Japan: Instagrammed
After spending 10 days in Japan, followed by a week in Korea, my mind is still processing the whole, amazing experience. I visited Japan in 2008 on my round the world trip, and it’s still one of my most-loved countries for so many reasons. For now, I’ll start by sharing some of my favorite Instagrams from Japan!
Frozen yogurt and freshly made potato chips, drizzled with chocolate sauce at Calbee+ on Takeshita St in Harajuku.
Japanese bookstores have a nice selection of cat magazines. Shocking how much print is NOT dead in Japan. Side note: their fashion magazines come with a purse attached!
One of the things I love about Japan is their dedication to cute (“kawaii”) culture. Socks shopping at Mighty Soxer on Takeshita St in Tokyo.
Biking in Karuizawa (& fall colors). Also love the trust factor of bike locks in Japan.
Hot coffee from vending machines – why do we still not have these?
Snow monkeys soaking in their mountain onsen in Yudanaka – one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen!
Fall colors from the Shinkansen train from Nagano back to Tokyo.
First stop in Osaka: okonomiyaki for dinner
The best aquarium I’ve ever visited. Fantastic.
Japan takes photo booths to a whole new level. Another Japan item I thought would have reached American shores by now.
We stopped by a cat cafe in Osaka. It was an… odd experience.
Worth a second visit. Golden Pavilion temple in Kyoto.
Udon in Kyoto.
Love the food “cart” culture along Fukuoka’s waterfront.
We spent our last few hours in Japan watching sumo!
Have you been to Japan?
79 Things I Love {about Fall}
Next week we welcome another autumn into our lives. As a thoroughly predictable human being, every September I fight the changing season, and then start warming up to the idea after reminding myself of all the things to love about fall. I finally give in (short of relocating, what’s a Portlander to do?). This years autumnal equinox is September 22, so as the rains arrive, I’ll be re-reading my annual fall list.
I started this proper list of things that I love about fall a couple years ago, just to remind myself… So here’s the 2012 updated, with 79 things this year. Epic!
- leather boots
- crunchy leaves
- scarves (a serious weakness)
- cozy striped socks (and argyle!)
- English tea w/milk
- apple orchards
- Hulu
- rain boots (& wearing my Converse-style rainboots! & bees!)
- coffee
- Powell’s bookstore
- reading
- cooking over-elaborate meals (this 3 hour soup comes to mind)
- snuggling (kittehs or boys)
- hikes
- tights & skirts (cable knit!)
- live music/Doug Fir
- soup
- fall-ish tunes
- change/fresh starts
- duvets
- yellow
- baking
- chai lattes
- plaid
- wine
- shooting guns (Don’t judge. I’m from the country.)
- movies/beer/pizza/Cajun tots at McMenamins (tasty!)
- home goods stores
- pretending to love shopping
- argyle (see #4)
- learning
- pumpkin everything, (including pumpkin spice lattes)
- apple sauce (planning a canning party. I’m so in my 30s)
- hoodies (cozy)
- Thai food
- cities
- cinnamon
- whiskey
- planning winter trips (last year Iceland. This year Japan & South Korea)
- planning 1 winter escape (somewhere warm & cheap! February? March? Hawaii?)
- skinny jeans tucked into boots
- pretty maps (yet another serious weakness)
- layering
- that means more dark chocolate
- dreaming of Barcelona
- popcorn
- the air
- food carts with heated seating areas
- baths
- colors
- crying to Sigur Ros or Beck’s Sea Change (no explanation. It’s not 2 hrs and 14 min/week worth though, clearly I need to listen to more Sigur Ros)
- corduroy
- massive breakfasts
- geocaching
- making out in the cold
- trains
- watching people be excited about college football
- trying new cocktails
- spin class
- yurt camping
- finding new music
- yoga pants
- long dinners
- storms
- writing
- flannel sheets
- indoor workouts (Bar Method!)
- even more indoor time: a new cooking class
- board games
- mashed potatoes
- lazy weekend mornings catching up on my Google Reader in bed
- carbs
- rocking sudoku
- sucking at crosswords
- seasonal ales
- dark nail polish (OPI Over the Taupe)
- museums
- the words ‘crisp’ & ‘cozy’
- sweaters…
What do you love about fall?
Create or Learn Something Every Day
Last week’s ‘Create or learn every day’ goal was a success! Here’s what I created and learned last week…
Monday: Create - Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing design and background
Tuesday: Create – P&L Statement for Nicaragua Coffee Farm
My dad has been in the process, for the last couple years, of working on his coffee farm in Nicaragua. So after talking a few weeks ago, I decided it was high time he had a Profit & Loss statement to play with, so he can start making projections and really start planning for the future. Funsies!
Wednesday: Create – Pattern Making for Sewing a Skirt
I bought a cute skirt this summer that promptly ripped after a first wear. I was fairly annoyed because it wasn’t an easy fix like re-sewing a seam. Instead it was like the front of the fabric shredded! So in my anger at [cheap clothing store], I decided to just reconstruct the skirt into a pattern and make my own instead of returning it. I haven’t done a massive sewing project for oh… 12 years. So it’s been fun remembering things as I go.
Thursday: Create – an adventure with an impromptu solo day trip to the Oregon Coast
Don’t judge. You can create an adventure. Still counts as create/learn. :)
Friday: Learn – Creative Mornings
I attended this month’s Creative Mornings meetup at Pacific Northwest College of Arts. Julie Sabatier of podcast and radio show Destination DIY spoke about her process of story telling. Fun times.
On to week two!
What are you creating or learning?
Life Is Either A Daring Adventure Or Nothing
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” –Helen Keller
This has been one of my favorite quotes for a while. I asked myself ‘Why?’… I love that adventure is a unique perspective – that everyone’s definition of an adventure is slightly different. Daring is also a loaded word. It’s a bold statement, and very absolute. It’s personal. It reminds me that life is extremely short, and to try new things.
I have the next two weeks off work, so I have decided to create or learn something new every day. I will blog about some days’ creations.
This design is something I’ve had sitting on my desktop, half-finished, since March. The photo was taken at Shark’s Cove, Oahu. Although this photo was taken in March of 2012, this is actually the first spot I ever went snorkeling back in 2007. I remember feeling a little terrified and excited, and since I’m not the world’s best snorkeler I still feel a little bit like that every time I go. It’s an adventure.
What was your last adventure?
The Hippie Bowl – Kale, Avocado & Tahini Rice Bowl Recipe
I was commenting a few days ago on the difference in how you feel just after eating some thing good vs something good [for you]. Post-cheese plate, I feel like “mmmmmmm… that was good, I feel satisfied and full and now I want some more wine and a nap” vs post-’hippie bowl’, I feel like “mmmmmmm… that was good, I’m so good, I make good choices and I’m healthy. I should go running in a bit and then in the morning I’ll make green drink.” OK, maybe slightly exaggerated, sometimes I have a drink after eating healthy. Balance!
My point though, is that I spend too much money at Portland’s many amazing veg-friendly restaurants, like Prasad, and the newly-opened Canteen, on their “hippie bowls” — rice, beans, greens, seeds and Japanese ingredients I don’t know the names of, and magical dressings. So this week, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own! Here’s what I came up with.
I must preface this recipe with saying that you can make this recipe the easy, quick way or the slightly healthier –do it [all] yourself — long way, your pick.
Hippie Bowl Recipe
Serves 2 (or just you and lunch tomorrow, yay!)
Ingredients:
- Small bunch of kale
- 1 cup rice (white or brown) — that’ll be 2 cups when it’s cooked
- 1 can of pinto beans (drained/rinsed) — if you want to cook your own, knock yourself out.
- 1 avocado
- 2-3 tablespoons of tahini sauce (Trader Joes has a pre-made sauce, or you can make it with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt etc)
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce or liquid aminos (I just used low sodium soy sauce)
- Cook 1 cup of rice (with 2 cups of water). I have a rice cooker. It’s awesome. If you don’t, make rice.
- Warm the beans.
- Wash the kale and break the leaves off the stems, tearing into smaller pieces. Put the kale in pan with a bit of water (1/4 cup?), on low-medium heat with lid on to steam the kale. Remove from heat and drain water out when the kale starts to soften and looks slightly brighter green. (You don’t want it completely wilted, just steamed)
- Layer the rice and then beans into bowls, pile with kale and slice a half an avocado on each bowl.
- To make the dressing, just whisk together the tahini sauce and soy sauce (you can of course make your own, but getting the tahini sauce at Trader Joes is easier. Yay!).
- Pour dressing over the top of you bowl and devour.
Do you have a favorite hippie bowl recipe? Do share!
Things I ♥: travel, food (I'm a pescatarian), the Pacific Northwest, bikes (I ride an orange mixte), beer (IPAs), summer, coffee, lists, and kittehs. Travel enthusiast, dabbler, and product manager at BootsnAll Travel Network.
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