Here I am on my first day being the driver of this food expedition. I’m seriously the chauffeur in my family! Everyone expects me to drive all the time

Louis and Emmie were guarding my belongings and obviously wished they could come along too. I would love to bring them along if not because of the crazy quarantine restrictions they have to go through.

It was such a rainy drive. For a sneak preview of the up coming posts, watch the video below.

Video can be also found at http://youtu.be/0WkF3JFlwI4

My 2011 flew by so quickly I can hardly keep up with my pace of life and neither can my blog so there’s still a lot of backdated posts. I’ll get them up on my blog sooner or later though Meanwhile here are some shots of my dog, Louis, after his bath to wish you a good year ahead!

And here’s Louis giving you a New Year’s gift! A January 2012 calendar!

I’m finally back home in Singapore. The long trip has made me extremely home sick! Now all I want to do is stay home to do nothing with my family and take my 2 dogs out for their walks, swim or cycle. Travelling to places is always fun but home is where my heart belongs and I think I’m gonna be settling in Singapore for quite awhile to find my balance before I consider venturing anywhere else.

Here’s a video of my cycle trip with my dogs, Louis and Emmie. Enjoy it below or at http://youtu.be/XOpVLxwREmQ

I’m a great believer of quality of time rather than quantity. But I suppose my dogs don’t really believe my philosophy cause they want both quality as well as quantity. I try to dedicate at least one day a week for an outdoor activity with them but it’s been pretty challenging cause it’s tick season.

Another issue I face when bringing Louis and Emmie out is that I feel that there is less and less places that is really dog friendly these days. The waters of the more obscure places are also not as clean. As for now, I’ll still bring them to Changi beach cause it’s one of the few places that have deserted stretches of beaches during weekdays and I can unleash them for some swimming and running.

My dogs would play fetch in the water. Louis is the hard working cocker that goes and retrieves the stick no matter how far you throw it. Emmie doesn’t want to swim too far out so she’ll wait till Louis is half way back before trying to steal the stick from him!

I think I may have said this before but watching them run around so care free and absolutely happy is very therapeutic. Dogs are such wonderfully affectionate creatures that are simply excited  to be able to run around the water and sand, dig some holes, chase me around and enjoy the simplicity of living.

Here’s something to share with you about dogs that was forwarded to me.

THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY DOG

1. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
2. Allow the experience of fresh air and wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
3. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
4. When it’s in your best interest, practice obedience.
5. Let others know when they have invaded your territory.
6. Take naps and stretch before rising.
7. Run, romp and play daily.
8. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
9. Be loyal.
10. Never pretend to be something you are not.
11. If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
12. When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close and nuzzle them gently.
13. Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
14. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
15. On hot days, drink lots of water and lay under a shade tree.
16. When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
17. No matter how often you are scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout, . . . . run right back and make friends.
18. Bond with your pack.
19. Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
20. Long after you are gone, remain a memory in your master’s dreams.

And here’s a video of the day out I had with Louis and Emmie at the beach!

Here’s the youtube link: http://youtu.be/sxh7jBilCw8

This vintage tea frock is from Eternity Loft and came with a matching sash though I usually like to use my own belts for dresses so I can mix and match. The material is light weight and great for casual day outs in the hot and humid Singapore weather. Eternity Loft will be releasing some new designs soon and I’m looking forward to those!

On a side note, I will be away and travelling for the whole of July so emails and comment replies will be slower than usual but I won’t neglect my blog and will continue to put up posts  everyday. I’m really going to miss Louis and Emmie. I always miss them the most when I have to be away from Singapore for long periods. Here’s a picture I took of him as he fell asleep on my bed!

Not too long ago, a really good friend gave me a new white PS3 Slim 320G as a generous surprise present to replace my old original “Fat” black PS3 60G console so that I can get hooked on my new favorite game, L.A. Noire. I’m quite shocked how technology has evolved and the new PS3 slim is a lot quieter and efficient compared to the old one.

As a farewell video to my old PS3 which I won’t see again, here’s a video of Louis enjoying a game of  Mortal Combat with his furry little opponent. Who will win the match?

Youtube link : http://youtu.be/s4B6XOgYciw

Last month, Louis and Emmie were invited by their furpal, Zoe, to attend Zoe’s 5th birthday celebration. I was actually having a fever that day but I couldn’t let them miss out on the fun just because I wasn’t feeling well so I dropped by for a short while so they could wish their friend a wonderful birthday.

Janice and Altas accompanied me to the party that day. Debbie (Zoe’s owner) had spent lots of effort in getting the party ready with a special VIP area, dog treats and dog pastries specially catered for the event. Zoe even had a nice doggy birthday cake which unfortunately I didn’t get to see cause I had to leave early.

Atlas helped choose the present for Zoe on behalf of Louis and Emmie. Doesn’t the dog on the treat looks exactly like Louis! Hopefully Zoe will be reminded of him when she gets fed her treats!

Louis and Emmie performed some tricks for Zoe and her guests at the party before we had to go. It was really difficult to get the dogs all in the same picture.

Here’s a parting shot of birthday girl, Zoe the terrier with all her birthday presents. Some of the photos here were taken from Debbie cause I didn’t snap many photos that day. Louis and Emmie had fun and loved all the food! They thank Zoe for inviting and Debbie for being such a nice hostess!

Louis is now 5 years old and Emmie is 4 years old. I didn’t have time to coordinate and plan a huge birthday party for them but I had to celebrate their special day. So I got up early to bake them their own doggy birthday cake before spending the day with them at the doggy style cafe.

It was my first time doing a dog cake and biscuits. No butter, no sugar allowed and I focused on making the ingredients as organic as possible. I made a carrot, banana, strawberry and cheese dog cake for them and made some beef dog biscuits as toppings. It wasn’t a beautiful cake but I was happy that Louis and Emmie was dying with anticipation to gobble the cake up and couldn’t seem to have enough of the cake once they tasted it!

After their cake, they spent the rest of the day playing with doggy friends at the cafe and running around outdoors. They must have throughly enjoyed themselves because when we came home they were exhausted from all the excitement they had the whole day. Louis and Emmie normally wait for me till I go to bed but that day I even caught Louis sleeping in a most satisfying manner on my bed before I was even ready to go to sleep!

If you wanna catch the happenings and their excited faces on their birthday, view their video!

Youtube link: http://youtu.be/r-9K1IYlVc4