a quick hello ....

Hello friends. Things have been crazy busy here (but in a good way)! The house has been completely overtaken by silk lanterns!!
Here's Patsy trying to find a space to play with her second favourite toy 'Monkey'!
We haven't had time to blog, not to mention we have been having big internet problems too :-( - but we hope to get around to visiting you all soon and catching up!!
Wishing you all a very happy week :-)
Karen & Patsy

New silk lantern colours!!!!! :-)

Well, I'm still wildly excited! I've been madly opening boxes for the last few days! I think I'm about 1/3 of the way through!!
Thought I'd share some pics of the new silk colours.
The weather here in Brisbane has been raining and very windy the last few days. We had about 30 minutes today of sunshine, so I raced outside and quickly took these pics!
I can't decide which is my fave - they are all so beautiful!! Maybe the bronzed gold? or the emerald ocean? or the silver? ......


bronzed gold, mulberry, turquoise


silver, emerald ocean, hot pink


mulberry, watermelon, burgundy


mauve, hot pink, lemon cream

champagne, black, grey


olive/blue, blue, dark blue

What do you think? which ones do you like????
Have a great day all. Sorry I haven't been to visit - will get there soon!!

Insane excitement!!!!!!

Finally, after soooooo long waiting, the container of silk lanterns from Vietnam has arrived!! My excitement levels are completely out of control!!! :-)
Due to delays with typhoons, customs documents, port strikes, etc. etc. I couldn't believe my eyes this morning when the truck finally arrived!!
Here it comes ...... mmmmmmmm such a big truck - is it all going to fit??????



20 foot container door is open - its just like Xmas day!!!!! If only Santa was here to bring it all inside for me!
Need the step ladder so I can climb up and in. My job cause I'm the weakest and smallest is to pass down the boxes. I tell you, its harder work than any gym visit!



Oh no ....... it doesn't all fit inside the double garage. Will have to squeeze it down the hallway, in the lounge, in the spare bedroom ....



Here is a very unflattering pic of myself after unloading the container. Unfortunately its over 30 degrees again today and humidity over 80% too!
Thankfully I had two other keen helpers. Thanks Wayne and Eric. Patsy just watched this time (not so helpful)!



Well, my arms are like jelly, and every muscle is aching... Going to have a little rest, a coffee, and a choclate reward - then start to open boxes!!!! The adrenaline rush of new stuff will overcome my fatigue (I hope).

Will post pics of all the new stuff soon.... Yipee :-)
Hope to have it all available in Lanternshop in the next few days!

Boing, boing, boing ......

Here I am bouncing and prancing about on my favourite beach near my home today!!!
We actually took the afternoon off! It was soooooooo nice.
Its our last little break for a while - I hear a container with 10,000 silk lanterns is arriving on Monday. As if we haven't already been busy enough with the madness of Chinese New Year!!!



I did so much running and jumping I had to rest for a while in my own little sea pool.



Hope you all have as much fun on your weekend as I had today.

Cheers, Patsy xoxo - big licks to all my blog friends!

Start preparing for Chinese New Year!!

Hello girls! Here's some tips for you all for the perfect preparations for Chinese New Year!!

On the days before the New Year celebration Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the first day so that luck cannot be swept away.
Homes are often decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets. Purchasing new clothing, shoes, and receiving a hair-cut also symbolize a fresh start.

The biggest event of any Chinese New Year's Eve is the dinner - consisting of fish.



On New Years Eve, it's customary to make dumplings. Chinese Dumplings look like silver ingots. Legend has it that the more dumplings you eat during New Year celebration, more money you can make in the New Year. (this I really agree with)!



Its also necessary to make a new year cake (Niangao) after dinner and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days of the new year. Niangao literally means increasingly prosperous year in year out.



Not many days left to make your preparations!!!! So get busy :-)

Images from here.


Patsy and I have been so busy sending out lanterns for everyone's parties. Here she is after the end of a hard day's work (sleeping on my handbag)!



Have a great week :-)

Sunday Vietnam Tour - Halong Bay

Hello my friends! Hope you are all having a lovely weekend! 3 hours from Hanoi (where we were last week) is this World Heritage Site.

Ha Long means 'descending dragon' - the myth is that a celestial dragon flung herself headlong into the sea, her swishing tail digging deep valleys and crevices in the mainland. As she descended into the sea, these filled with water creating the bay!

Of course, in Vietnam you can shop anywhere! There's always fresh fruit for sale, even on the bay - the vendor will come to you!! I love this service :-)



The fruit sellers and fisherman live in these cute mini villages on the bay!



Hire a boat, to take you wherever you please!! You can even sleep on these if you want to stay a while!



The scenery is beautiful. Even on a cold, dreary, rainy day - its such a lovely part of the world! Next time, I'll go in summer so I can swim from the boat!!



This is 'duck rock'. Don't you think it looks like a duck???



And here I am on 'my' boat. A little wind-blown and cold, but still having fun :-)



Hope you had a lovely time!! See you next week :-)

Lantern winners :-)

Hello all, and Happy Friday :-)
I'm a little late in announcing the winners of the giveaway - sorry! Patsy hurt herself (while playing) on Wednesday night and had to go to the emergency vet! Thankfully, all is fine with Patsy :-) me, on the otherhand almost needed sedatives as I was distressed to see her in pain :-(

So, on a happy note, a big congratulations to my dear friends Caitlin and Mami!! I'll be in touch to get your addresses!!

Here's some lovely lantern pics (from Flickr) to enjoy over the weekend!!










See you all again Sunday for some more Vietnam touring. Hope you can join me!!