Nom...nom....

Oh look, I'm sticking to my new year's resolution of doing more artwork already!  Over the holidays, I met my little cousin Metta for the first time.  She's two years old and tons of fun.  Over the time that I got to know her, I learned that she loves the following:

1.  Sweets: ice cream, Pocky, frosting, candy...you name it, if it's sweet, it puts a smile on her face.

2.  Rona:  they are best friends; Rona doesn't know it yet though.

3.  Signing and dancing:  she's going to be a star

4.  Sweets:  deserves another vote because she eats ice cream so fast, she gets a brain freeze every time but keeps on going

5.  Toys:  especially the desert themed toys...her cake blocks, ice cream play dough set

6.  Tutus:  what little girl doesn't???

Had a great time with this little girl, hope to get to see her more often!

Happy New Year!

So, I know it's almost a month into the new year, but I figured if I got it in before Feb 1, it can still count as a New Year's post.  Besides, it's Chinese New Year this weekend, so I have that going for me to, haha

By this time, it seems that the holidays are long gone and a thing of the past....at least it does to me anyway.  But I am really trying to live up to my New Year's resolution, which is to come up with more artwork and not let the day job get in the way of that.  Hope you are all are doing well and keeping up with whatever resolutions you've made for the year.

Gingerbread House Contest

Earlier this month, the bunnies had a gingerbread house contest.  I was too busy, so I didn't get to do one, but which of these is your favorite?  Clockwise from top left:

1.  Brian and Pierre's Candy Classic - candy really is the best theme for a gingerbread house

2.  Roger, Manny and Pawvi's Jolly Nick - inspiration is obvious

3.  Karl and Number Nine's Gingerbread Castle, inspired by Karl's love of all things fabulous

4.  Iris and Pourvabunny's St. Basil's Cathedral, inspired by their love of the game of Tetris

Happy Birthday Beethoven!

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite composers, Beethoven.  And in honor of his birthday, the bunnies and I thought we'd start up blog updates again after silence for over 6 months.  It's been a busy time with ninja training and the day job, but I'm reminded today that you need to make time to do what you love.  For those of you who have gotten this far and are thinking "wait, isn't his birthday the 17th???"...that was the day he was baptized, his birthday was the 16th.  Why do I care so much?  Because I've always really enjoyed the fact that we share a birthday.  I often use it as my "fun fact about me" for meeting ice breakers when I fee like it might not be appropriate to share the story about how I met Alice Cooper when I worked at Hot Topic.  

Yeah, so Beethoven....he's one of my favorite composers/pianists not just because of the music, but because he's such an interesting character.  I remember thinking as a kid, "man, that hair!"  As far as favorite pieces, here are the top 3:

1.  Moonlight Sonata (#14):  Beautifully creepy; the song that Shroeder plays in the Peanut cartoons.

2.  Sonata Pathetique (#8):  A commercial success, though considered eccentric at the time

3.  Fur Elise:  First Beethoven piece I learned; it's the one that you hear in music boxes and in babies' mobiles.

Well, there you have it, today's post!  More to come and more often too.  Thanks for checking in :)

Welcome to Miami!

Hi everyone!  It's been about a month since our last post - so sorry about that.  The bunnies and I have been busy with the "day job".  But this week, we were in Miami so thought we'd share a few pics.  I wish I had more interesting things to say about the visit, but I was there working most of the time.  The bunnies did their usual thing that I do when I'm at work (sightseeing and training).  You can tell from the pics that it wasn't really that sunny, but is was quite hot...especially for the bunnies in their black ninja suits.  We did get to have a nice dinner one night, at Il Gabbaino on Biscayne, right by the water.  Nice view and great Italian food - I always get the gnocchi when I'm there.  Of course, I only get the gnocchi for the cheese that comes on top ; )

The whole team was there for this trip, but they sort of split up accidently, as Peter and Brain opted to hang out at the airport because they found a pretty well stocked candy store...and Iris and Roger got distracted by a yachts they saw (although, as you can tell from the pic, they both had different ideas of what they wanted to get out of it).

Candy time!

Iris is thinking "finally, a place for me to enjoy my drink"...and Roger is thinking "It's no Black Pearl, but it'll do for now"

Happy Easter! (aka Bunny Day)

Hi there!  Hope everyone is having a fabulous Easter and no matter how you choose to celebrate, hope there is lot's of candy : )

Just a note on the drawing of the day...despite what some people might think up on viewing, the bunnies have not turned into eggs.  Those are candy eggs that the bunnies decorated.  I was gonna post a behind the scenes pic of them working on these eggs, but they didn't want me to ruin the magic, haha...

The bunnies and I are going to take the day to work on some stuff we have on the "to do list" - which includes working on our merchandise storefront, so stay tuned for more on that.  People have been asking where they can buy some of the stuff featured in the merchandise section so apologies for lagging on that! 

I have a Candle Karl!

Hi Everyone - Happy Friday!  I am so happy to share with you that I finally got a Candle Karl....THE Candle Karl.  I was so bummed that I missed my chance to get it back in December because it would be have been an awesome birthday present to me from me, but I didn't even know it existed!  I must not have been following my Instagram meticulously when I was in Japan.  So you can imagine how disappointed I was when I saw it, decided I had to have it, and found out that it was sold out online.  I half though of a reason I might need to go to Europe so I could try to find one, but I really didn't have any plans to be in Europe at the time.

So, as if the candle wasn't already cool enough itself, I came across this pic of the Karl with it and REALLY wanted one:

However, it was still sold out and I couldn't even find one on eBay.  But low and behold, I was randomly on the Karl.com website (I know, shocker that I was online window shopping) and there it was back in stock!  So of course I snatched one and was VERY excited when it finally arrived.  As you can tell from the pic, it's much larger than a normal size candle...I have no intentions of using it, but if I were to light it, I'm sure it would take forever and half to finish burning.  It comes in a fabulous storage box too.  I'm a little bit bummed that it didn't come with a copy of the sketch that Karl made of the candle, but I'll get over it ; )

Unfortunately for anyone wanting one, it seems that they are sold out at the moment, but do keep checking back at http://www.karl.com in case it comes back in stock.  Who knows...maybe the Karl will design another version of it since a candle in his likeness has been so popular.  I'm sure Choupette will have her own candle shortly enough too.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Leap Day!

Hello and happy leap day!  Depending on how you look at it, this is just another day in the year, but as you can see, we like to find a reason to celebrate pretty much anything around here (keeps life fun), so Iris is going nuts in ballet today with her leaps.  She's probably going to be tired tomorrow and have to take the day off and say that she already worked an extra day, haha....

The technical reason we have a leap year is not that interesting (to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the Sun), but here are some fun facts about leap year that will help you see as more than "just another day"....the source for all this is the bunnies' excellent internet research skills:

1.  There actually exists an Honor Society of Leap Year Babies, a club for people born on Feb. 29, and this society has over 10,000 members.  I wonder what the perks of being in this society are...and if they have annual meetings....or only meeting on leap year???

2.  One of the traditions of leap day is that it is the one day that women can propose marriage.  The source of this tradition is that St. Patrick supposedly granted women this one day because of complaints from women about having to wait to be proposed to...I guess the relevancy of that depends on your cultural background, but if your a guy and not looking to get married any time soon and your girlfriend has been asking....watch out for this day.  Could avoid some awkwardness.  And in Ireland, Queen Margaret of Scotland began the tradition in 1288 that a man refused the proposal, he would be fined a kiss, a silk dress or 12 pairs of gloves.

3.  Without a leap day added to our calendar every four years, we would lose almost six hours every year and by 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days.

4.  There are two women in the world (unrelated) who have given birth to 3 leap year babies!  I wonder what the odds of that are???  Okay, I did some math, and it's at least one in 50 million...while the chances of having a birthday on a leap year are about one in 1,461

5.  There was once a February 30!!!  This date occurred in Sweden and Finland in 1712, when they added an extra Leap Day to February to help catch up their outdated Julian calendar with the new Gregorian calendar.  Seems kind of out there, but if you are every on Jeopardy, this fact could come in handy.

6.  There is an official "Leap Day Cocktail" invented by Harry Craddock at London’s Savoy Hotel in 1928

7.   Generally, leap years are considered bad luck, especially in Taiwan, Greece, and Russia so if you're superstitious, this is not a good year...in efforts to help counter all that, I'm ending this list on #7 for better luck (if you believe in that sort of thing).

Have a great leap day!

National "Love your pet" Day!

Wow...posts two days in a row!!! 

Since it's national "Love your pet" I thought I should introduce everyone to the pets I love - Kona and Rona.  Both are dapple mini doxies, with a partial blue left eye, but that' where the similarities end because they could not be more opposite in personality.  Kona (top) is the older of the two and by far, more sophisticated. She's very quite, until someone tries to walk by, or take out there trash...then she gets all riled up and angry.  Rona is about two years younger and well, a perpetual puppy...it's always play time with little Ronie.  She also barks a lot when people/animals/large objects are near, but her bark is not as angry as Kona.  Some fun facts:

Kona:  Favorite color is red, has two homes (one in CA, one in NY), LOVES chocolate and tortilla chips, and has attended finishing school - that is why she is so prim and proper.

Rona:  Favorite color is orange, likes to eat anything she can get her paws on, is originally from St. Louis Missouri and was given the name "Meg", and manages to doze off every time we try to Skype anyone.

Anyways, that's a little about our two four-legged family members...my sisters take care of these guys most of the time (when gammy and gampy aren't), so I get to do the fun stuff like give them TREATS!

Here are those two when they were pups....and grown minis:

Bunny Ballet Lessons

I know...it's been waaaaaay too long since the last blog post, but the bunnies have all been really busy with various projects.  One of the things we've been working really hard on is our dance lessons.  Pourvabunny and Iris are really good at it because it's the perfect supplement to their ninja training, but I've been taking ballet for a bit now and it's quite a challenge for me...I think it's because I'm uncoordinated.  Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm uncoordinated, it's really bad.  But I'm trying really hard, so as one of my dance teachers would say "let's see what happens" : )

We're going to get back to posting more regularly again because the bunnies have a lot to share.  They came back from Japan a while ago and have some more pictures to show....also some pics from a recent trip to San Francisco as well, so please stay tune!

Fendi Workspace

I know it's not a huge surprise, but I LOVE the Fendi Monsters/Bugs....and it really seems that I cannot not get enough of these guys!  I try to buy up as much as I can of the stuff I "need" - and of course, I have to prioritize what I "need" cause I can't buy everything (unfortunately).  I was thinking about how I can get more of these guys into my life and where I spend a majority of my time, and work came out as the answer - it's okay, you don't have to feel bad for me, I like my job.  So, I thought to myself, why don't I create a Fendi Monster inspired workspace, so I can sit and marvel over these things created by the amazing Karl Lagerfeld and what you see here is what I came up with.  I've never been more excited to work from home : )

Ninja Training

This is my first piece of artwork for 2016!  Admittedly, I started it a week before the New Year, but that's just a minor detail.  It depicts the bunnies on a typical day of ninja training.  I made this one quite big (40" x 60") because I want to put it on the wall above my sofa, haven't put it up yet, but really hoping it looks okay because I have no idea where else I could put this one!  If it works out, I'll share a pic.  It was a lot of fun to make this one....hope you all enjoy it!

Ready for 2016!

Time goes by so quick and it's only three days into the New Year, but I feel like before I know it, we're going to be well into 2016!  Many people are getting ready to go back to work after having some time off for the holidays...me included.  While I could always use a few more days off, I guess I'm good and ready to get back into work again - and my Karl agenda is going to help me stay on top of my schedule : )  Yes, I know I have a calendar on outlook, but that only helps me keep track of work stuff - and as one of my New Year's resolutions is to be more consistent with my blog updates and product more artwork and designs, I kind of need a way to track this activity and obviously very excited that Karl has produced this agenda.  I would have known such a thing existed, but being the saavy internet shopper I am, I find that googling search terms of things you love will nearly always produce a something to buy...whether that's a good or a bad thing is your call, haha....

If you are interested in getting one as well, you can find it at Neiman Marcus:

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/Fashion-Agenda-by-Karl-2016/prod181600264/p.prod

And of course, always check Amazon...good chance of finding pretty much anything there too if you know the right search terms!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!  Actually, it's about 2 hours away from the New Year here, but most of the world has already celebrated, so I figured I could post.  I can't believe how quickly this year has passed.  2015 has been great for the bunnies - they got to travel to a bunch of places and had some great adventures, and we FINALLY got our website up!  I have been meaning to do it for years now, so very happy that we finally have one and thank you to everyone who has visited.  I'm seeing that it's been a while since my last post, but I'm going to work harder to find interesting this to post more often from now on...I guess you can consider it a NY resolution.  Hope you all had a nice holiday, a fun and safe New Year and best wishes for a great 2016!

Robot Restaurant, Shinjuku, Tokyo

We went to the world famous Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku this weekend and it was a lot of fun...definitely very wacky!  Apparently it has been a big deal since it opened in 2012, but seeing as how I don't get out much (and I don't watch TV so didn't see Anthony Bourdain talk about it on his Japan episode).  Luckily for me Wu, a friend from work, told me about it and when I Googled it, I thought "this goes on the must see list" for this trip.  Upon reading the reviews, I figured we'd just go to the show and skip the food, which turned out to be an excellent idea because I had no idea what they were serving....so I started referring to it as the Robot Show instead of Restaurant.

Upon arrival, you hang out in the Robot Lounge and lucky for us, the band let Roger play along with them, as you can see from the pic.  He was thrilled....it's been a while since he's been able to show off his guitar talents.  Iris also managed to sneak her way on to the stage with some of the ladies.  Overall, we had a really great time.  As for what to expect if you are thinking about going....don't expect that it's going to be a bunch of Robots dancing around, haha....it's a show that makes use of a lot of robotics, but few actual dancing robots.  Everything about it from the start to finish is very weird, which makes it very entertaining to me, just be aware that if you are expecting some sort of Transformers like show, you might be disappointed.  If you are interested in checking it out, here is the website:  http://www.shinjuku-robot.com/pc/?lng=en

Tokyo Update

It's been so long since we've posted an update because I've been busy at work and we go to bed early from all the walking around, but the bunnies and I are still very much enjoying Tokyo!  Last weekend, we went to Shinjuku and Shibuya (which means we did some shopping).  Here is a pic of them at Shibuya Crossing just as the traffic stopped....but before everyone jumped poured into the street...yes, they are very quick like that.  More pics from last weekend to come.

Murakami Exhibit @ Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

We are so lucky to be in Tokyo while the Takashi Murakami "The 500 Arhats" is on display at the Mori Art Museum.  I'm a huge fan, so the bunnies and I visited this amazing exhibit over the weekend and as you can see from the pics below....there was something of interest for each bunny (please click on pictures to scroll through)

Fendi Ginza

So, I went to the newly opened Fendi store in Ginza, and it was so amazing, that it gets its own blog post.  As you can see from the pics, we had a fabulous time.  I didn't realize it, but this pop-up store just opened on Thursday, so lucky me, I was there and got to meet some adorable Fendi Monsters and OMG...KARL!!!  Yes, that was the best thing ever....I was so glad I wore my Karl Bunny top (which I actually did not do on purpose, just FYI).  To my dismay, he was not for sale, so I won't be taking this one back to the US with me.  And the bunnies just LOVED the pink birdie character...I didn't catch his name, but I'm anxiously waiting for Fendi to make a bag charm of that little guy cause he'll match perfectly with my pink-haired Karl.  Anyways, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I don't need to say much here...except that the pics really aren't enough.  Everyone who has a chance really needs to visit the store in person : )

First few days in town.....

Here is a recap of the first few days of this trip....not that eventful because we were mostly just getting adjusted, but still totally thrilled to be here!

1.  Bunnies made sure our new place was okay by testing the bed's ability to withstand them jumping around on it...they were skeptical because it was really low to the ground, but it passed the test...all good.

2.  Took a walk around the apartment when we arrived so we would know where everything is - most importantly, where is the nearest Family Mart.  They have these awesome "pancake sandwiches" which is two pieces of pancake, with butter and syrup in between, a totally awesome substitute to hold you over if you aren't having the real thing in a restaurant.  AND it's good to go as well.  Not to mention I need a convenient place to get my Orangina...although I am finding out that you can get it pretty much anywhere here.

3.  I got and personalized my Pasmo - so now I can make my way around Tokyo and pick up Orangina from vending machines!

4.  On the way to the office one morning, the bunnies found a bus which they thought would be perfect for their ninja bunny party bus.

5.  This is my office building...this is where I will be spending most of my time while the bunnies are out and about. 

That's all for now, but check back soon for pics of what we did this weekend!

Arrival in Tokyo!

For those of you who guessed that Japan as the next bunny destination, you are correct!  We landed in Tokyo this week....all of us this time.  I was here a couple weeks ago with a few of the bunnies, but we all made it over here on this trip and super excited to get to spend a couple weeks here.  We actually arrived few days ago and I went to work right away, so just FYI, there is a slight delay in blog posts.  All I have now is a pic of us waiting for our ride at Narita airport - the big suitcase is mine....the small one is for all the bunnies.  Those ninja suits are amazingly compact...It took us about an hour and a half to get to the apartment in downtown Tokyo where we will be staying, so just a suggestion for anyone traveling here and actually staying in Tokyo, Haneda airport is much closer.  Not exactly sure what the bunnies have planned in their time here, but I know I'm going to be on the look-out for any Hello Kitty sightings!

And BTW, for those who did not guess Japan....???  The picture clue was so obvious...