Saturday, September 19, 2009

things I'm liking (and disliking)

A little round-up of things I'm liking and disliking...

Starting with the disliking...Muji.

Well, to be specific, the lady working at Muji.

Awhile back, I went in to buy a replacement ink cartridge for my ball point pen. I found one but didn't know if it would fit the particular Muji pen I had.

I saw the same pen in the store and brought the pen and the replacement ink cartridge to her and asked her, "will this cartridge fit in this pen?"

She replied quite smugly, "if it is a Muji pen, it will fit". So, I bought the ink cartridge and went home.

Well, as I tried changing the cartridge, I realized that no, it did not fit the pen. In fact, it was L-O-N-G-E-R than the pen...Since I had opened the package, I figured that I probably couldn't return it, so with some extra strength tape, I am making do with it.

Lesson learned...next time bring the empty ink cartridge.

Moving on to liking...

Muji's foldable beds. We had been looking for a box mattress or bed for awhile now, but with our limited space, something foldable is the most practical for us.

The foldable bed by another company, that I originally had my eye on, had wheels, could fold up easily and you could lift up your head and feet with a remote. When Satoshi saw it, he said it reminded him of hospital beds, so, that was out.

Then I saw these beds at Muji. When not in use, you can fold them up into a sofa. Each one is about the size of a love seat. It can fold out flat to sleep or prop up your legs and back, kind of like those lounge chairs at the hotel pool.

When we first got them, we sat with our feet propped up, I read and Satoshi watched tv. It was kind of a resort-like mood, then Satoshi says to me, "where's the remote to move our feet up and down?"...sigh.

Durance's home fragrance reed difuser, this is a French company which makes soaps and other items. I bought white tea--a musky, yet clean fragrance.

Es.Koyama's paprika & framboise macaron...I recently went to view some pieces from the Louvre with Tamakikat, she brought some macarons from Es.Koyama for our snack. You can read about our day here. (Thanks again!)

Daiei's chinese bento. I've written about this before, and the price apparently went down on Thursdays. It used to be 320 yen (about US$3.20), and is now 299 yen (about US$2.99). On this particular Thursday, I chose stir fried egg and chive, mabo eggplant & sweet sour chicken.

I have also been liking Daiei's Thursday sales...most veggies are 100 yen (about US$1) or less! I find I look forward to Thursday's grocery shopping.

Nissin's mini-chicken ramen...these are perfect for a lunch side dish---like along side a sandwich.

Put one into your mug/cup and fill with water...steep for 2 minutes and eat.

I like my noodles on the harder side, so I usually steep for less than a minute.

And lastly, the sunsets...have been really orangey and beautiful. When I see them lighting up our other room, it has a warm and fuzzy glow.

What are you liking/disliking?

18 comments:

  1. i am liking your macaron! hahahaha I am disliking my stressed out week which has kept me from posting on my blog! arg!

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  2. I can't say that I know how that feels Gtrine but can kind of get the picture, hope next week will be better :)

    Take care.
    Kat

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  3. Hi Kat - I love this like and dislike series.... I do notice that there's more things you like, than dislike. I think it's a good illustration of your positive outlook on life! ;o)

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  4. Thanks Kirk, I try to be positive as much as possible.

    Take care.
    Kat

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  5. Well I can tell you that I like all of your food mentions in this post. That chinese bento...slurp! As for disliking...that today looks like it's gonna rain. Time to crank up the oven again.

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  6. There is a lot to like this week--that macaron is looking really good. ;-)

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  7. I have this fold-up futon bed in my living room. http://tempur.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=136

    I only use it when I have guests staying with me (I let them sleep in my bedroom), but I love love love it! I'm trying to figure out how to take it back to Canada with me!

    Change of topic. . . Have you ever tried Pizzeria Pancia Piena near Ikeda Station? I'm on a "perfect Neapolitan pizza" quest, and they've been granted certification by Vera Pizza Napoletana Association. In my experiences to date, that doesn't mean the pizza is all that, but I need to do more research, and it's on my list!

    BTW--no meyer lemons at the Hankyu in my hood! Why oh why am I cursed? I did find some plantains there, though, so I'm pretty happy about that!

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  8. Hello Kat,
    Sorry bout the rude lady...I guess I had a misguided idea about Japanese sales people being friendly and courteous to their customers.
    My likes are ONSENS!!! And my dislike is currently not being able to go to one.
    Have a great Sunday!

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  9. There was a Muji in American Village close to my apartment in Mihama. I agree with you that sales people in Muji are SMUG. Was glad to see that the store was closed since it wasn't doing so well.

    That Chiknese bento looks good!

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  10. Like gtrine, I am fantasizing about that macaron...

    In any case, right now I like how the season is changing very slowly and the air is getting drier.

    I also like (okay love) a new berry and jalapeno jam I brought back from Texas. Coupled with cream cheese and ritz crackers, it's the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and salty.

    I'm disliking my jet-lag being back in Japan. Third night waking up in the middle of the night starving!

    It's great for browsing fun food blogs like yours though!

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  11. I had a good laugh reading about your foldable couch, especially about Satoshi asking for the remote!

    My dislike right now is places that put too much cheese on their pizza. For dinner we went to a pizza and spaghetti house that my husband and kids love and got a large pizza with pepperoni, Italian sausage and olives. This place uses both mozerella and a danish cheese, which is delicious, but they put so much cheese on it and you can barely taste any other ingredients. And it's very heavy on the stomach. So that's my dislike right now.

    My like is your blog!

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  12. I am liking Subway's Broccoli and cheese soup that I had today. SOOoooooooo good :)

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  13. Another like--the amazing milk from the Hiruzen area of Okayama. When I was there at the beginning of September, I drank as much as I could every morning at the buffet breakfast, but I bought two kinds to bring home. One in a glass bottle with the cream on top (Y900! But it included a styrofoam carrier), and another 4.3% organic kind in a carton). They were both amazing!

    Which brings me to a dislike--I just finished off the last of my Hiruzen milk yesterday, so I bought some low-fat Co-cop brand milk. After drinking all that pure milk from Hiruzen, this stuff tastes like crap!

    I think I'll have to pay the big bucks for organic milk from Hiro. :-(

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  14. I think we are going to have some rain tomorrow Rowena, can't wait to see what you are baking!

    Thanks Debinhawaii, macaron was really good :)

    Thanks Jalna :)

    We have the Tempur futon mat thingy Rona, it is awesome and we are using it on top of our Muji beds. Bummer about the Meyer lemons, I should see if we have them here. You should see if you can order the milk online, might be worth the $$ :)

    Soon it will be perfect onsen season Kyle, hope you can visit Japan soon :)

    Hooked on these Chinese bento Nate, especially since they are so cheap!

    Ooh that berry and chili jam you bought sounds amazing Mary. Thing to fix jet-lag is lots of water (so I've heard) :)

    Thanks Jenster, pizza with too much cheese does sound kinda heavy.

    mmm broccoli and cheese sound like a good combo Debinhawaii, but I'm not too sure I would like it as a soup.

    Take care everyone.
    Kat

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  15. is this the same Daiei as on oahu??

    i am liking flax/peanut butter mixed with nutella and hard pretzels!

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  16. the flax/PB is from Trader Joes;)

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  17. Actually Deb, Daiei on Oahu is no longer, it is now called Don Quioxte (sp?). I like the sound of your spread for hard pretzels :)

    Take care.
    Kat

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