3 new pieces

Sorry to disappoint you folks who've enquired abt Fan Illusion, that was snatched quite quickly! I will try to lay my hands on more of this sort of charms so pls bear with me ya? The last few days have been nothing sort of crazy and the late nights is taking its toll on me. Eyebag alert! Even the hubster is feeling the exhaustion and he has been sleeping more than I have!

Yesterday my mom and i went for my makeup trial , then Val and I met up with the seamstress doing the jie meis' dresses and finally the videographer, which lasted a staggering 3 hrs. We had so much fun discussing ideas and chatting nonsense till we realised it was 10!! Had barely enough energy to shower before hitting the sack. That said, I'm sorry customised orders are taking longer than expected and I'm looking to finish them by Sat. With only 2 more weeks to W-Day, I'm afraid I will not be able to accept any more special orders till after the wedding. Will finish those on hand then take a much-needed break cos I don't wanna have eyebags on the 24th!!

Looking forward to next Wed cos it's hen night whoo-hoo! A scrub and massage at Body Contours courtesy of Val, then some yummy dinner before hitting the clubs with the rest of the gals ~ not to mention a whole night of cranium, twister and taboo... with even more bottles!! Everyone has booked the next day off for this very reason haha. Matt's stag do is tomorrow, and though I trust him implicitly, his friends can be SCARY. I'm expecting minimal sobriety for the weekend.

Meanwhile have fun with these new pieces that've been lying on my table since last weekend:

Rustic Meadow - SGD 33 - Sold

Was sitting at my worktable staring at the beads and this mismatched piece in its forest shades just appeared! Woody beige beads, teal-green leaves, olivine drops & dark orange crystals on 14k chains & rings make this a delightful adornment for the ears. Full of natural goodness! Drops are 6.5 and 7 cm respectively ~

Colours of Blue - SGD 38 / USD 24

Colours of Blue is a chunky bracelet with a gold horseshoe & veined leaf charm and even more blue blings and bits ~ I love how well this gorgeous blueness goes with my clubbing gear! Glistening deep midnight pearls, silver czech beads & a double brass strand on a 14k chain with toggle closure.

Aquamarine - SGD 29 - Sold

Aquamarine is a real treat for sore eyes with its calming shades of marine blue ~ Enamel clamshell & gold seahorse charms, moonstone rounds and faceted pale blue drops topped with turquoise rounds on 14k chains and hooks. Drop is abt 8cm.

Titillating Titoudao!

Can I just say how much Val and I enjoyed Titoudao? It was side-splitting, witty and at times poignant. Pam was hilarious and totally fabulous! Though dialect-almost-illiterate moi could catch the hokkien jokes, be warned though that most of the play is done in hokkien with little english subtitles during the quick bantering between characters. Talk abt getting lost in translation! Overall it was different, fun and we just loved the concept of this wayang play! Catch it if you haven't cos they're extending their run till the end of March! It truly lives up to its awards ~

Meanwhile here's another piece up for grabs:

Fan Illusion - SGD 32 - Sold

I really adore these lovely cloisonne blue fan charms with little yellow butterflies flitting across them so parting with this pair will be incredibly difficult. Made this a little while back but could never bear to list it, cos I only have enough fan charms for 1 pair!

Pale blue chalcedony carved roses, lemon quartz drops, gold czech beads & other tangy bobs on 14k chains & hooks. This piece turned out to be pricier than I thought cos it so happens the parts are all from my pricier hoard! (Rhyme not intended)

Mad rush Maad weekend!

Feels like I'm always a few days late in blogging events but oh well that's what happens when you're a scatterbrain bride-to-be.... though that will change in 3 weeks! :p

We sent off Kim (Matt's lil sister) and her friend Sarah off to Bangkok yesterday after a whirlwind weekend of Singapore sight-seeing. These 2 girls are little fireballs of energy! They touched down on Friday night, dumped their backpacks at home and promptly trotted down to the Longbar at Raffles for that must-try Singapore Sling. Which by the way I've never tried till I met Matt. Ask any random local here and chances are they've never had the Sling before so it really is quite amusing most guidebooks insist trying the sling while munching peanuts and throwing the shells all around you!

Whilst I was bling shopping on Sat, they were shopping the whole day at Orchard Rd where Sarah tailored an evening dress for a staggering 390 bucks at one of those small seamstress shops in Far East Plaza!! Maybe I should've gone with them instead. Oh well, damage's done, we learn. Then as you read earlier, we headed down to New Asia Bar for some drinks and actually took the trishaw fr Swissotel to Clarke Quay as a laugh. Mind you that little hazardous journey cost $10 each and nearly cost us our lives with the lorries swerving to avoid our rickety rides that were oblivious to traffic rules ~

Sunday was housey day spent doing up wardrobes and clearing the bags blah blah, I've taken some pics so I'll update this entry with photos soon!!!

Some wedding decor bits my folks bought for the new house

My purple room! Matt & I both had rooms to do up as we liked, mine was purple his was meant to be grey but now it's a muddy brown hahaa
Daniel's our house elf who helps Matt with all the DIY stuff . This is the new wardrobe for Matt's muddy room ~

Must admit some retail therapy was in place at Maad where I dropped by to visit Xin & Enqi. Which I'm thankful I did cos I met Fiona, the creative stitcher behind Fifi, her budding enterprise named after her pet goldfish! She has the cutest stuff ever and it was her first time at Maad! I simply had to get a little quilt-like tote made out of vintage fabric fr NZ and a little potato boy pin! Her felt owl eyeglass cases were snapped up by Enqi so I could only pine. More, more, fiona!! She's based in Sumatra right now but we can expect to see her at Maad every few months when she's back here.

Check out our picture below, I loook soooo ah soh!! Terrible terrible... hate that little hip roll at the back of my jeans, knew I should have worn a longer top :( Ignore it and the photo of us 3 look quite nice haaaBy the time we got home Matt and I were totally exhausted and dozed off on the couch. While the girls were at the night safari AFTER a whole day's walking around Chinatown and Little India. And they were to fly early next morning! Now you understand when I say they are energizer bunnies.

Okie poks, will upload pictures later tonight and some new pieces too! After I get home fr Titoudao of cos ~ don't you just love waking to fun things to do everyday?

Victorian Goth - Customised

This was done a little while back as a customised birthday pressie for someone special. I'm not big on skulls but it was actually quite fun doing this piece! Kept the creepy factor down by adding black cameos, and I'm pleased the effect turned out to be quite subtly gothic feminine chic!

Topaz Treasure - SGD 30 - Sold

Just had a really really long day meeting the florist to discuss flowers for the church wedding, we're using Azalea which is the flower arm of Purple Sage. Dorothy's the creative spark and she's FANTASTIC. She's got great ideas, she's funny and a blast to work with :) I have absolute confidence in her that the day's gonna look beautiful! She's also doing the flowers for the dinner on Sentosa so yay! Expect pretty pictures!

Ok so meeting Dorothy took only a short while, the longest part was going jewellery shopping with the aunts who were tasked with getting me lotsa lotsa diamond blings for the wedding. Many hours later, we went back with 2 diamond necklaces, a pair of earrings and a diamond-studded bracelet. Matt got a pressie too! Haha... a gold ring that my parents will give him during the tea ceremony. Tried my best to get him the least tacky ring possible and I must say I think he'll like it!!

Ok gotta dash now, we're heading out to New Asia for drinks with Matt's sister and her friend. Before I run here's a new piece that somehow made it :p
Topaz Treasure is a gold-toned in neutral autumn shades of browns & yellows ~ a lil flower peeks out from the leaves & citrus beads while twin heart charms dangle sweetly beneath the clusters. Drop is abt 7cm (14k hoop rings & hooks) ~

Kaleidoscope - SGD 35 - Sold

The past few days have been absolutely insane with the sending of invites and sorting of the RSVP list and settling catering, flowers, suit, ties etc. etc. etc . Now I fully understand the need for a wedding planner!!! Trust me, a chinese wedding can drive you nuts with all those traditions and planning!! *ugh* We've got food tasting in a bit and I'm hoping the food will be fab! It doesn't help when you've family members who are allergic to msg and others who are strict vegetarians. Makes the menu quite interesting.

Creativity work-wise, things have been a bit slow so I'll probably just be listing the odd piece here and there so this blog doesn't collect cobwebs! A revamp is also in the works! :p Kaleidoscope is about colours! A beautiful kamoe pendant strung on matt black chains & metallic czech beads. I have one of my own too! :)

Have a lovely weekend~

Just finished uploading this new batch of creations ranging from the saccharine to the bold ~ no one ever told me how arduous working on pictures can be! Been working on the photos & uploading since I woke up at 8 and it's 11.30 already!! Oh well, hopefully the sun will stay, a quick dip and some munchies later, the hubster and I are off to get a much-needed wardrobe for the new hideout! I've never done so much home shopping in my entire life and I'm frankly sick of ikea and barang barang and courts etc. etc. .... I just want to mong at home!! *sniff*

Enough whinging, enjoy these new pieces, they're all one of a kind so grab them whilst they're still here! :)

The Key Chronicles - SGD 38 - Sold

A delighfully grandfather-like key sits at the end of this long piece with a smaller counterpart peeking out just above it. Brass rings, funky art glass beads & layers of different brass chains add texture to this brassy darling ~ Front toggle closure.

Ancestry in Progress 2 - SGD 49 - Sold

This is a brass version of the matt-silver Ancestry in Progress - brass horn charm with a diamante-encrusted head, filigree background, frosty art deco-ish etched & metallic czech beads, faux opalite drop & black tassels.

Ancestry in Progress - SGD 49 - Sold

Named after the song by Zap Mama, I thought these horn charms looked both arabic-scheherazade & afro-chic in a certain way! I just like stuff that are more than one-dimensional and simply had to get these funky horn charms that have little diamantes encrusted on its top. Never used to like horn stuff but recently I realised how edgy chic they look with my fave t-shirt & jeans combo! I'm such a fan now :p

Kept things simple cool with different chains of matt silver & black with black pearls & metallic czech beads interspersed throughout. I only have one of these horn charms in matt silver & brass so they are definitely one-of-a-kind!

Gold & Ebony - SGD 45 - Sold

I'm in my charm bracelet mode and Gold & Ebony's just chockful of charm goodness! Enamel heart & ribbon charms, filigrees, blings, black semiprecious drop and a double strand of onyx & metallic czech beads. Bold has never been better! Toggle closure.

A Curio of Love - SGD 40 - Sold

A unique sepia-toned darling, A Curio of Love is one of my faves in this batch! Pre-loved starburst metal links, a copper etched heart charm, lil' blush rose nestling among the beads, pink moonstone rounds, chocolate swarovski pearls & vintage-print rose tenshas.... what's there not to love??!!

The World of Suzie Wong - SGD 39 - Sold

I've had this unique turquoise-like bead with oriental etchings for a while but I didn't know how to best use it till now! Red & green jade rounds, agate smalls, czech beads & lotsa gold strands for layered funk. A little flower charm adds a tinge of secret girlishness. Toggle closure ~

Delicate Royale - SGD 38 - Sold

Beautiful moonstone rounds bring out the blue-ness of the turquoise nugget in this soothing piece ~ Gold crown, bling & faux opalite drop with trails of czech & semiprecious beads. Toggle closure.

Lemon Passion - SGD 38 - Sold

Lemony love is the rule of day ~ A pretty shimmering kamoe heart, gold heart-shaped lock charm, semiprecious stones in citrus tones and little freshwater pearls on double-strand chains of gold & silver. Toggle closure. Only 1 yellow kamoe heart available so this is it!

Of Ice & Fog - SGD 30 - Sold

Thought I'd post 2 more new earrings before I scoot out the door!

Another silver-themed pair of mismatched coolness, Of Ice & Fog is about frosted hearts & clear clarity. Swarovski hearts in frost & crystal with a princessy filigree & heart charm and bits of glassy goodness ~ Drops are 5.5cm and 9.5cm respectively (sterling hooks & parts)

Rosalind - SGD 32 - Sold

A charming beauty with these gorgeous 15 mm kamoe beads of peach pink with gold swirls that are surprisingly lightweight and dainty! Trails of AB czech beads, silver flowers, swarovski pearls & bling add pretty sparkle to Rosalind ~ Drop is 8cm (sterling hooks).

P.S. Sorry the photo doesn't do the real thing justice. Beads are soft peach & frosted pale pink ~ subtly beautiful!

Happy New Year! (and back to work folks)

Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone! Hope you've had a wonderful restful new year! I was down with a superbug over the hols so thank God for many days of sleep :) Plus this being my last year of receiving angbaos ... *sniff* You think that a wedding next month would plug the relatives' mouths about settling down but no, it's babies this time! *shudder* We can never win.

Anyway I'm sorry I haven't posted any new stuff yet, I've got a couple of necklaces, bracelets and earrings waiting to make their pretty appearances but unfortunately the photos aren't ready yet. And I'll be heading into M'sia to visit Viv tomorrow so I can only post them online this weekend. Do keep a lookout for them! Though I'm still in the mood for chinois, I think I'm slowly easing out of my oriental obsession and into a new bolder, chunkier phase heh ~

Meanwhile I'll be working on more pieces till it's martini time at Morton's! Yes I know I'm a lucky girl, don't have to be back in the office till Monday and I get to enjoy morton's famous steak sandwiches later! muahahaha... but really it's gonna be a sharing of horror new year stories with Val and Jeremy. Bet they have even more to share!! :p

Here's a pretty dolly piece I couldn't resist:

Petal Fresh - SGD 28 - Sold

Pale pink & white clay flowers, unusual white cloisonne charms and a good dose of fresh green! Large faceted olivine drops with smaller gummy green drops, and bits of green goodness ~ Drop is 6 cm (gold-plated hooks).

Fish Philosophy - SGD 30 - Sold

One more prosperous piece for the coming CNY ~ I thought these citrus-blue toned fishies were cool! I've added gold ring links for a contemporary touch, love how some of these eternity rings are textured to look like speckled gold! Semiprecious nuggets including lapis lauzuli swirl above the fishies and finished with non-tarnish wirework & gold-filled hooks. Drop is about 7 cm ~

Ivory Gold - SGD 40 - Sold

Shimmering gold with turquoise and white that's worthy of any fiery indian princess at heart ~ Clusters of pearl goodness, moonstone, swarovskis on 14k chains. One-off scheherazade inspired piece!

Dark Angel - SGD 29 - Sold

Oops! This was meant to be included in the previous batch of necklaces but got missed somehow :p A remake of the original bracelet with the same name, I thought it would get a new lease of life draped on the neck so here it is ~ Sterling pondering cupid pendant, pewter rose, metallic czech, matt silver & black chains.

Spring Green! - SGD 32 - Sold

Lovely olive-lime pearlescent kamoe beads in funky hexes speak for themselves ~ I've merely added some deep reds browns to bring out the unusual green :) The hex beads are about 3cm long and 2.8cm at their widest point. Drop is 6.5 cm (gold-filled hooks) ~ Only 1 pair available so if no one grabs it from me soon, it's mine for CNY!!!

Carmen - SGD 29 - Sold

Mismatched pairs are ever so fun to make! Deep red textured oval beads, spider-web jasper (at least that's what I was told!) rounds, nature and floral-themed brass charms, little red pearls & crystals & a lovely white stone drop ~ One-off inspired piece! :)

3 Nymphs - SGD 36 - Sold

A rare vintage cameo, it shows 3 dancing maidens, maybe grecian goddesses or nymphs? A swallow, rhinestone ball & pretty peridot drops accentuate the playfulness of these 3 free-spirited nymphs ~

Nestling - SGD 34 - Sold

I really dig this swallow pendant! To add on to the nest theme, I've added an egg-like mottled button, teeny pearls and a swarovski. Adorable? I think so too!

Promise

My childhood friend Cara is in town visiting her relatives here from Australia and she brought this lovely wedding pressie for us!! It's a Willow Tree figurine by Susan Lordi called "Promise". Ain't it lovely??!! Matt and I had an issue to sort out on Sat (euphemism for argument haa) and he was in the room while I was sitting in the lounge. Somehow sitting there facing the sunset and looking at this embracing couple reminded me of how we'd promised to stay by each other no matter what and that just made me realise how silly this "issue" was in the light of a lifetime of marriage. So I went back to the room and we made up in no time :)

At our premarital counselling group last year, we were asked what would make us consider leaving our spouses, naturally factors such as adultery, abuse etc. all popped out of our mouths. Until the facilitators gently pointed out the fact that we were considering leaving our spouses at all! The truth is God intended for marriage to be sacred, that a husband and wife should cleave to each other and become one. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines cleaving as "adhering firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly". Imagine that! From that moment on, we agreed that we would put our marriage in the never-never box, which is to say no matter what happens in future, we would never never leave each other.

Well, naturally a lifetime of facing each other means it would be better to just work through issues instead of spending all this time being upset with each other! :p

Motley Crue - SGD 40 - Sold

This is such a keeper! Sultry combination of black & rouge ~ Black cloisonne butterfly & horn charms, carved hematite rose and a faceted semiprecious drop make up the centerpiece, while a cinnabar barrel beads, red garnet rounds, frosted red "pearls"and a gold flower link break the monotony of these 14k chains. One-off piece!

Little Girl Bloom - SGD 36 - Sold

A romantic piece this season ~ Pale pink clay rose, filigree heart charm, puff pink quartz heart, citrus bling, faceted smoky drop & a pretty lampwork bead with silver foil & roses.

Madame Butterfly - SGD 36 - Sold

I'd done this earlier, considered revamping it but I like it the way it is and thought it was a nice piece to relist for CNY so here it is! Pink turquoise nuggets, brass butterfly, black rose cloisonne, carved coral rose & black chains for added punk ~

New Challenger hideout!

We've just come back from our new place and it was so so so hot!! Think the dry season's finally here huh we'd spent only a while in the pool at 9am and already I'm as brown as grilled beef (bad analogy). Matt wanted to do up the stuff we got fr Ikea (he loves that sort of DIY thingies) while I happily went out to get food and take pictures of him shirtless working the tools.

nice view of the blue sky fr the sofa looking out

matt hiding his shirtless self behind the side-table

What else did I do? Play with my beads of cos! Look at all these gorgeous pendants from Karin. Thought matt had misplaced my stuff cos he's been packing my stuff into boxes but nope it was on the worktable's trestle haaa ~ they will be my project after CNY! :)

Just Peachy - SGD 32 - Sold

It's been such a HOT day today! Which is good I guess considering the extra long cool season we've just had. But oh bring back the breeze pls! Anyway before I head out to cell, here are 3 new pieces that made it amidst the torrent of back-logged orders. I still have more to go though I get distracted sometimes by new bead combis :p You can't hide when inspiration strikes! Rhodochrosite roses, deep purplish-brown butterfly cloisonnes, pale jade donuts & gold bits make Just Peachy a dainty piece for visiting the relatives!

(Measurements once Matt finds the ruler - we have a symbiotic r/ship: I lose things, he finds them!)

Little Fortune Fishies - SGD 30 - Sold

More chinois chic pieces ~ thought it would be fun to make a mismatched fishie piece! Here are 2 pale jade goldfishies with yellow-turquoise-like nuggets, deep red swarovski pearls & a coral round for some new year cheer! (gold-filled hooks & parts)

Dance of the Hibiscus - SGD 30 - Sold

Thought this purple hibiscus tubes were cool! Add on some cherry quartz roses, lapis lazuli nuggets, milky blue czech & teardrop blings on gold-filled hooks for a funky dance of colours ~ I've decided to use more gold-filled earrings hooks from now on cos I just hate how gold-plated stuff tarnish so easily! This means prices will raise a little, but if you're like me who loves her jewellery, I'm sure you won't mind better quality stuff to go with the nice designs! :)

Rose in Mono - SGD 30 - Sold

I've made this piece for the longest time but never had the heart to list it! Oh well, I can't keep everything I make so my loss is your gain *heart wrenches* Black rose cameos, discs in shell, black & white & AB crystal, finished with matt white drops (sterling hooks). Classy chic!

*measurements later after I find my ruler...i'm sure it's in the apartment somewhere...

Marigold Blues - SGD 30 - Sold

This is really quite a sunshine-y serene piece! An oxymoron no? :p Yellow-white clay flowers, pale jade donuts, turquoise, czech beads, teal blings & opalite swarovski drops on sterling hooks. Measurements in a bit ~

Peony - SGD 32 - Sold

This beautiful centerpiece of garden blooms on white pendant was my favourite in a batch of pendants Karin sent over. Doesn't it evoke mystical memories of ancient temple gardens? The leetle ladybug & red red rose complete this zen piece on a comfy burgundy suede-like ribbon (14k gold hook closure) ~

Sweet Affection - SGD 35 - Sold

Sent the in-laws on the NZ leg of their journey yesterday and had a quiet sushi dinner with the hubster... didn't realise how little couply time we've actually had in the last couple of weeks! And you'd think we would make the best of tonight but nope, football and ESPN have rendered Matt a hapless couch potato... at least for another half an hour!! After that it's The Devil Wears Prada! *smirk*
I'm slowly clearing my backlog, lotsa stuff went in the post today, a couple more to go... but here's a little creature that managed to squeeze its way in ~ really like these rosy beads that Karin made! White swirls, pop art pink roses with crackled gold folded underneath! How cool is that!

Kept it simple with a rose quartz nugget, pale blush mother-of-pearl coin, gold heart charm and a quaint etched butterfly clasp. Layered strands of gold chains and knotted brass chains add textural dimension to this saccharine sweetie ~

Mist - SGD 29 - Sold

Baby blue's the colour of the day ~ pale pearlescent blue cloisonnes with gold-trimmed butterflies flittering across it. Faceted opalite and baby blue drops, frosted beads, silver blings and leaf motif sterling hooks make this an entrancing beauty :)

Rosy Things - SGD 28 - Sold

A wonderful pair for CNY! Red and green, colours of spring ~ I am so tempted to keep this pair for myself! Brassy roses, green & gold butteflies on red cloisonnes, olivine faceted drops make up this rosy piece. Drop is abt 7 cm ~

Lightness of Being - Sold

One of my fave pieces! :) Love these kamoe rounds with sky blue swirls & sunny flowers that are beautifully complemented by the milky yellow petals below. Gold leaves & bling finish this charming gleaming piece ~ Drop is 6.5 cm.

Jasmine - Sold

A special order by a dear friend ~ Mismatched green bits with a gold oriental comb and butterfly cloisonne. Love the rhinestone ring and glitter ball!

Metamorphosis - SGD 43 - Sold

A carved dyed howlite butterfly and faceted quartz take centrestage in this classy clear white piece with rhodium links, frosted glass rounds & white glass. I really fancy the versatility of this cool darling!

Lavender - SGD 39 - Sold

This is a subtly lilac piece though it may not seem it! The donut centrepiece is an agate that has a pale purply tinge to it while throughout the chains are pinkish moonstone rounds and a kind of semiprecious ovals that are dark burgundy and mottled pink. Need to find out its name! Really special stones which I've kept for aeons. Nestling amidst the trails are little swarovskis and pearls for twinkling delight ~ Understated feminine charm!

Paint It Black - SGD 39 - Sold

I don't do many necklaces, maybe cos I don't wear many myself haa but I've been trying to do more of them now that many a dear friends have pointed it out to me :) More are in the pipeline! Just have to wait till the in-laws leave for their trip on Tues ~

Paint it Black's a playful fun ensemble of brass charms on gold, with black tassels, a large faceted onyx drop, charcoal pearls, rimmed smoky glass beads added in for good measure. A versatile piece for any occasion!

Necklaces tomorrow! (and steak for now)

Received a mortal blow to my already fragile and crumbling ego on Thursday during the long-awaited (and maybe dreaded) cheongsam fitting ~ It was too tight round my hips!! I looked like a ba zhang (rice dumpling) wrapped in it!! Oh the horror!! Anyway enough of my melodramatic whining, it was still a very tastefully done and funky coloured cheongsam, Candy did a really fab job!! She did mention how painstaking it was to cut out all the panels and fabrics for my dress so maybe that's why it took a staggering 6 months!! Seems like I need more than hoola hooping marathons to keep the silhouette... cheongsams are so unforgiving!! Maybe we can photoshop the tummy away? :p

On a happier note, my gal pals and I caught hossan's Multiple Personality Disorder opening night after the fitting while Matt was in his element at the Singapore-Thailand game at Kallang. It still amazes me how football crazy he is, he's a big Reading fan (his hometown) and one of his footie mates back home is playing pro now so our TV's permanently tuned in to the Reading and Forest games. I've been working on more necklaces and I'm hoping to post them tomorrow. It's just tough listing them regularly cos I need the hubster to take pics of me modelling them and usually he leaves for work and comes back when it's still dark.

Anyway the in-laws are in town and it was simply adorable watching Matt pine for his parents through the glass window at Changi. We've been spending quite a bit of time with them before they fly off to NZ for a holiday before the wedding. They really live it up! Out of the country half the time, 3 months in France, 1 month in South Africa, another 6 months in Europe somewhere ... in their very own caravan too! Yup Matt's family got a caravan they take home trips in... isn't that fantastic?!! Hopefully we can retire the same way they do - travel!!

Sorry darlings for the many emails that are yet unanswered, I will work on them asap, thanks for your patience and have a fab weekend!! We're heading out now to our fave steak place!