pinku

Trying to Stay Positive

I always try and remain positive on my blog mainly because a very long time ago a friend said that email and the internet are not places to be mean or nasty and I agree. I save being mean and nasty for when I'm tired and cranky and riding the elevator and I get pushed into the corner by someone who has plenty of room in front of them but that's another story (deep breath).

I love handmade stuff and love to buy from people that are creative and talented. I have bought pieces from Antifactory (more than once, ahem), Pretty Raccoon, Supayana, Boygirlparty, Veritas El Pulchra, Frecklewonder, Spicy Toast, The Vintage Doctor, Heather Joy, and Dying Breed to name a few. I love supporting independent crafters. More than 90% of these independent business owners are helpful and have great customer service - sending emails to confirm items are sent/received, etc. I have only had a few problems and most of them are resolved quickly but recently I tried to buy a necklace online from a young independent crafter and it has been an ABSOLUTE nightmare.

I bought and paid for the necklace on March 23. The seller was great about emailing at this point and seemed very helpful. Four weeks later nothing had arrived so I sent two or three emails to the seller's business email address and got no response. I finally left a comment on her livejournal and she responded apologizing and said that the necklace had never been sent. She had asked her boyfriend to do it, but he didn't send it because he couldn't work out how to fill in the little customs form on the package. I was totally nice and understanding and she was repentant saying that she'd thrown in another necklace for free. Awesome. I was so happy to finally hear from her and get things resolved. Two weeks after that exchange - NOTHING. No necklaces in the mail, so I start sending emails again. No response. Left two comments on her livejournal. No response. She has been sick but has had time to update her livejournal, attend a craft fair, update her flickr account. I also emailed another email address that she recently asked customers who had not received their products to respond to. No response. I'm so sad.

I won't mention who it is coz that's not nice. I finally lodged a paypal complaint last week and sent her another two emails saying that if she'd just respond and tell me when she sent the necklaces or when she will send them, then I'd withdraw the complaint and that even if I got the money back then I would repay her. NO response. I'm so tired of this and know I should just let it all go for the sake of my sanity but it truly bugs me. I've even considered calling her residence in the US, but I probably won't.

I haven't lost faith though in all of you crafty girls out there. I just wish that this one would respond to my emails. I'm beginning to feel like a stalker.

Anna R-D

Wow, I've been having a great day today. What a nice change! The beginning of this year (ever since we got back from Australia) has been a little lacklustre. I wasn't feeling it at all and being sick twice certainly didn't help. The spring weather has made me so much happier!

I got up early this morning so that I could work out at the gym longer than usual. Going in my lunch break means that I really only have 25 minutes which is just not enough. I started a new program and it was really challenging. It has made me feel good. Then Darin tells me my new bag which I ordered from Demano arrived at the house and that a torrent I have been wanting to download has finally succeeded. It was the finale of the Biggest Loser - S2. I am completely addicted to the Biggest Loser series and cry in nearly every episode. It is so encouraging and positive. The transformations are amazing. I love that a show promoting exercise and a reasonable diet is proving a big hit both in the US and Australia.

And now that I exercise in the morning, I can enjoy some SPECIAL time (as Darin calls it) during lunch. Today I had a lovely lunch with a work friend and then we wandered around the cherry blossoms at the Aoyama Cemetary which are in full bloom - right now. Here's a pic of the cherry blossoms in Inokashira Park - I took this photo with my camera on the way to work this morning.

It tops off a great week actually. On the weekend we went to Keirin with some buddies and that was an interesting experience. I'll post my photos in Flickr later, but in the meantime you can read Darin's post about the Keirin. My only advice is that I wouldn't really recommend  soing to Keirin for a date - it kind of smells of stale smoke and is FULL of old men. I ended up playing a game called 'Spot the Female' - it was hard. The only bonus was there was no line at the ladies toilets. We had one wager, guess what colour racer I bet on?

Here's a great polaroid shot of Darin taken at Keirin.

My favourite thing about Keirin was the old man food stall selling soba/udon/curry and onigiri - that's it. Oh and the free rokucha and water machine.

And on the way home, I spotted an awesome looking thrift store that is only open between 1:30pm and 5pm on Sundays - it was 4pm on Sunday. Guess what we found! Not one but TWO Print Goccos and a whole case of inks. They were originally priced at 250 yen and 300 yen respectively, but they were on sale for half price. Meaning that we walked out of there with all of that for much less than $10.

I also scored a cute vintage Japanese dress with the tags still on it for 200 yen, which I am now calling my wimbledon dress.

BUT I have been saving the best news for last. This happy spring post is dedicated to Anna Di-Iorio Reyes - the new, new daughter of our good friends, Angie and Sam. She was born on Sunday March 26th at 1:59am. Man, I am so happy for you guys and I want to come and meet Anna soon.

The story of the golden shoes

My love for Tokyo has been waning lately. I think it probably has something to do with the cold weather and my anger at still having to wear a big coat. I am envious of everyone that can go thrift store shopping whenever they want. I miss the excitement of finding something special. So to restore that love, I set out for Harajuku after work yesterday. It's pretty cool that such an amazing area of the world is only a 15 minute walk away. It was rainy and cold but I didn't care. I decided to check out some vintage stores that I had heard about but never really ventured inside.

First stop was G2 (3-22-7 Jingumae, 2F, open everyday 11-8). This shop is a great place to wander around - lots of bright colours, 80s motifs and kitsch zakka, but it is overpriced. I found the cutest vintage polka dot dress but it was nearly 8000 yen. Too much. They had some shoes that even fit me (size 9) - shock horror! I receommend it for inspiration and to have a browse.

Next stop was the kebab stand run by men from the middle east. I have been there many times before but they always ask where I am from, and then they continue to charm me by telling me how beautiful Australian women are - it always elicits a smile from me. No vintage clothes here but 500 yen got me a delicious kebab and more importantly sustenance for the rest of my shopping adventure.

I crossed the road while stuffing my face and head to the YM Square Building which is home to my favourite store, Hanjiro. You can see photos inside the store here. They really provide the full shopping experience - amazing atmosphere, good prices, awesome point system, and a very beautiful cafe with an outdoor balcony!! However before Hanjiro I went to the new secondhand store in the bottom of the YM Square Building - can't remember the name. Their stuff is cheap - nothing much more than 800 yen, but it's more secondhand with a few vintage pieces thrown in the mix. All of their winter stuff was 70% off but even so I didn't really find anything I needed/wanted. I was tempted by the 200 yen prices though.

So off I went to Hanjiro and I had one of those great shopping days when everything you try on fits and looks pretty cute. Usually in Japan I can virtually guarantee that most things won't fit right but yesterday was not one of those days. My love for Tokyo was slowly but surely seeping back into my bones. I spent most of my time on the 4th floor among the recon stuff, cute girly gold and silver shoes and of course the dresses rack. I walked out of there with ANOTHER recon tshirt and some gold heels - the grand total came to 1500 yen after using my points card and still have 150 yen discount to use the next time I go. Their point system is great - you get a 10 yen discount for every 100 yen you spend. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't find a dress I liked. I love vintage dresses and was really eager to stock up on some for spring.

I wasn't going to give up though. Most shops shut at 8, but I knew there had to be at least one still open.

We Go stays open until 9 - this was my last chance. I went straight to the basement and to the dress rack. Certainly not as cheap or as exciting as Hanjiro, but I found two super cute dresses - one brown and one red. Total came to just less than 4000 yen.

I was really happy that after two hours I had a cute new recon tshirt, a pair of gold strappy heels and two spring dresses for around 5500 yen.

My love for Tokyo is back with a vengeance.

I didn't have time to take a photo this morning, so my very kind and loving husband took one for me. It makes me smile because he found a way to sneak his skateboard into the shot!!!

oh and by the way, look who can't stand to leave our cozy home:

Ebay Auctions Ending!

How fast does a week go by these days??!! It's frightening. Five days until we leave for Australia but more importantly there are only  six to eight hours left on my Japanese craft book auctions on Ebay.

Go and bid now!

Have a great weekend and I'll leave you with some random shots that I've been meaning to post!!!

Pinngurl

I interupt the USA 2005 trip commentary, to introduce an exciting new crafty site, Pinngurl, produced and run by Pinn, THE craftiest member of the Tokyo SNB. This girl is seriously talented and very creative.

You must check out her Monster in a Teacup pincushions!!!!

Here's Pinn and her fiancee, Ken - congrats girl, you rock!

Turning 30

I turned 30 a few months ago. I didn't really think about it much, certainly wasn't worried, and was lucky enought to spend it in beautiful Thailand with my 'new' husband here:

Since turning 30, and maybe even a year before I turned 30 I noticed that I am definitely becoming more health conscious. I figure that now is the time to make myself fitter, more flexible, and in general healthier. I am certainly not obsessive about it, but it has definitely become more of a state of general consciousness for me and I like it.

I found a yoga studio near my house, so I am going to try it out on Sunday to see what it's like. It's not cheap, but nothing in Tokyo is, and as Darin says you are really saving 1000s of $$$ in the longrun because you won't have to fork out as much money for health bills in the future.

Tonight I am also going to check out a store called Lululemon in Aoyama. I found it via the Being a Broad forums. It's a Canadian leisurewear company that focuses on yoga gear. That's been the most fun thing about getting healthy - there's a reason to buy lots of new 'gear'! The company also produces a monthly ezine, which is packed with motivational stories about health, fitness, food, and living. Check it out! All the archives are available too.

So yeah, everything's was good until I read this article. I just thank the lord that they didn't take away the site until I downloaded the Veronica Mars finale.

ps How's the hair accessory making/buying going? I think I am going to take care of that this weekend. Look at these cute Hawaiian bobby pins (the link was one of my google ads - thanks google!).

For homesick Aussies in Japan

This post will be of very little interest to many of you, but it makes me very happy. The Foreign Buyer's Club in Japan has now opened its Aussie store. Shipping is cheap at around 500 yen and it takes just over a week for your order to arrive from Australia, and although the prices are obviously higher than normal - it's worth it when you receive little treats from home (e.g. Chicken in a Biskit, the Woman's Day, Pascall Wine Gums, etc). I have no idea why it happens, but I actually long for food more than anything when I am away from home. Basically food dictated my week at home and I deprived myself of NOTHING. It was fabulous. I did pay the price though in adding a couple of kilos to my happy Aussie frame, but I'm back to jogging, swimming and eating a rice ball for lunch so no doubt I'll be back to normal soon enough. My mother never worried about me having an eating disorder just because she REALLY knows just how much I LOVE food. Not massive quantities but the variety of tastes and textures. I think it's one of the best things about being alive!!!

Happy shopping and happy eating!!

ps Flower pin swap blog has been updated!!!

Salvation Army Bazaar in Tokyo

I finally made it to the Salvation Army Bazaar in Tokyo on Saturday and I had a blast. I highly recommend it to those who love 'real' thrift stores. My favourite section without a doubt was the old Japanese kimono/craft section. I bought 2000 yen worth of yarn including vintage black silk tape, a variety of coloured mohair, two skeins of this vintage wool boucle and some rusty coloured wool. I also bought some clothes and some really cool Japanese purses for 300 yen each.

You can buy furniture, clothes, shoes (they even had two pairs in my size??!!! but I didn't buy either), electrical appliances, antiques, stationery, fabric, vintage kimonos, bags, purses, crockery, just about anything really. Click for bazaar layout.

The bazaar is on every Saturday from 9am until 2pm. Busy but not necessary to be there at 9am. You could easily turn up at 11am and spend a good two hours looking for special treasures. Cash only (from what I could tell). You can also donate goods, which may be useful for people leaving Tokyo and looking to get rid of unwanted stuff.

Salvation Army Bazaar (information in Japanese)
2-21-2 Wada, Suginami-ku, Tokyo,
TEL: 03-3384-3769

Directions: seems like there are a variety of ways to get to the bazaar. I got a bus (heading for Nakano) from Eifukucho station on the Inokashira line. I got off the bus at 'Kouseikai Seidou-mae'. After getting off the bus, keep walking in the same direction as the bus in heading and take the first left (it's a narrow road on a slight incline), continue right to the top, turn right and the bazaar is on the left after about 100 metres (look for a white building) - you'll be entering from the back.

Well....

I was really hoping that I would have something to write about today like a new finished top, or maybe a funny Japan incident....but I have come up empty-handed. Thank you to everyone for their congratulations - I am glad that I kept the post up there for a week. We had some 'blast from the past' commenters - the Internet really is an amazing place. Work is super busy at the moment, so there has only been limited surfing. The good news is that my laptop at home has come alive all of a sudden. It has been sitting quietly in the corner for quite a while and I thought I would just give it one more go and off she went. I'm not asking questions - am just happy that it works although its fickle nature makes me slightly nervous.

The Japanese knitting mag offer was very popular, so I have been making trips to the bookstore and buying a bunch of magazines/books - they must think I am very strange buying many copies of the same book!!! I am thinking about selling a bunch of Japanese knitting magazines that I have sitting here at home and maybe some other fun Japanese crafty stuff, so stay tuned. If there are any products that you would be particularly interested in getting your hands on, let me know. I will probably put them up for auction on ebay - a friend of us all.

TWO interesting links for those in Japan/Tokyo:

* Salvation Army Bazaar - now I heard about this thrift store through a Japanese friend of mine (the very shrewd and cool owner of Tiny Cafe in Senkawa). I haven't been, but a Tokyo SNB girl, Claire has and she sent me a pic of her haul!!! It looked amazing. So if you like thrift stores at proper thrift store prices, then head to the Bazaar. It is held every Saturday from 9am to about 1pm and I hear it gets busy, so be there early!!! I heard there's a bunch of cheap yarn for sale (and it's not acrylic!!).

Ooh and you can donate old stuff that you don't want anymore - which makes a lot more sense than throwing stuff away in the gomi (trash)!!

* Bonheur (Diamond Yarn) - this is an online yarn shop here in Japan that sells only Diakeito yarn. They have a great bargain section where you can buy discontinued lines in bags of 10 for between 1260 and 2100 yen!! Cheap!!

Random photo post of the week - this is a shot of one of the floats at the Neputa Festival in Hirosaki, Aomori (northern Japan) last year.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.....

I swore to myself I wasn't going to perpetuate the slightly annoying chant that plagued the Sydney Olympics in 2000, but dammit I just can't help it. Currently I am reading the Bill Bryson book, Notes from a Big Country (a collection of columns he wrote for the Mail on Sunday's Night and Day magazine) and in it he says, In a funny way nothing makes you feel more like a native of your own country than to live where nearly everyone is not - how true!! I find myself cheering louder when watching rugby matches (umm, what am I doing watching rugby???) and constantly pointing out obscure Australian actors to poor Darin when we watch movies - See that guy there, he's Australian didja know that? Didja? Didja?......No, I didn't. Well he is, you know....

Anyway, are you psyched about the Olympics? I am. I went to watch the Judo during the Sydney Olympics and the vibe in that town and at the event was amazing. The only sad thing this time is that if you want to watch anything live here in Japan - you will have to stay up between the hours of 1am onwards.....hmmm. I just wanna see Thorpey (he's an awesome Aussie swimmwer with big feet if you didn't know) win some gold for the land of kangaroos and meat pies. Click here to read an article about 10 things to watch as the Games open.

On a crafty note, I have a package packed and ready to be shipped out to my secret pal - I am great at shopping, but not so good at sending packages out. I also have a package ready for my sweet, lifesaving friend, Swirl, and a Japanese knitting magazine ready to ship to Julie. Just mail it already.....ok.

Now I wasn't gonna put this photo of Carla up, coz it's pretty lame, but dammit I don't have any other photos to post today and it is the weekend coming up and all - y'all deserve a picture. Please take into consideration that this has not been blocked and there are many ends at the neck to be weaved in. I don't have it on because it's too small on the shoulders, and didn't look nearly as great as Clara's. It is going to be a present for my dear friend, Amanda who is leaving me here in cold (actually it is REALLY hot - it hasn't gone below 30 degrees for over 30 days - aghhh), lonely Japan. Don't go!!!!