Author Archives: Angela

Japan Bound!

Posted on by under Japan

I’m so ecstatic for the new year, my traveling dreams are finally coming true. Mas and I have planned our first international trip together to Japan! Yippee!!

It will be my first trip outside of the US and boy it’s a good thing I got my passport before moving up to the Bay Area. I have had the international travel bug for a few good years now. Mas has traveled quite a bit more than I, he went on a Kontiki trip to Europe after he graduated college and has been to Japan once before when he was 10. It’s so exciting for the two of us to take this trip and really be able to explore together.

We are 1 month and 29 days from our our vacation but who’s counting? :) Our trip will be just about 3 weeks long and I’m looking forward to seeing friends and immersing myself into a whole new area and culture. I will finally have real life Japan references rather than going off of what I have seen in The Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift. Haha!

We visited REI to try out backpacks, below is Mas trying on the one he likes. :)

20130201-082211.jpg

I just wanted to share this great news!
Have an amazing Friday everyone!

Coasting Over the Bay

Posted on by under San Francisco

Wow, what a weekend! I had (sort of) surprised Mas with a flight lesson for his birthday. The sort came from me being too excited to wait and I also needed his weight haha. He had worked with an old co-worker who runs a flight school, California Airways, and is a pilot himself. I thought okay, even though I’m not totally on board for the whole flying thing I knew the conversations about flying were starting to occur more and more often.

Mas woke up with a huge smile on his face and peaked his head outside to confirm that the sun rays shining into our bedroom did in fact mean amazingly beautiful weather. We headed out to the Hayward airport and when we arrived Mas dove right into the plane video game that they had setup in the waiting area to get warmed up.

When it was his turn for the simulator practice, we were both amazed by the room, it had HUGE tv screens and the simulator environment was of the Bay Area. It’s a good thing Mas has such a great sense of direction. I should mention that I was there as support but had decided that I didn’t really want to ride as a passenger aka I was freakin scared! After the simulator though and talking to Mas’ old co-worker I felt like I would totally be missing out on a beautiful day coasting around the bay, so I rode as a passenger. :)

Mas, his old co-worker and myself headed out to the plane and for some reason my nerves appeared to be much less than when we took the helicopter ride in Hawaii (yikes! I haven’t posted these pictures). They checked out the plane and then we boarded, went through the checklist and …. took off!

Words can’t describe the view, we literally coasted all around the bay area with Mas flying like a pro. We flew over the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, the coast, Palo Alto and back to Hayward. The flight was very smooth and I actually felt safe oddly haha.

I never thought that I would say this but I’m looking forward to Mas getting his pilot’s license. :)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

New Adventure in the City

Posted on by under San Francisco

Hi Everyone! Guess what?? I think I’m actually going to have time now to update issho-ni and that puts a big smile on my face! I started a new adventure (job) in SF and actually have the mornings to get my day started at a leisurely pace. I met my new team yesterday and couldn’t be more excited and assured that things do happen for a reason.

So my day now starts at a cute, quaint cafe in SOMA, Caffe Centro. The environment is so calming and the view outside the open windows is of a beautiful little park (South Park). The weather has been amazing so it is a perfect place to sip on a morning coffee and people watch.

caffe centro 1

caffe centro 2

 

 

Saturday in Santa Cruz, Ca

Posted on by under Santa Cruz

Wow, more than half of the year has already passed us right by! I think it’s about time that I give you guys an update. Let’s get to it!

We made a spontaneous trip to Santa Cruz this past weekend after realizing it was only an hour and a half away. So close! We did hit a bit of traffic on the way out there, but well worth the wait. Our original intent was to go take the Roaring Railroad train ride but while we were waiting in traffic we decided to give them a call and found out that they were all booked for the day with an event that was going on. Poop! We continued on our journey anyways as we were set on going to Santa Cruz. For the last 20 miles of the drive there, we coasted through a valley of the most amazing redwoods and pondered how on Earth a beach could be anywhere close to where we were. Had we taken the wrong highway? Nope! That’s just the beauty of the surrounding Santa Cruz area.

Our first stop was food because we were starvin Marvins by the time we got there. Mas looked up a cute cafe on Yelp called Linda’s Seabreeze Cafe, they had really good reviews and the food was delish! Mas had a burger and I have banana french toast.

We then headed down the the boardwalk and tried to find parking (yes, the parking was typical beach parking). After a bit of driving around we finally found a spot and free! We walked up to the beach and I was blown away by how many people were there, it was fantastic weather but I didn’t know that it was THE place to be for the summer. Oh and the boardwalk was like major fun zone for kids and adults. We took the sky buckets across one way. On the way back, Mas found a bazooka shooting game that he tried out, look at the picture below for some serious tennis ball shooting. Look out!

THEN! I say this with such emphasis because it was like Disneyland right in front of my eyes, we walked by a Dole pineapple booth! YES! Have you ever had the Dole pineapple whip at the Tiki Room at Disneyland? They had it at this booth! I’m serious this is the real deal and totally made our days. I didn’t mention this before but we had the works of a sundae as well. We just had to!

Santa Cruz is a beautiful place and I highly recommend a little weekend vacation just to check it out!

 

It’s a New Year… issho-ni!

Posted on by under Los Angeles

We’re back! Happy New Year to everyone! Hope you all enjoyed your time with friends and family. We had a good time down in LA with the nice warm weather but couldn’t help but to miss Walnut Creek. Who wouldn’t? Everything is so incredibly convenient here and you can noticeably tell the difference in the fresh, clean air.

I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions, but feel it’s so much more rewarding setting small/daily and or weekly goals that allow me to accomplish several over the year. Last year was quite busy as Mas and I moved to East Bay and started our career adventures in the city. Last year was also the beginning of issho-ni, quite exciting!

New Year’s eve was spent at Jon’s house with Yumi and Joey and a sweet Google Hangout with Chris and Taka in Japan. Yes! We counted down across the world and had so much fun getting to hang out with everyone (no pun intended).

New Year’s day, Mas and I went to Coast Beach Cafe and Bar in Santa Monica (cafe within Shutter Hotel). It was right on the beach and did I mention that the weather was beautiful?! It was a great way to spend New Year’s.

How was your New Year’s? Do you have any new daily/weekly goals?

image

image

image

Tis the Season to be Jolly!

Posted on by under Christmas, Home Sweet Home, Sew-Easy, Walnut Creek

Fa la la la la…la la la la. There’s something about the Christmas season that makes me think that I can sing opera in the most off pitch tone and often forgetting the correct lyrics but I enjoy it (not to say that others do haha). I guess it’s a talent I’ve acquired over the years and well I love traditions so I’ll keep this one going.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree was of course my song of choice as Mas and I went to go get our very first Christmas tree together! I promised him that he would love the 5′-6′ foot tree, unlike the 3′ft he was sold on BEFORE we arrived at Lowe’s. We brought Douglas home, along with a wreath for our front door and our place turned into Christmas. Douglas is a true beauty and mmmm our apartment smells sooo good.

I’ve always wanted to make my own stockings so this year was indeed the year for just that! Of course with my obsession with Hello Kitty and Domo seemed only appropriate to base my stockings off of those two. I seriously love the way that they turned out! If you are interested in the main shape of the stocking, email me and I’ll send you the template that I created.

Holiday Festivities in Walnut Creek

Posted on by under Christmas, Walnut Creek

Last night we enjoyed the annual holiday festivities in Walnut Creek’s Broadway Plaza. The Christmas spirit is definitely in the air!

We walked to the gathering where families dressed in holiday attire and swarmed the tents of local vendors as they handed out free bubbles, necklaces and toys. The sounds of the live band singing Christmas songs, awaiting the parade and Christmas tree lighting put a smile on everyones faces.

We sat down on a bench and people watched, listened to the music and enjoyed the event.

We’re going to buy our tree tomorrow so I’ll definitely be posting pictures next week! Have a great weekend everyone!

 

Royal/T + Momiji Dolls (Los Angeles, CA)

Posted on by under Family / Friends, Los Angeles

Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays! I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus lately, busy with work and the holidays (you know how it is!), but we (Mas included) have also been busy working on creatively putting the puzzle pieces together for issho-ni. What does this entail you ask? Well a completely new re-design of the blog (thanks Mas!), which will also carry over to my Etsy shop (Japanese Yen Bracelets coming soon!). Don’t worry, I’ll give you a bit of a sneak peak in the coming days. I will also need to brush up on my html/css so that I can implement the new design, truly a team effort…isshoni!

While we were down in LA this past weekend we visited a very unique, curated Asian art gallery + tea station with our friends Joey and Yumi called Royal/t. It wasn’t like any gallery / store that I’ve ever been to. The art was encased behind clear plastic walls and had everything from wall art to installation pieces. I’d have to say the porta potty with a disco ball inside was quite clever, if you don’t believe me check out the images on Yelp and their website!

The store section of Royal/t was so cute! They had a Christmas tree and the area was completely decked out for the holidays. I was introduced to Momiji dolls and the fact that they had Hello Kitty ones I was hypnotized and headed straight to the cashier. Momiji dolls are not only adorable figurine dolls, but they carry a special gift, that of a message, hope or dream created by you! There is a small piece of paper (much like a fortune cookie) at the base of the doll, take it out, unfold the paper and write your message, you then place it back in and work towards it for it to come true! The Momiji story is available on their website as well.

DIY Candy Jar (Yum!)

Posted on by under Christmas, DIY

Thanksgiving week is already here! I can’t believe it. Mas and I moved up to Walnut Creek 6 months ago and have enjoyed everything about living in this cute, quaint community since. We went ice skating Saturday night, it was so much fun! The rink is outdoors but is covered 3/4 of the way with a tent. Where it was open we felt the crisp , cold air and gentle drops of rain trickle down our faces as we skated by. We enjoyed the night!

I made a trip to Joann’s on Saturday, couldn’t pass up the great deals, but I think I find myself saying that every weekend. Hmmm. Joann’s knows how to reel in crafters with their amazing coupons. I bought fabric for Christmas presents and found a cute Hello Kitty holiday fabric that caught my eye. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it but figured I’d buy a 1/2 yd. The DIY came to mind as I had also bought a bunch of mini candy canes. I thought hey I know what I can do with that fabric! I cut out a circle and taped (need to buy glue) it right into the lid. So cute!

We will be heading back home (LA & OC) for the holidays and are looking forward to visiting friends and family and eating delicious food! Hope you all have a safe and amazing Thanksgiving holiday!

DIY Light Tent

Posted on by under DIY

Good Morning! How was your weekend? I’m still here, just had quite the busy week last week!

Mas and I finally felt that it was time to make or buy a light tent so that we would be able to take pictures for issho-ni and my bracelets that I’m going to start selling on Etsy. We came across a great tutorial online that has text instructions, visuals, as well as video on Strobist, so it made the process quite easy.

We made a trip to Target and picked up a majority of what we needed but they didn’t have white posterboard and tracing paper so we headed over to Office Depot. The cost wasn’t $10 (from the tutorial) as we had to buy pretty much everything, lamps included. We did find two adjustable neck desk lamps at Target for $14.99 each, so the cost of the project will really depend on what you already have laying around.

Turned out pretty awesome! We were so excited to use it and it definitely made a huge difference with extracting out the yellow hues from normal lights. Another plus is that it fits in our apartment and takes up hardly any space. Woo hoo! My craft area is getting quite expansive so the more compact the better!

If you’re and Etsy shop owner or just enjoy taking pictures of objects I highly suggest building one of your own. We’re thinking of how to setup a scene for our Christmas card, looking forward to it!

Cut

Cover with tracing paper + add black posterboard to back

Add white posterboard for back drop. Had to run to target to buy another light :)

Beautiful, clear and crisp! Adding bracelets to my shop soon!