Japan sight/ taste / find: 3/8

Day 3: Roaming around

SIGHT:
Playground with a globe marry go round.

TASTE:
Mami made us a well-rounded breakfast with the best tasting egg.

FIND:
Got stuck looking at tiny microscopic miniature people of all sorts in the model making department of 東急ハンズ Tokyu Hands....a department store of 7 floors filled with materials, supplies, and everyday items of anything you'll ever need and everything you CAN'T think to need but feel compelled to get....Pretty much, it's like heaven and hell at the same time.

Japan blips...

We're filling up our camera and memory banks of incredible experiences here in Japan! So much to blog, such limited internet access!

Just to assuage any readers' fears...we're safe and sound after experiencing the biggest earthquake in modern Japanese history. We were so lucky to be in Ichikawa at the Minatos' shop Depot/Lovelife. Just before the quake, we had just finished eating the most amazing Ramen ever and were in a ceramic workshop at Depot (more pics on that later). We felt the quake and our first instincts were to save all the poor beautiful shaking ceramics on the shelves, so we were frantically bracing everything. Maybe not the smartest tactical decision for our personal safety, but we can proudly say we're still alive along with all but one of the ceramic pieces in their shop! We've been saddened and shocked by all the devastation that took place just north of us and continue to hope for a quick, nuclear-meltdown-free recovery. We feel so lucky to be in a safe spot.

So, here are some visual "teasers" of some Japan posts to come! We are continuing our trip and will be heading south to Kyoto and Okayama tomorrow for the week. Hope to fill you all in soon.

Beautiful mossy wall in Tokyo

Stacked chairs at Aika and Yume Minato's school. We got to visit and had a wonderful Q&A sesh with 2nd and 4th graders.

A basket of wooden lids at a used restaurant supply store (SO COOL!)

Every wonder why you can't find Red Wings or other cool vintage brands in US thrift stores? They send them all here to this giant vintage reseller...aisles and aisles of classic American and Japanese brands for lower than new, but still high prices.

Sakura Mochi and tea...the first thing we had right after we landed...

"Stations are city gateways. Never an ashtray." and other subway warnings.

In case you were wondering where to stand at the intersection...it's right here.

Japan sight/ taste / find: 3/7

Day 2: Woke up and saw this...

SIGHT: Snow in March?!

TASTE:
Lunch & a lovely dessert set at a close by Japanese Italian restaurant in 市川 Ichikawa.

FIND:
Got couple of vintage 暮らしの手帖 Kurashi No Techo lifestyle magazine at Seiya & Mami's friends vintage book shop, Smoke Books. They had a whole shelf of them from the 70's & 80's filled with the best photos of everyday delights!

Japan sight/ taste / find: 3/6

This is start of the our trip with the series of 3 photos highlighting our daily discoveries where each photo represents an interesting sighting, some yummy food we tasted, and things we found.

The day we arrived...

SIGHT:
At 林檎の木 Ringo No Ki Gallery in 千葉 Chiba checking out our friend Atsushi who makes Gunung bike & lifestyle accessories.

TASTE:
Got to taste these beautiful seasonal 桜もちSakura Mochi wrapped in shiso leaves as the first thing we ate after landing.

FIND:
Handmade steel tape dispensers by a local artisan in 市川 Ichikawa.

I'd Like to Tap That: Modern Dream House

I love LOVE every part of this modern house by Linea Studio based in the UK.
There isn't a corner in the house that I don't love....even the dusts in the corner and the smudges on the window....

So, to warn you, there's gonna be a lot of me going "I like this...I like that...and OH-EM-GEEE... I LUV it!" repeatedly through out this post....

To start....
Check... THIS...out!! Look at this staircase with shelves on the side!! SCREAM!
and look at all the cute things on it! (still screaming!)
...SO want open shelves like that for our kitchen so I can display our housewares collection too...

Man....I really would also love a nice open kitchen like that....or to have room for a dinning table instead of sitting on the floor by our coffee table while my feet fall asleep during our dinner...
One thing though...I personally think it might just be a little TOO open. I mean just looking at how much empty space they have on the floor there!
Now...if it was US living there, we'd totally want to take advantage of that empty "wasted" floor space and turn it into a L&G packing & shiping area or something totally awesome like that...
boy...do I like those chairs....
Love the lights, love the floor, love the Finel heart bowl with the plant in it.
I also like the cleverly integrated landing unit and shelves.
Hello...metal flat drawers , giant working desk table with classy chairs, and that whole set of Domus magazines....I like you guys, too.
Clean, simple & nice looking bathroom..I like the simple towel holder pole...oh yes I do.
How fun was that?!
I can do this all day and look at all the photos of this place over & over again....and fantasize about me living there in that house...even as a particle of dust in the corner...

Disassembled

I'm enthralled by these photos by Todd McLellan of various things taken apart. Now I feel tempted to start taking apart random things around the house.
Don't think that's a good idea, since most likely I won't be able to put them back together.
Via Anthology

Wrapping Up Some Loose Ends...

Ahhh.....need to get some order out before we take off to Japan....
I'm SO ready to just get on the plane for 12 hours and do NOTHING besides sitting, eating, sleeping, catching up on all the movies I've missed this past year...aaand repeat...

Holy Mother of Leather Bags!

I think I died and came back to life when I saw these ridiculously amazing leather bags by Nutsa Modebadze!
She makes each bag with the MOST beautiful leather.
Nutsa designs all her bags with a such great sensitivity to all the leather she uses by truly celebrating it's texture, color & shape.

I literally spent HOURS clicking through EVERY single page looking at EVERY single thing...
And all these photos here are just a small tiny percentage of all the things she's ever made....

You can see all her latest work and her process on her blog...she's currently working on some wonderful woven leather stuff...I simply can't wait....
If only I could just touch one of these bags...I would die a happy person.

The Bestest Giveaway

Our friends from Iacoli & McAllister are giving away one of their frame lights!


Not sure why they would do such a crazy (but awesome) thing....but I won't stop them or say no to this!!
All you've got to do is leave a comment on the post or their FB page!

It's been exciting to see how they've evolved over the years since they first started. Jamie & Brian are such great designers and the hardest working people I know, so it's seriously awesome to see that all their efforts are really paying off with how much exposure & positive responses they've gotten thus far.

I'm loving all their new stuff!
You guys rock!!

PS. J&B....I'm not saying all this just so you'd pick me for the give away....but then again, I won't stop you from doing so. (wink. smiley face. )

L&G on March Cooking Light!

A nice feature of our Superior Spoons for March Issue of Cooking Light!