Weekly Love Letter for Saturday, June 6th
“I turned 31 this week, which for some reason feels much older than 30. I’m not sure why, but maybe it’s because I was listening to the iTunes Top 50 Pop station and I skipped every other song...
View ArticleBalsamic Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream, aka Birthday Ice Cream
This is my Birthday Ice Cream. Most people look forward to birthday cakes or cupcakes, but I’ve never been much of a cake fan. Even growing up, I always requested ice cream cake or strawberry...
View ArticleWeekly Love Letter for Friday, June 12th
“Too bad Japanese plums don’t taste as good as they look. Aren’t those gorgeous? They were too pretty pass up, like a little bowl full of tropical sunsets. I’ve never been much of a plum person in...
View ArticleFrench Polynesia Travel Guide
French Polynesia is a country in the South Pacific made up of over 100 small islands. The most famous islands are Tahiti and Bora Bora. The country is an overseas collectivity of France, which means...
View ArticleMatcha, Strawberry and Coconut Popsicles (Bonus: Dairy-Free and Vegan!)
I had a delicious little cup of ice cream the other day, and I can’t get it out of my head. It was one scoop of strawberry sorbet, one scoop of matcha ice cream, and one scoop of roasted green tea...
View ArticleWeekly Love Letter for Friday, June 26th
“The rainy season, ugh. It’s so hot and humid, and it’d been raining almost every day. It sure makes you less excited about going outside. As a result, I’ve been scraping together some pretty...
View ArticleTahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora Travel Guide
This is a guide that’s specific to the islands that we visited in French Polynesia: Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. As I mentioned in my more general guide to visiting French Polynesia, there are over...
View ArticleWeekly Love Letter for Friday, July 10th
“Yet another rainy, humid week in Tokyo. We’re headed up to Hokkaido this weekend see the lavender fields, and I can’t wait to get out of the city! Sunshine and fresh air. Yes, please. Even this...
View ArticleCalligraphy Shrink Plastic Tags
Shrink plastic. A.k.a. Shrinky Dinks. A.k.a. puraban (in Japanese). Do you know about this stuff? I was a really crafty kid, and I somehow missed this miracle product. I understand that it was...
View ArticleWeekly Love Letter for Friday, July 17th
“The hubby and I took a long weekend to travel to an underrated part of Japan. Hokkaido, the northernmost island, is known for its fresh seafood, amazing dairy, grass-fed beef and lamb, and great...
View Article5 Foods You Have to Eat in Sapporo, Japan
Sapporo is the 5th largest city in Japan, with almost 2 million people. It’s the main city on the northernmost island of Japan, called Hokkaido. The region gets a huge amount of snowfall in the...
View ArticleWeekly Love Letter for Friday, July 31st
“Travel week! I’m taking my annual ‘escape the torturous Tokyo heat’ trip to The States. A few weeks in Cleveland and Chicago with the family first, then off to LA to see a brand-new niece, and...
View ArticleOmbre Sequin DIY Notebook
My goddaughter and her sister start school soon, and they’ve been excitedly shopping for all of their back-to-school paraphernalia. They show me their latest finds every time I see them, and man,...
View ArticleSparkling Peach Sangria
Did you know it’s National Peach Month? Lots of things get their own month these days, but since ‘summer’ and ‘peaches’ are synonymous we’re totally on board. Since we’re together in San Francisco...
View Article3 Amazing Ice Cream Shops in Northeast Ohio
We’re frequent visitors to the Cleveland area to hang out with Alyssa’s family. It’s probably not what comes to mind when you think of top tourist destinations, but it’s a vibrant area with great...
View ArticleA&C Site Redesign!
We’re excited to announce a new blog design over at A&C! The very talented Sarah from Snixy Kitchen helped us create something fun, colorful, and fresh. In addition to a new design, we also...
View ArticleVanilla Masala Chai Sweetener (for Cheater’s Chai)
It’s been raining CONSTANTLY in Tokyo, so I’ve been holed up in our apartment. It’s the kind of weather that makes you want to take naps and drink big cups of spiced tea. I revisited an old recipe...
View ArticleA Day at the Four Seasons Silicon Valley
When you think “Four Seasons,” you immediately think “luxury.” When you think “Silicon Valley,” you immediately think “tech.” So how do these two concepts marry when you have a Four Seasons in...
View ArticleFigs with Tahini & Honey Sauce and Sesame Crunch
My favorite yakitori restaurant around the corner always serves a little appetizer to tide you over until your food starts to arrive. It’s usually something seasonal: fish in a dashi stock, blanched...
View ArticleLove Letter for Friday, September 18th
alyssa’s week “I recently realized that I’ve hardly seen ANY of Japan. It’s time to change that, and we have a holiday week ahead of us. So we’re doing some traveling and seeing a few cities I...
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