Reponses to the NYC Earthquake.

NYC Earthquake 8-23-11

This is my first post in more than 4 months -- but today while I was on the train to work a certain thought popped into my head (quite delayed, mind you). Although I promised a review on this month's SOUP as my first post back here, I think this one much more thought-provoking and appropriate.

Last Tuesday, most of you know that there was a earthquake here in New York City - the epicenter of it in Virgina - with a magnitude of 5.8
A lot of us were pretty shocked and frightened while it was happening because this is not really something that most New Yorkers have ever experienced nor something we are really prepared for.  (First earthquake I experienced was in Japan)

Now while I know our little sway in the wind was nothing compared to many of the earthquakes that those in the West Coast experience, I found it rather rude and insensitive that many of the people that I know from the West Coast and other areas of the country were quick to call us "cry babies". Now here's the thought provoking part...
It was interesting then to see how my Japanese friends reacted to the news, quick to ask whether we were okay or not and concerned about the aftershocks that might follow. It was interesting to see that those in a country that recently suffered from an extreme earthquake disaster earlier this year were more sympathetic than fellow Americans, and I wondered, "Is that a culture thing?"

Are Americans supposed to have thick skin? Maybe next time there's a tragic shooting on the West Coast, us New Yorkers should pull out the 9-11 tragedy card. I think it is quite obvious from our reactions to the quake that we are not accustomed to a little shaking (i.e. we walked outside instead of hiding under our desks). I ask that next time people think about these things before being so damn insensitive.

I ask for your opinions - I highly value them.

-- La Tenoli

EVENT: Arts & Crafts Fundraiser For Japan

The Art Lover and Japanophile in me is very excited for this event! 

Saturday April 16th, New York Hana-no-kai and NIHONGOchannel are hosting 

the Arts & Crafts Fundraiser for Japan. 

Food, Drinks, Art, Fellow Professionals, and of course Models.

Because we all know that all real parties have beautiful women in kimono just lounging 'about

For more info check out the official blog post for the event. 

28 East 63rd Street, NYC (between Madison and Park Avenue) 

Admission is $5 (but more is always humbly accepted)

100% of the proceeds from admission and gallery sales, 50% of bar sales, plus a percent of craft shop sales will go towards the New York Japanese-American Lions Club Fund! 

Hope to see you there! 

La Tenoli

EVENT: Don't Give Up Japan!

My {Japanese} aunt sent me an email this morning with information about an event happening on Thursday March 24 to raise money for Japan. 

There will be refreshments at the event. So I encourage you all to come out and network with some of the amazing people who will be there. 

RSVP by tomorrow March 22nd by email to yokom@shipsltd.com or mayagorgoni@gmail.com

For those who can't make it to the event but still wish to donate, please visit http://www.ifrc.org/en/get-involved/donate/

I'll be doing my best to attend the event and would love to see some of you there.

By the way, please check out the new EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUNDS tab above to find other ways of donating by purchasing items online. 

La Tenoli

[GUEST POST] New CG Saint Seiya Film

I recently read in Asahi Shinbun about the new CG film that will be a rehashed version of the old anime series -- Saint Seiya. The film, which will be released later this year, will mark the 25^th anniversary of the Saint Seiya manga. 

Being part of a now older generation of anime lovers, as sad as it is to say, brings back memories of better and younger days -- back in a time where anime wasn’t so readily available. All it takes now a day is a quick Google search and your flavor of the week anime is downloading via torrent. Or for the even lazier anime fan, there are tons of sites that stream multiple series for free and require no registration. Saint Seiya existed in a time where the anime available outside of Japan was scarce. People collected, dun, dun, dun, VHS TAPES!!!!! Crazy!! I know right?!?! If it was lucky enough to be broadcasted you had to tune-in at the same time everyday to catch it.

Saint Seiya was part of a group of anime shows that were very popular in my native country, Dominican Republic, and other Hispanic countries of the Carribbean and Latin America; however, they were virtually unknown in the US. While American children watched the power rangers and Nickelodeon (which is in no way a bad thing) their Latin American counter parts where watching Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball, Dragonball Z and GT, Sailor Moon and many other shows in their entireties far before Americans knew what a kamehameha was. Though I was lucky enough to travel between both countries and enjoy the best of both worlds some kids had to remain oblivious about these until the later years. Back when Toonami and the original adult swim started bringing anime to the American audience. 

Saint Seiya did eventually make its way over to the US in 2003 on Toonami. It failed, however, to gain popularity and did not continue beyond its first season. I believe the main reason it never took was the extensive cuts that occurred to the show so it’d be “suitable” for the American audience. Unlike some series that at most have to deal with horrible dubbing and minor scene extraction, Saint Seiya underwent script rewriting and scene replacement do to the “violent” and “suggestive” themes of its time. Heavy animation editing and also a notoriously bad dubbing cast almost doomed it in the states. Now we would probably laugh it off if compared to a Seth Macfarlane cartoon, but we should take into account that the anime was made in the late 80’s early 90’s. So standards have changed a bit, or the jobless soccer moms who complain about said themes are preoccupied with other matters.

One of the things I find most exciting about the new CG in the works is that it’s only a film, which I believe is the right route to go. I’ve lived past the days of staring at a screen or monitor for hours trying to catch up on episodes of a series.
Animes, like Naruto and Bleach that seem never-ending in their countless seasons, have become a turn off. Work, family and life play much bigger roles in most of our lives, committing to watch a anime series could be time consuming and inconvenient, unlike in our lazy middle school and high school days. Instead offering something a bit longer then an episode but short enough to be enjoyed in one sitting could entice new anime fans and the schedule of anime lovers of days past. It’s an awesome opportunity to draw a younger generation of anime fans to a classic series. It’s win/win situation, provided it’s not a half assed attempt. For the time being all we have to go on is a very short sample of what is to come. 

http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/movie/seiya_cg/ 
(via Asahi Shinbun)
 
-Atomsk

Where to send your help.

I know that many of us who have dear friends and family in Japan wish there were something more we could do other than send money and messages of encouragement.

In such a case, I think I feel a lot better donating to a foundation that I know has a great investment in Japan already like the Japan Society.
Click the image below to go to the Japan Society donation page.

La Tenoli

3/11/10 Earthquake.

( source //  CNN ) 

This morning I woke up to an usually large number of texts from friends who were concerned about my friends and "family" in Japan. I was a bit surprised by it and immediately opened my laptop and checked on Google.

I felt my heart sink when I saw the magnitude of the earthquake.
First thing I did was email my host mother and tweet out to some of my very close Japanese friends. I reached out to my Japanese "aunt" and asked about her family out in Tokyo. Everyone is safe, thankfully.
Friends out in Shinjuku are also okay and I'm awaiting for a reply from my host family, who recently moved to Nagoya.

All my hopes and prayers go out to the people in Japan and other affected areas.
I feel a great weight in my heart and I'm hoping that these areas will receive the aid they need to quickly recover from this natural disaster.

La Tenoli

FYE: I love Japanese commercials!

TENOLI TUESDAY!

お久しぶり！！(ohisashiburi!) It's been awhile huh guys?
I'm sorry for abandoning you all like that - real life's been a drag lately, but I've crawled out of my rut, and I'm ready for more Tenoli Tuesday / Japan NYC action!

And since I owe you guys at least 3 weeks worth of posts, I'm hoping to bombard you all with updates including a guest post by one of my good friends :)

So let's get it going!~

To ease myself back into things I figured I'd share some cool info I found on the net last night.

First off, HELLO KITTY THEME PARK recently opened in Odaiba! :3
Last fall while I was there I got a chance to ride the Hello Kitty ferris wheel, but it wasn't the whole 9 yards and I'd love to go back and experience a land of HK bliss. I wonder if it's just Kitty-chan herself or all her Sanrio pals. For more info from the source click on the link! 

Lights on the ferriswheel - It's kitty-chan's bow!

On the HK ferriswheel!

And the other info hook up comes from twitchfilm.com (can't find my twitter source /sadface ).

Well Satoshi Kon fans looks like our beloved Japanese director made sure to set things up so that production on his last project would continue despite his absence. I'm especially excited about seeing DREAMING MACHINE since Mr. Kon seems to have delved deeper into his dream obsession after PAPRIKA.  Of course I've got a direct link for you all right here!

I'm hoping to find time to film a video for you guys today - no more empty promises! (> o <)/

Till the next update!
Yours truly,

La Tenoli

Maneki Neko! まねき猫が大好きだ！

Kita-Kamakura, Japan 2009

I love Maneki Neko! 
 He's the "The Lucky Cat" or "The Money Cat" (what I most often hear him referred to as).  I've been obsessed with this fat paw-waving kitty for as long as I can remember. Childhood trips into Chinatown (NY) gave my parents plenty of practice in tuning me out. "Look mami, it's the cat again!"  Little did I know then, that most stores and restaurants place this "lucky money cat" in their front windows to bring their businesses good luck and fortune.

But it isn't just this cat that I became obsessed with, because later on in High School when I was exposed to the wonders of Trigun, I fell in love with kuro neko (black cat) who makes appearances sporadically throughout the show. After that, I became the proud owner of the plushie and bobble head (haha - loser!).



So what's the deal Asia? Why all the cats? And it isn't just cats, but human-kitty hybrids. Anyone ever watch/read Loveless? (Who'll fess up?) Even the robotic ears on the Personal Computer Andriods in Chobits resembled kitty ears. Wait aren't we forgetting the most important kitty of them all? - HELLO KITTY!  These Asian kitties are all up in my personal life from "piggy" bank to planner.

"Where should I feed into my obsession Ms. Tenoli?"
Well check a few of these finds out!

Kitty ear headphones at GeekStuff4U.com!
GeekStuff4U is a great website to buy some of the latest and coolest Japanese gadgets. For all those fellow HK fans out there, they even have a special tab for your own shopping enjoyment!

(click on the image to check these out!)

 What about getting your own kitty "piggy" bank?
This little koneko (kitten) paws your money into the box.  You can buy this little fellow on J-list.
They even have a maneki neko "piggy" bank!

All this Asian kitty love is going to empty my pockets! 
しょうがないね。It really can't be helped.  

I mean look at these HK maneki neko version chopsticks I bought while in Japan - hopeless. 

 Hope you all enjoy the rest of July! Till next time!

 - La Tenoli

NYJapanTown Festival: Cool Japan

"[It's that] I want to go to Japan!"

Me too Rob, me too. But since I can't, I did the next best thing - last Saturday 7/17 I attended the NYJapanTown Cool Japan Festival!

The two blocks long festival was packed mostly with Japanese food vendors and sprinkled in between with Japanese activity booths (yo-yo fishing, shodo [calligraphy], shinto prayer, etc.) and Japanese shop vendors.

If you're going to start a festival around lunch time, you've gotta be ready for the tummy rumbling crowd. Check out some of the food vendors at the festival!

 Go Go Curry

Tonton Pork

 

Teriyaki Pizza? - They should have stuck to calling it "okonomiyaki".

Mini Curry Pan!

And to keep cool? Shaved ice and Oolong Cha (tea)!~ 

I arrived a little later than I had planned (doesn't that always seem to be the case with me? lol), but I'm glad I did because I heard I missed the brutal heat of the early afternoon. Since the festival lasted all day, I was still able to enjoy it just as much as the early birds. 

 Japanese people are more commonly described as spiritual rather than religious. Whatever the case is, Japanese people believe in prayer. Visiting the town's local shrine to make food/money offerings, ask the spirits for a favor, or receive your fortune is not uncommon in Japan.  

During my time abroad I visited many shrines and had a chance to learn how to pray. Nonetheless, these instructions were a friendly reminder.  

 

 Praying at a shinto shrine.

I wanted to send a special "Thank you!" to my friend, Franklyn "Beatz", and loverboy, Atomsk, who did a lot of the picture taking! To check out more pictures from the NYJapanTown Festival check out our Flickr albums TENOLI'S  &  BEATZ'  

Stay tuned for the Japan Cuts: Nightmare Detective II review coming this Friday!

Hope you all enjoyed this Tenoli Tuesday post!
La Tenoli

Chocolate Bananas, Sake, & Fried Chicken!

Not in that order and not all at one time. You can, however, get them at the same place - at festivals (matsuri) in Japan.

Last fall during my stay in Japan I went on a field trip to Sakura city in Chiba prefecture (prefecture next to Tokyo) to pay a visit to the folklore and culture museum. Luckily we had a chance to witness Sakura's annual fall festival during our visit. 
Now there's the standard Japanese "junk" food that I more or less expected to see at the festival - okonomiyaki, fried noodles, and mochi - but what I didn't expect was the abundance of fried chicken and chocolate banana stands.
As a fan of most foreign dishes and treats, of course I had to try it!

Opinions: Getting the chocolate banana was fun, since it involved playing a game of rock, paper, scissors with the vendor (you win, you get two / you lose, you get one); however, the dessert itself was bland. (Although this tends to be a comment most foreigners are accused of making regarding Japanese sweets, as a fan of Japanese sugary treats I'm not sure that was the case with this dessert). 
On the other hand the fried chicken, although at first glance looks ridiculously greasy and unappealing, is extremely delicious. I even tried some with Japanese mayo (local-style!).
Besides the cheering competitions between the Sakura local towns' people, the food was definitely the next best thing.

Oh and as for the sake - let's just say Sakura citizens are extremely generous and hospitable. Free "samples" on the house - yummy!

With game booths, misc. vendors, and cotton candy in DBZ and HK themed bags, what isn't great about a Japanese festival?

NYJapantown peoples have been raving about the food vendors that will attend this year's festival on Saturday, and I for one am extremely excited to try out all the delicious food samples!

Hope to rub shoulders with a few of you at the festival this weekend!
La Tenoli

Long-awaited-July.

Happy Tenoli Tuesday everyone! ( ^ o^)/
今日は、テノリ火曜日だから、アップデイトします！〜

Next month is the first of three NY Japantown festivals - the Cool Japan Festival - which will take place in downtown. I've been keeping up on them through their official blog and twitter. One of their most recent tweets really got me hyped up about the festival ::  

Designers rock the yukata: http://bit.ly/cQaolu  At the Cool Japan festival on 7/17, 

we'll have a street fashion contest. What will you wear?

 There are a still a few hair accessories that I haven't put to good use yet since my return from Japan, and speaking of Japanese fashion, that reminds me - SOUP! - I haven't read that magazine since my host mom kindly sent me an issue for my birthday ( T ^ T.) This calls for a trip to Kinokuniya and a long awaited post about the magazine! <3

 


Despite the unorganized thoughts that could probably make great fillers for a lengthy blog post or two, I've decided to keep this post short and hopefully come back next week with something a little more well thought out and interesting!

(although I can not remember who I originally got this NYTimes link from, please enjoy the article and the following link below - I'm thinking maybe when I get my own apt, I'll buy a pachinko machine to decorate! :D)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/garden/24slots.html
http://bluehotaru.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=13_39






（これから、日本語で！）
来月は、最初のニューヨークのNYJapanTownのまつりがあります。そのまつりのテマは、「かっこい日本」です。そのグルップのツイッタとブログを時々チェックしています。今日は、ツイッタで、最初のまつりについてのアッポダイトを読んで、うれしかったです。

「http://bit.ly/cQaolu  7/17の「かっこいい日本」のまつりで、ストリットファションコンクルがあります。その日、みんなは、何を着ますか？」

何をきるかな〜すぐにあたらしかわいい夏の服を買った方がいいでしょう。ところで、最近、スップと言うざっしは読みません。多分、来週は、きのくにやでざっしを探します。

今週のポストはちょっとおもしろくて、ごめんね、みんな。でも、来週の、きっとおもしろいですよ！その時、またブロッグに来てみて下さい！

Perhaps next week I'll post in Spanish as well :D

じゃまたね！

La Tenoli

Japanese Cinema

Hola, 元気ですか？ Hope you're all doing well.

Before I begin with the bombardment of information for this week's Tenoli Tuesday post, I'll start off by saying that Brazil's win against North Korea today made my week! ! Did anyone catch that amazing first goal scored by Brazil?  Oh yes, it was love.


JAPAN CUTS: Festival of Contemporary Japan Cinema
So the Japan Society is hosting a Japanese film festival from JULY 1 through JULY 16.  I'm usually fearful of the word "contemporary" since it's often used to describe things that date back too far to be considered part of the "now", but rest assured that several of the movies that will feature in the festival are recent releases ( within the last year ).
 I'm really excited I'll have the chance to see one of the movies I couldn't during my time aboard last fall.　GOLDEN SLUMBER  / ゴールデンスランバー 

The movie will make its New York premiere on Friday July 2nd 

Best way to describe this movie - Eagle Eye meets Borne Identity, lol. Definitely a must see! 

I'd also recommend watching ZERO FOCUS / ゼロの焦点  - a mystery movie involving love triangles and vengeful bitches.  I'm considering making a date night out of it even though I already saw it, because I'm curious to see how well I was able to translate it the first time.

Premieres Friday July 9th @ 6:30

Check out the rest of the movies on the Japan Society website by clicking the link above & don't forget that on July 17th there will be a JapanTown Festival in NYC.  That Sunday is also the premiere of MadMen's fourth season.  Might just be the best weekend this year! July's looking more and more exciting for NYC Japan fans : ) 
EDIT: MadMen fourth season premieres on Sunday July 25th!


Hope you all enjoy the rest of the week - watch FIFA! ( Go Brazil! )


La Tenoli

Hideo Kojima's visit to UNIQLO (SoHo, NY)

Yesterday I attended the KONAMI X UNIQLO event at the Uniqlo in SoHo.
Hideo Kojima, the mastermind behind the famous Metal Gear Solid games, was there to sign autographs coinciding with the release of 8 limited edition MGS Peace Walker T-shirts to be sold at Uniqlo.

There's a rule I came up with after my first Jimmy Eat World concert proved slightly disappointing; I couldn't even snag a setlist. You have to think like the craziest fan. And although I knew the craziest fan would either sleep outside Uniqlo ( which was rumored to have happened ) or get there EXTREMELY early ( 8 AM? ) I still couldn't get my lazy butt out of bed fast enough. The originally planned 9:30 arrival was pushed to 10:40 and by that time Mr. Kojima's fans totaled over 300+ !! ( Mind you, the event didn't start till 12 ) I stood online till 2:00 when it was announced that the autographing was done. Needless to say I did not get an autograph or win a raffle prize, but I did get the T-shirts! :)

(Left To Right: Mike, John, Richie, Pedro, Jose)

The guys were extremely hilarious and made the 3hr and 15min wait a lot more bearable! 

Although I'm not a proud PSP owner, I did get a chance to play the Peace Walker demo last year at the Tokyo Game Show. Co-op was a lot of fun, and you know it means something coming from me, because I'm not a shooter type gamer.  So for all you PSP owners who are still skeptical - go find yourselves a friend who's got Peace Walker and check out the co-op mode; I promise you won't be disappointed. 

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend! 

Stay tuned for this week's Tenoli Tuesday post; it's going to be a good one :3

La Tenoli

US Vs. Japan [Garbage]

ゴミバコがどこにある？（gomibako ga doko ni aru?)  = Where is the garbage[box]?

In Japan, this phrase might be just as important as "¿donde esta la biblioteca?". If there's one thing that surprises Americans almost as much as "squatty toilets" and bone crushing crowded trains is the lack of garbage cans in the public space, but you wouldn't know it. Not that Japan is 100% liter free, because believe me I've seen my share of graffiti and garbage, but compared to the gritty action packed streets of NYC, the busy streets of Tokyo, Harajuku, Shibuya, etc. aren't much dirtier than a baby's bottom.

So why would this be the case?

If there's one thing I learned from Japan was self discipline (in areas of my life that I didn't expect).  This discipline is reinforced by a culture that looks down upon those who do the "wrong" thing. To a New Yorker it might seem odd that such a simple idea could affect the Japanese to such an extent, but it's a part of the culture that starts a very young age.

So why am I talking about this?

Metropolis is an the #1 English magazine in Japan and from time to time I read some of the articles.  Jesse Veverka's article about the lack of trash cans in Japan and his theory and opinions on the subject really got me thinking about my experience and what I had learned. // Sure the Japanese produce waste in ways that we might find absurd like: having every single cracker or cookie in a box wrapped or packaged on its own, but one thing I found both stressful ( at least in the beginning ) and amazing is that every single piece of waste in Japan, every wrapper, bottle, box has it's respective disposal symbol on it. And you can find these here in America on your H&M accessory tags (プラ、紙、etc) because yes, there's an H&M in Japan :D

 Check this out. Behind the compacted version of the water bottle it says,

"Delicious + Good for the environment. [It] becomes small like this".

So what do you think? Are more trash cans in the streets of Japan really the solution? 

( I didn't fall off the face of the earth so expect a Tenoli Tuesday post next week! :3 )

"Tenoli Eats A Canoli"

"Tenoli"
"Is that Italian?" / "It reminds me of the word 'canoli'"

They rhyme, but it's not Italian. Although I really can't say I mind the "canoli" association, afterall, I'm a tenoli canoli-lover myself. Can't remember the last time I had a canoli, so image my excitement when I find a stand at Rochester's Annual Lilac Festival that made fresh canolis! ( * o*)

 A rather sexy canoli, if you ask me.

I gotta say though, I was slightly disappointed that I had to hunt down the lilacs and that upon arrival to the "lilac area" most of them were dead - Nevertheless I was still able to find a few bright purple and in full bloom. (They smelled so good!)

 

Graduation was amazing - "surreal" is probably one of the only ways to describe it. I have yet to upload the pictures from my sister camera onto my computer, but when I do, rest assured I will update and bombard you with some : )

******************

In other news - for those who love Japan & Jazz - check out this group I found Nippon Jazz NYC Meetup Group Who would have thunk it? They have a meet coming up this Sunday at 9:30 in the Blue Owl Cocktail Lounge - Check out their page for more info.

By now most of you already know about Japan Day (Sunday June 6th @ Central Park), but here are two more events that those Japan lovers in the NYC area might want to know about.

• First off, Tigresaa informed me a week ago about the event happening at UNIQLO (SoHo) on June 11th - Looks like MGS fans will get a chance to purchase exclusive Peace Walker Tees and meet the genius behind the game, Hideo Kojima. Fans will also have the chance to win a PSP Peace Walker Bundle!~ So for more details on that, check out Spawn Kill's Post.
• Yesterday or the day before (graduation has messed up my sense of time) I found out about the NY JapanTown Festival which will come just in time to take care of our post JapanDay withdrawal! It's basically 3 events spread out more or less a month apart with 3 different themes and held at 3 different locations! (via @Wendy_Tokunaga) Check out the official blog hea!

I'm excited about all these events and I hope to get some video and photos on camera to share with all of you! So stay tuned - this summer is looking more and more exciting every minute! (^ o^)/

BAI バイ

La Tenoli

The Japanese KitKat Experience!

After much wait, I'm pleased to announce that my Kitkat video finally uploaded today! (sound, video, and all)  

A big THANK YOU to all the students from the University of Rochester who let me film them for free food : ) And another big THANK YOU to my roommate and camerawoman, without whom this video wouldn't have been possible. The editing was great!~ 
Hope you all enjoy the video! 



If you want to learn more about where I got these from and where to get some Japanese kitkats of your own check out my earlier blog post GIMME A BREAK! [KitKat].

Hasta luego!~
La Tenoli

のだめカンタビレ映画

こんにちは！
のだめカンタビレ最初の映画を見た人は、今日（日本の）次の見ますか？
アメリカに帰った日の前にホストお母さんとのだめカンタビレ映画をいっしょに見ました。とてもおもしろかったけど、その映画は、ストリの最初の分だけだから、大変でした。今、アメリカにいるから、次の分を見に行けないんです。日本語の玉手先生は、５月、日本に行くつもりから、のだめカンタビレ映画を映画館で見られます。いいな。

ところで、水曜日は、新しいドラマがはじまりまたね。「素直になれなくて」と言うドラマを見ましたか？ツイータで会った人のストリだから、見たかった。そのドラマで、上野樹里が主役を演じます。

あたしの友達は、「見るまでもないと思う」って言いました。w！見た人は、どうだった？

じゃまた来週！

バイバイ

テノリ

. Hispanic Geisha .

So I'm trying out this thing, where I insert breaks into my posts (what do you think? no? yes? who cares? :D ) 

Anywho - let's get started!

On my trip to Kyoto I was determined to find a まいこさん (maiko-san) since I learned that 芸者(Geisha) aren't usually the ones you see in full regalia - white faced and red lipped.
(<< あった！)
Needless to say I was happy when I spotted her and attempted to stalk from across the street, lost sight of her and found her again waiting on this corner for the small boy they seemed to have sent an on urgent errand. Looks like she might have forgotten something (luckily for me).

I hit the jackpot, however, when I found a geisha hair accessory shop on one of the main streets (address and details coming soon!) Since my default bad hair day up-do is usually a bun, I figured why not get something cute (clip or otherwise) to stick on the side for added style. So here's what I got...

Handmade

Happy Easter all! 

Pictures I meant to put up earlier  - tea cup and plate carving that I made on IES fieldtrips during my semester abroad in Japan! Excited to drink the green tea my host mom sent me for New Year's and use the whisk my J-grandma gave me! <3 Enjoy the photo dump!

More photodumps and Japanese accessory blog updates coming soon!

Be sure to check out Messy Carla's Giveaway! Details and link posted up on the side!

La Tenoli