celebrations | kimberly ah

Sep 19 2014

Kiwi Congratulations

patriotic mail art, vintage stamps, USA, New Zealand My pen friend April just became a citizen of New Zealand. I wanted to send her a congratulations card but of course, finding a “Congratulations on your New Zealand citizenship” card in the U.S. was a challenge. But I knew Hallmark would sell a U.S. citizenship card (Hallmark sells every kind of card.) so I dug around in the Congratulations section in the store and found a one. Naoto was with me, shaking his head. He didn’t see the brilliance in my plan. I figured if red, white and blue worked for a USA citizenship, it would work for a New Zealand one. I printed out a New Zealand flag and pasted it over the American flag in the forefront. It didn’t fit perfectly, but I was okay with that. It’s not like I was trying to hide that this card was modified. And I felt that the American flags in the background were a nice touch since April is an American, too.

I added some New Zealand flags to the envelope and went through my vintage stamp collection to find some red, white and blue postage stamps. I had such a great time digging through my stamps and adding up my favorites for this envelope. April often uses an eclectic mix of New Zealand stamps on her envelopes so I *think* she will appreciate the themed vintage postage.

Have you ever altered a greeting card to make it suit your needs? Or are you shaking your head along with Naoto?

Have a good weekend!

Tagged celebrations, mail art, snail mail, vintage, washi tape

Sep 18 2014

6 Comments

crafty adventures, Honor Flight Chicago, snail mail

Honor Flight Mail

A couple of veterans from my hometown went on Honor Flight recently. Neither went with Honor Flight Chicago, so unfortunately I wasn’t able to see them off or welcome them home at the airport. They each flew on different flights with other Illinois-based Honor Flights. One veteran, my Great Uncle Tom went this year and the other veteran, my old neighbor Bud, went last year. When it comes to thank yous, I employ the “better late than never” rule.

This summer I came across an offer from One Canoe Two (and a sponsor, Veterans United) to get this 3-pack of military cards for free. I ordered a set because I knew two of the cards would be perfect for these guys. And, I had a couple of extra Honor Flight Chicago pins from when I started doing mail call a few years ago. (Maureen gave me several pins and told me to use them to “spread the word and good cheer” about Honor Flight.) At Saturday’s letter social, I wrote notes inside the cards and tucked a card and a pin inside some old notecard boxes. This is a trick I learned from Donovan who is the queen of reusing things in the name of mail.The clear plastic packaging just happened to be the exact size of my A2 cards and left room for the pinback. I had a good time decorating the boxes with patriotic washi tape. At the letter social, we weighed the package and it was 1.5 ounces. There was some disagreement about whether it’s a letter or a package, so I came home and looked up the specifications on the USPS website. It’s technically too thick to be a letter (the box is 1/2 inch thick, the letter limit is 1/4 inch) so the postage came to $2.32. I happily used my Inverted Jenny stamps and a flag forever stamp. I hope Bud and Uncle Tom like their mail surprises!

P.S. That’s my Uncle Tom above with his daughters and son-in-law during his Welcome Home Celebration.

Tagged celebrations, crafts, Honor Flight Chicago, mail art, snail mail, washi tape

Jul 16 2014

1 Comment

adventures, celebrations

Obon Festival

On Saturday night, Naoto, Karen and I went to the Midwest Buddhist Temple to experience the Obon Festival. Obon is a Buddhist tradition of honoring and celebrating the dead. According to Naoto, it is the “period of time we believe the spirit of the dead come home.” In Japan, people return home to clean and pray at the graves of their ancestors.

The festival includes folk dances that celebrate and welcome the spirits. Each region in Japan has its own style of dance and music. The dances are repetitive…like line dancing (for lack of a better example) and the dancers circle around a stage where a drummer pounds a giant drum. Some dances include props like fans, towels or wooden clackers and everyone participates to welcome back the dead.

Unfortunately for us, the rain forced the Obon inside so we weren’t able to experience the beautiful dances under the light of the lanterns. Instead we met inside the temple…slightly less scenic but the dances and the music were still a great experience.

The Obon announcer shared the regions in Japan where each dance originated and it was interesting to learn a little bit about how the culture of the region influenced each dance. The Midwest Buddhist Temple offers Obon lessons leading up to the festival so members can learn all of the different dances. I didn’t know this, so we were observers…next year I would like to go for at least one lesson so we can participate. It felt a little weird to just watch, as most people–men, women, young and old–were dancing throughout the night. Some people, especially the older ladies, were very skilled at the dances, and other people were a little bit rusty, but it didn’t matter…only that you were dancing a celebrating your loved ones. It all felt really laid back and festive…a nice way to connect with each other and with those who have passed.

Tagged adventures, celebrations, Japan

Jul 04 2014

Happy 4th of July!

Tagged celebrations

Jun 03 2014

6 Comments

adventures, celebrations, cocktails, some stuff about me

Our 8th Anniversary

Yesterday Naoto and I celebrated eight years together. We both had the day off, so the morning involved a whole lot of relaxing, gift exchanges and, of course, coffee.It was rainy, but we sat out on the balcony to eat breakfast and exchange gifts. According to the Anniversary Gifts by Year (which we have been following all along), the eighth anniversary gifts are pottery (traditional) and linens (modern). I got Naoto a fancy new alarm clock that will hopefully wake him up with light and bird tweets. Not a theme gift, but he is a serial snooze pusher and I’m hoping this alarm clock helps make mornings a little bit easier for all of us. And, for the “pottery” theme, I bought him a cat spoon rest from Chicago’s Circa Ceramics. It will add the perfect amount of whimsey and usefulness to our kitchen counter. Naoto got me a new juicer (the kind I used at North Shore’s cocktail class) and this amazing vintage table runner. It’s currently residing on our dining room table. I’m in love with it. Once the rain stopped, we headed into the city for no real reason. On the way, we decided to go to Little Goat Diner for lunch. You can see our entirely healthy meal above…we had to push back our dinner reservations because we were so full. (Oh, and that’s a Ol’ Blue cocktail above: bourbon, blueberry jam, benedictine and lime…go get it before they change the menu!) Oh, and there was pie…because well, chocolate cookie crust with sea salt caramel and caramelized bananas…how could we not?It was a teeny bit warm, but it really was a perfect day in Chicago. We walked along Michigan Avenue and lingered along the river.

Before dinner, we headed to the garden to check out our plants. (More on that later this week.) We had a late dinner at Golden Steer, our tradition since we moved to Forest Park in 2010. As usual it did not disappoint. For the first time in the history of our relationship, Naoto could not finish all of his steak and we both ended up bringing something home. During dinner, we wrote our 2014 Summer Manifesto–simple but spectacular. (I’ll share tomorrow!)

And with that, eight years are in the books…

Tagged adventures, celebrations, cocktails, forest park

Jun 02 2014

4 Comments

celebrations, some stuff about me

8

Happy 8th Anniversary, Naoto!

Tagged celebrations, wedding

May 11 2014

1 Comment

celebrations, holidays

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there, especially my own!

(This picture was taken yesterday from our balcony. The trees are finally getting leafy!!

Tagged celebrations, forest park, holidays, parents

Apr 21 2014

2 Comments

celebrations, what's for dinner

Easter Sunday & Roasted Grapes

Yesterday was Easter, but even better than that, it finally felt like real spring outside–warm enough to wear a dress and spend some time outside writing letters, and warm enough to sleep with the windows open. Bliss. Even my “anniversary tree” is budding and looking more spring-like. I’m excited to plant some flowers and plan a balcony party or two. We spent Easter evening at our neighbor-friend, Karen’s. We joined her family party, which included Karen’s ninety-nine year old grandmother (who didn’t look a day over seventy-five!)

I made an appetizer of roasted grapes and manchego cheese and like last week, it seemed like a hit. (It really is hard to tell if people are just being polite or if they truly love your cooking.) I love easy and unique recipes (much like my beloved ricotta) and this one is going to be a new go-to for happy hours and dinners around here. Also, I bet it would be tasty with the ricotta…

Roasted Grapes with Honey & Thyme

(adapted slightly from Right at Home)

1 pound seedless red grapes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh thyme (stems removed)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside.

Wash grapes and remove from stems. Dry the grapes on a tea towel to remove excess moisture and place in a large bowl. Add olive oil, thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Stir to coat.

Pour grapes onto cookie sheet and place in oven until skins pop (about fifteen minutes). There will be a little bit of grape juice in the pan.

Remove from oven and drizzle with honey.

Serve warm or at room temperature with manchego cheese and crackers.

Because I was serving the grapes with cheese and crackers, I used a slotted spoon to transfer them from the pan to the serving bowl. If you were serving the grapes with chicken or desserts, the juice would be a delicious addition. And while the original recipe called for two teaspoons of thyme, I think extra thyme is a welcomed flavor, especially with the manchego cheese.

Karen made her famous pimento cheese (along with a traditional Easter dinner) and made us feel like family. Thanks for a fun time, Karen!!

Tagged celebrations, food, forest park, holidays, homemaking

Apr 16 2014

1 Comment

celebrations, Peggy's Parties

Peggy’s 50th Birthday Party

Taking a break from all the Japan posts to share another party hosted by Peggy…

The “other” Peggy in our book group, Peggy L, is turning fifty this month, so a few of us got together to celebrate, and as usual, (hostess) Peggy outdid herself. The table, the cocktails, the dinner and the dessert were “springy” and amazing. The table was full of pastels, bunnies, eggs and flowers. The sun was setting, leaving a dark glow in the room, and showing off the pretty pastels perfectly. I made an appetizer of cheese and roasted grapes (I promise to share the recipe soon!) and Peggy made Rossini cocktails. We drink a lot of sparkling wine cocktails at Peggy’s and I love every one of them, but this one–with the bright strawberry puree–was perfect for spring. While we were eating appetizers and catching up, we used these sweet vintage cocktail napkins. They were hand-embroidered and each said something different: wipe, dab, pat and blot. Aren’t they wonderful? I love the handwritten script.

We enjoyed asparagus soup and a chicken, cashew, swiss cheese, strawberry salad. Then we took a break from eating to open gifts before Peggy brought out the cake. The cake, while not a traditional decorated birthday cake, was divine…coconut and Meyer lemon, moist and delicious. Yum. I regret not bringing a piece home.

Thanks for another fun night, Peggy!

And Happy 50th, Peggy L! Enjoy your Irish Adventure!!

P.S. To see other “Peggy Parties” go here.

Tagged celebrations, cocktails, decorating

Apr 15 2014

4 Comments

adventures, celebrations, cocktails, Japan 2014, My Love Affair with Tokyo

Birthday at bunbougu cafe

When we planned our trip to Japan, I knew exactly where I wanted to spend my birthday…bunbougu cafe. Last year, I fell in love with the cafe that mixes stationery, coffee, letter writing, cocktails and tasty food all in one comfortable and eclectic location. We’d never been to bunbougu at night, so both Naoto and I were excited to try out their one-of-a-kind cocktails. At the risk of this turning into a Hasegawa Happy Hour post, let me tell you about these cocktails!! First there were the Adult Ramune and the Lychee Squash. Ramune is a Japanese soft drink that has a lemon-lime flavor, but really doesn’t taste its American counterpart…it has its own distinct taste that is tangier than the American drink. The Adult Ramune was made with blue curaçao and soda and it was my favorite. Who doesn’t love a blue cocktail? The Lychee Squash was lychee liquor, soda and grapefruit juice. It was so refreshing! (This might explain why it’s called a “squash” if you’re curious.) Neither of these cocktails packed a serious punch, but they were fun and tasty. For our appetizer, we ordered edamame that was sautéed with pine nuts and soy sauce. The edamame, presented beautifully on Japanese paper, was oh so delicious…I can’t even explain how much I loved it. We want to try to recreate it at home. For the next cocktail round, I got the Adult Ramune and Naoto got a Tea Mojito–a mojito that came with a shot of “tea espresso” to pour on top. I didn’t manage to take a picture of our dinners. Naoto had a miso coated pork chop and I had roasted chicken with herbs and apples. You’ll have to take my word for it. Naoto had a third cocktail. It was called “Sketchbook in the Tropics” and the only thing you need to know about it is that it came with a pencil stirrer!! (They sell the stirrers at bunbougu, too!) For dessert, I had Matcha Tiramisu…I’m a big fan of real tiramisu, but dare I say the matcha version is better??? Under the tiny paper box was a bowl of kuromame, sweet black soybeans typically eaten on New Years for good health. Naoto enjoyed those immensely while I ate up the tiramisu. I did a little birthday shopping at bunbougu, but I will share those treats later.