Random Thoughts of the Day

1. Great, fun relaxing weekend.

2. RIP Juicy bling studs... (; ;). Seriously a bit sad that one of them broke.

3. Long day of house shopping today after work! Super fun! Pictures below (yes, I know dorky, but I get really excited about these things... A little TOO excited...)! But it's my first time to pick out things for own apartment! These are milestones to remember! Everyday my place is more like a home!

4. Thai buffet was way too filling for lunch...My goodness I was uncomfortably full for most of the afternoon.

5. Found out my android is compatible with my mac yay!

6. I was in a serious cleaning mood tonight...

7. I can't fall asleep for some reason...

8. I love my new desktop... Rotating shots from Spring 2010 runway.

9. Why does my house get dusty so quickly?!

10. Excited for the 4 day work week (^.^)

11. Valentines Day here is so backwards. Why do we give chocolate to boys?! I really don't get it... And then in March there is "White Day" where boys reciprocate and give girls things... So I have to go buy chocolate now for all my guy friends...And expect nothing this year in return. Well that's no fun! ;) I'll go buy a present for myself then! :)

12. I'm so in love with Franc Franc.

This is sooo adorable! Probably one of my favorite things that I got today. It's a tea set! And I love pigs (plus I'm a little piggy - so my mommy/friends tell me cause I eat so much... unfortunately this is too true!).

Teapot and two teacups! And they are buffnblu!

Piggy teapot comes with a strainer inside

Matching coasters and tableware box!

Pink ceramic knife!

My plates! Another favorite! I love how they go together with everything! Apparently I have good taste, the lady at Franc Franc told me they were in some TV drama in Japan. Pretty cool, huh?

Chop2Pot cutting board... It folds and is an award winning cutting board!

My pair of crystal hashi (chopsticks!)

Crystal soup spoons too! I love this stuff.

Random Thoughts of the Day

1. Saw a lady with a buffnblu bag today that said VODKA on it. I laughed.

2. Spring Nautical.

3. Need to check out Esola Ikebukuro!

4. Went to a cute bistro tonight called Les enfants terribles (literally like 3 min walking from my house!). Mmmm crepes and herbal chamomile tea.

5. So far doing well on my detox! We'll see how my will power is this weekend :)

6. Despite not wanting to go out at night, I have quite a busy next couple of days...

7. Will probably go MIA till Tuesday, if I blog before then I'll be quite surprised!

8. I need to go grocery shopping

9. I love my convertible arm warmer/mittens

10. I hate bills.

11. I am turning into a web geek... Did some online client alerts for attorneys today because or webber-girl in marketing is inundated with work... Who would've thought.

12. I make a bomb egg salad sandwich (I use a secret ingredient).

13. Can't wait to eat cereal for breakfast tomorrow morning - Two kinds: bran and fruit granola with fresh strawberries, bananas and soymilk! Such an Alanna meal :)

14. Good night!!!

Random Thoughts of the Day

1. I made a tower of large envelopes on my desk today. The goal was to have it go above my cubicle.

2. Lunch was so filling I almost couldn't eat dinner.

3. I just can't get enough of Roppongi Hills! Great place for a little cardio (walking and shopping - it's too damn cold to run outside!)

4. I am becoming a Zara addict.

5. Received my first package in the mail today!!! I was so confused as to what it was and who it was from... Had to look up the kanji on the Internet! I found out it was from one of the attorney's and his wife! So sweet! Chocolate cake! Can't wait to eat it!

Wrapped so pretty... What is it?

Chocolate roll cake from Jiyugaoka!!!

Yum.

6. I met another coworker today... People from my office are so cute! I talked to her on the way to the station.

7. Cold rain today.

8. Love love love 3.1 Phillip Lim Spring. Too bad it's like double here. (; ;)

9. Dammit it's 12:30. I've been trying to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night this week! Just broke that streak.

10. Time for bed!!!

Ogo's

Ogo's gets it's own post because it is a Hawaiian restaurant and I am an island girl. Many people have raved about this place and told me to go here... It's actually in Akasaka which is where I work so it's a bit outrageous that today was my first time there for lunch.

After weeks of Wednesday rescheduling, Greg (aka oyaji onichan) and I finally got our Ogo's lunch together. He frequents this place so often he knows the owner! The space is tiny but homey. The owner is also the chef and his name is Yoji. He went to Aiea High School. When we walked in he's like "Oh you went Iolani, too?" And I replied, "Oh hell no. The other school. The better one." And he goes, "Oh, Punahou." Haha. Some things never change I guess.

Let's cut the chase... The food... Amazing. And lunch was a good deal (1200 yen). I had the spicy tuna poke over furikake rice and a chicken tomato stew with rice and mac salad! Greg had the three choice - Loco Moco, kalua pig and the stew as well! For dessert we had haupia. SO MUCH FOOD. I stuffed myself silly. I got awfully homesick, though, sitting in there and listening to the Jawaiian music....sigh.

The scene... Hawaiian quilts on the wall, Benny's baseball jersey hung on the wall, lots of UH sporting attire and of course pictures of Colt Brennan. Oh, and lauhala on the walls. Love it.

Our lunch!!!

I already want to go back for dinner!

Random Thoughts of the Day

1. Woke up this morning, stepped outside my balcony and whaddaya know! Look at all that snow at the rooftop of the building across the street!!! I really wanted to (still do want to) play in it...

2. First conference call ever today. Got to work early to call in... I felt important even though it was mainly just a presentation type thing for our new global pitch framework.

3. If you know me, you know I could very well be Jared the Subway Guy cause I love it. Like my mom says "Sometimes you're so easy to please. Get you a Subway and you're happy." Haha, yes that's a bit sad, I know. But my love for Subway balances out my love for ridiculously expensive shoes, purses and clothes. Anyway, had Subway for the first time in Japan for lunch Monday! And do I dare say... It's better than the States? I think so! They even have a variety of flavored fries! I tried the basil ones (yum) though sadly, I ran out of ketchup. I'll be back next week and make sure to ask for two packets of ketchup.

4. Japanese strawberries. YUM.

5. Check out my dessert tonight... Peanut butter with fresh bananas and strawberry sandwich!!! Devoured that.

6. Loving my deep purple metallic nails.

7. I'm sad it didn't snow tonight.

8. Going ice skating this Saturday! So excited!!!

9. I miss my bikini drawer at home.

10. STILL tired... Good night.

Monday - SNOW!!!

1. I experienced my first snowfall in Tokyo!

2. I have never lived in a city where it snowed... (Hawaii/Malibu=more or less euphoric, tropical climate areas)

3. It was so so exciting! I actually left my house and went to the supermarket just to see snow falling... These pictures do not do justice... There were seriously huge chunks of snowflakes coming down in sheets from the sky! I tried to catch some in my hand... But failed.

Outside my apartment!

At the corner of Shichimenzaka (my street) on my way to the market!

One last picture before I scurried back home. I think this is the best one!

4. Train doors sure are strong! I almost got caught in one on the way home yesterday. Barely made it through. Sorta scary.

5. I'm convinced my mom should've and could've been a first class model in Japan. They all look a lot like her... Yeah?

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5. Went to bed on Monday at 11:00 p.m. I was STILL tired...

Playing Catchup! Thursday-Sunday

1. I have been MIA! Thanks for pointing this out to me J! I feel loved knowing someone follows (~.^)

2. Thursday: Went to a great French bistro called Bistro de la Cite in Nishiazabu! The rilette (similar to pate, usually made with pork- I did not know this, did some research) and bread was excellent! Other dishes included a scallop salad with truffles, escargot, steak with fries and a French dish with beans and sausage on top. I can't remember what it's called but it was baked and served in a small casserole dish. For dessert I had a maron cream cake (maron is chesnut). I usually don't like maron but this was also delicious and quite light. Really cute place and good food! Also found a charming little bar that plays oldies across the way... The owner is an adorable old man that works the bar himself and deejays at the same time. It's really a one-man-show. His deejay set plays only records and every time a song plays, he hangs the record cover on the wall.

3. Friday: 新宴会 (shinnenkai=beginning of the year celebration usually involving dinner and drinks) with my coworkers! It was so fun. We went to an お好み焼き (okonomiyaki=the Japanese cabbage pancake with all sorts of meat/seafood and special sauces on top!) restaurant where it was 食べ放題/飲み放題 (tabehoudai/nomihoudai=all you can eat/drink). Wow was I stuffed! Then we went a great little lounge in 表参道 (Omotesando). It was in the basement of a building and you had to take off your shoes upon entering. The place was so posh! Plush purple and red carpeting everywhere, white leather furniture, kitschy 70s lava lamp-ish lighting and tons of great cocktails. I will be back. Below are two of the many:

I ordered this one... Some sort of peach bellini type cocktail. So pretty and it tasted like juice.

This next cocktail was Rie's apple sangria type cocktail.

4. Friday was long. Snuck into F Bar since it was near my house but left shortly after realizing my friends were way too drunk. Met up with other friends near a cute lounge even closer to my house. Somehow they talked me into changing and going clubbing... At 3 am. Eek. Enough said.

5. Brunch @ the Park Hyatt... Apparently you can order bacon and eggs even if it's not on the menu! Saturday was a gorgeous day and eating on the patio outside was so fun!

6. Saturday I tried to nap. TRIED unsuccessfully.

7. G-chat session with my PIC - Leslie! Really missed that.

8. Saturday night: Mustered up the strength to make it to the birthday party. We rented a boat for one the girls and had about 25 people onboard! It was so gorgeous. Even though it was cold, I stayed outside in my down jacket and just enjoyed the cool winter breeze and shiny lights! The boat ride was about 2 hours from Hinode to Odaiba (where I actually did my homestay when I was in Japan studying abroad). In my delirious state I forgot my camera and have no pictures. (; . ; ) I'll have to steal some and post later.

9. Post-nautical activities... Clubbing again. By now I was one dead fish. I was drinking water and oolong tea at the club. The thought of alcohol made me nauseas.

10. Jersey Shore... What trash. I love it.

11. Sunday as usual a day of relaxation and recharging. But I bought a trashcan from Muji!

12. One hell of a weekend. I am learning that I am more of a little island girl than I thought.

13. Looking forward to NOT GOING OUT this weekend.

14. Detoxing.