A gloomy Yokohama winterday

I has been snowing all day in Yokohama! I did not see this coming since last week was all sunny and warm.

 Even Bambi is longing for spring now...

I stayed in all day with a pot of tea, chocolate cookies and tried some origami ideas from one of my new Japanese craft books. Always thought origami was not for me but I discovered it's quite relaxing to just sit and fold some paper. Especially on a winter day like today!

Paul & Joe lipstick give away

Scathingly brilliant is a wonderful blog by the lovely Kate Gabrielle. Kate, like myself, loves cats and this week she is featuring a give away of the Paul & Joe lipstick from their cat-astic collection on her blog. The lipstick is shaped like a cat. I'm not sure how easy it is to apply to your lips with the cat ears sticking out. Guess a brush would definitely come in handy here!

Oreo cupcakes from Annie's eats

When browsing Pinterest I came across a picture of some very attractive cupcakes. They are
Oreo cookie and cream cupcakes from Annie's eats and I really wanted to make these myself. Like with any recipe it was a challenge gathering all the ingredients in the my local supermarket since I can not read any Japanese. But in the end I managed to find all the ingredients and yesterday I spend some time in my kitchen baking these. The bottom of these cupcakes is made from an Oreo cookie and there are chopped Oreos in the batter too, yumm! This recipe is not too hard to make and although my version did not look as good as Annie's, I was still happy with the result and taste (and ate at least 4 of them....).

I did it!

I did it! I ordered a new iMac from Apple today! I could not wait any longer for the new model to come out. It should have been launched already end of last year and now analysts are predicting it will be early spring. But who knows...it might be after summer and I found it too frustrating not knowing when it will finally be launched.

On one of the Mac forums someone commented 'I have never heard of a plumber asking when the next Bahco will come out' and that made sense to me. It's all about the tool and the current iMac is good enough for me. Now I have to be patient for one more week since my new iMac will be delivered next weekend. Pfff, this will be the longest week ever!

La photocabine

 

La  photocabine is a website where you can take photobooth pictures. All you need is a webcam. You can download the pictures or send them by email and even as a real postcard. So much fun, go ahead and try it yourself!

In the second set of pictures I'm wearing the famous Mac Ruby Woo lipstick, which is my favorite at the moment.

Things to love: Japanese stationary

Ow how I love Japanese stationary. I've never seen such cute stationary before. The colors, the designs...I'm amazed with the amount of creativity that goes into it. My collection is growing every week. This week I bought two sheets of stickers that show body parts. Not sure where I would stick these on...I mean where would you put a sticker of a liver or lung on? Still I couldn't resist since looking at this design made my day!

Another nice find are these thick plastic animal stickers. Again I fell for the level of detail here. The rabbit has a tiny bow-tie around his neck and the tree is all fluffy and has a paper bird. 

Besides the seals I also found another roll of Japanese masking (washi) tape with a pattern of birds, bows, flowers and macarons. Love the pastel color of it!

Things to love: Pad and Quill iPhone case

I'm so happy with my Little Black Book iPhone case that I bought from Pad and Quill's Etsy shop! It's not only nice to look at, it's also doing a good job protecting my iPhone. The case is handmade, looks like a little black book and contains a little peek hole for the camera (install the Quiet camera app if you want to be a spy).

HOT ROD Razzle Dazzle Yokohama

I visited the HOT ROD Razzle Dazzle at Honmoku Hilltop Park in Yokohama today. All the classics looked bright and shiny on this sunny day. Back in the day so much love was put into designing these cars. I especially love the detailed interiors. It makes me wonder why modern cars all have to be so boring and look the same?   

 

How I would love to sit behind a steering wheel like this one!

This white and red interior makes me want to put on a fifties dress and big sunglasses and take a roadtrip...

A beautiful mess e-courses

I love vintage, design and cooking. And therefore I love Elsie Flannigan's blog a beautiful mess. It's one of the best blogs out there.
Elsie runs a vintage shop and has been blogging for over 5 years about her lifestyle. There is nothing this pretty lady can not do. She looks great, runs her own business, has a superb blog and knows a lot about interior decorating, baking yummie cakes and crafting. Luckily for me I can learn from her, she has created several e-courses on topics she loves. There is one on interior decorating and one on how to become a successful blogger (have to follow that one!). My favorite e-course is the one that teaches how to make a beautiful art-journal. It makes a great memory piece and it's so much fun to do. Especially on one of those drooly Sunday afternoons. More info can be found here.

Cake pops

Cupcakes were a big hit in 2011. I'm predicting 2012 will be the year for cake pops! And Bakerella is the queen of cake pops. She published a book on how to make these 'too cute to eat' cakes on a stick...I'm going to give it a try this weekend!

 

Hakone

 

This weekend we visited Hakone, a place known for the great views of Mount Fuji and many hot springs. For lunch I had the best gyoza so far: herb gyoza at the gyoza center in Gora. We took the rope way to the crater lake Ashi. And that's where I found a bunch of cats all cuddled up on a couch next to the lake. I invited them over to my own couch at home but for some reason they refused...

Happy Valentine's day!

Mount Fuji

From my bedroom I can see Mount Fuji, love!