Iowa Flood Relief Auction

I don't even know where to begin. Everytime I try to write, I start crying. I can't stop looking at the photos. I don't know what to say except please help. Please help these poor animals who cannot comprehend what is happening to them. Who rely solely on the kindness of people to give them love, food and shelter.

So when Brooke contacted me about participating in the auction, I didn't think twice about it. I am so darn proud to be part of this all-heart initiative. So please. Please donate, bid or shop to support this wonderful effort. At the time of this entry, I still do not have a link to the actual auction. However, if you click here, a link to the auction will be posted at the top of the page.

There are so many wonderful companies who are participating in this auction. Please don't forget to check them out and bid, bid, bid on their amazing products and services. Also, 50% of Crater Lake Company's profits from sales made between June 25th and July 2nd will be donated to the Iowa Relief Fund/Cedar Rapids Animal Shelter.

This is our rescue dog Sally. She was adopted from a wonderful animal shelter in NYC - Animal Haven Shelter. She is a purebred mutt, although we have strong suspicions that she is the product of an ottoman and a coffee table mating. This particular picture was featured in the NY Rangers' Fan-atic DVD. Sally was what some would call a "difficult" or "hard to adopt" case. We had originally intended to adopt 2 Beagle/Basset Hound mix dogs, but when we laid eyes on her, we knew she was meant to be ours. There she was, in a corner, depressed and disinterested. She had been passed around from one person to another, eventually finding her way to Central Park and living with a homeless person. We knew that the 2 Beagle mixes would eventually find a home. They were young and cute, full of spunky personality. Sally on the other hand was old(er), not very cute, and definitely not gregarious. Now looking at the picture above, it's hard to believe that this is the same dog we adopted from the shelter that day. It's because of organizations like the Cedar Rapids Animal Shelter that makes it possible for people like me to find love and companionship in pets like Sally.

Please bid, shop or donate. Every penny helps :)

Thank you for reading.

Getting ready to re-open

Okay, back from holiday and chewin' at the bit raring to re-open. I'm looking to re-open on Saturday, June 14th. And yes, of course with a sale :) I have a few more scents to introduce for the summer and the collection should be available when we re-open. For those waiting for the Lvsh dupes, yes, they'll be in this release. Sorry it took me a while to introduce them, but I wanted to test them out in all the products we had.

Before I get back into the full swing of things at CLC, I wanted to write a bit about my wonderful, fabulous vacation to Peru. If you've thought about visiting this country - GO! If you ever get the chance to go, by all means do! It's a beautiful country blessed with the warmest and kindest people. The only funny quirk I found was that for some odd reason, no one addressed me in English. They insisted on speaking to me in Spanish, yet they would address my SO (Chris) in English. Granted he's uh - white and I'm Filipino, but I don't understand how they made the determination to address me in Spanish. The moment I touched down on Peruvian soil, it was sink or swim for me language-wise. Funny example - the doorman at our hotel would greet us like so - to Chris... "Good evening, sir!" and then to me right behind Chris... "Buenas noches senora!" I'd like to thank the following people who taught me the Spanish that I know today: Julie for the 15 years of friendship and impromptu Spanish lessons, the music of Marc Anthony and Shakira because now I can tell someone in flawless Spanish how oh they've broken my heart with their lies and deception, but I'm gonna be okay because I'm gonna to salsa the night away.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my trip. On Machu Pichu...no amount of research, guide books, looking at photos and talking to others who have visited before me prepared me for the soul-stirring beauty of this place. It brought me to tears the moment I laid eyes on this place. It is a humbling experience to be in the presence of such majestic beauty.

The classic Machu Pichu picture taken from the caretaker's hut. Chris climbed the mountain (Wayna Pichu) behind me.

Chris thinking he can move mountains.

Lake Titicaca (tee, hee) and the floating islands. We were blessed with beautiful weather the whole time we were in Peru. Crystal clear blue skies, the sun shining, a cool breeze - it couldn't have been more perfect.

We took over 1,000 pictures and 6 hours of video during our trip and I still feel like it wasn't enough to capture all the beauty we saw.

Some say that visiting Peru is a once in a lifetime type of experience. Hopefully and God willing, I have some ways to go because I intend to keep going back.

Thanks for indulging me and letting me share my wonderful experience.