Gray Skies are Gonna Clear Up... Promise!

How I deal with Gloomy Skies and Curve Balls thrown my way...

and there seems to be one after another lately... haiiiis.... 

 

Oh Well... nothing that a SMILE and Perseverance cannot handle....

 

Terrific Tuesday All!

RODY Land

The 2nd of January was part of Juju and I's Christmas gifts..  Mommy got us tickets to see the 30th Anniversary of RODY Exhibition at the 1914 Huanshan Arts Center - a Fave artsy grounds for a lot of people in Taipei.

I only know RODY, pretty much for the Premiums I have been collecting from Hi Life, Family mart, etc..  Plus of course, the bouncing kiddie sized ones that have been quite popular the last few years - but I was AMAZED to see that RODY's been around for 30 years!!!

And the Exhibition was well worth it.... lots of colorful RODY's on display - in various sizes, too... and for added fun, one can touch, grab, pose with, and even ride most of the ones displayed....  Just Too Cool!!!  Juju had the most fun - of course! as she was allowed to ride most of the ones there... including the RODY Carousel - and ride she did... at least 4 times!!!. Plus a few One Of A Kind ones done by local and popular artists were on display in the gallery.

The Giant RODY that greets attendees and passersby...

 

I can Imagine this in my home..  Hahahahahahaha...

 

Circus Themed Room and yes it was all Intetactive!

 

OOAK RODY's on Display

2 Happy Kids on the RODY-Go-Round!!! Juju loved it so much we must have ridden it at least 4 times..  She just had to sit and take a photo with every single one of them..  LOL!

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We lucked in and another exhibition was going on - the Taiwanese Doll/Puppetry that has been popular around the world: PILI!  So, we got to have fun with a few of their displays too!!!

For More Fun Photos of The Exhibition Pls Click Here: RODY, PILI and so much more..

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"Yellow Mellow" : 2nd selfienof the year...  

Did anyone say Yellow and blue are the Lucky colors for 2014???

Dress You Up in My Loves!!!

Cleaning up my Photo memory on the iPhone and came across all these cool vases I have managed to pick up, here and there, since trading up to the iPhone 5 back in March of this year..,  so far I have a total of 12!!!

This Fun Jimmy Liao vase was the first one I got...  

This one is a fave illustration from this Popular Taiwanese artist...

Marc Jacobs: first designer outfit for the iPhone!  

Some Eclectic Designs!

Monkeying Around with Baby Milo!

SNOOPY!!!

A gift from Sue n Cecilia from  their last Japan Trip!

These two are acquired from two different Manila trips!

The latest addition:  yellow Rubber Duck is quite popular these days...  

Since the Giant Yellow Duck landed in the Taiwan shores..

Monday, Monday

No need for Monday Blues..  It is just a day and it is certain to come once a week...  So let's just roll with it and make the most of the day...  SMILE!!!

No Monday Blues Here!

..But it sure looks like it's gonna be another HOT week...

Babysitting for the week..  With these kind of weather, always have to be creative so as we do not go crazy indoors and not have to go out till when the sun comes down...

Am always THANKFUL that there is plenty of Vinyls Juju can enjoy...  :)

You all have a Great Week!!!

CUTENESS OVERLOAD

Thanksful.9 : PREMIUM TOYS

-cuteness overload and the hunt -collecting stickers for them - is always a fun challenge!!

 

As most of you know, I have been collecting them for years....  and have amassed quite a collection already....  But how can I Stop?  They just keep putting out more and more CUTENESS!!!   Even got Jewel to start loving Doraemon & Open Chang - all from collecting these PREMIUM TOYS!!!

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Artful Week

A favorite pastime of mine, ART WATCHING...   it is GREAT stress relieving....  and inspirational...  if you are someone like me whose taste in Art and Exhibition is sooooo varied, then you will never run out of things to see....  And one of the BEST things about living in Taipei is that, everywhere you turn, you are exposed to something artsy and/or art related....  Well after all, they did say that ART IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER!

 

First up was taking in the Barbie Exhibition, as it was ending by the 27th of this month....  over 100 Barbie dolls and accessories - from Vintage (1959) to Modern) - all on loan from local Taiwanese Designer & Personality (and a personal friend) Goji Lin...   It was GREAT seeing the exhibition...  seeing so much Barbie & Friends out on view....  sadly, for someone like me, it was quite unorganized....  no real rhyme or reason for the way all was displayed... I saw and heard quite a few oooohs and aaaaahs from many visitors - young and old....

See more of the Photos Here: Barbie Fashion Box

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Next up for me was the LEGO Exhibition.... in one word: AMAZING!!!  This is not your childhood LEGO art, of course... instead, they are all AMAZING WORK intricate work of art by Nathan Sawaya - already all his LEGO work that has been exhibited worldwide.  And it isn't just that each pice consists of hundreds, and thousands even, of LEGO pieces - each ARTWORK is well thought of and even comes with such sentiments behind their creations....

The Three Pieces I Love Most from the Exhibition!

COMPLET PHOTOS HERE: LEGO-tastic!

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And Sunday, after Church, I decided to make is a Sunday Art Stroll by heading to the Zhongshan Underground MRT Station  Area all the way to MOCA....  always have great installations from local artists - both up and coming and well known....  the sliding gate from each shop alone are great canvases...

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Hi*Life X RODY

Been a while since I had Hi*Life coffee - but with RODY on board as their newest Promotional Program, I know I will be having many cups of their coffee for a while... at least, until I collect them all!!!

Well, not all as am not really into the BIGGER ones, that are Coin Banks....  maybe I will break down and get one... but that is a BIIG MAYBE....   am also not too sure about the key chain ones...  as I have no use for those....  and they run a bit high....  instead I really would love to collect the ones that are 2 inches in height as they are perfect to blend in with everything else I collect....  

The way the program works is that you purchase 2 large coffees, and you get to buy one for NT$39 each, a little over US$1.00 each...  if bought on their own, they will run you NT$99 each or US$3.00 plus change each....  since we do have coffee everyday anyway, might as well opt for the former way of acquiring one....

So far, I have the Yellow, Green and Blue Versions....  I have seen a White, Pink, and Lilac variations as well....  so I know, I will be having more of Hi*Life's Java to get those, too...

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and it really MUST BE the time for RODY, as the market seems to be getting it's fair share of RODYs....   even the upcoming Taipei Toy Festival will be debuting RODY's in collaboration with another fave of mine, EVANGELION....  

Be@rbricks Addiction!

yep...  as if I needed to take on another thing to take up my time, I have now started a new blog spotlighting one of my Obsessions, Be@rbricks...  I figured, with the growing number of them coming to live with me - they needed their own showcase - so if you are a fellow Be@rbrick Lover or just in love looking at Vinyl Cuties - do check out the new page....

Rudi X Be@rbricks

SECRETS: Series 23 Be@rbrick

Most of you, am sure have seen photos of the newly released Series 23 Be@rbrick Collection....  but just in case you missed them, here they are again - all 8 of them:

BACK VIEW:

How many are you getting???   I like almost all of them...  but will have to have better self control - so am sticking to the 4 on the TOP ROW....  :)

tokidoki X hello kitty X 7-11 Hong Kong

Tokidoki Fans are in for a treat for the Holidays!!!   New tokidoki charms are being offered as a Special Premium Toys Offering by the 7-11 Shops in Hong Kong....   Just like the ones in Taiwan - one will be able to avail them by collecting stickers one gets when they buy from their local 7-11 Convenience Store shops....

From what I can make out, as I really cannot read Chinese (LOL!) - there will be two sets available... one collection debuted on the 7th of this month (December 2011) and another will make their appearance starting the 11th of January, 2012.... A total of 22 Hello Kitty x tokidoki keychain figures fans in Hong Kong will be able to collect…

All of this is quite EXCITING for me... so many FUN pieces.....  but ALAS, they will just be added to my tokidoki Holy Grails wishlist - as so far, no one in Hong Kong I know, has offered to help me acquire them.....  *SIGH*

Catch the FUN TV ADVERT HERE!

Be@rbrick Series 23 Revealed

Here's the actual LINE UP for Series 23....  I pretty much like them all...  WAAAAH!

TROUBLE TROUBLE TROUBLE!!!!
(Not so sure if I should be THANKFUL about this announcement or NOT? LOL)

Now I wonder what the SECRET ONES will be?  and how many there will be? 

Be@rbrick Series 23

well, no real photos yet but just from the newest announcement regarding the lines for Series 23 - coming out Dec of this year - I am pretty sure am IN TROUBLE once more.... Real Steel, RUNE, Andy Warhol, - just to name a few..... they all spell EXCITING to me....

and I sure could use a bit of excitement today as most of the day was spent sleeping from this terrible cold am having now....  once again Fatigue, Frustrations and everything else has caught up with me....   and with the spirits really low, a cold has struck me...

From the photo on the left, you can see that Series 23 will include the following:

-Andy Warhol

-FRINGE (from the TV SERIES, am sure!)

-Real Steel (the Hugh Jackman movie...)

-RUNE

-Rilakkuma (Newest Cutie that's taken Asia by storm..)

-SONIC The Hedgehog

-Miweil

PORTER INTERNATIONAL Figures

PORTER INTERNATIONAL celebrating it's 10th year has 4 PREMIUM OFFERINGS for it's (getting even larger) fans.... and crossing into the TOY COLLECTOR fans, too! Am doubly in trouble as I am both a fan of the BRAND and of course, VINYL TOYS!!!

Came across the first figure a couple of months back in MEN's UNO magazine.... now I cannot read Chinese so I did not know that the HELL it said.... only the month (I presumed!) that it would be released... SADLY, I missed out on that released - it came and went so fast I was told by employees from a few different PORTER INTERNATIONAL shops I visited all over Taipei.... armed with the photo of it in my iPhone...LOL... Am sure a biiiiig part of it was it's cuteness.... whether you like the brand or not - this is on UBER CUTE offering: it is of the PORTER BELLHOP LOGO in a very cute 3D form... and 6 inches in height!!! And as if rubbing SALT to the WOUND, at one of the shop, there was one displayed - see photo on the left - needless to say it was just that, for display only.... and no amount of begging was good enough to be able to buy it... Alas, the BOSS is also a collector of VINYL TOYS and this one is for his own collection already! Boo Hoo...

So I was giving up on this, but in passing I mentioned it to Juliana and she reminded me to try Sue - always GREAT at finding stuff on Yahoo Auctions, Taiwan... so I dropped her a call and Lo and Behold, the same day she found me one.... at a price pretty much what they sold for when first released - SCORE!!! She even did better than me... she researched it right away and found a PRESS EVENT LAUNCH ARTICLE about the figures - with photos of the collection.... THANKS SUE!!!

4 Taiwanese Models dressed as the figures...

The first of 4 Limited Edition, released back in JULY/AUGUST, sold in the shops for NT$980 (US$30) - or for $480 (a little less than US$15) with a Purchase.... the 2nd one will be released in October, I was told.... got myself on the wait list already and am really HOPING not to miss out on this one.... his is one collection really worth keeping....

tokidoki X Marvel = Fun Frenzies

The holy alliance between tokidoki and Marvel Comics takes center stage this month when as shipments of Tokidoki x Marvel Frenzies arrives in stores worldwide. This blind box keychain series features 20 of your favorite Marvel heroes and villains Tokidoki-fied into total cuteness. They retail for $5.99 each.

Yes, Marvel’s most popular characters have been re-worked by tokidoki's own Simone Legno to create a collectible assortment of 20 tokidoki x MARVEL Frenzies. All our favorite Marvel characters, like Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, Iron Man, Wolverine, Fantastic Four's Human Torch, the Mighty Thor, Captain America, etc... have been given mini tokidoki makeovers!

Just Like Heaven!!!

...and that's just how it was for me last Thursday, the 7th... It was the 1st day of the Annual Taipei Toy Festival (a 4 Day Event)..... of course, I braved the crowds right away and went.... along with my Partner in Toys Crime, Juliana..... just look at this COLLAGE with all these COOL, FUN, & EXCITING TOYS! okay, okay, not all mine... I WISH!!!
It was a Great Day.... wish I could have brought home all that I wanted - but one MUST have limits, right?? Mind you, I still came home with a lot... and thinking of going back for more later today..... hahahahahahahahahaha

Tons of tpoys to look at from some FAVE designers.... Be@rbricks galore, Stay Real, Hot Toyz, C.I. Boys, etc... and even a bit of STAR GAZING as, Scandal Ridden Hong Kong Star, EDISON CHEN made an appearance debuting his CLOT designed tees and Toys - and some authograph signings and photo taking.... too bad it was waaaaay tooo CROWDED - could not even get close.... so had to take a few shots by ZOOMING the camera - hence, not too sharp...

Treated myself, the iPhone really to a new case, TOFU!!!!

MEET BUBI!!!

For me, this BUBI is the most FAVE one that DEBUTED at this show.... have always wanted a Little Boy Blue type character... and he comes quite close.... Designed by Au Yeung from the Series: "The Bubblegum Adventures of Periwinkle". So far there are three variations issued for "Episode 1: London Raindrops". Well basically it is just one boy but each Blind Box, he could come with an umbrella (Easiest to get.); a back pack (Harder to get..); or this one, with a hat (My most FAVE!)... each one also comes with a blown bubblegum that he can hold or put in his mouth.... FUN!!!

Anyway, have UPLOADED a few photos here if you care to see:
Taipei Toy Festival 2011 on FLICKR
-will be UPLOADING more this weekend... just way too much goodies.... Just Like Heaven, indeed....