So people where do you stand on the whole UGG boot issue?
It's getting colder here and although my head says no, my feet say yes.
I grew up in Brisbane Australia where UGG boots were always a fashion NO-NO! The ladies in Japan haven't gotten that memo because they are all the rage here. I'm a bit worried that once I go comfortable I'll never actually want to be fashionable ever again. It's a legitimate concern right? Am I overthinking this? I mean I already own a pair of crocs.
I've been meaning to give a shout out to Fred Flare and congratulate them on the opening of their first brick and mortar store in Brooklyn last month. It got a great write up in the New York Times too!
image swiped from the New York Times
To all my peeps in New York/Brooklyn - um, please go because I cannot! It looks super cute!
Fred Flare Store, 131 Meserole Avenue at Leonard street, Greenpoint, 718-599-9221 (a couple blocks from the Greenpoint Ave stop on the G train)
My work has these crazy sales every now and again. We hold the import and trading rights to a number of major foreign brands like J-Crew, Miss Sixty and many, many more. Anyway, they usually hold these sales in tiny little meeting rooms during our lunch break and after work. It's nuts - people get pushed over and once you are in the craziness, it's physically hard to get OUT of the room. Of course I can never resist the temptation to go and have a look - I've gotten some amazing bargains.
So yesterday I scored a lovely fleece jacket for 1000 yen (about $10), a dark navy/black (I still can't pinpoint the colour) trenchcoat for 2000 yen (about $20) - it was originally 20,000 yen and I also picked up some Ralph Lauren Polo shorts and a button up shirt for Jake - 500 yen ($5) a piece. I love me a bargain.
Here's a pic of the coat. Sorry for the dark and crappy keitai pic but that's all I can manage today. Oh and there's another ladieswear sale tomorrow and EVERYTHING is 500 yen. Think I'm going to skip it though and go to the gym.....probably.
The banners are all over the main crossing in Shibuya! H&M will open its first store in Japan in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo on the 13th of September at 11am. It will cover four floors in a new building known as Ginza gCUBE, which is owned by Tokyo Gas. The next store will open in Harajuku in November and that one will be even bigger, but the biggest store will open in Shibuya in the former Book 1st location in the summer of 2009.
This is an exciting development for the non-Japanese residents of Tokyo, but only if they carry real sizes....fingers crossed! I hope they have baby clothes too.....but I think that's too much to hope for so soon.
Who knew?! I never thought the world of stroller choosing would cause such stress. I mean it's just a freaking stroller, right?! I tend to research things a little too obsessively before making a major purchase and the only time I didn't we ended up with an awesome and cute digital camera. I chose it on a whim because it was cute, small and hot pink, but mainly because it is pink. Maybe I should change my shopping method for larger purchases....ha!
Before you continue I would like to warn you that this is a really long post JUST about strollers. It's more to purge everything from my mind so I can move on and sleep better. But feel free to share your views about strollers in the comments too!!!
So where do we start? Well even before we had Jake I started noticing strollers in the park near our house and I quickly realized that Maclaren is stroller of choice here in Tokyo. The most popular models are the Volo and the Quest. I thought they looked pretty boring to tell you the truth. I mean why would any company choose to make a stroller in different shades of gray!!! I also noticed that three wheelers are pretty much non-existent in Japan. When I asked Darin about his preference when it comes to a stroller, he said he wanted one with pump up tyres coz he hates the sound of those plastic stroller wheels going over the bumps in the park. I just wanted a lightweight stroller that I would be able to carry up and down the stairs at the train station and that I could take shopping etc.
Hmm, so I started the search for something that would fit into both of these categories.
After doing some research I discovered that pump up tyres and lightweight just don't go together and that there is NO perfect stroller for every single occasion. I also had a change of heart about what I think is important (for me) when purchasing a stroller.
So let's go through my research results.
My first choice was the Mountain Buggy Breeze.
A lightweight (7 kilos) three wheeler from New Zealand that reclines, seems really sturdy and is very easy to fold. It costs nearly $500 in Japan and even more in Australia so I didn't want to purchase it until I had seen it in person. My first mistake was not buying one on ebay australia for $100. When we got to Australia in December after Jake was born we went and tried this out at the baby store and the front wheel doesn't rotate, which is silly because this model isn't actually designed to be a jogging stroller as it is too light. Darin was fine with it as he usually pushes all strollers on the back two wheels anyway, but it bugged me no end. My sister (mother of two) also said no to it and that I would end up hating it. This might have been a good choice for a second stroller to use on rougher terrain. Like I said it would have been good if I had picked up the used one for $100 when I saw it because you don't get them for that price very often.
Next up was a very good decision I made and that was the purchase of a second hand Graco Snugride car seat and Snap n Go base for $40 total.
I would recommend this set up for any parents to be that haven't made their mind up about what kind of stroller they want to buy. It's not a long term solution but it buys you time and is really convenient especially if you drive. When I bought this I had no idea that car seat capsules could be used indoors as rockers - genius I tell you. Baby falls asleep in car seat, you pick up car seat drop it into base and off you go. Sweet. Another benefit is that the base will fit through the tickets gates at the train stations here in Tokyo. A con is that it is impossible to fold up this ensemble and carry it all by yourself anywhere. It has to go piece by piece. Another pro is that it is cheap even new and has a great parent tray, large storage basket (that you can actually use) and keeps baby nice and close even when you are at a restaurant. Jake didn't even ride in this stroller until he was about five weeks old. Until then we just carried him around in the Maya Wrap. That to me is the MOST convenient and fun way to carry around a newborn. Also great for discreet breastfeeding. Only downside is that you drop your food on them when at a restaurant and it's kind of hard to eat.
So the next stroller we used was my sister's Peg Perego Pliko something or other while we were in Australia. It is seven or eight years old and is going strong and is a cute blue and green tartan colour. Although both Darin and I are big proponents of baby wearing - it's much harder in the summer when both you and the babe get very hot. A stroller comes in handy then. The Peg was great and my only two complaints were trying to fold it down...it was a bit old so the folding mechanism kind of stuck (leading to one very embarrassing situation at a shopping centre in Brisbane) and my other complaint was that the handles were a bit low for us. We both felt like we had to hunch.
When we visited my parents house we uses my mum's laundry basket with a sheepskin. Jake seriously loved this!! Talk about cheap solutions.
As I said before when we were in Australia we went to a baby store and tried out a bunch of different strollers. I pushed the Maclaren Vogue and was really impressed with it - lightweight, super easy to push and fold down BUT I hated the colour - that model only came in GRAY! I also quite liked the Valco Navigator and it was cheap!
Well I couldn't write a post without mentioning the Bugaboo - the Louis Vuitton handbag of strollers.
This was never really an option for us - I could never justify spending that much on a stroller. These are not popular in Japan and the only time I ever saw one - it was being pushed by a foreign lady who more than likely drives a car around Tokyo because they have a very wide wheel base and are just not practical for the train and small Japanese shops. I like the concept of the Bugaboo and it's versatility, but I feel most people own one as a status symbol. I don't have much else to say about the bugaboo - I think I would only use one if someone gave it to me for free, but I could say that about most strollers. Oh I did read somewhere that someone thought the Bugaboo Bee looked like a wheelchair....
So let's move on to a stroller that I really don't like the look of (sorry if someone owns one of these - it's just my silly opinion after all) - the Stokke Xplory. Don't even get me started on that silly umbrella/sun parasol attachment.
I've seen about three or four of these around Tokyo and I think they look silly. Someone tried to fit theirs into the corner of a restaurant the other day and it stuck out like a sore thumb. Their kid who would have been old enough to sit at the table with a high chair couldn't even face the table directly. Buy a travel highchair for goodness sakes - I think they are a GREAT idea.
So after returning to Japan I decided I would just buy a cute lightweight stroller that was not a Maclaren. I was fed up with the research and my brain hurt so I bought a Graco Citisport EDT DLX.
I thought it looked pretty cute and had most of the attributes I was looking for - lightweight, adjustable handlebar that could be pushed with one hand, decent sized shopping basket, a shoulder strap to carry when folded and it can also be folded very easily with one hand and one foot. It also reclines to a nearly flat level so can be used for a baby from one month old and of course it weighs only five kilos. This is a model they only sell in Asia.
The stroller arrived and I was excited. I opened the box and played around with it and used it the next day. The result......
I HATED IT!
I wish I had never taken it out of the house so I could have sent it back. Why did I hate it so much. The seat was narrow and Jake at three and a half months old made it look small and they say you can use this thing until the kid is FOUR??!! The shoulder straps were short and hard to adjust. The backrest is made out of plastic cardboard!!! Oh and when I walked with it my feet kicked the wheels. I also wanted to use a lambskin liner that I bought in Australia but the stroller was even more squishy when I tried to attach the liner as well.
I guess the stroller has some good points. It really is light, super easy to close, stands upright alone and carry up and down stairs even with baby and bags as well.....that's about it though.
Live and learn I guess - never buy a stroller sight unseen unless it's second hand and doesn't cost much. So this will be put up for auction in Japan as soon as I can be bothered.
So this is when I had a change of heart. Instead of just thinking about getting a stroller that was easy for me to handle I also wanted to get something that would actually be comfortable for baby too. Lightweight rules in Japan but I see so many kids literally squashed into their strollers with their feet nearly dragging on the ground.
Next up for consideration was the Air Buggy. A three wheeler made in England pretty much exclusively for the Japanese market. Their latest model is the Air Buggy Mimi.
They certainly aren't lightweight compared to umbrella strollers but for a three wheeler they are not bad coming in at 9 kilos. The best thing about this stroller is that you can visit the Air Buggy store in Yoyogi and rent one for the day for $5 and see how you like it before you fork out $600. So that's what we did. It's a nice ride and good quality for sure and it comes with a bunch of accessories like a rain cover, sun shade, mosquito net, bottle holder etc. It's a little big for city use in Japan but would be good for the park. Here's Jake riding in a pink one.
We didn't end up purchasing one of these but I am looking for secondhand ones on Yahoo auction.
You may be getting sick of hearing about strollers by about now, so I'm assuming that if you are still reading it's because you've been through the same experience and totally identify. The saga does not end there and the research continued.
The Air Buggy store in Yoyogi also carries the Quinny Buzz and Quinny Zapp - cute colourful strollers from the Netherlands.
I saw a lady the other day on the train with a Quinny Buzz with the maxi cosi car seat snapped in and to tell you the truth, it looked really out of place in Japan with it's super wide wheel base. Hope she didn't get off where I live because there are no elevators to get you off the platform and people in Japan don't offer to help you carry strollers down the stairs. I kind of felt a little smug carrying Jake in the Ergo because I knew I could hop off the train anywhere with no trouble.
A better option would be the Quinny Zapp. I've seen a few Zapps around and they come in some really cute colours. I never really considered one of these as they don't recline and the wheel base is still pretty wide. You can use it with a maxi cosi car seat so you could really use the car seat until your babe can sit upright. It is also touted as the world's smallest stroller when folded. It's not super lightweight though (about 7.5 kilos I think).
So people if you are still with me, I'm tiring myself out thinking about all of this. These are not the only type of strollers I've researched but are the ones that I could obtain easily in Japan or try out for real before buying. We also looked at the Micralite, Silver Cross....and the list goes on.
Do you want to know what we finally ended up with???!!
A Maclaren - yes the good ol' frumpy Maclaren. I only decided on the Maclaren finally because I found a shop here that imports the European version of the Techno XLR in navy. They are not available in Japan yet. I could have bought an XT but I just couldn't buy a gray stroller.
Do I like it?
Yes - thank god.
Pros:
* smells expensive - love the suede liner...although we use a lambskin.
* great quality materials all round
* SO easy to maneuver around the shops
* LOVE the zip down hood that basically shades all of baby - no more pegging sheets to the hood
* spacious for baby
* tall height adjustable handles
* comes with a boot cover thing to protect baby's legs in winter
* easy to fold and carry with handle
Cons:
* the back wheels kind of squeak and this sound drives me insane - will be writing to Maclaren about this
* the wheels in general are a little big when folded
* doesn't stand upright but I'm over this and we've found a sweet little corner for it to live
* hard to access basket while in the recline position - good to prevent me from doing too much shopping so this could be a pro
* a little dull and boring looking
We actually also bought the matching Recaro car seat so we could use this as a travel system although I think it looks really silly. It still might be useful IF we have a second child.
Another stroller I would have considered is the Peg Perego Pliko Lite which is very similar in size to the Techno XLR but stands alone when folded and comes with a drink holder!! It's cheaper too....just.
The Stella McCartney range for Target was released in Australia this morning.
I'm glad I wasn't there. I experience enough of this kind of sale frenzy at our work sales. It gives me a headache. It really makes you wonder. I mean every woman and their dog is now gonna be wearing your amazing Stella piece. Was it really worth it? I liked the collection, but not this much. There were really only a couple of pieces that I would have bought and with prices mostly between $80 to $200, the stuff wasn't even cheap. Am sure there will be plenty of pieces available on Ebay Australia any minute now.
Had to add these quotes from the SMH (I was laughing out loud at work reading them and envisioning the situation):
"We ended up amongst the men's shorts stripping off and trying on things with abandonment, much to the amazement of a few men shoppers.
"At one point I realized I was standing in my bra and pants right in the middle of Target!"
Wow Stella McCartney has designed a 42 piece collection for Target Australia.
It goes on sale March 12. And the whole collection will be able to be viewed online from March 5 on the Designers for Target website.
I think a trip to Australia is in order.....to visit family of course. I mean I totally wouldn't fly thousands of miles to go to Target.
Or would I?
I might have to put in an order to my BBE.
I wondered whether Australian Target had embraced the designer line approach and it seems they have. Erin told me that the stuff sells out really quickly and then horrible people try to sell it on ebay for lots more money.
In other news, I've been trying to think up five weird things about me. I've been tagged by Helen and the DivaKnitter, but I wasn't going to do it because I've kinda done it before so that'll be a total of 10 weird things about me. That'll make me weirder than most people.
1. As a kid I was never really an animal person (I know, I know), but now with my two sweet pigs I find myself chatting to them and cuddling them all the time. Daz and I couldn't imagine what our lives would be like without them. Is that weird...or normal?
2. Not so much now, but I'm unusually into sports. It was a bonding thing with my father. I really get into the excitement of the moment. I've been to numerous State of Origin games. I saw the Harlem Globetrotters live. I was obsessed with Italian league soccer, 500cc motorbike racing and F1 racing in my last two years of high school. I would stay up until all hours watching those cars race around the track. It might have had something to do with No. 5 in my previous list.
3. I hate wasabi. This is probably not that weird. I got burned when I was a high school exchange student in Japan and my first host mother made a sandwich for my lunch everyday and she'd secretly smothered that horrible green stuff on to the ham. I would either give those sandwiches away or thrown them in the bin. Sorry, host mother number one.
4. I have a mild online shopping addiction. I've been really good this month. I don't think I would buy as much if I lived in the western world....or would I? I even told Darin last night that one of the pros of possibly moving to the US in the future is that I would be able to buy whatever I wanted online (no more international shipping!!) One can dream.
5. I'm 32 and don't have my driver's license.
Wow, that was actually easier than I thought it would be. Please don't tag me with this one anymore because then everyone'll know just how weird I really am??!!!!
OH and for you knitters out there - you can now preview Rowan mag 41 for Spring and Summer - from first glances there isn't a love that I MUST have (this is good news - save more money).
Also check out the Rowan Bamboo Tape Collection
The Little Angels Collection from Kim Hargreaves
But even cuter is the book And so to Bed by Lucinda Guy - CUTE!!
I think I'm gonna have a virtual garage sale.
I thought of this brilliant idea while swimming today. Doing laps is very therapeutic, not only for my physical self but it also gives me an opportunity to work through issues, and brainstorm new ideas. I have so much stuff that I loved at some point but don't use anymore and other stuff that I just probably should never have bought. Ah yes, we've all been there. I would just have a normal garage sale, but we don't have a garage and it's just not done in Japan. I'll put anything leftover on ebay. Just need to purge and get some money back instead of spending it - cough, cough!
I've got unworn shoes from here, Japanese craft books (mostly older ones that can't be bought on amazon anymore), and a bunch of other stuff. Should be fun.
Talking of spending - sweet Taeko informed me at our SNB on Tuesday night that you can now buy ADDIS in Japan - OMG! Not only that, she told me they are around 600 yen - LESS than half the price I paid in the US ($14.95 - ouch). I purchased (cough) 14 (cough) pairs yesterday, Please don't do the math. But as Rae and I talked about the other day - this kind of purchase is a total investment!! All of the larger sizes and popular cable lengths are sold out, but I only really wanted needles that are a size 5 and smaller as I use my Denise needles for larger projects anyway. I also bought a whole set of small circs with a whopping 60-inch cable. I figure I'll teach myself the magic loop technique. They are even selling addi circs with a THREE METRE cable - um, crazy.
You can buy the addis online in Japan at ASATSURU - they even have an English page - cute!
Oh, btw have any of you used a knitting thimble? They are sold out of the INOX ones but they look kind of handy.
Still on the topic of shopping, Fred Flare has done it again - they are selling one of a kind Amy Sedaris fake cakes. I really want one, but I'm going to try and resist (considering the purchase of 14 pairs of needles and did I mention the yarn I also bought yesterday.....). Anyway, you should totally get one thought (pink!, get the pink) and I'll be so jealous - they are also personally signed by Amy. I also love the Amy Sedaris pastry pouch - cute!
Man are we still on the topic of shopping. I just can't resist. It's kind of like my addiction to amazing tv like 'I Love New York'. It's produced by Ken Mok of ANTM fame - oh and did you know that's my last name too. I so wish we were related. As I told Claire I was a bit disappointed with the first episode, but man did it pick up this week with the mangeant (i.e. male beauty pageant).
I have plenty more things I want to chat about today, but um, I think I've written enough.
Last Saturday Pinn and I made our way out to Odaiba to attend Japan's largest Hobby Show. It was rainy and cold outside, but luckily there was lots of fun crafty stuff inside to keep us warm. The Hobby Show was on for three days, but I could only make it on the Saturday because of work, so unfortunately I missed out on the Prince's talk show. However we did make it in time to see a talk show with Tomoko Takamori - Japan's leading amigurumi artist - and man, is she cute!
That's her on the right! Cute dress and cute shoes.
We were introduced to Takamori-san later by my friend from Nihon-Vogue and even though we talked about her visiting the Tokyo S+B, I didn't think that she would come to our next meeting three days later. Of course I didn't have my camera with me. Dumb. I am going to do an interview with Takamori-san though - the interview will appear on my new Japanese craft site...which will hopefully be up soon!!
Here's Pinn looking super cute in her handmade beret and capelet. We were lucky enough to receive a free bento lunch from my friend - yay!
I actually don't have many photos from the Hobby Show as photography was not exactly allowed. Here's the three other photos I took.
Um, I think this one needs no explanation.
And here's Rira-kuma (relax bear). You could have a polaroid taken with Rira-kuma so I went to line up, but they told me I needed some silly special ticket.....I was so sad.
But the excitement does not end there. The next day Daz and I head off to Costco for the first time. We had fun because everything was BIG.
I made French toast for breakfast with blueberries and stewed apples with walnuts and raisins - yum!
It took us about 40 minutes to get to the Costco at Tamasakai by train. It's really easy to get to and only a 10 minute (or less) walk from the station. Good directions in English here.
We found it!
Daz feels right at home with the gigantic trolleys (or carts as you Americans say)
Since we were hungry when we arrived, we went straight to the eatery. We ordered two hot dogs, one pizza slice, one churro, and two bottomless cups of soft drink - it all came to less than 1000 yen.
Me using the relish machine to load up our hot dogs
Darin eating the gigantic pizza slice
Click to continue on below and see some photos of really large amounts of food. We actually didn't buy any of the featured products....except for the 4kg box of old fashioned oats!!
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