goodies

Here are some goodies that I was able to purchase in Japan…

I can’t believe how cute the horse fabric is. It was in the ruminants bin, got like 2 1/2 meter for less than 5 bucks. I still can’t believe it. The pink hanabi-ish fabric is my favorite, though. The colors used in that fabric got me good… And some of the cutest buttons I had ever seen… I can totally see a special bag forming. I’m not sure what I’m going to use the funny looking trim, though.

I scored these at near by antique store. They are having a store closing sale. I’m happy that I got to have those cute items for really reasonable prices, but I’m sad that it’s closing down… I just started checking it out often, and they were going to carry my wares there… Anyway, if you happen to be in Winston Salem, please stop by there since everything they have is cute and they are very nice people… (West End Antiques : across from Hanes Park)

on the way to work

These are parts of what I see on the way to work. Spring is the best season to walk and smell the little flowers in the air… I can’t get enought of dogwood this time of a year. Something about the shape and style of it makes me stop and just stare. I cut through neighbor high school’s property, and I realized that they have painted the tunnel yellow. It was pretty surprising, so I had to take some photos.

My friend, Nouko will come to visit us from Japan very soon! I can’t wait to see her since I couldn’t see her while I was visiting there. And right after she leaves, my best friend Kumi will fly in! It made it so much easier to leave Japan to know that someone I love will come to see me in no time.

Since I got back, I have been trying to catch up with the pile of things to do at work and around the house. I think it’s about time for me to finally sit down and go through Japanese crafty books that I picked from there. I can’t believe that I have not done any of crafty projects in like 2 months. It’s about time to get busy creatively.

journey report 2

Wanted to post a few more images from my trip to Japan…
And here they are. Somehow all food related…

A few choices of green tea in bottle, out of so many brands… I thought Americans have too many choices for everything, but look at them…

Ahh, Ramen at Nihachi in Ina city. The restaurant is so good and famous that the parking lot was full and there were people waiting on the street to get in… We got there early enough that we didn’t have to stand in line, but I wouldn’t have minded to wait for that ramen.
And awesome Una-jyu from Kobayashi. Eel, anyone?
Uguisu-mochi that I made. I found this recipe and made it over and over again while I was in Japan. Great Japanese sweets for the season. Has anko (sweet red bean paste) in it.
Huge strawberries “Nyohou” in Shizuoka
Osakana center in Shizuoka; there are bunch of fish related stuff selling there. Very fishy smelling place, but very interesting.
This is a huge rock salt at Osakana center. I mean, come on. Really huge. The color was really nice pale reddish brown.
Pile of dried octopus. Told you there were bunch of interesting things.

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Tomorrow is my hubby’s 30th birthday. Happy birthday, Jonny, and many many more! I want to post a bunch of cute images of him being little… we’ll see what he says about that.

Well, I hope everyone will have a gorgeous weekend!

back in business

Here I am, back in the states, managed to make it before spring was gone…

The visit to Japan was just wonderful. I got to hang out with my family as much as time permitted, and I got to see my great friends. It’s always nice to be welcomed and just catch up where we left last time… I got to enjoy great food there, too, and realized again that having good and healthy food is very important. The weather was kinda crazy in my hometown, nice and warm one day and dark and snowy the next , but it was just awesome in Tokyo, where cherry blossom was in full bloom when I visited. While I was in Tokyo, I got to go to Nippori, where there are so many textile shops and other shops that carry crafty items. I was drooling over so many different things… It was just awesome to see what was available. I guess I should be glad that I’m not living there. Talking about going broke…

So here are some photos from my trip.

A shrine in the town where I went to high school. Very old one.

Mt. Yatsugatake ; isn’t it awesome that you can see this everyday right in front of your eyes? Now that I live away from it, I can appreciate it more than ever.

Taruhime-no-taki ; 20minutes walk from my family’s house. Very soothing in the summer time, but it was a little too cold to enjoy the coolness of it.

Mt. Fuji ; no wonder Japanese people have loved it since day one… It’s just breathtaking.

There are some more images that I want to post, but it’s not letting me do it right now. So this is it for today… I can just smell the spring air of Japan just by looking at the images…

I gotta get ready for new projects. My mind has been restless because of overflowing ideas… We’ll see what’s going to happen with them.

Hope the weather is nice where you are. It is beautiful here in Winston Salem.