(no can) think outside the box

In Japan, they often wrap items for you for free, this is cool so you can give them to friends right away, like if you were just about to meet up with friends, you run in to buy something and they'll wrap it for you.

The other day, I bought items to be given away as two different presents.

The lady said, I'll "label" it so you'll know what is what.

When she said that, I should have reconfirmed with her but thought she would stick a different color ribbon on each, but when she gave it back to me, she actually stuck a different colored post it on each.

If she was gonna stick a post it, I would've appreciated her writing the different animals that I had purchased instead of just the color.

muji

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, I think you know how much I love MUJI.

I recently saw this "make your own gift" can on television.

They come in 3 sizes.

The top is sealed.

You need to fill the can from the bottom.

It holds quite a bit.

They recommend not putting in anything too fragile and not over stuffing it.

Then pop the bottom on.

I decorated the can with masking tape.

Then I wrapped the plastic box with craft paper so that I could write the address on it...and sent it off.

Cool, yeah?!

p.s. Today is a National Holiday Kinro Kansha no Hi

whoo!

The best part of entering a contest is forgetting that you entered said contest and then the prize comes in the mail.

That's what happened when we received this by special post the other day.

I usually don't like to answer the door when the door bell rings because most times it is a salesman or religion related...boo!

But, I'm glad I answered the bell the other day because it was this nice gift to one of our favorite sushi places nearby!

Apparently, we had entered their drawing over the summer.

We'll definitely use these soon...thank you!

padovani's chocolates

A friend recently gave me these chocolates by Padovani's Chocolates.

Loved the chocolate "map" that comes with the different bon-bons.

Inside was (top) mojito, ginger, macadamia nut (bottom) coffee, champagne, kalamansi.

All were delicious, but my favorites were ginger and macadamia nut (caramelized them coated with chocolate).

Such a pretty and delicious gift. Thank you!

Padovani's Chocolates
The Shops at Dole Cannery
650 Iwilei Road, Suite 280
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.536.4567
Monday to Friday 7:00-17:00
Saturday 10:30-16:30
Sunday Closed

cute

Love wandering around in Tokyu Hands.

It was there that I came across this super cute idea for a baby shower gift.

A box of "sushi"...rolled up diapers and towels are used for the "rice" and sponges and other towels are used as the "fish/toppings" for the "sushi".

Definitely unique!

an apple a day (and laughter is the best medicine)

It is o-seibo season, the time when you send gifts to say thank you to those who have helped you out during the year. About this time of year, one of Satoshi's classmates from college sends us a big box of apples.

My grandma once told me that instead of being greedy, if you know you can't eat something by yourself, you should share. My grandma is a smart lady and I respect her a lot. So, I usually give some away because there is no way we would be able to eat them all by ourselves. In Japanese we call this o-susowake.

So, the other day, we ate one and they have these natural sugar spots in the middle....delicious! (Thank you!)

I have to share this "Satoshi story". Whenever we go to sleep, Satoshi always wears an eye mask. I think this is because our curtains used to be thinner and the sunlight would bother him, plus I usually wake up before him to make breakfast and turn on the lights.

Anyway, the other night, he had his mask on and with the back of his hand, he ran it over my pillow. He immediately said, "Kat, your face feels unusally cooler...."

I burst into laughter, he takes off the mask and realizes he was feeling my pillow and not my face...did I make you smile or laugh? I hope so.

Have a great weekend!

foodie staff party (part 3)

Over the weekend, the 2 staff parties went well. The only bad thing was that outside the temperature was about 38C(100F) and our a/c was overworked with the amount of people in our place at one time so the inside of our place was 33C(91F)--talk about sauna!

We received all kinds of gifts from his staff. In Japan, when you receive a gift like fruit, cake or wine, it is an unwritten rule, but you are supposed to serve it to the people you received it from. When I first encountered this, I was appalled because when you give a gift you don't give it with intentions for receiving or partaking in it.

The other week we received those giant grapes and also some cookies.

Ramen from Kyushu. This is Kumamoto ramen from Maruichi.
Tonkotsu(simmered pork with bones and root veggies) soup base. We had to add our own green onions and yakibuta (roast pork). A delicious treat for the hostess who spent all the time in the kitchen cooking while Satoshi ate and drank with his staff. (I think the 8 of them drank about a case of beer and they were all women!)

Petits Gateaux Assortis, which I think means assortment of petite cakes from Henri Charpentier. These were so cute! I just can't imagine buttering these tins. Pictured are the madeleine (plain), pyramid (orange peel), madeleine au te (earl grey), financier au chocolat (chocolate), and praline (cake with praline paste and amaretto). Delicious!

And a semi-tropical bouquet of flowers.

There was lots of laughter, lots of drinking and lots of eating. I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

Hopefully the temperature will go down, I water my plants twice a day now and in the morning they are still kind of limp.

Take care and have a nice week.