Some pics from Yakiniku - Buchi

April 19th, Yakiniku Horumon Buchi in Shibuya :)

I had the best time with the best people on Birthday Eve. Yes, I wish some of u from across the world could have been there too, but there's always next year!

Thanks to all those for making it SO memorable!

Me and Iku with Kai in the background!Me and Iku with Masa on the right
Iku, Masa, Me, Daisuke and Chris
Yuka and Sachi
Tom, Yuki, Issey, Kai and John
I unfortunately was having SO much fun that I didnt end up taking so many pictures. I was posing a lot though with 3 more groups of friends! I have to get the pictures off Honey, Geb and Banri :)

Here are some pics of me opening pressies!

I am wearing the yellow slippers from Elena and Jap. I LOVE EM! Green and yellow are my favourite colours so I was super pleased (as u can see from my expression!)

I was making such a mess, but I was SO happy.... I spent about 3 hours quietly opening all of them by myself... John says it was his most peaceful 3 hours this year :)

I love this picture!

haha I look so intrigued..... and I was!

And finally..... just to showcase how lucky I am (hehe, please don't hate me). What girl doesn't like coming home to flowers? I am obsessed with plants and flowers at the moment... But unfortunately these are having a difficult time surviving the cold spring this year. I am determined to revitalize them though!

I am the happiest, and luckiest girl in the world. And I'm not going to take it for granted :)

To Marz, thanks for reading my blog! I really appreciate it :) I have been well but super busy with work! How have u been little sis? I can't wait to meet ur Uni friends either! By the way, john and I bought fruit wine at the Hokkaido fest yesterday, u should try it!!! Hehe Thought I would dedicate this blog post for u because of ur tweet! Love you!
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I leave u with this pic of u I love!

I am the luckiest girl in the world!
Birthday Bash part dos!
Con mi familia :)
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Birthday feast was Saudi Arabian style - i love this Saudi Arabian rice dish that my mum makes me every year! I ask for te same dish every year but it is the BEST! John and I ate so much!!!!!
Thank you mummy!
Pics of pressies coming up soon!

I am the luckiest girl in the world!
Birthday bash part one... April 19th. @yakiniku buchi, shibuya :)
Just celebrated my 25th birthday and this year I decided to have a little bday dinner with friends from different fields! It was so much fun ;) we were about thirty ppl, taking up about 2/3 of the yakiniku restaurant!
I felt so so so loved:) hehe
John and I caught the last train and then spent loads of time opening presents and I loved all of them :)
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I even ended up crying a few times, reading peoples cards and just feeling the warmth that surrounds me:)
Thank you to all with the warm warm wishes :) I couldn't ask for better people to spend it with :)

I believe in the fundamental good that exists in the Japanese as a population.
Though when you read the news or hear stories from others sometimes you forget this! I certainly do...
But I realized recently went I dropped my phone that Japanese people can and do care about strangers.
Since i arrived in Japan almost seven years ago I have dropped my teiki (fully charged transport credit which can be used for 6 months), my phone, and my wallet - yes this says a lot about me... But all these items have been delivered to the police or the lost and found with not a single thing missing. I think it's heartwarming.
And i'm so grateful for that person who did the good deed as there are so many times like when I'm being pushed around on a train aggressively that I forget that we are as a population generally considerate and kind!
So yes.... Thanks to the person who delivered my phone to the lost and found yesterday!!! For delivering it... But also renewing my faith in us :)

Happy Birthday Marzipan Bay!!!

My sister is 19 years old today. I feel so old. I remember being 19 as though it was yesterday. Celebrating with new friends in a new country. Beginning of a brand new chapter and all the rest of it.

Marz, I am so excited for you that you are at that crossroad where you can decide what you want to do and thereby determine the kind of person you want to be. I am excited to watch you walk down the path you choose... and I cannot wait to support the person that you turn out to be.

I am already so proud, but I know you're gonna somehow make me prouder :)

Happy 19th Birthday!

We could've snowboarded a few mores times this season...

It might snow tomorrow?!!! What is going on? It is the middle of April... Where is spring? The cherry blossoms have already fallen. Ironically, this is global warming. It is freezing.

John and I went snowboarding, end of March, and I recently dropped off our clothes at the cleaners. But we could've gone a couple more times with this cold, cold weather.

Pity.

So much snow. It even started snowing quite heavily after a while! Above the clouds.

John is looking incredibly cool... the way he is holding the snowboard and all. Haha.

I wonder if I can put up some videos! I am such a lousy snowboarder... Although I have been trying very hard this season! I truly hope to get better next season. I can't wait! Until then, I am going to watch loads of snowboarding movies!

Long long day at work today! Started at eleven in the morning... It is now 20past midnight and I am waiting for the train - what a relief! Can't wait to drink a glass of red though :)
Staff mtg from eleven to two. Lunch for an hour. Staff mtg part two from three to four. Individual mtgs from four to seven. Then went to the store to check on everything - stayed until it closed :) I am so beyond tired that I've gone a little crazy.
But days like today, I realize why I like doing what I do. The work is impossibly hard a times but we have a good team and i have faith that we will be able to create results! Hopefully it will happen this month... My neck is on the line!

My favourite piece of clothing from Diesel's SS10 Collection

i bought this red dress thinking...

i won't wear it

it's too.... red

it doesn't go with anything i have...

but i want to try it...

and now it's my favourite piece of clothing from Diesel SS10 that i own.

it didn't cost a fortune. the colour is actually not too gaudy. and surprisingly, it's very easy to wear... and now I LOVE IT and wear it ALL THE TIME :)

it comes in a light gray and also a classic black, but i am digging this red that Diesel has always been so good at!

(excuse the red dress on the orange hanger!)

Pictures at Wired Cafe with work colleagues - just before my snowboarding trip with John :)
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Ikumi, Rina, Hiroko, and me(I)
Wired Cafe is a popular spot for young people in Tokyo! They have delicious Hawaiian-esque food! We went to the one in Mitsukoshi, shinjuku! It's afforadable and the drinks are gorgeous! A definite must for young folks:) I am still borderline young enough!

Lunch at a small pasta shop behind Harajuku! Smoked salmon and cream sauce tagliatelle! Yummmmm!

Day out with my sister.
April 9th. Was a tonne of fun talking fashion, family and boys, haha. Went to Harajuku and checked out Kitson, Topshop, H&M and the back streets of Omotesando!
Found nothing that I listed below... And decided that maybe maxi dresses are not for me! Hehe
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Makes me look so small doesn't it? Like a tiny Japanese girl - something I am not so accustomed to! I think I will stick to minis! Still on the look out for a nice romantic white top and spring leather jacket! Keep me posted! :)

My Wishlist

Going shopping with my sister tomorrow. There are SO many things that I am lusting over...

- Maxi Dress (which is better? flower print? or black? Floral is on trend, but black is SO much easier to wear... especially since I bought these red Diesel Black Gold sandals!)

- Leather jacket for the spring (tan brown or beige and preferably short)

- A white folklorish top, flow-y and romantic

- Headbands

- a non leather sling bag

- one-piece shorts

and the list goes on! Since working at Diesel, I am a lot more into trying different styles than I was before. I was happy with my jeans a t-shirt but now I'm a little more keen to try something else! Money flies out the window that way but hopefully I will be able to find snatch up some good deals tomorrow!

Sherlock Holmes

Today John and I went watch Sherlock Holmes (yes, films open very late in Japan!) the new film by Guy Ritchie....
And it was incredible! I didn't expect that it was going to be anything special, but I was really quite impressed with the way it was filmed and it's story telling. There was not one boring moment. I knew Robert Downing Jr. would do a good job as he usually is quite phenomenal in everything he does, but I was also pleasantly surprised with Jude Law!
I'm not going to write about the story here as I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but watch the trailer, (http://trailers.apple.com/)and go see the movie if you haven't already, and it is still out in your movie theatre.
I really enjoyed Hans Zimmer's input once again, and I can't wait till the next one!

I love this plant. My snowleaf plant. It has grown quite big since I bought it last year in october! I am proud of myself for not killing it. I really credit Chako for giving John and I flowers when she heard of our engagement. Having flowers in our house made everything smell so much nicer an look more homey... I liked that feeling so much now we have candles, flowers and plants.... Right now we are thinking of buying a place... Wherever we go I hope we have the sunlight!

The girls at my store are real fashionable. They are daring and yet not too outlandish! I really think they mix the quirky and the trend of the season quite well! What do u think?
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The top in the store and the top on the girl! I think she looks funky :) what do u think? :)

Minnetonka Moccasins are so comfortable! I bought these in a store called Chapter at Lumine Est today! Chapter predominantly sell sneakers but sometimes they will have uggs, emus, and Minnetonkas! They also sell them at an affordable price as they order directly from overseas and don't have a Japanese company in the middle trying to make profits. So I got these today for 9000yen today which isn't too bad! What do you think? I can't decide what kind of clothes Im into these days :) it's quite a lot of fun wearing clothes I never use to! Will post pics hopefully in due course!