it's definitely a sign...

It's been a week since Tono left us. I thought I'd be a bit down this morning because of that, but I woke up with all smiles because he came out in my dreams!! It MUST be a sign. He was so fat and plump and cute and happy. :)) He will be forever in my heart and mind ♥

the last picture we took (as you can see, I'm about to break)

Just a few more pictures, for old times sake

the infamous upside-down cat picture

one of my favorite shots of Tono with a bottle cap hat

Tono plugged to a keyboard (it didn't work though..haha)

Baby's fuzzy closeup

Tono back in the day...

From the top: My husband always liked to curl Tono's ears back. Why? Don't ask me... I don't think Tono liked it very much... We learned much later on that Tono's ears were very small in proportion to his head. We never really noticed it until someone pointed it out. Maybe that's why they were so freakin' cute.
Middle right: That would be my husband rocking to the original guitar hero that he couldn't wait to break open and play. Mind you, this is a few years back. Tono's probably a bit irritated from all the headbanging.
Bottom left: Tono really liked my husband's belly. Look how comfortable he is...

A dedication to my dear Tono

I am sorry for my absence the past two days. It has been a difficult start of the week.

Tono, our 14-year 11 month old tabby cat had to be let go last night. He suffered from what we believe was a brain tumor. In the end, our poor kitty lost his vision in his right eye due to an ulcer, lost motor skills on his right side, which resulted in a sort of "lock-jaw" which made him unable to eat. Soon his left eye followed the same fate as the right, and when we took him to the vet for the last time, he was a skinny minny 5 pounds.

We were told by the vet that once his motor skills started to go askew, his behavior would follow. He would get reclusive, and his quailty of life would diminish. If only that were the case. Tono - with all the physical handicaps that he endured - was still lovable and appreciated our company may it be on the couch or in his closet where his bed resided. I hadn't heard him meow in months, but when he was comfortable on our laps, he would purr like always. Even just an hour before the dreaded vet visit, our Tono was lovable as ever. That made it so difficult. We knew his spirit was strong, but he was so physically frail.

I would like to dedicate this post and the rest of the week to our beloved Tono. He had a strong will and an even stronger heart. I am going to miss him so much.

Tono 1994-2009

eco-color-coordination

I would love to have all these bags...EVERY single COLOR. And then I would color coordinate what kind of groceries went into which bag. I would walk around and carry these just because.

BAGGU bags check it out!

a cute cat blog

I know for a fact that my cats are the cutest cats in the world, but this bad baby boy named Maru is pretty damn adorable. I think I posted a video of him and a box some time ago. There's a website dedicated to him actually. Check it out!

>>>Maru blog<<<

Awesome Birthday gift #2

Yes, I must admit, the ukulele was a pretty awesome gift. But this gift is equal in it's awesomeness. I can't stop saying awesome right now. AWESOME! Thank you to my lovely BFF (okay, the more I write, the more I sound like I am a 12 year old teeny bopper today). The balaclava acts as a tea cozy, so it's design and function. super.

the terrorist.tea.pot. by ROHS

bad kuro at it again...

Why is it that cat's like to be places you tell them NOT to go?
At least it's my husband's laptop and not mine (haha)

a birthday what?

Now how many of you out there can actually say they got an ukulele for their birthday? I can! Apparently I wanted one, according to my husband (though I secretly think HE wanted one ;P) Here's to lots of practice and great hawaiian music in da house!

here's why i DON'T like cats.

grr... this is roll #3 by the way...Happy Weekend! :D

I'll be a big, old 2-9er next week!

how cool is this...

There is a certain appeal to old school cameras, but this one definitely tops my list. Apparently it was sold by a company called Impulse Ltd. back in the '80s. If only...you could have been the coolest kid at your elementary school with one of these. Voltron! The Defender of the Universe! Big Cat arms!

more here

I ♥ them cats...

I love tokidoki. I love cats. Together they make an awesome pair...

1. Skeletrino 2. Skeletrina 3. Bruttino 4. Carina from tokidoki

miniatures

I am personally a big fan of forensic science and crime scenes, so when I saw a few of these miniatures of crimes in action, I flipped. (and was also reminded of the miniature killer on CSI). These are GREAT! I mean great! They are actually a part of a series created by Jonah Samson called Pleasantville. Take a look see >>here<<.

check this out too...

I was browsing and came across the evolution of cell phones. The top three are SEXY PHONES!! I'm behind on my evolution it seems with an old school blackberry... (I also didn't know Prada made phones...geez)

>>>CLICK HERE<<<

filters

And I thought the filters at my former workplace was bad...oh China...

Article on Chinese Internet Filtering

so that's what that was...

I've been viewing The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien myself, and everytime I watched, I was curious to what the backdrop was...Well mystery no more. Apparently Conan himself addressed this issue because it was circulating on the internet (I missed that show). It turns out that his backdrop was influenced heavily by Mario Bros. and it's animated backgrounds. Who knew! Whoever photoshop'ed this image together is pretty awesome too.

more about it here

retro chic

Finally a good use for old cassette tapes! They are so cute and colorful too. It's already cheered up my day...
The price tag is not very cute; you could probably DIY with a cheap zipper wallet, some glue, and your very own collection of tapes from back in the day.

Have a good weekend!

designboom shop's cassette wallet. more here

I wish I were a man...

But at least I could pretend to be with this manly awesomeness!

click here for more!

what is UP with this weather!

Ok, my tolerance is about to give up on this darn Chicago weather. I mean, it's JUNE... aren't we suppose to have sunny skies and warm temperatures? It's actually chilly. CHILLY. I was wearing a hoody inside yesterday. That's just not right...Oh the effects of global warming..

this is what I feel like doing.
(though I hate electric stovetops.)

feel the love...

I think they might have missed me...just a bit.

oh, I also just found out that today is the 25th anniversary of Tetris!
How many long lo~ng hours I've spent playing this game...my parents still play it daily I think!

a quick trip to Upstate NY

We were up in Warick, NY for the weekend to attend my husband's good friend's wedding. It was fantastic weather, good food, great people, and lots of fun. They held it at this little place called Chateau Hathorn - a cozy and warm bed and breakfast overlooking rolling hills and beautiful green landscape. A few pictures from the event: From the top: (1) the bride and groom with the groom's family, the very hospitable Timmels (2) hubby and me all dressed up (3) our "mr. and mrs." table setting ♥ (4) the g.g.gorgeous wedding cake