Category Archives: adventures

Feb 11 2013
5 Comments
adventures, celebrations, Week of Indulgence, what's for dinner

#WeekofIndulgence

photo(72)

Next Tuesday Naoto is having a little surgery to repair the cause of his chronic acid reflux. I’ll spare you the details, because acid reflux is not romantic (it is Valentine week, after all!)

After the surgery, Naoto will be on a strict diet for the next two months, slowly adding foods back into his diet as he heals. For the first two weeks, he can only eat broth, strained soups, pudding, milk, gelatin, yogurt, cottage cheese and well-cooked & pureed vegetables. Weeks 3-7 get a little bit better because we can add in tofu, white rice, eggs, fish and some other solid, substantial foods. But the real kicker is that it isn’t until Week 8 that he can have fresh fruits & vegetables, citrus, bread, meats, alcohol and caffeine. So basically, since eating and drinking are Naoto’s favorite hobbies, it’s going to be a rough two months. I’ve made my share of jokes about this change in lifestyle (my favorite: BYOB—Bring Your Own Broth) but in all seriousness, I feel really bad for him, and neither of us are looking forward to what this is going to mean for our social lives for the next two months.

So, in an effort to prepare for the upcoming diet, I’ve deemed this week The Week of Indulgence: a week of excessive eating and drinking adventures. We are going to pack in all of the foodie fun we can before Monday night when Naoto turns into a sad pumpkin who can’t eat anything at all before the surgery. We kicked things off this weekend with lunch at Sankyu (Naoto’s bento box is pictured above) and we are planning a few more food adventures, including two city spots we’ve been meaning to try. And, we are planning a little “Welcome Back to the Eating” party for when Naoto returns to a “normal” diet…so much to look forward to!

I’ve started using #weekofindulgence on Twitter and Instagram to track our food adventures…so be prepared for more food & drink posts than normal over there.

Tagged , ,
Feb 08 2013
6 Comments
adventures, some stuff about me

It’s “Heart” Work

photo(48)

Naoto & I are both members of our local gym. The difference is, he loves going and I hate going. I drag my feet out of the locker room and Naoto bounds out with excitement for the upcoming treadmill time (yes, that’s him above, super-excited about the workout ahead). When we update our runs (or in my case run/walks) on Daily Mile, Naoto writes things like, “Ran 5 miles. It felt awesome!” I write things like, “The only reason I ran for that long is because I wanted to see the end of the Friends episode.” When Naoto goes, he bounces around like a celebrity high fiving the card-taker at the door. When I go, I avoid eye contact and put my earbuds in so I’m not obligated to interact with anyone. (I think I’m the more normal one in this respect.) When Naoto goes he likes to take his time and change and shower in the locker room. I like to come dressed for the gym, rush into the locker room just to hang up my coat and shower in the privacy of my own bathroom when I get home. Naoto never turns on the treadmill’s TV or listens to music. I plot my gym visits around TV shows and often embarrass myself (& Naoto) by snort-laughing at Colbert or cheering out loud at a sports team.

But as annoying his enthusiasm about working out can be, I still love going to the gym with Naoto. He’s a good influence in more ways than one.

Tagged
Jan 22 2013
Leave a comment
adventures, Tea

I *Heart* David’s Tea

photo(58)

Naoto & I had a tea date Sunday night. See him up there paying for our tea like a true gentleman? (The money comes out of the same account, but sometimes it feels nice not to have to be the one pulling out the card…it gives me an opportunity to take awkward pictures.)

David’s Tea has quickly become our favorite place. I read about it over a year ago here, and didn’t really give it a second thought…I mean, it was a Canadian shop and I wasn’t going to order tea online when I have a tea store in my neighborhood. (A tea store that I never shop at, by the way.) One day last summer while visiting Naoto’s office, I noticed that a David’s Tea came to his neighborhood–the design of the store made me take note–I love the clean, simple logo, the teal and the bright store! (I’m a sucker for these things!)

photo(61)

Our first visit was a little overwhelming at first–we got attacked with samples right away. And once we said it was our first visit, the staff eagerly started pulling down tea after tea after tea for us to smell. Once we narrowed down that I don’t like chocolate in my tea (ew!) and I don’t like herbal tea (double-ew!) it was easy to narrow down the wide array of teas and focus on the black teas for my initial visit. (I love oolong and green teas, too, but to keep things simple, I wanted to stick with black on my first try.)

We’ve been going regularly since the fall to try out cups of tea and to stock up for our teapot at home. Naoto goes so often that he is known as the Matcha Man (he gets a cup of matcha every time he goes). I get something different every time I go. David’s has a really interesting menu of teas, with some really unusual choices. One of the first ones I tried was Root Beer Float, and it really does taste like root beer! (This is both tasty and weird…) Right now, I’m working my way through the menu one pot at a time. I get a cup of tea to drink in the store, and usually have them measure out one pot’s worth of something new to try at home. Once I know I love something, then I get a larger amount to have on hand.

We’ve tried more than a dozen teas so far and my top three are Ceylon Star, Cream of Earl Grey and my favorite, Glitter & Gold. Glitter & Gold is such a show stopper! It has cinnamon, gold sugar balls and silver sugar crystals in with the tea leaves. As the tea steeps, the sugar melts and it leaves your tea slightly sweetened and shimmering!! I sometimes feel guilty about making it for myself on a Tuesday afternoon, but who says you can’t have a little celebratory tea on a chilly winter day?

photo(59)

They also have a gorgeous collection of tea cups and tea pots…

photo(60)

…and a rainbow of other tea accessories.

The only bummer for me is that this location is more of a tea store/take-your-cup-to-go kind of place. There is a couch in the front by the window, so if you’re the only one in the store, you can sit there for a bit and enjoy your tea. Otherwise you can sip your tea and check out the teapots or take your cup to go. I still love this location though…the staff is so nice and helpful (and of course it helps to know the Matcha Man!)

photo(62)

Tagged , ,
Jan 14 2013
Leave a comment
adventures, snail mail

Monday, Monday

photo(55)

Happy Monday! Last week’s work schedule took over and I’ve become a third shift sleeper, hence the lack of blog posts (mostly because there is of a lack of sunlight for taking pictures when you sleep until the afternoon). But the weekend was a good one! Naoto didn’t work on Friday night (a huge rarity around here) so we drove out to Sankyu (for the fourth time in three weeks!) and had dinner together. For once it was me who was begging to eat there…my craving for a tekka roll (tuna & wasabi roll) could not be contained!

On Saturday, I didn’t sleep until the afternoon. Naoto & I both got up pretty early and got juice and coffee from the Juice Joint, out latest neighborhood obsession. I made us breakfast sandwiches on Hippo rolls from the Mitsuwa marketplace. Then we headed into the city so I could attend the latest letter social held by the Letter Writers Alliance. I only wrote one postcard, one note and one letter but I had so much fun talking stamps and mail and typewriters with the other ladies in attendance. My outgoing mail is pictured at the top, including my new flying envelope stamp (an LWA members -only item) & a Month of Letters postcard.

photo(54)

After the social, we sped home so I could make homemade ricotta and tomato jam for my work party later Saturday night. (Isn’t Linda’s fireplace cozy?) And on Sunday, I slept so late that I almost missed a lunch date! In the evening we hosted our neighbor friends for a gin tasting and Golden Globe watching party. Whew! It was a busy weekend for us! Hopefully this week I can get back on a “normal” sleeping schedule–there is a lot to do around here!

Tagged , , , , ,
Jan 09 2013
3 Comments
adventures, cocktails

Cocktail Perfected: CAP

DSC_0015

I was introduced to lychee liquor in a Chinese restaurant in Japan. It was served with sparkling grapefruit juice and it was really delicious. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so when we came home, it didn’t take us long to seek it out at the liquor store. We came home with a bottle of Soho Lychee Liquor and got to work experimenting with it in cocktails. If you’ve never had a lychee fruit, it is really unusual. It tastes kind of like a pear crossed with a grape and it looks kind of fleshy (for lack of a better explanation). They are not the most beautiful of fruits! You can buy them fresh, but I’ve never seen them anywhere around here. We buy our lychees in a can at Mitsuwa. Even if you don’t try the cocktail, I highly recommend the lychees!

We came up with the CAP* cocktail after experimenting with the lychee liquor and a variety of juices. Once we found what we thought was a good combination, we served it to our friends who found it super-drinkable (as in, they drank way too many!) and delicious. We’ve served it for both of our birthdays for the past two years and for other cocktail occasions.

*CAP is an acronym for a little joke in our home: Caucasian Asian Persuasion. (What can I say? We celebrate our inter-cultural marriage.)

DSC_0009

CAP Cocktail

1 oz pomegranate juice

1 oz vodka

1 oz Soho lychee liquor

Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in a martini glass and top off with a little bit of sparkling water. Drop in a lychee fruit for garnish.

I know this cocktail is a lot more “cosmo” and a lot less “old-fashioned” but trust me…it’s a nice little treat.

UPDATE: Last night, we replaced the vodka with gin (my favorite, Clearheart, which is slightly more flowery than a London dry gin) and ohmygoodness!!! So good! I can’t believe it took us so long to try this–now we need a name for the gin version! Any suggestions?

Tagged ,
Dec 22 2012
2 Comments
adventures, Christmas, Merry & Bright, Oh Tannenbaum

Oh Tannenbaum 6 – Road Trip Honeymoon

DSC_0030

Since we had so much fun on our first road trip, I made my mind up that a road trip honeymoon was the right idea for our wedding the following year. We didn’t want to do anything too crazy expensive, since we knew we wanted to go to Japan at some point. And we didn’t want to do a beach honeymoon because we could visit Naoto’s host family in Hawaii any time.

DSC_0027

So we decided to head east for the honeymoon. We started in Cleveland and the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. The ornament isn’t crazy-awesome, but the building really is amazing. It was designed by I.M. Pei (who also worked on the Louvre expansion) and the building itself is enough of a reason to visit Cleveland, not to mention the rock awesomeness on the inside. It was super-educational for Naoto, too…because he didn’t have the same rock education growing up as I did.

After Cleveland, we headed into Pennsylvania for the main event: a visit to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water (ornament pictured at the top). We are both huge fans of Frank Lloyd Wright‘s work, especially since we were surrounded by so much of it while living in Oak Park. (Plus, we were married in Wright’s Unity Temple.) Falling Water was stunning…we geeked out over all of the architectural details during the tour and had the perfect summer day to walk around the grounds. We even took a quick side trip to see Kentuck Knob, another Wright house nearby.

DSC_0025

Our next stop was Hershey, Pennsylvania– home of chocolatey goodness! We stayed in the Hershey Lodge (which was slightly cheaper than the fancy Hotel Hershey) and it was sweet (pun intended) and filled with cute details. The room numbers are adorned with Hershey kisses, the pillows had Hershey Kiss covered pillowcases, the restaurant served chocolate-themed food (not just desserts either!) and I drank the most delicious, not-too-rich chocolate martini I’ve ever had, and Naoto had his favorite chocolate beer ever! And, when we left our room in the morning, there was a York Peppermint Patty hanging out in the hall to greet us! He gave me a hug.

DSC_0008

After Hershey, we drove along to Philadelphia to visit Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell (pictured above). The Liberty Bell was way more impressive in real life and Independence Hall was very simple…it seemed smaller than I imagined.

And finally, with no ornament to share, we ended our trip at the Crayola Factory. Because of Mister Rogers and this video, I’ve always wanted to see the Crayola factory. And while it isn’t the actual factory where the crayons are still poured, we still learned a lot. And, we were the only people in the whole place without children. Because it is one of those places that kids go on school trips or with their parents…there were crafting areas where kids could play with the clay, the markers and the crayons. We didn’t do that (because it would have been awkward), but we learned a lot. The best thing we learned was that Mister Rogers poured the 100 billionth Crayola. And a cardigan hangs in the museum next to that crayon. Neat, huh?

So that was our honeymoon…I have to admit that a road trip honeymoon wasn’t completely relaxing. It would have been much calmer for us to head to a beach and stay in one place. But the road trip was perfect for us, and we had so much fun together on our first adventure as husband and wife.

I wouldn’t change a thing.

Tagged , , , , ,
Dec 21 2012
2 Comments
adventures, Christmas, holidays, Merry & Bright, Oh Tannenbaum

Oh Tannenbaum 5 – Road Trip!

DSC_0018

In 2005 I was tired of work travel and itching for a good vacation. Naoto & I had taken several flying vacations before, but I wanted a road trip. I kind of hate flying, so sometimes the anxiety about getting on a plane is enough to spoil the relaxation in a vacation. Plus, road trips are a great way to see plenty of states.

We started in Iowa in Madison County. I’ll let you take a moment to giggle…I’ve always loved covered bridges, not necessarily because of the book or the movie, but because I visited one as a kid and I thought they were neat. Well, I probably didn’t think it was neat at the time, but as an adult, I grew to love them. I think Winterset, Iowa is just about the cutest tiny town in Iowa and I loved that the bridges held years of history…many initials and names were carved in the old wooden walls and the floor boards of the bridges were gorgeously worn.

DSC_0013

Our next stop was Mount Rushmore. On the way, we visited the “required” stops in South Dakota: the Corn Castle and Wall Drug, the Black Hills, Crazy Horse, the Badlands. Mount Rushmore was incredible…breathtaking…it’s absolutely amazing to think that it was designed and executed without technology… I am not someone who gets weepy about my country (okay, I sometimes am) but seeing those presidents sitting on a mountainside just made me feel proud of their hard work many years ago…

DSC_0038

Our final stop was…the SPAM museum. Naoto grew up in Hawaii from age twelve and is a huge SPAM fan. He ate it all the time growing up and he still eats it today (when I’m not around). The museum was great fun…the exhibits were interesting, educational, historical and hilarious. I think we giggled through the whole place. And we spent a fortune in the gift shop on crazy SPAM paraphernalia and “limited edition” SPAMs (that sit unopened in our pantry, yet still have a few years to go on their expiration dates…)

 

 

Tagged , , ,
Dec 20 2012
Leave a comment
adventures, what's for dinner

The Igloo Drive-In

photo(40)

Presley always tries to coax me into staying home when she knows I’m going away for the day.

On Tuesday I met my parents in Peru, Illinois for some Christmas shopping, eating and good ol’ hanging out. Peru is in the central part of Illinois, only about a half hour away from my parents’ home. It’s a nice place to meet because there is a little mall and plenty of stores without the traffic of Chicagoland. I did most of my Christmas shopping online or in my neighborhood this year, but there were a few things I needed from a big box store to round out my gift list.

The best part of the day was dinner. I finally got to try the Igloo Drive-In! My parents stopped there on their honeymoon forty years ago. Back then, car hops delivered their food to their car. It’s not like that anymore, but it’s still charming. The menu is small, but all of the drive-in classics are there. On the wall, they have maps where customers can pin their hometowns…people from all over the country have visited the Igloo!

I had a tenderloin sandwich and a homemade root beer (which I accidentally Instagrammed five times–oops). I love that the tenderloin came wrapped in parchment paper with a little toothpick and the root beer came in a frosty mug. Sometimes simplicity is perfect.

photo(41)

photo(42)

Tagged , ,
Dec 03 2012
6 Comments
adventures, Christmas, holidays, homemaking, Merry & Bright

Beep, Beep from the Tree-Mobile

20121203-093019.jpg

We got our tree Saturday! It was almost sixty degrees outside and we bought it from the Menards (home improvement store) parking lot…it wasn’t exactly a Norman Rockwell painting, but we got the job done.

When I was a kid, we always got a real tree. We bought ours each year at a Christmas tree farm. It was always freezing and the child-me felt like it took forever to find the perfect one. Conditioned to be tree-choosy, I used to make poor Naoto hold up dozens of trees each year for full inspection. I’d be cold, he’d be cranky…it wasn’t fun. So for the past few years, we’ve grabbed one, gave it a once-over, and as long as it was green and had branches, we bought it. And bonus points for the year we decided to stick it in the back seat instead of tying it to the roof of the car. I highly recommend the back seat method…it works for trees up to seven feet (even taller if you’re driving something larger than a Corolla!)

So, each year our tree is less than perfect, but I think that makes it more charming, right? When we put our tree up this time, we noticed that it looks straight from the front of the room, but it’s leaning desperately to the right if you look at it from the side…as long as it doesn’t topple over (crossing fingers) I’m going to be okay with a leaning tree. (If I keep lowering my standards, I’ll be satisfied with using a fallen pine branch for a Christmas tree by 2015!)

I tossed the lights on the tree on Saturday and I’m working on the ornaments today, so hopefully I’ll be back tomorrow with some pictures of the finished tree. It is almost seventy degrees here today, so I’m going to have to really imagine those snowy scenes from the Christmas music!

20121203-092923.jpg

Tagged , ,
Nov 28 2012
Leave a comment
adventures, what's for dinner

Christopher Kimball at Unity Temple

Last night, Naoto & I had the pleasure of listening to a talk about the science of cooking with Christopher Kimball. The event was held at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple, where Naoto & I got married. Mr. Kimball is the host of America’s Test Kitchen on PBS and the founder of Cook’s Illustrated magazine. Naoto and I watch America’s Test Kitchen whenever we can, and we especially love the equipment tests and Christopher Kimball’s geeky wit. I was happy to see that he wore his signature bow tie, though I missed his red apron. (I suppose it would be weird for him to wear it outside of the kitchen…) What I liked best about the night was that Christopher Kimball was able to debunk a few myths about cooking–things that you hear TV “chefs” claiming all of the time. (Example: Searing meat does not “hold in the juices”.) It’s nice to know the Test Kitchen is out there trying recipes hundreds of times and getting it right so I only have to try it once.

Tagged , , ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →