and gold for her slinky red dress so voila! A simple charmed piece to show off her new outfit :) Black strawberry, gold locket, black tassels and blings for the uber-babe ~

Francesca - Sold

A special order this Christmas by a lovely gal for her lovely friend :)

Strawberry Love - Sold

Strawberry Love's a happy retro piece with a charming red strawberry, clear heart bling and brass Je t'aime charm ~ In the mood for love, anyone?

Vintage Story - Sold

Made specially for Tea as well, this baby didn't make it to Tea after all :) Vintage rose-print tenshas looks so baubly next to frosted red pearls & opalite acrylic drops. A cluster of white pearls up the playful factor in this dainty yet funky piece ~

Silent Night - Gift for Jane!

I loved Trove of Gold so much that I decided to do a slightly goth version of it in black and silver. Little beads in white, frost, metallic, opalite, white howlite and white stone drops add quiet touches of tranquility to an otherwise punkish piece. Trails of matt black & silver chains complete this pair of silent night ~

Drop is abt 7.5cm.

Charity - Now SGD 25 / USD 16

As an ex-convent girl (albeit only in primary school), we used to have classes with names like Faith, Hope, Love, Peace etc. and Charity was my class' name! Just thought it'd be nice to name a piece after my ex-class in the spirit of Christmas! :)

Gold, green and red make such a colourful combi and looks even more funky feminine with cream pearls and orange cameos ! Be a lady this Christmas with this joyous pair ~

Tartlets - SGD 20 - Sold

Specially made for Tea ~ this is a christmas-fruitcakey concoction of lovely blooms that have varying sades of green, orange, pink etc... gummy yummy! A rose quartz round, matt-green faceted drop & cluster of swarovskis complete this scene of fruitey delight ~

Drop is abt 6 cm.

TEA on TV! (and other snatched goodies)

Yay! For those who were able to catch the festive bites segment on CNA last night, didn't Chris look perfectly at ease in front of the camera? (Chris darling, you don't look fat on TV) And oh, ALL our guests appeared on TV after all!! Haha even though they tried to hide most of the time (I know Val only took bites when the camera wasn't nearby!), somehow a sweeping shot captured everyone! Yay! One second of fame hahaha....

Thanks to everyone for all the lovely emails that've been streaming in... this is the last week before I leave for Cambodia so it's another crazy period for me. Just a friendly reminder, all orders must be shipped by this Friday, Dec 8th. I still have a bunch of custom orders on hand which I will finish before the week is over so I will NOT be accepting any more new custom orders. I will be posting up the new pieces from Tea today so that's still sth new for you babes who were unable to make it to Tea. I've got just a week left to sort out the Christmas decor, menu, pressies and preparations for Cambodia so yes, I am a little short of time :( Thank you for your understanding!! (my panda eyes are awful!!)

Here are more goodies that went home to lovely owners at Tea:

Blue Autumn

The Little Prince

Leaves of Endearment

Rosy Desire

Reflective Beauty


Raspberry Swirl

Vanity Fair

Soar

Oh, My Deer!

I'm so proud that Xin took a fancy to Oh, My Deer! and she wore it to Maad the next day! (I know cos being the maki-holic that I am, I just had to go down to check out their new Tweety collection haaa) Artists truly have a distinct taste of their own cos this was a one-off funky piece using a vintage enamel necklace that I got from a lady who had loads of vintage jewellery from her mom and her old aunts. Remember to check their goodies out at the Takashimaya forum on Dec 9,10,15 and 16! I was so bummed that this lady got the kimono bag before I did at Maad so I'm not gonna take too long to consider next time! :p

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Post-TEA chatter!

Chris and I really want to thank all our guests for making Tea such a smashing event! It was fabulous to put a face to so many names, and we hope you've enjoyed yourselves as much as we've had fun bringing it to you. The place was cool to chill, Chris' chicken pie tasted peppery-yummy, just the way I like it! :) Thanks to the lovely team of ladies - Chelsea, Weilin, Kristin and our male compatriots, the event was able to turn out the way it did. Thank you guys, Tea wouldn't be the same without you!!

Yesterday's Tea was extra special cos Channelnewsasia was covering our event as part of a Christmas feature!! If you're able to read this before the screening, remember to check out CNA at 10pm tonight, sunday!! Chris will be on TV!!(maybe you'll see me pop up accidentally on your screen in some corner haa). And oh special thanks to Xin and Enqi for making a cameo! It was really funny watching them try to look relaxed in front of the camera haha! Thanks babes! :)

Really wanna say another big THANK YOU to all you wonderful gals who came down to support Tea, hope you babes had a blast checking out all the new stuff I rushed out for Tea. Sorry I had to dash around loads and wasn't able to chat with everyone as much as I'd hoped to, and thank God for Weilin my friendly sales promoter who was a great help with handling purchases! I've not slept much in the last few days, or done anything else apart from create, create, create! So much so that the home looks like a hurricane just struck it :P (or so Weilin says). I will try to post the new stuff that did not get snatched at Tea in the next few days but for now, it's time to get some much-needed shuteye. 1 week of hard work, a day of anxious anticipation and a celebratory beer and oh-to-die-for pork knuckle later, I'm definitely in the mong-ing state of mind.

Photos later peeps! And now off to a night of lovely carols by Celebration Chorus (the gorgeous Lorraine aka cambodia teammate is in it ) .... I might drift off to zzzz.... meanwhile you can check out some new stuff that were quickly grabbed up at Tea!