I'm back!!!

Hello friends,
After 3 long months, I'm back from China!! I've missed so much in blogland as its not possible to access Blogger from China - so much catching up to do!!!

I had such an amazing time - a truly awesome experience.
The first few weeks were spent working (shopping for Lanternshop and organising the next shipment), then the rest of the time studying, immersing myself in the culture and food, and playing tourist!!

When I get over my tiredness in the next few days - I'll post more pics and details of my adventure!

Here I am in Zhejiang province with my friend Mary playing dressups!! So much fun :-)

China Visit

(image from blog.chinatraveldepot.com)

Hello Friends!
Its been ages since I've been here .... and it will be ages until I'm back again!!!

Soon, I'm heading back to China for a long trip, but this time (fingers crossed) I'll be having some fun and tourist time too!

I'll be doing work for the first couple of weeks, then spending a couple of months studying and immersing myself in Chinese culture. I'm planning to do some homestays and English teaching, and I'm expecting/hoping to improve my Chinese and enjoy myself at the same time!

Thankfully, Mr Lantern will be assisting with running Lanternshop while I'm gone so I won't have to worry too much about the day-to-day business stuff!

Will miss you all, but will be unable to visit you while I'm away as I cannot sign into my blogger account from China .....

See you all again in July!

Happy New Year

Hello Friends,
Happy New Year, Happy Chinese New Year .... and everything else in between that I've missed!!! Its been ages since I've blogged here, but time has been flying this year and I can't keep up!!
Patsy and Frankie are doing very well and working hard too! I'm still studying hard with my Mandarin and am planning my next buying trip in the next couple of months!
So, I probably won't be back on this blog for a little while, but plan to still keep blogging on my business blog Lanternshop.
Hope you are all healthy and happy :-)
Cheers, Karen

Happy Xmas!!!

Hello friends!!
Xmas has come early for me - I've just seen that we have been mentioned in Australian Home Beautiful Magazine (January 2011) edition! WOW!! What a nice surprise!




Patsy, Frankie and I would like to wish you all a very Happy Xmas and New Year!! We hope to be back to blog-land more frequently in 2011!!!! (this will be my resolution)!!

Cheers :-)

Quick update!

Hello friends! Its been ages since my last posts ..... where does the time go?? So here's a very quick update!
Things have been busy at the Lanternshop - my assistants have been working very hard too!!
We've had a container arrive which has been fully unpacked - lots of nice new paper lanterns and lighting!!
Behind the scenes we have been working on the new website! A bigger, better and more beautiful site which is going to run much more smoothly than the existing one. Hopefully this will be launched in the next week - and ALL of the new products will be available then too!!
The next container has been finalised - this should be here at Xmas! What an awesome present for myself!!! :-)
My Chinese is progressing nicely (but slowly) and I'm proud to announce I can now write my name in Chinese characters from memory!. My name is Ying Hua (cherryblossom). I'm planning another trip in the new year ..... so had better keep studying ferociously.



Just one picture today - its my new favourite colour in the paper lantern range - EMERALD! Love it.

Wishing you all a very happy week ... and I'm hoping to be back to regular blogging soon xo
Karen, Patsy & Frankie

Silk Lanterns - Special Offer

Hello friends,
Now is the perfect time to decorate your outdoor living spaces! Beautiful Vietnamese Silk lanterns in the traditional (cylinder) shape, with LED battery operated lighting string!!





They look stunning by day, and create a serene atmosphere at night! These would make a very unique Xmas gift!

While stocks last, only $99 plus $12.95 delivery anywhere in Australia!! Visit us at www.lanternshop.com.au

Beautiful Vietnamese Lanterns

How beautiful is this???? This his how I dream my garden will look soon ........



Every day, I'm lucky enough to get my little glimpse of daily life in one of my favourite places, Vietnam, courtesy of http://saigon-today.blogspot.com and http://hanoi-today.blogspot.com.


A big thankyou to Simon for taking such a spectacular lantern picture, and allowing me to share this photo with you all. I must also mention he was also kind enough to advise me on the best places to get great coffee on my last visit!

Visit Simon's blogs for more great real-life Vietnam pics!
Have a lovely weekend, and Happy National Day holidays for my Chinese friends!