kimberly ah

Sep 12 2013

adventures, Japan 2013, My Love Affair with Tokyo, snail mail

Tokyo: PO

One of my favorite parts of traveling is sending postcards. I usually take a long time choosing cheesy tourist postcards. (Naoto is very tolerant of this habit. I don’t know what he’s thinking while he stands waiting outside the tourist shops, but he certainly isn’t showing impatience!) And I like to write them out during a slow mid-vacation morning, over coffee of course. There’s less pressure that way. I also always send a postcard to Naoto and me, with a little recap of our favorite things about our trip. It is seriously like pulling teeth to get Naoto to participate, but I know someday he’s going to thank me…when we’re old and grey, he’s going to love remembering that his favorite part of Tokyo 2013 was the food (ahem…and of course seeing his family!) Unfortunately, I was rather unorganized during our trip and postcard writing had to wait until the last two days in Japan. It was difficult to find “travel-y” postcards there…but there were plenty of other pretty options to choose from. (The red post box card above is from the post office…I should have bought more of those. The bird ones were from Itoya.) Once I finally collected enough cards, I sat down at Mister Donut on two separate mornings to get the job done. One of those mornings was especially perfect because Naoto had an errand to run. So it was just me, my postcards, my coffee and donuts…a nice way to spend a solo morning.Since we found the post office right away, I bought stamps on the first day. I felt pressured to make a decision (which is silly, because Japan has the most patient and amazing customer service ever!) so I just snagged the first ones that caught my eye. They happened to be in celebration of Letter Writing Day. (Japan issues a stamp–or stamps?–for Letter Writing Day every year in July! I am disappointed that I never knew this before!) The stamps are pictured above (the 50yen ones…the 20 yens just help get those postcards across the ocean!) I originally chose them because of the old-time red mailbox stamp, but I also fell in love with the little boy writing a postcard and the others, too…I mean, isn’t that vegetable stamp wonderful?

The Letter Writing Day stamps have a lovely matte finish and they are the licking kind (technical term). It was fun to tear the perforation and lick ’em and stick ’em. I also appreciate the fact that the perforation goes all around the stamp. (I personally hate when there are only a couple of perforated sides on the stamp and the rest of the sides have straight edges. It happens on many stamps here in the US and I think it looks silly.) So, the stamps all around were quite pleasing to use. I have two other sheets of postage to share with you as soon as I am home and awake during daylight hours. (Jet lag is in full force around here!) The mailbox above was in my mother-in-law’s neighborhood. I love the red and the modern shape of the new boxes, but the traditional style will always be my favorite. This one makes sense for modern times–there is a slot for international mail and small packages and a slot for regular domestic mail–but really…who doesn’t love the old one? (Picture from our 2011 trip to Japan.)

Tagged adventures, mail art, snail mail

Sep 11 2013

4 Comments

adventures, Japan 2013, My Love Affair with Tokyo

Tokyo: Jet Lag Edition

I have so much to tell you about Japan! As good as it feels to be home (and to hug Presley), I can’t help but feel sad that we aren’t in Japan anymore. I feel like our vacation was a love affair with Tokyo. The busy streets, the crazy-stuffed trains, the bustling train stations, the incredible food, the amazing customer service, the gorgeous stationery stores, my best friend Mister Donut, the loud and smoky izakayas…I already feel nostalgic about the whole trip.

Naoto and I had serious jet lag in the beginning of our trip. After our thirteen hour flight, the ninety minute train trip (pictured above) and the two-stop subway trip (which all includes struggling up and down hundreds of stairs with our luggage), we made it to our hotel, grabbed a snack at a convenience store and fell into bed around 11PM. We were both wide awake at 4AM (2PM Chicago time), so we decided to get up, shower and enjoy a little walk around our neighborhood.

We stayed in a little hotel, the b, two blocks away from the Sangen-Jaya station. The hotel was in a pretty residential/non-touristy neighborhood. It was an ideal location: two blocks away from Mister Donut, two blocks away from the subway, three blocks away from a post office, and two train stops away from Shibuya (the Times Square of Tokyo) and some really awesome stationery shopping. I cannot thank my sister-in-law, Hisae, enough for doing the research and finding this dream location.

The picture at the top was taken around 6AM as we walked around our neighborhood that first morning. All of the shops and restaurants were closed (most shops don’t open until 10 or 11AM), but it was fun to see what was available in a short walk around the area. (Honestly, we were just killing time while we waited for Mister Donut to open!) Did you notice the man in the pink shirt sleeping on the side of the street? Apparently it is not uncommon in Japan to “sleep it off” wherever you happen to pass out.

The only bad thing about our trip was that it was so hot in Tokyo…so hot… I’m not sure if I was just not used to the heat since we’ve had such a mild and cool summer in Chicago, or that the humidity was out to kill me…but I really haven’t felt that kind of boiling madness over a long stretch of days in a really long time. (Shout out to my cousin serving in Kuwait…I know I shouldn’t complain about the heat!!) The weather made it hard to enjoy getting to places, but once we got to our destinations (usually cool, air conditioned destinations), we felt refreshed and ready to take it all in.

I’ll be back tomorrow with another post about our trip. I think we can just consider September “Japan Month” here on the blog.

Tagged adventures, I *heart* Japan

Sep 03 2013

1 Comment

adventures, Office Supplies, snail mail

Packing for Japan: The Important Stuff

Packing my mail supply bag for Japan was probably the most simple thing on my to-do list. There was no need to bring postage stamps, because they won’t work here. I didn’t really need to pack washi tape, because I’m sure I’ll be buying some here. I didn’t really need to bring a variety of pens, because, again, I’m sure I’ll be stocking up. I’m not a big vacation letter writer, so I didn’t need stationery (and again, if I change my mind…I’m in the country of stationery!) I did, however, need my address book (painstakingly updated with all of my pen pals!) and a pen or two to start with.

So, here’s what I have in my mail pouch:

a red StazOn ink pad

2 Japanese rubber stamps (the Japan Post Office icon & a drunk kitty, both acquired on previous trips)

1 “Today Is” stamp (from here)

2 MultiBall pens (they dry quickly on slick surfaces, perfect for postcards!)

1 grey LePen (for writing in my travel journal)

a tape runner for sticking things in my journal or on envelopes

my mini address book (vintage from Greer)

a few rolls of washi tape (for sticking things in my travel journal)

a few paperclips (for clipping things into my travel journal)

A visit to the Tokyo post Office is on the top of my list so I can stock up on Japanese postage and get to my postcard writing! Our morning Mister Donut visits will be the perfect time to write.

My favorite time.

Tagged adventures, coffee, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, shopping, snail mail

Sep 02 2013

9 Comments

celebrations, Oh Presley!, some stuff about me

Oh Presley…

Last year, I celebrated Labor Day by mentioning Naoto’s hardworking spirit. While that is important, Labor Day has another special meaning around here. It is the day we got Presley.

Seven years ago today, our friend Bonnie gave us a tiny, scared, stray kitten that had been born in her barn. Bonnie didn’t ask us if we wanted a cat…she knew we needed a cat. The first few weeks were rough. Presley was (is) quite a handful. She didn’t want to cuddle. She hid out most of the time. She didn’t really like us. She only sat on my lap when I went to the bathroom. (Weird!) For those first few weeks, Naoto and I considered giving her back. We didn’t feel like she was happy, and we weren’t sure if we were truly cat people. (I had cats growing up, but Naoto never really had pets.) We didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings (especially Presley’s), so we mustered through. And gradually, we all got used to each other. Presley started coming around more, cuddling more, playing more. Naoto and I accepted our roles in care taking. (I told Naoto that ANY woman should not scoop the litter box, not just pregnant women. By the time he learned the truth, he was so used to scooping the box, he’d accepted it as his job for life.) We started accepting the fact that cat hair is forever.Now we cannot imagine our lives without this little beast. Presley is still a little wild and she’s terrible with guests (oh, if only they would just leave her alone!) But with us, she’s sweet and charming and only misbehaves if she feels she’s lacking attention and play time. Since I’m home more, Presley has become “my” cat, often favoring me over Naoto. (It’s okay, because most people favor him over me.) She spends time at my feet or napping nearby on her scratching box. We play mid-day fetch and chase each other around the apartment. We open the mail together in the condo hallway. She comes to bed with me and sleeps at my feet at night and wakes me up with creepy stares in the morning. (Sometimes I do wonder if she’s planning to kill me.)

I feel so lucky that Bonnie brought Presley into our lives. And, even though you might consider them “frenemies”, I know Naoto is thankful for Presley, too.

Tagged celebrations, holidays, memories

Sep 01 2013

Japan 2011

Today, we are hopping on our flight to Japan. YAY! Our bags are packed with (hopefully) everything we need. Our cat sitters are ready to go. (We are so fortunate to have friends who are willing to cover the daytime and the nighttime shifts with Presley–what can we say? We love our cat! Plus, it’s nice to have someone around the apartment day and night to keep an eye on things like our 1970s light fixtures!) Our family is waiting for us in Tokyo. Our hotel bed is also waiting…and we will be longing for it by the time we get off of the thirteen hour flight! When we went to Japan in 2010, I made a little blog of our trip, Meeting My Mother-In-Law. The trip was obviously filled will many trips to Mister Donut, but the purpose of the trip, for me, was to meet my mother-in-law. After (at that point) almost five years of marriage, I finally met my husband’s mother. And, even though some of the pressure was off (at that point, it’s not like Naoto could return me), some new pressure was on. I was meeting her after a thirteen hour plane ride to Japan, an ninety minute commuter train ride to Tokyo, a two hour bullet train ride to Niigata and a twenty minute cab ride to the apartment. I was pretty much a wreck by the time we got there. I had planned on “freshening up” on the train ride, but I was too sleepy to care about personal hygiene by that time. Precious sleep was all I could think of. Thankfully, over the few days that we stayed with her, Naoto’s mom got to see a clean me, a well-rested me and a happy me…it was wonderful to finally meet her.

This time, since Naoto’s mom moved to a retirement community in Tokyo, we will be able to see her after a good night’s sleep (well, that’s the idea anyway…jet lag might have a different plan!) on our first morning in Japan. I’m going to miss seeing Niigata, but it will be lovely to have the whole family together and concentrate on one place this visit!

P.S. If you’d like to try my favorite salad from my last visit to Japan, check out the salad Naoto’s mom made for us! Perfect excuse to use up some fresh garden tomatoes!

Tagged adventures, Japan, memories

Aug 30 2013

5 Comments

Forest Park, Oak Park, gardening, summer manifesto

Garden Update: Surprises

Well look at that…we have a tiny watermelon! Just like that time I found the cucumber in the wild west mess of unkempt vines in our garden, I was shocked to find the watermelon.

Downright bowled over.

Now I don’t want to leave it. I want to stay home and keep it safe from bugs and other nibbling beasts. (Our second cucumber was a midnight snack for something.) Our red pepper is ready to be picked! We are going to get to enjoy one before our vacation, and our neighbors (who are watering and harvesting while we are gone) will be able to enjoy another one. There are two, smaller green ones still left on the plant. Hopefully those will hold off until we get home. I’m going to miss the garden while we are gone. I’m sad that I’m missing a week of new discoveries and tomato picking. Even though I know our plot is in good hands (thanks, Brett & Karen!), it’s tough to leave it. A few of our tomato plants are almost done, but most of them have newer green tomatoes on them and even some blossoms still. I hope that we can still have a few fresh tomatoes when we get back. In the meantime…hang on tiny watermelon! I want to enjoy you when I get back!

Tagged food, forest park, garden, gardening, summer

Aug 29 2013

1 Comment

crafty adventures, home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking, summer manifesto

Paper Weaving Party

I mentioned here that I had some ladies over on Sunday night for a casual evening of paper crafting. We all worked on paper weaving projects, both big and small. I’ve been wanting to do some paper weaving for awhile now, and the stars finally aligned for all of us to get together and try it out. We each tried something different… Linda did a weaving with a vacation picture and a journal page, Jackie worked on a fabulous sushi weaving and a huge weaving of British-themed papers, Karen practiced with some old craft papers and I was aiming to finish a small piece of art for the bathroom. My creation is one of the three DIY art pieces that I mentioned during my Summer Manifesto. (“Summer” is going to extend into September around here!) The weaving is made from four different 12×12 scrapbooking papers, all shades of grey of course. I am going to put in into one of these frames (I have an extra) and hang it in the master bath. I added the shiny silver at the end and I quite like the little shine it adds to the otherwise monochromatic (aka DULL) weaving. (For the record, I like monochromatic…and dull.)I’m waiting until after our vacation to frame it and hang it. I’ll share that with you when it’s all ready. Perhaps when that is done, I can actually show you the bathroom?

For today, I am dealing with a broken air conditioner (nothing like shelling out money for that right before vacation!), cleaning our apartment and trying to get our ducks in a row with cat/house/garden sitters and packing. I can’t believe Japan is just a few days away!!

Tagged crafts, decorating, diy, home, home improvement, homemaking, summer

Aug 28 2013

2 Comments

gardening, home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking, summer manifesto

Shamrock Revival

This shamrock plant was “dead” in the spring. It had been sitting on my kitchen window ledge and on my desk since March 2012, and over the winter, it kind of gave up. I think lack of water and limited sunlight were contributing factors. I almost threw it out, but the book clubs ladies encouraged me to keep it and move it to more sunlight. I dug around in the soil and found the little oxalis bulbs. They still looked healthy, so I planted them in a fresh pot with some fresh soil and stuck the pot in the north corner of our balcony and forgot about it. (Forgot about it=rarely watered it.) The next time I noticed it, several leaves were popping up…by the end of July (when this picture was taken), the plant was thriving, bright green and full of flowers. Lesson learned…it needs more light. I have two other oxalis sitting on my kitchen window. Their leaves are purplish green…I’m thinking about moving them outside for the rest of the summer, too.

When we get home from Japan, I have to start thinking about the plant plan for the cold weather months. I have brought more indoor plants into the apartment this past year, and finding a place for both the houseplants and the balcony plants (the ones that come inside for the winter) is going to be a challenge. I’m a little sad just thinking about it.

Tagged garden, gardening, home, home improvement, homemaking, summer

Aug 27 2013

3 Comments

homemaking, Jell-O, thrifted, vintage

I Heart Snack Sets & 1950s Entertaining

Last week while thrifting with my parents, I came across these snack sets. They were only $1 per set, so I bought all four. I justified this purchase (I already have another collection of four smaller snack sets) by noting that the plates on these are almost dinner-sized, so they would be more useful for luncheons and larger servings. The ladies at the thrift store encouraged me to buy all of the snack sets, but I resisted. (It was hard to resist.)

I have an obsession with snack sets. They make me think of well-dressed ladies getting together and playing cards or having a wedding shower, eating tiny sandwiches and homemade Jell-O salads and drinking tea or coffee from the tiny cups. I feel like now, when I get together with my friends, we are wearing yoga pants as we crack open a bottle of wine and some cheese and crackers and call it a day. I long for the days of more polished entertaining.

On Sunday night I had some friends over for paper crafting. We ate veggies and homemade dip, chips and salsa, cheese and crackers, roasted tomato caprese salad and other tasty treats off of the snack plates. We drank summer red wine out of the tiny cups. (There were frequent refills.)

I’m thinking of hosting a snack set luncheon when I return…maybe as a last hurrah for the summer? I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime…do you get all fancy when you entertain? I can’t be the only one who dreams of fancy parties with homemade salads and tiny glass cups, right?

Tagged adventures, homemaking, parents, shopping, thrifting, vintage

Aug 26 2013

3 Comments

gardening, homemaking, Simple Summer Suppers, summer manifesto

Simple Summer Suppers: Roasted Tomato Caprese

The challenge is on! We need to eat up all of our tomatoes around here before they go bad and before we hop on a plane for Japan. We’ve been giving away tons of red beauties, but still have so many to use! Last weekend, we had a mini-garden fest with our friend, Karen. We dined on our favorite panzanella, lightly grilled zucchini, Karen’s citrus rice salad and this delicious roasted tomato caprese salad. We were so lucky that the weather was perfect for dining outside on the balcony.

Honestly, it seems like a shame to roast perfectly delicious, garden-grown tomatoes…but it’s more of a shame to let them go to waste. I really think this salad will be a good one to try this winter with sad, peaked grocery store tomatoes. I’ll let you know. But for garden tomatoes…holy cow, the salad is crazy-good!Ina Garten’s Roasted Caprese Salad

12 plum tomatoes (or the equivalent in lovely tomato varieties from your garden), halved with seeds removed

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

16 oz fresh mozzarella

handful of fresh basil, julienned

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees while you prep the tomatoes.Place your tomatoes on a sheet pan (I covered mine with parchment paper to reduce sticky messes.) cut side up and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add garlic, sugar, salt and pepper.

Roast for two hours.

Cool tomatoes to room temperature and dump contents of pan (tomatoes and liquid) into serving bowl. Add fresh mozzarella (sliced) and basil. Mix and serve.Ina recommends arranging everything beautifully and adding a bit of extra olive oil, salt and pepper. But we found that the dish is fine without the extra oil. And while it’s lovely to serve alternating slices of tomato and mozzarella, serving it in a bowl is easy and rustic (and in no way lazy at all).