My Christmas Gift to myself & Store Update

I have found the perfect christmas present for myself. =) It's unique and handmade. Crafted by talented Kathryn Riechert, this beauty is made from sterling silver and set with a 5mm peridot (peridot is my birth stone). Most probably I will receive this lovely necklace in about 2 to 3 weeks time. Till then, I have the photos to drool over.

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Store update - new items are now available! Check out my etsy shop and my blogshop.

Christmas Countdown - 36 days

A meaningful video. Spend less on gifts, give more of your time and spread your love.

Wordless Sunday - my new creation "waiting"

Things I love about Korea (Part 1)

As some of you know, I went Korea middle of last month for about 10 days. Here's a list of things I **LOVE** about the country.

1) Public toilets

Yes, this is top on my list!

Korea's public toilets are impressively clean and well maintained. In Singapore, it is easy to find dirty toilets in parks, tourists' spots and even in some shopping centers. But in Korea, to find a dirty one is so rare. During our 10 days tour in the beautiful country, we went to tens of public toilets and so far, I only encountered one single toilet which I consider as dirty. This is truly amazing.

Someone once said the degree of cleanliness of the public toilets reflect the depth of a country's people. How true do you think of this?

2) Jeju Island



Jeju island is beautiful, especially the Sunrise Peak. If I ever visit that lovely island again, I would want to walk all the way up to the top of the peak. Love how the waves hit on the rocks and the sweet little flowers that grow on the hills.

I also love the Teddy Bear Museum because it showcases all the cute bears from the Korean drama serial "Gong" or "Princess Hour". I was so happy when I saw them and insisted hubby to take pictures of me with all these bears. Unfortunately, I didn't like the ones they sell in the souvenir shop. So that's a happy wallet at the end of the day.

3) BBQ


Ever tried Korean BBQ? Hubby suggested to try authentic Korean BBQ for dinner one night after our shopping. And it was soooo good! We sat on the floor before a large table and shortly after we ordered our food, we were served with lots of side dishes (lots of kimchis made of different vegetables). Then came the juicy yummy beef chunks and beef slices, mushrooms and more vegetables. WOW! The meal was not cheap but we were so happy and full.

Before I end Part 1 of my list, here are more pictures I took. =)

New items on Etsy and Blog Shop

Now listed on my Etsy and Blog Shop. Do drop by! ^_^

Words of Wisdom

Things that we all need a little reminder once in a while. For me, the following are words of wisdom:-

"The best way to handle conversation in the workplace is to keep it limited to what is necessary to do the job, cordial greetings and farewells, and become adept at friendly smiles and actually saying nothing at the water cooler or at the break room without calling attention to the fact.

Emails or written communication of any kind should NEVER contain text that is not necessary to the task.

What you might do, on your next job, is cultivate the "Princess Diana" strategy.

It was one of the secrets of her charm and widely noted ability to interact and enchant people from all walks of life.

In reality, it is a very common teaching, that used to be part of the basic social skill training of young girls of every culture and society.

The basic principle is very simple - listening - and recognizing the truth that everyone you will ever meet has one thing in common - their favorite topic of conversation is themselves!

While historically this is applied, as Princess Diana did, to social situations, it is also a very useful skill to have in a workplace.

When done right, you should be able to have an extended conversation with absolutely anybody, and at the end of it, you will know all about them, and they will consider that you are the most brilliant conversationalist they have ever met, and utterly charming to boot, but all they will actually have learned about you is that you also like Madame Plantier roses. Or gray poodle dogs.

Flowers and pets, as well as the weather, are the best topics for you to express any opinion on in the workplace, and even then sparingly, positive only, and always accompanied by yet another open-ended question focused on the other person's opinion, likes, etc.

Other people, will, of course, say all kinds of things to you, office gossip, their opinion on politics, religion, everything under the sun, and you just keep being a good listener, and encourage them to keep on talking about themselves with those open-ended questions about their thoughts and experiences.

Occasionally, someone will ask you a direct question that is not about flowers or dogs, and if you have developed your craft, you will be able to successfully deflect even that into a carefully-phrased open-ended and irresistible invitation to them to forget all about what they asked YOU, and launch off into another reel all about THEM!"

- thanks to ShimmaPuff from tPF for the wonderful reminder.