My New Creative Outlet

I have recently become obsessed with Etsy, an website specializing in all things handmade and vintage.  You can buy and sell things and I love it!  For our 3 year anniversary in May I gently recommended a few items to Jeremy that I liked.  I now own 3 jewelry items from different sellers and I love them!  I also have a custom ring being made using an opal I bought in Australia.  It is on the way and I can't wait to get it! Here is the shop I ordered it from. 

With my shopping history now on our blog, I will get to my point. 

I have opened my own shop on Etsy!  anmd is my new creative outlet.  At the moment I am focusing on embellished jackets using 2nd hand jackets, scrap fabrics from the many sewing shops here, and a few extra appliques.  I had a favorite jacket that was similar to these that I wore holes into and I thought I could possibly make someone their favorite jacket.  So that is what I am trying.  My skills are growing and so is my collection.  I can also make a custom jacket for you if you would like different colors or styles.  I plan to expand it to other items for the home but I have not gotten there yet.  So check me out and place an order through my shop if anything suits your fancy!  Any feed back would be great too!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/52067724/sunshine-and-flowers-jean-jacket?ref=v1_other_1

http://www.etsy.com/listing/52062711/peace-love-flowers-pea-coat?ref=v1_other_2

http://www.etsy.com/listing/51893614/flower-inspired-denim-jacket?ref=v1_other_2

Photos by Jeremy, taken in a crumbling fale on our street!. 

Happy Shopping!
ashley

Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

The other night I walked into my laundry room and walked head long into a bunch of bananas! Jeremy regularly cuts a bunch down and then hangs them so they can continue ripening.  This is a common practice around here and one I am likely to never encounter again. I have since ran into them about 6 times and I am sure it will happen again shortly.
Oh Samoa!

One year down

Today is officially our one year anniversary in American Samoa.  It seems that it has gone by very fast in some respects and in others it seems that we have been here a long time.  We have certainly loved being here with the beaches, snorkeling, new friends, traveling and all the wacky things that happen around here.  We would have probably never had the chance to do some of the things we have done here.  For instance even seeing this part of the world, New Zealand, Samoa, Singapore for me, and an upcoming trip to Australia.  You could say we are now addicted to traveling, I don't think we will ever be able to shake wanting to see more and more of this beautiful planet.  On the other hand we miss home. We miss our family, friends and our dogs.  We have missed huge birthdays a 90, 60s and 15s.  We have missed holidays for the first time ever.  We have missed funerals where we would like to be there to support our family and friends.  We have missed new homes and big changes.  We miss you all.  We thank God for giving us these wonderful opportunities and we will see you all again soon.

Help Support the American Samoa Humane Society

As many of you know Jeremy and I have gotten involved in the Humane Society here in American Samoa. I have actually just returned home from the Asia for Animals Conference in Singapore, where I had the privilege to represent ASHS and learn a ton. As part of the ASHS we have to honor of hosting Animal Balance for a 2 week Spay and Neuter Clinic coming up this month. Part of this includes representing Spay Day 2010 with this photo contest. We have chosen Pu as our photo because represents the dogs and cats of American Samoa quite well. He has the name Pu because it represents the place he was found as a puppy, a hole. Pu is Samoan for hole. Pu was hit by a car the week before he was to move to Kansas, he was injured very badly and there was little anyone could do on island. Unfortunately, we have little to no Vet care on island so Pu was forced to make the trip to Kansas with a bum leg. When he was taken to the Veterinarian in Kansas he found out bad news, he had to have his leg amputated. So Pu has something to ask you: Will you vote for him in the Spay Day Online Pet Photo Contest - and help save other pets' lives at the same time? See Pu's picture and message below. Helping animals is really important to me, and your donation will not only help my pet in the contest, but will save pets' lives by reducing pet overpopulation. Thanks!

Spay Day 2010 Online Pet Photo Contest

Valentine's Day Cliff Jumping

A little Valentine's Day Cliff Jumping. Check out Jeremy and our friends Kevin and Kayla.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Singapore

In January I had the amazing chance to attend the Asia for Animals Conference in Singapore.  Alone! 

I had the honor of representing the American Samoa Humane Society at the conference.  This made me very nervous!  I was going to a conference with people from all over the world and people would be asking me questions!  These people were all pros in the animal field and here I was, just a volunteer.  But the conference was great and so were the people.  I learned so much while I was there, I now feel slightly overwhelmed with all the ideas I could help put into place in American Samoa.  People are making a difference in much larger places so why can’t I try to help in such a small place?  I am working on it but not seeming to get anywhere.  If you would like to see more about the conference here is the link:

http://www.asiaforanimals.org/

A bonus to getting to go to the conference is getting to go to Singapore!  As you can imagine there are no direct flights from American Samoa to Singapore so I also got the chance to visit Sydney, Australia for a day! Here are some pictures from my trip:

SYDNEY

St. Mary's Cathedral

Royal Botanical Gardens

The Sydney Opera House!!!

Lunch on the Sydney Harbor

The city sights.

 

Art Gallery of NSW where I saw a Rupert Bunny Exhibit and a living room built around a statue.

 

 

SINGAPORE

Bright Lights, Big City

 

The Merlion is the symbol of Singapore.  Silly Merlion.

 

Jeremy Goldberg, a friend from AS got me in touch with a friend of his in Singapore.  So I got a tour from a local.  Siti was wonderful, she too me to all the great sights and eating spots.  Thanks Siti!

 

Singapore is a synonym for shopping!  And I did a lot of it!

China Town was so neat!  It was almost the Chinese New Year so everything was decorated and you could buy all kinds of decorations for your house. 

Little India was an interesting place full of workers who have migrated from India to work.  I probably only saw about 20 other women walking around the streets that afternoon.  

 

Raffles Hotel, famous for a drink called the Singapore Sling.

Sentosa Island, a hot tourist destination, was not so hot for me.  The Beach had views of huge cargo ships and tankers as far as the eye could see. 

 

Singapore is so fancy they have escalators in their parks.

The largest of all the Merlions lives on Sentosa and lights up at night.

To get the full view of Singapore I rode to the top of this tower.

 

Little Arabia, full of neat shops, but don’t get there too early since they don’t open till around lunch time.

I got to hear the chanting from this temple, it was very beautiful.

One of the best meals!  A lamb stew with salad and rice.  yummy!

 

The man who owns this store, made all of these shoes, which are used for weddings and special occasions.  They are tiny beads which are hand sewn.

 

Unfortunately the only Sumo Wrestling I saw was on TV, sorry Pawpaw!

Oh yeah, stopped in INDONESIA too! Got slightly scared when one of these guys took my passport and left with it. 

Ummm, is he coming back? 

Oh yes this is what we do here!

Not cool.

A great trip!  And my first trip alone! It was a wonderful experience and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go!