pinku

Happy (the day after) Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone,

Just a quick note to say that we are fine and well and enjoying some unusually warm weather here in Beaver Oklahoma. Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I ate....and ate....and ate. It was all super delicious - there was homemade bread, cinnamon rolls, and lotsa turkey. I ended up wearing a stretchy skirt and since the eating was spread over the whole day, I managed to not feel completely stuffed. I hope everyone had a great day.

I've been to Target twice so far (thanks Erin!), about 10 thrift stores and one yarn store.

We'll start heading to Texas in a couple of days, but will be stopping off in Norman, OK to visit one of Darin's friends and to visit Kayne's boutique, Southern Charm - as you can see my priorities are in the right place.

I hope he'll be there.

Anyway, I hope that y'all are doing well....and I'll see you soon in the blogosphere see with LOTS of funny photos.

Superbuzzy + New Cardigan

As you may already know the ladies of Superbuzzy, Kelly and Mariko were in Japan last week and I gave them a quick crafty tour of Kichijoji and then we managed to catch up for dinner again the day before they left!! It was super fun!

From L to R: Chico (Mariko's friend), me, Stefana, Kelly in back, Mariko in front, Minato-san - the CHIEF of the Rowan store here in Tokyo, Trico

Here's a nice one of Kelly and Daz

Oh and I finished my Kim Hargreaves Rebecca Cardigan - man is Big Wool a quick knit. It's a very pretty colour and is super warm - kinda too warm almost (for this crazy warm/cold Tokyo weather anyway). I have worn it a total of three times and the bottom of one side has already started to felt quite a bit - right where my bag was rubbing against it I guess. Note to self - don't let anything rub against this delicate and expensive cardie. Not sure whether I'd knit a whole sweater out of Big Wool ever again considering its cost and bulkiness - there is no way I could wear the cardie under a coat and it feels like I'm wearing a blanket (*note that this can be a positive thing) . I do love the shape though and may convert the pattern for a smaller gauge yarn.

I felt inspired on Sunday morning and took these crazy photos.

I wore my sparkly green dress (which was thrifted here in Tokyo) with a lovely gold belt to the Australia-Brazil soccer game back in June - Australia's usual colours are green and gold but unfortunately we wore our away colours that game (dark blue) so it looked like I was supporting Brazil. No, no, no!

Here it is without the cardie and me doing something silly.

Here is the area where it is felting. I have already taken to it with a pair of scissors.

Did I mention how excited we are about going to the US??!!! Well we are and now it is only four days away. This time we will only be visiting Oklahoma and Texas and I'm hoping to do LOTS of thrifting/op-shopping!!! I can't wait for my first real Thanksgiving. I'm thinking of buying a stretchy jersey dress to wear so that it will expand with my stomach as I eat and eat and eat!!!!!

My very own starving artist

If you pick up the latest issue of Japanzine you'll be able to read an interview with Darin. You can also read it online at the Japanzine website HERE. Darin has also redesigned his blog so check it out.

It was for their starving artist series which is slightly a fallacy because no-one was starving in our house last night. I whipped up some decadent Mac 'n Cheese (known as Mac 'n Mad Cheddar) using this recipe from Jennifer, who originally found it in Readymade magazine. This is the second time I have made it and I felt just as guilty/happy eating it this time around. I have never made anything that requires SO much cheese. At least I used the low-fat cheddar and skim milk - gah, who am I kidding. But seriously I would recommend this recipe if you like cheesy, tomato-y, basil-y pasta dishes - it's also vegetarian friendly. No need for meat here.

Three day weekends rule

Last Friday was a national holiday in Japan known as Culture Day (Bunka no hi), so to get our fill of culture we headed to Meiji Jingu to see some Yabusame (Japanese archery on horseback). The weather was glorious and the park was as beautiful as ever.

Saturday involved lots of soaking at the onsen and massage chairs, and on Sunday I had the pleasure of finally meeting Mariko and Kelly in person and taking them on a crafty tour of Shinjuku and Kichijoji. I had a great time and learnt a lot about fabric.I failed to take any photos (kicking myself), but I will be catching up with those ladies again before they leave so I'll be sure to take photos next time!!!!

This is what we saw on Friday!!

This guy hit the bullseye!!

This guy missed!

At the main shrine there were tons of parents with their kids celebrating Shichi-go-san (a festival for kids that are 7, 5, or 3)

And as you will often see at Meiji Jingu there was also a wedding

There were also many aikido demonstrations

See all the photos here!!

Tokyo Yarn Store List

I've just updated the Tokyo Yarn Store List (click to download the excel file). This list was originally started by Tricoquelicot for the Tokyo SNB yahoo group and then I just added some commentary and other details to make the list more complete. The only real change to the updated list is that the Rowan store in Ebisu moved and I also added opening hours and regular closing dates for stores where possible. If you have any other stores that should be added to the list let me know.

While updating the list and searching store websites I found some pretty cute free patterns for some slippers and hats on the Puppy website. The first slipper pattern seems very similar to the very popular pocketbook slipper pattern.

I'm not so sure about the hat pattern though - seems a little too tea cozy-ish like for me.

Are you famous?

On the way to my gym during my lunchbreak today I walked past a film crew obviously waiting to interview someone on the side of the road (near the back entrance to Uraku Aoyama - an exclusive members only club). There were also people crowding around on the other side of the street. I wondered who it could be, but kept walking. But then I saw a white stretch limo so I decided to stop and wait and see who would get out. When I first got a glimpse of the flowing blonde hair, I hoped, hoped, hoped that Sebastian Bach was getting out of the car, but it wasn't him and to tell you the truth I don't know who it was. Very disappointing. Do you know who this guy is? Are you famous, mystery man with long blonde flowing hair?