Sunday Stickies is a column where we reflect on the past week and pen those thoughts down on sticky pads. Expect notes to ourselves and others, advice, reminders for the week ahead, quotes, and anything random actually. Patience is a virtue and patience is one of the fruits of the spirit. Patience is also something that we are severely lacking. With a thousand and one things to do before December, it is only normal that we are caught in a mad race against time right? And it is obvious that idle waiting is a waste of time. No one likes to wait but all week long, we have been tasked to wait instead of checking off our long list of things with super efficiency. Almost nothing went according to our plans and we were rejected at every turn. We even had to wait a good 20 minutes at a drive-thru for just one cup of Ribena chill because the machine broke down. We were seriously delirious by then and channelled all frustrations into crazy bouts of laughter in the car. Well, at the very least we were rewarded with a good tasting cup of icy drink and a free packet of freshly fried fries for being good patient customers. Oh, the irony the life. While we struggle to come to terms with waiting, we have learned that waiting is not all that bad when coupled with a good friend, some positive attitude and a whole lot of humour. So, in all things and in situations, always look on the bright side of life! Min: It has been an odd week. While Jia was rushing to finish up as much as she can before her trip, I was clearly in a daze. We drove around a lot and since I was in a daze most of the time, I ended up making many wrong turns and missing every other exit. I was terribly irritated with myself because I couldn't seem to concentrate at all. I'm thankful for the people around me, including Jia, for being so patient with me. Slowly but surely, my mood lifted and we ended up laughing to anything and everything. So it's true. Positivity and a little cheer can make life so much better. Jia: Hello from Jeju, South Korea! I have been here for 2 days, feeling pretty chilly and eating a ton. The cold brings out the gluttons in my family. On the first day alone, we ate 5 meals and bought way too much junk food for our apartment's tiny kitchen. I'm still in a work zone though, with work thoughts in my head ever so often. I guess that's the life of a business owner, yeah? But still, I have more days to go and I hope I'll have an absolute blast with my family ❤️ cheers to bonding time!
- Did you have a good week? :) With Love, Min+Jia.
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Sunday Stickies is a column where we reflect on the past week and pen those thoughts down on sticky pads. Expect notes to ourselves and others, advice, reminders for the week ahead, quotes, and anything random actually. We have a lot of work to finish in a short amount of time before Jia leaves for South Korea. And it doesn't help that the current state of our studio is starting to look like a war zone, with boxes of freshly printed art prints, Christmas cards and calendars everywhere. All week long, Jia has been frantically clearing customised design orders while Min tries to pack every single new item at light speed - on top of juggling our usual routines of maintaining our blog, social media and web-store accounts, packing and sending out orders and consignment products, attending meetings and finalising corporate projects AND sorting out Min's wedding preparations. Woah, it's quite amazing how we have managed to stay alive while keeping tons of happiness and peace in the midst of life's chaos. Min: I don't know why but I have many cravings of late. I want to chomp and nom on so many different things that sometimes I get full just thinking of it. Almost every bride-to-be I know is going through some form of strict wedding diet and exercise regime. I am a wee bit ashamed to admit that I have none in place - no wedding diet or exercises planned to keep me looking fabulous at the altar. I have been trying to convince myself that I can absolutely rock a double chin and how flab is the new fab. Boooooo, give me my french fries soon! Jia: This was the week of incredible food. Min and I found ourselves happily indulging in (mainly) awesome Japanese food throughout the week. We stuffed ourselves silly with fresh sashimi, sushi, and heartwarming hot pots, and we ate and we ate and we ate. You know what this means? We are stressed. We are stress-eaters and with the upcoming wedding approaching fast and swiftly, work piling up, Christmas season, and our individual vacations, we are unintentionally seeking out the yummy. I have just 5 days to my family trip and I have yet to pack, yet to check things off the wedding to-do list, and also yet to complete all the work I have on hand. It’s gonna be a crazy week ahead before I fly off on Friday night. Let’s pray for the best!
- How was your week been? With Love, Min+Jia. Sunday Stickies is a column where we reflect on the past week and pen those thoughts down on sticky pads. Expect notes to ourselves and others, advice, reminders for the week ahead, quotes, and anything random actually. Oh. The. Rain. Within the last three weeks, we have been utterly drenched more than a couple of times during events. The most recent incident happened just yesterday at the Christmas Street Fun market along Orchard Road. We were all set up and ready to go when the skies opened and heavy torrential rain poured down within a blink of an eye. Thankfully, we were prepared with a canvas ground sheet to protect all our paper goodies so nothing harmful befell on the art prints and stationery! However, we were totally soaked to the bone and ended up dripping water everywhere we walked. We had to buy new clothes! Although unfortunate, we still had a blast with our friends and had a great time overall :) Hello to all our new customers and friends that we made! Thank you guys for supporting us on a wet day and for the warm response to our Christmas collection! Double-sided gift tag sets, gift boxes, and the spanking new 2017 Calendar: 12 Months of Bad Puns Bring Good Cheer will be uploaded onto our webstore by the end of this week, so do keep a lookout for them. Oh yes, one more thing! We have an event on Saturday, so if you are hoping to check out our new arrivals in person... here are the details: Fiesta del ¡Loco!: No Way, José! Red Baron, Gillman Barracks 19 November, Saturday 2pm to 8pm Min: It seems like my series of unfortunate events will never end till I learn how to be joyful and less grumpy during the storm. But that's okay, I really should learn how to see the good in everything and be positive instead. When my dad's car broke down on Monday, I found much joy and peace after I started singing and laughing with my dad instead of sulking and whining. Though I wasn't too excited about the results of the US elections on Wednesday, I chose to see the positive in the situation. To make myself feel better, I ate a bowl of instant noodles. Food always work. On Saturday, a heavy downpour came right after Jia and I had set up our stall. Needless to say, we were absolutely drenched while trying to save every bit of paper on our table. We were soaking wet but we found joy in splashing around in puddles and having fun in the rain. I'm definitely a work in progress! Jia: Sometimes when life gets tough or I get super irritated and annoyed for various reasons, I like to unwind creatively. I was feeling particularly annoyed this week due to weird arguments, election results, and sudden changes in plans so I decided to pick up some paints to work on some backgrounds and soon-to-be vector elements. Min and I also had a super enjoyable time splashing paints around and doodling on a rare sunny afternoon as we prepared for more Christmas ideas.
It always feels good to let my mind wander while my hands get busy with doodles or illustrations. Ah, those moments felt so relaxing and happy! I haven't been able to draw much recently as I have been way too busy with work. This week was a good reminder that I should carve out more time for myself to explore creatively and work on expanding my style of illustrations! - Did you come to any realisations this week? We would love to hear from you! With Love, Min+Jia. Sunday Stickies is a column where we reflect on the past week and pen those thoughts down on sticky pads. Expect notes to ourselves and others, advice, reminders for the week ahead, quotes, and anything random actually. Hello, November! We are pretty psyched to be entering into the eleventh month of the year as it means that Christmas is just around the corner! This week was all about the start of Christmas preparations. We launched our Christmas collection - new products will still be added throughout the first two weeks of November - and started our little elves workshop in a panic. We are terrible procrastinators when it comes to packing our products. It is such a long and tedious process that we drag our feet and sigh dramatically whenever it is time for packaging duties. We have boxes and boxes of new products stacked in a corner of our studio that we just turn a oblivious blind eye to until it is seriously time to start packing. When is it seriously time to start packing? The day before we launch our products. Yep. That means hours and hours of frantic packing all whilst cursing under our breaths that we should have totally started much earlier. Sigh at us. Sigh! This week also saw the start of our Christmas events - both private and public events! We were invited to join TripAdvisor's Christmas Bazaar during their lunch time on Friday and being huge users of the travel portal, we agreed without hesitation. The TripAdvisor people were so lovely and hospitable! We had a great time there. Thank you, TripAdvisor! Next week is going to be really exciting as we join the festivities on Orchard Road on Saturday. The road is going to be closed for the Christmas Light-Up and we will be hawking our wares right on the famous road! Please pray for clear and sunny weather as there isn't any wet weather plan for now. Do come down and say hi to us, if you are in the area! Here are the deets: Christmas Street Fun In the middle of Orchard Road (Tangs area) 12 November 2016 4pm to 10pm Min: Ugh, I had the most dramatic and horrific week ever. On Wednesday, the train broke down and I couldn’t get to work the usual way. My journey to work looked something like this. As there was no train available, I had to take a bus. I got to the bus stop and found out that I had missed the bus and had to wait 24 minutes for the next one. The bus arrived with a full load of passengers, so I had to squeeze my way up. There was a guy at the door who refused to move. Even after I tapped his shoulder and said ‘excuse me’ politely, he did not budge. He alighted at the next stop and proceeded to call me a ’stupid b*tch’ while everyone stared. The bus driver drove off quickly but since the bus was packed, I had nothing to hold onto. The next thing I knew, the bus took a quick turn and I lost balance. I fell on 3 men who were standing behind me and again, everyone stared while I apologised profusely. Some time later, I accidentally grabbed another man’s arm instead of the bus handle. He wasn’t very pleased. Needless to say, I am now ready to change my face and name. Oh, and the series of unfortunate events just kept on coming. All. Week. Long. It. Never. Ends. Jia: I have had dry and sensitive skin all my life and taking into account that I have been on this earth for more than two decades, it is pretty alarming that I still do not have a handle on the situation. I was battling with severe dryness all week and in embarrassing honesty, it was stressing me out!
My eyes were so dehydrated that they started getting massively swollen, red, raw, and itchy, and my face was peeling away like the process of shaving ice into patbingsu. I have been massaging my face with jojoba oil and putting thick layers of aloe vera as a mask to calm my skin. Let's hope my skin balances out before I fly off to South Korea in a couple of weeks. Does anyone have a good eye cream to recommend for sensitive eyes? - Round-up of October's Sunday Stickies: 2 October // 9 October // 16 October // 23 October // 30 October - Are you happy that November is here? Any plans? Tell us! With Love, Min+Jia. Sunday Stickies is a column where we reflect on the past week and pen those thoughts down on sticky pads. Expect notes to ourselves and others, advice, reminders for the week ahead, quotes, and anything random actually. This has been one hectic week but we overcame it anyway. Hooray! Besides the occasional hungry/lonely meows from the 3 resident cats, our studio was relatively quiet as we worked doubly hard to meet deadlines and check off our long list of things to do. All week long, Jia had her creative goggles on while she buried herself deep in the design zone; clearing one commissioned work after another at the speed of lightning. At the other end of the office, Min was furiously punching numbers on the calculator and numerous Excel sheets while frowning disapprovingly at the pile of accounts backlog that was stashed at the back of her 'in' pile. And we were in absolute disbelief that there were no good deals at all this week! Everyone loves a good deal and it's so disappointing to receive none! A little perk-me-up deal would have made our week a little better. Thankfully, the week ended well as we spent three good nights at the Chijmes event with our vendor friends. We love our vendor friends and we are so blessed to have met the nicest, kindest and warmest people. <3 <3 <3 Min: Have you ever experienced a strange moment in life where you know you have so much to do but you clearly have no idea what you need to do? With the wedding date drawing so near, I realised that I have been spacing out a bit too much even though I have tons to check off my list. I find it strange that I don't have any significant task for anyone when they ask me to delegate a role to them. Oh dear me, have I subconsciously turned into a passive-aggressive-controlling-Bridezilla? Perhaps I space out too much because I have no answers to a lot of questions that have been directed at me of late: What's your wedding diet? You shouldn't be eating this donut/chicken wing/french fries/monster curry XXL rice/hamburger right? Aren't you gonna work out? Why are you not inviting XX and YY to your wedding? Can I bring my entire family, their extended family members and their pets to your small and cosy wedding? Where are you gonna put your 'tree like thingy'? Should we swop red velvet cakes for mango pudding? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! #meltdown Jia: I have been so swamped with work recently that my work-life balance is appalling. I am awake for way too many hours in the day and when I finally get to bed, the sleep isn't restful. I have just 4 weeks to complete all that I need to do (including planning and coordinating Min's wedding) before I jet off to South Korea with my family. I have too little time! I am not one who exhibits obvious stress signals but I think I'm in it. I'm in my high stressed zone. Sigh! Let's hope I get through the next week victoriously!
- Has this week been kind to you? With Love, Min+Jia. |
Min+JiaThe humans behind honey&gazelle Design Studio. When we are not frantically working, we share our mishmash of thoughts on design, life, and love here. Grab a cuppa and stay for a bit! Categories
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