Month: July 2013

The Sudden Summer Rain

Thunder storms excite me to no end.
We had a sudden storm on Sunday. I was just coming out of the supermarket when it started to rain a little and I thought, oh I’ll wait it out because I didn’t bring an umbrella with me. But then, it started thundering and the rain got stronger and stronger. And the power of the storm was so electrifying, I couldn’t help myself. I walked out into the storm.
Needless to say I got SOAKED!!! But it was awesome. The warm summer rain felt really great. And I wasn’t the only one walking around in the storm. I passed a couple of people without an umbrella and we just grinned at each other.
By the time I got home…the rain was still pouring but the sky was unbelievably blue. So where was the rain coming from? Who knows. All I know is I had a great time getting wet in the rain.
Hope you all get a summer storm or two to enjoy, too! x

The Teacher with the Same Outfit

(via swissmiss)
Oh gosh, this is fantastic.
PE teacher, Dale Irby, wore the same outfit for every yearbook photo during his 40-years of teaching. I cannot get over how great this is. And yes, I secretly wish I would have thought of that when I was still taking school pictures. I mean, look at it!
In this Dallas News article, he said that it all started out as an accident when he wore the same outfit the in his second year…and his wife dared him to wear it again. And on it went. You can see many of his yearbook pictures on News.com.au. Seriously awesome.
So of course I had to go look for my old school pictures. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I only found the one of me in 7th grade. But it was good enough to have me laughing my head of for a good 10 minutes! Teehee!
Aren’t school pictures the best? 😀
What was going on with my hair?
And how patriotic was I? ;D

The Bary-san Chocolate

We seem to love mascot characters in Japan.
We pretty much have a mascot for everything. The most popular ones of late are the mascots of various cities throughout Japan called Yuru-kyara, which means something like loose characters in Japanese. Not sure whether they are called that because they aren’t official city mascots or because the characters are quite casual and quirky, but they are popular.
There’s even a Yuru-kyara Grand Prix every year, where people can vote for their favorite mascot. Last year, 880 mascots entered the contest. Told ya. I wasn’t kidding when I said we really love our mascots.
Imabari City, where my parents live, also has their own mascot character. His name is Bary-san (his profile in Japanese is here). He’s a pretty cute mascot, in my opinion.
Imabari is known for their yakitori (skewered chicken), so the mascot is a bird. His crown is the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge, which is a bridge that connects the main land to the Shikoku Island (which is where Imabari City is located). It’s also apparently the longest suspension bridge in the world.
It doesn’t stop there. He is wearing a haramaki, which is a cloth that wraps around and warms your stomach, because Imabari is famous for their towels. I hear they make about 60% of the towels in Japan. Also, the little ship he’s carrying is a wallet, representing Imabari’s shipping industry.
Don’t you love the details and the story behind the character? I love it. Probably because I’m Japanese. Ha.
Anyways, Bary-san is not only my favorite…(drum roll please)…he was the winner of last year’s Yuru-kyara Grand Prix! Whoop! It’s pretty huge considering a lot of Japanese people don’t even know where Imabari City is.
But they are taking this chance to promote their city and Bary-san has even made his way into convenience stores all over Tokyo. He has his own Chiroru Chocolate (pictured), which are bite sized chocolates that come in many flavors. The Bary-san chocolates are orange flavored because the whole prefecture of Ehime, where Imabari City is located, is famous for producing oranges called Iyokan.
I found this chocolate at my local convenience store and had to get it. I loved the packaging with Bary-san saying different things in the local dialect. Too cute.
Doesn’t he grow on you? 😀
You can get Bary-san PC backgrounds for free here!

The Ploughman’s Sandwich

I got my hands on some Ballymaloe Country Relish last weekend!
V brought this delicious Irish relish with her when she came to visit Tokyo with her family all the way from her kitchen in Kobe. Yes, that’s right, it’s homemade!
I actually had to ask V how to use this relish because I’ve never really tried relish before. She told me it went well in a Ploughman’s Sandwich. So naturally, my next question was, what exactly is a Ploughman’s Sandwich?
V was nice enough to explain what kind of sandwich it was and then I went home and did what any respectable person would do. I googled it. And I found this really interesting website called All Sandwiches that actually had a recipe for a Ploughman’s Sandwich!
I’ve been making this sandwich to take to work lately. I love it.
Ploughman’s Sandwich
(adapted from All Sandwiches)
Ingredients:
Wholewheat bread
Mayonnaise
Sliced Tomato
Cheddar cheese
Lettuce and/or greens
Ballymaloe country relish
Directions:
1.
Spread mayo on both slices of bread.
2.
Place a slice or slices of cheese on one.
Spread the ballymaloe country relish on top of the cheese.
If you really like relish, add on the other slice of bread, too.
3.
Top with slices of tomato and lettuce/greens.
Put them together and enjoy!

The Weekend with a Lovely Family

I melt every time I see this photo!
Isn’t he adorable? My friends were in town from Kobe this weekend and I loved getting to spend time with the two of them and their gorgeous baby A. He’s grown so much from the last time I saw him! 
So happy that A let me take a picture with him. He’s very shy now. Probably from having everyone ooh and ahh over how sweet he is! The triles of a cute baby, am I right? But he was sweet enough to sit on my lap for me.
Look at his face though! His eyes are quietly saying, what are you making me do, mum! 😀
We went to Din Tai Fung for dinner. I love eating Chinese/Taiwanese food. It’s so good and it looks fabulous all spread out on the table with little plates and tea cups. They were also very child friendly as well. 
After dinner we went back to their hotel, which had a lovely lounge. I got to try a Chocolate Martini for the very first time. Woohoo! It was delicious (and how could it not be…it has chocolate!).
The hotel lobby had this projector showing fireworks and waterfalls on one side of the atrium wall and A was quite fascinated with the little show. I think we all were actually.
We talked for hours, as it always ends up being, and I loved every minute of it. V and D are so much fun to chat with. They really know how to entertain…even when they are the ones visiting! 😀

I had the best weekend catching up with this lovely family and can’t wait to see them all again! x

The Dinner at Union Square Tokyo

We had a little reunion last Friday night.

D and I used to both work under Mr. T when we first started with the company. He was a great person to work with and I think we both learned a lot through his work ethics. We now no longer all work together but sometimes Mr. T takes us out, despite his busy schedule, so we can all catch up.
This Friday, he took us out to Union Square Tokyo, which apparently is a very popular restaurant at Tokyo Midtown. They had a bar near the entrance, further down a seating area with high ceilings, and a terrace outside facing the Midtown park.
We had an amazing dinner inside (yes, they will make some dishes vegetarian for you!) but since it was such a nice night out, Mr. T asked the waiter if we could have dessert outside on the terrace. I adore this man. You know I love the outdoors, even if it’s smack in the middle of the city. And having delicious wine, dessert, and coffee out on the terrace with some of my favorite people completely made my night!
Cool summer nights should always be spent outside with interesting conversation, don’t you think? x

Union Square Tokyo
Midtown Tokyo Galleria B1
9-7-4 Akasaka
Minato-ku, Tokyo
03-5413-7780

The July Link Love

I keep on repeating myself every month.
But June was definitely the busiest month for me this year. Work was beyond hectic (in a good way…although I’m hoping 30+ hours of overtime is not an every month thing) and weekends were full of fun with friends!!!
For July, I’m hoping to relax a bit more and get back to running more often. And of course, more posts! Happy July! 😀

——————————————————-Link Love——————————————————-

– I haven’t cooked or baked at all this month. Not once. But when I do, I’m making this.
– My rosemary plant is getting bigger. Want to make this cake soon.
– I sent kit-kats to my awesome friend. He made this amazing instagram video and made my day.
– Changed my morning alarm to this song.
– My fascination with British English continues. Read this and laughed out loud.
– This powerful artwork by Manabu Ikeda makes you think.