Indian HandicraftsArt & Craft of India

Jump to the full entry & travel map Poring Springs, Malaysia After writing last, we decided to stay in Taman Negara national park to explore the jungle a little bit more to Gua Telinga – some caves with a lot of bats in. When we woke up in the morning we went to cross the river into the jungle to find that all the restaurants and boat stations had floated away downstream from the storm the night before. The storm meant it had also rained a lot the night before, which in the jungle unfortunately means leeches, oh no! As Nikki and I walked to the caves, we had to stop every few minutes to beat the leeches off our shoes with a stick (if you try to pick them up they just suck on to your fingers)

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Welcome To The Jungle — Poring Springs, Malaysia

Saladino’s study at his Villa in Santa Barbara… Antique Zuber wallpaper screen… High backed Italian baroque armchair with it’s original patinated leather A handwritten letter from Queen Victoria to Lady Derby Wife of the Prime Minister Lord Derby c. 1818 Tortoise shell inkwell inlaid with silver, gold, abalone, mother of pearl… c.1907 Burl wood inlaid French desk in my living room with my favorite Houdon bust… Silver leaf tall lamps with taupe shades, tufted ottoman tucked underneath… Mirror reflecting the tall shelves on either side of a window seat… Once dark paneled…the living room is still in transition…

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Desk set…

Jump to the full entry & travel map Paris, Ile-de-France, France We exited the Metro at the Jussieu stop and passed up the public WC as we didn’t have to go “that bad.” By the time we got to the Jardin des Plantes, though, we both had to go “pretty bad.” We followed the “toilet” signs and arrived at a single self-cleaning toilet. “Oh, there have to be more” we assured ourselves. Since we only had to go “pretty bad” at that point, and were at the same time thirsty, we walked back to the snack stand at the entrance to the gardens for a beer (having scoped that out upon arrival)

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Jardin des Plantes and the Single Toilet — Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Jump to the full entry & travel map Fiji, Fiji unser letzter Stopp – die Fiji Inseln!!! Yeeeh – nach dem doch eher kuehleren Wetter auf der Nordinsel Neuseelands – ein passender und schoen warmer Schlusspunkt…. ..als wir in Nadi angekommen sind, haben wir uns erstmal auf den Weg zu den Hot Springs und den Mud Pools in den Sabeto Mountains aufgemacht, wo wir mit Wegbegleiter Daniel fuer gerade einmal 10 Fiji-Dollar gebadet haben..trotzt leichtem Nieselregen hat uns das so richtig Spass gemacht, obwohl es im ersten Moment schoen ziemlich unangenehm war in diese braune Sosse einzutauchen:) weiter ging es dann am naechsten Tag zu den sogenannten Yaswawa – Inseln und den Mamanucas…wir haben uns dafuer einen 14- Tages Pass gekauft, mit dem wir dann mit einem Katamaran nach Belieben von einer Insel zur naechsten huepfen konnten…- was so richtig Freude gemacht hat…

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Fiji Inseln — Fiji, Fiji

Jump to the full entry & travel map Nanjing, Jiangsu, China In order to examine the ways in which postrealism manages to reconcile the postmodern filter of language, links of london sale on the one hand, and the insistence on a grounding in historical reality, on the other hand, I shall concentrate on Marina Warner’s Indigo (1992), which re-writes traditional history as well as Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1612), Jeanette Winterson’s Boating for Beginners (1985), which re-writes the Bible, and Jean Rhys Links of London Earrings ‘ Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), which re-writes Charlotte Bront毛’s Jane Eyre (1847). All three novels represent postrealism’s double rooting, both in real time and space and in a previous text, as well as its double realistic reference to an “empirical past” and to an “empirical present.” They all present true-tolife characters situated in history and evolving in a more or less plausible plot, Small Sweetie Golden Bracelet yet the traditional notions of subject and of time and space are undermined by common narrative techniques.

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In Order to Get Access to Links of London — Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Jump to the full entry & travel map McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India It’s been hectic to say the least since I got to Mcleod Ganj. Today is a local holiday of sorts as it’s the anniversary of the Tibetan Children’s Village so I get an unexpected bonus day off teaching- a long weekend, excellent!! leaving Delhi (again!!) was quite an event in itself. I was booked on an overnight bus to Dharamsala, the travel agent took me to a clearing in the woods near the Tibetan colony where I’d been staying

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Himalayas — McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India

Jump to the full entry & travel map Nha Trang, Vietnam My memory is getting worse- I can’t remember what I do! The overnight train was so much fun!! It was really nice- We shared with Nicola and Kirsty, in a tiny cabin room with bunkbeds- and a tv!! But you could only watch the channel the driver had on- which was pretty awful- but provided us with much entertainment. Had quite a decent sleep, but woke because the air conditioning was soooo cold.

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Mud baths, sleeper trains, cockroaches — Nha Trang, Vietnam

Jump to the full entry & travel map Fuzhou, Fujian, China May 15, in the United States Queens, New York City No. 5 Middle School Emihuster region, affected by the weather, a few women wear UGG Boots come out from school. Symptoms of influenza as a result of a large number of students in New York City on the 15th from the beginning of the temporary closure of the city in Queens, including the No.

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Help you to know the latest news about H1N1 — Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Jump to the full entry & travel map Beijing, Beijing, China A former security supervisor at Tiffany jewelry , who was acquitted in a daring $1.9 million robbery of the store, was sentenced yesterday to 5 to 15 years in prison for an earlier robbery of a Tiffany’s executive. Justice Edwin Torres of State Supreme Court in Manhattan implied that he believed that the supervisor, Scott Jackson, was behind both crimes, even though he was acquitted in the robbery at the jewelry store last Sept

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The Highjack in Tiffany’s — Beijing, Beijing, China

Jump to the full entry & travel map Beijing, Beijing, China But it is more than an exquisite diamond setting that packs the soonto-be-betrothed two- and three-deep at the ring counter of the company’s Fifth Avenue flagship store. Since 1837, when Charles Lewis Tiffany opened a “stationery and fancy goods” shop on lower Broadway, Tiffany jewellery has embodied the essence of American style. Director of design john Loring says that Tiffany represents “simplicity, tailoring and design from the basics”-American values, all.During the I8oos, Tiffany’s elaborate designs defined America’s Gilded Age, outfitting the country’s best houses with ornate silver services, intricate jewelry and enough “fancy goods” to last a few lifetimes

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online store — Beijing, Beijing, China

Jump to the full entry & travel map Pakbeng , Lao Peoples Dem Rep Slow Boat Early the next day the bus took us to Chiang Khong after a long ride I was glad for a stop over at the Guest house, some people headed straight for the Laos border which was just over the River, but most of us chilled out in the one horse town that is Chiang Khong, so it was early to bed and while I got a good nights sleep some of the people on the other side of the hut complex were kept awake for most of the night but a demented Rooster that couldn’t tell when it was Dawn so crowed every hour on the hour they said it wasn’t so must the crowing it self but more the expectation of the next crow much like being stuck in a bunk house with someone who is snoring. The next day was a adventure we carried our backpacks across the way to the River where we had to board a small boat that took us across the river to the Laos immigration offices, were we filled out our details and paid in Dollars(Make sure you have Dollars for this as it costs a lot more in Kip or Baht) for a very fancy Passport stamp, we then, cattle like made our way to Bus/TukTuk contraption which in turn took us to the port were we waited to board our “Slow boat” as we waited a Thai guy turned up and basicly told us to watch ourselfs as every one in Laos would try and rob/shoot us while drink driving and behaving like louts sadly the Laos people I met were all very nice and not one tried to do the amazing feat of Robbing/Shooting while Drink Driving that the Thai guide outlined for us, maybe he believed it to be true and to prepare us for our trip into Bandit Land he robbed some of us with his really bad Money exchange rate, gladly I stuck to my rule of never trusting anyone who eyes are to close together and only changed a small amount of Baht into Kip. Next we got to see the Boat which did not inspire thoughts of comfort to say the least it was packed with bemused looking Backpackers, and when I took my seat I found that the two seats I took up a cheek on each was not really big enough and my knees poked the two guys in front of me, while I was trying to come to terms with this position the “Boat Usher” urged me to make room for someone else, when I informed him I would be glad to but I was afraid that we had the laws of Physics to contend with, as last I hear no two objects can occupy the same area at the same time or our Universe would unravel as we know it, I had got this information from a very reliable scientific source the Film “Back to the Future” which he had obviously never seen as he backed away looking slightly bewildered, just then my luck turned a English man who I had talked to briefly at the port asked if he could join me as there were no other seats, I thought of trying to explain my back to the future hipofisis but remembering the look on the face of the Laos Guy I thought it better to just shunt over a make the best of it I was looking on the best side of it he wasn’t the biggest guy on the boat there was at least one other guy who was slightly Fatter so with the boat slightly tilted on our side we left the Harbour and headed for Pakbeng were we where scheduled to spend the night

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Slow Boat — Pakbeng , Lao Peoples Dem Rep

What is new in the world of fragrance? Upcoming fragrance launches include a Balenciaga partnered with Coty fragrance to be released in early 2010.  Balenciaga CEO Isabelle Guichot had this to say about the venture, “ Fragrance is something that was absolutely missing in the Balenciaga universe,” Guichot told WWD, “We want to extend the Balenciaga brand to a broader audience .” No word yet on what the fragrance will be called or what notes it will consist of. Pamela Anderson has a few new fragrances in the works. First up with be Malibu Blue which is going to for day wear and Malibu Night , which I’m assuming is for night wear (not to be confused with pajamas….

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Fragrance News: Balenciaga, Dior & Pamela

It’s easy to make homemade spa-quality bath products with ingredients that you have around the house.  Pick up some essential oils (a small bottle goes a very long way) and  add them to inexpensive ingredients like Sea Salt, Espom Salt (I get mine at the Dollar Store), put them in a pretty glass jar and you’ve got a beauty treatment for a fraction of what it would cost at the store, plus you can tailor the scent to your particular taste. Bath Salts 2 cups Sea Salt 2 cups Epsom Salt 15-17 drops essential oil of your choice (I use lavender or eucalyptus) food coloring, optional color of your choice In a bowl, stir together your salts, essential oil, and food coloring. Mix well, then store in a sealed container

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DIY Bath Salts and Sugar Scrub

I’m always very curious to try new skin care gadgets, so I was excited to receive a sample of the new Neutrogena Wave Duo .  The first version of the Neutrogena Wave came out last year, but the Duo is new and improved with two cleansing speeds that let you choose gentle or deep-pore cleansing.  I’ve seen this device sitting on the shelves at drugstores and have been wondering just how it works and what it does for the skin…and now I’m here to share my results! The Neutrogena Wave Duo is a battery-powered massaging and cleansing device that looks kind of like a small computer mouse.  The Wave Duo Kit includes the Wave Duo, a AA battery (so appreciated!  I probably wouldn’t have used it if I had to go buy a pack of AAs), and 14 pads.  The device was super easy to use , which is great for someone like me who doesn’t like to read directions.  You pop in the AA battery and there are two buttons with icons for On/Off and Speed.  The pads are circular softly textured pads with moisture-activated facial cleanser already in them.  You place a pad onto the velcro end of the Duo, add a little water, turn the power On, and start massaging your face with the cleanser.  The cleanser lathers slightly to clean your face while also massaging away dead skin cells , makeup, oil, and dirt. I am not one to gush about using a new skin product just once, but I can really say that after only one use my skin felt so soft !  I am a big fan of daily exfoliation as one of the best ways to keep skin smooth and healthy, so the Neutrogena Wave Duo is my new favorite daily exfoliating tool.  The vibrating massaging sensation felt really great on my skin.  I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t use my regular daily cleanser with the Neutrogena Wave Duo, but then I discovered that three have types of pads available:  Shine-Free Blemish-Free, Gentle Exfoliating, and Foaming.  The Wave Duo Kit includes the foaming pads, but I will definitely be trying the Shine-Free Blemish-Free next.  You also definitely need to use a moisturizer after using this product to protect and replenish your skin after being deeply cleansed. If you are interested in trying the new Neutrogena Wave Duo, visit the Neutrogena website to get a $3 off coupon and $2 off on pad refills !  You can also find out more information about the Wave Duo and where to buy it online .

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Neutrogena Wave Duo Review

Eugenia Kim’s special Urban Outfitters line called Eek! debuted with a small collection of hats and hair accessories at the end of July.  I posted Eugenia Kim Eek! for Urban Outfitters about some of the first pieces in this special collaboration.  I was just shopping online at Urban Outfitters and saw that there are new Eek! pieces available and the previously released styles are now on sale at very low prices: hats are $19.99 and hair accessories are only $9.99! Image: Urban Outfitters EEK! by Eugenia Kim Squirrel Tam $38 This is just the cutest and coziest tam ever!  Oversized fluffy tams are one of my favorite hats styles for Fall, and I love the large scale whimsical pattern. Image: Urban Outfitters EEK! by Eugenia Kim Bow Beanie $38 This super soft large knit beanie comes in red, navy, or charcoal.  It has a puffy knit bow that can be worn on the side of the head. Image: Urban Outfitters EEK! by Eugenia Kim Metallic Starburst Cloche $38 The cloche is still stylish this year, and there are lots of fun variations on the simple black cloche.  This one has a unique metallic starburst detail attached to a leather band

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More Eek! By Eugenia Kim Styles

From French Interiors, the Art of Elegance Christiane de Nicolay-Mazery Absolutely beautiful book, chapters open separated by vellum title pages like a special invitation to enter the world of both the private collector and design celebrity: Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Jacques Grange, Madeleine Castaing… Crystal glasses and carafes decorated with enameled roses, flourishes and fleurs-de-lis… made for the marriage of the private collector’s great-grandmother, Adélaïde, in 1880 The cutlery is silver gilt, with knife handles in exquisitely detailed 18th century Saxony porcelain… This is part of a Sèvres dinner service in shades of pink made for Louis-Philippe in 1836. The decoration of foliage arabesques and animals is punctuated by the royal cipher …left corner… In the world of private collectors Alix and Philippe…entered through the narrow, old lamp lit street near La Butte-aux-Cailles in Paris …a vast collection of 19th century bronzes, drawings, watercolors, etc, have been amassed over 30 years of  marriage. Alix started collecting when she was 20

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Dining in Paris, a collectors story…

In 1910 Japan officially absorbed Korea into the Japanese Empire. And up until 1945 Japan’s takeover of the country was recognized as legitimate by most countries. Perhaps the Koreans would have been more gracious to their new rulers if the latter hadn’t treated them so badly: forbidding the teaching of the Korean language, viewing the Koreans as second-class citizens in their own country, and generally wreaking havoc.

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Japanese Medal: The ‘Annexation’ of Korea 1910

Jump to the full entry & travel map Ulan Bator, Mongolia The Route: Arrived Ulan Bator, 7:30am, Thursday, Sept 17th Depart Ulan Bator, 8:05am, Sunday, Sept 20th Arrive Beijing, 2:04pm, Monday, Sept 21st FIRST MORNING IN MONGOLIA I had a shocker of hangover as I got off the train after only 3 hours of sleep and way too much vodka the night before. The hostel I’d booked picked me up at the train station and drove me to the hostel

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Trans Siberian #8 – Ulan Bator to Beijing — Ulan Bator, Mongolia

I fell in love today…with a gorgeous shirt! This romantic silk blouse is another hot plus-size sale that is currently marked down 40%. Simply toss this one on over your head and go: you can wear it with black trousers, jeans, or a slim-fitting skirt, for example, and don’t even get me started on how cute it will look with knee-high boots. Image: Nordstrom This top features poet sleeves and a line of tiny buttons along the front placket and neckline, and it’s very bold and romantic

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Ultra-Romantic Silk Blouse

Jump to the full entry & travel map Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador We rose at 7am, breakfast and down to the harbour to catch our boat to Sante Fe, whichis where last week we had seen a whale as we were passing on the inter-island launch. Within a few minutes we were on our way, the boat gradually increasing speed to over 20knots as we left the harbor. Our guide gave us a short summary of our trip, Sante Fe snorkeling, then back to Santa Cruz to Garapatoa, where there were flamingos, one we said, just one, we had visited it last week.

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Day 106 – Santa Fe -Swimming with Sharks again — Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

I love repurposing items.  I love shopping for antiques, going to flea markets, finding old treasures and making them into something new.  Throughout my home space, you will find that “everything has to have a story,” like Pheobe in “Friends,” once claimed about her furniture.  I can spend hours, days, an obsessively ridiculous amount of time in stores searching for lost items to repurpose, too.  I think it’s the deep down need to be a designer, very, very deep.  I could never really BE a designer, but it was once a lovely dream that I had while I was in college.  I thought that just because I was good at painting and doing crafts, the next step was … DESIGNER.  Anyway, even though I’m not, and that’s OK … I still live vicariously by repurposing items … OFTEN.  Since creating this blog, I have found MANY craft blogs, which got me thinking, I really want to look for repurposed items on the internet.  So, here are some that I found that I thought were … unique.  See if you can figure out what they are. This last one, of course, is a zipper, but how ADORABLE is it?  I found it, ironically enough, on a blog site all about repurposed items.  http://repurposed.wordpress.com/   Very FUN. 

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Something Old = Something New

Marc Jacobs has come with two new ways to experience his fragrance LOLA this holiday season.  LOLA is the follow-up fragrance to the very popular Daisy. LOLA is a sexy, warm fragrance with a fruity opening. Top notes: Pink Peppercorn, Pear d’Anjou, Ruby Red Grapefruit Middle note: Dischia Peony, Rose, Geranium Bottom note: Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Musk Beginning this November, LOLA will be available in both a Solid Perfume ring and a small 30 ml (1 ounce) size bottle.

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2 New Ways To Enjoy Marc Jacobs LOLA

Timeless Treasures – The Charm and Romance of Treasured Memories Thinking about my favorite cozy books this week caused to look around on my shelves and dust off a few of my old friends.  Some of my favorite non-fiction books about home and hearth are by Emilie Barnes. Published in 1996, this slim volume has 7 chapters with topics such as the importance of family heritage, caring for heirlooms, display and collecting.  Emilie writes that she inherited very few material goods from her family, but she is rich in stories and says that these are some of the most important family heirlooms.  The beauty of antique and vintage items are appreciated even if they came from someone else’s family.  She has several suggestions on where to look for them, her rules for acquistion (#1 is to only buy what  she loves) and what to do with the new treasures, such as display and storage

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Timeless Treasures, a Review

Okay, this morning I’m at my friend’s house and spotted this small framed artwork on the bathroom wall…It’s OLD…it’s very old.  I had to take a closer look!  When I read its words, I felt like it should be mine, hanging in my house, maybe even on a living room wall, and “covetousness” wrapped its sticky self all around me!  It was at that moment I knew this little antique wanted to be in my blog.  I reached for my handy iPhone, took its picture, and told my friend how much I liked it.  I admitted to her I “coveted” it ( That’s okay, because she knows me and likes me anyway. ha…).  Sure enough, it belonged to her parents, parents, parents or something like that.  I knew it was OLD.  We’ve all heard this poem, but I knew only the first and last lines of it.  It’s like a sandwich, the meat is in the middle so don’t forget to chew on it a little.  That’s what you do with poems…chew… How’d it taste?  Thank you Joyce Kilmer for these exquisite words.  Oh to BE a tree…

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Like a Sandwich

If you’re looking for a new handbag for fall, something in rich colors, made with real leather and featuring some great details – then you’re definitely going to want to check out ideeli’s latest sale! For the next day and a half (or until it sells out) ideeli is selling a limited selection of Bill Blass handbags , with some of the bags deeply discounted by more that 50% percent. ideeli is an invitation-only site, so if you’re not a member, just use the code “gleam” and you’re in So what kind of luscious bags do they have on sale?  Well, take a peek… The “ Landon ” bucket bag is a funky mix of soft glazed calfskin leather and printed hair-on calf hide (the animal print).  It’s finished with a tassel, braided handles and signature Bill Blass hardware: The “ Henry ” tote comes in four colors of lambskin, including this rich teal: It’s finished with a unique ruffle detail, brushed gold hardware and piping accents

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Bill Blass Handbags On Sale at Ideeli

Male and female celebrities are always being spotted either wearing designer clothing by DSquared2 or partying with brothers Dean and Dan Caten.  The twin brothers from Canada have had amazing success in the last ten years designing casual looks for men and women that incorporate elements of comfortable outdoors wear and rocker glam styles.  They have continued to expand the DSquared2 line and this year have debuted their first eyewear collection. The eight-piece women’s collection was inspired by ’70s funk culture and includes dramatic shapes and gold details.  With all of the new sunglasses designers that have emerged over the past few years you would expect that these would fit in with all the rest, but the twins used their creativity to design unique and recognizable pieces.  They took elements from the traditional styles like aviators and flattops and tweeked them to create all new designs. Image: Bloomingdales DSquared2 Plastic Rectangular Sunglasses with Metal Brow Bar $355 Image: Bloomingdales DSquared2 Metal Round Sunglasses $355 Image: Bloomingdales DSquared2 Plastic Square Sunglasses with Metal Temple $435 Image: Bloomingdales DSquared2 Plastic Aviator Sunglasses $395 Post from: Splendicity .

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DSquared2 Debuts Line of Sunglasses

This month Yale discusses the rising trend in using antiques as an “investment for the future”, and not as an item of beauty or intrigue. “I have always tried to not encourage any client from making the decision to purchase an antique solely as an investment” Before I started working at Newel full time, I had a position as a staff accountant at Coopers and Lybrand, a then “big 8” accounting firm. I was pleased to read that a present day survivor of the now “big 4”, Deloitte, has concluded that for the antique furniture market, it is a good time to acquire a “proven asset at a low price” The venerable English weekly, the Antiques Trade Gazette had an article highlighting the economic data as well as functional quality and craftsmanship for making an investment specifically in the antique furniture market

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Antques: Investment for the future

Jump to the full entry & travel map Kuala Lumpa, Malaysia We landed in Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of the morning and caught a bus to the city centre where we spent the day wandering around and overcoming Kuala Lumpa’s complicated metro sytem. (Kate wrote that, I found the train system a very easy and helpful on to use) We dumped our bags off at the bus station and went to Times square for some shopping and a trip to the cinema, then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the city streets. After dinner we jumped on our bus heading to the Perhentian islands so we can be somewhere gorgeous, hot and sandy for Dan’s birthday.

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KLKLKL — Kuala Lumpa, Malaysia

In celebration of the 50th birthday of the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building today (21st October 2009), admission will be free from 10:00 to 17:45. If you get a chance to make use of this opportunity, watch out for special birthday events too, including free cookies at 15h00 to give you some energy for viewing more great paintings. Tip: If the lower levels of the museum are very crowded, get the elevator to the top and walk down rather than up the spiral

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Happy 50th Birthday Guggenheim NY!

Jump to the full entry & travel map sadgrjhgj, Jiangsu, China This Year’s Fashion Must-have,Ugg Classic Crochet I am sure UGG Classic Crochet is this year’s fashion must-have,those boots are one of the most popular styles this year.These boots are wonderful that make them popular it is because they are seen being worn by other celebrities, Certainly of all the styles of boots that Ugg manufacture the Classic Crochet is one of their most versatile. This is due to the knitted exterior of the boot and the way in which you can wear them. UGG Classic Crochet boots feature a genuine sheepskin sockliner that naturally wicks away moisture and keeps feet dry, a sheepskin insole and a suede heel guard for a durable fit and a light and flexible molded EVA outsole.

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This Year’s Fashion Must-have,Ugg Classic Crochet — sadgrjhgj, Jiangsu, China