I am taking a break from blogging and work.

Or at least taking it at my own pace and not to worry about deadlines and going for meetings once I clear all my existing work. It kind of sucks because this Monkey Year is supposed to be the most prosperous for my career hahahha but I guess it will prevail in some other way that I never forsee?

But it was a conscious decision to make. I am going to deliver a new baby in May and things will have to slow down a little for me, with a 2-year-old and  new born. So I think it is time I be a little more realistic. read more

Sakura 2012

Sakura 2013

Sakura 2014

Last year we missed sakura in Japan due to busy family schedule. But this year we are back in spring time, although not in time to catch full bloom but I did get to enjoy allllll the sakura and spring special editions!

Gari Gari Kun Ice Cream, Sakura Mochi edition! I just looove his expression lol.

Starbucks Sakura edition.

Even the cups have a hint of pink!

JunJun’s first Starbucks – Strawberry Sakura Latte!!

Sakura Jelly and white ichigo! read more

It’s the food post again!!!

You can read my past Tokyo food posts under this category.

Anyway, guilty confession: I did zero cooking this time around T___T. Not even for Junya T___T. Usually I would at least cook for him so that he doesn’t have to eat the same heavily seasoned adult food. This time around I could not even bend over to wear my shoes properly so I thought I’d give myself a break. T__T.

But I am so glad that he is almost two now!! So I can feed him table food and feel less guilty about it. So for the entire two weeks, he eats out with us, or… combini food most of the time @.@. read more

Singapore really has almost all the Japanese things I needed T____T.

I am back to KL now for my maternity leave, and the danna is based in SG now, so I really can’t wait to join him again so our family can be together!!

In Malaysia, one of my biggest woes is that there’s no way I could watch Japanese channels live. When I stayed in Japan with Junya while being 8 months pregnant and have mobility limitation, we just watched TV all day all night and it was so so so addictive. I miss Japanese TV programs T___T. read more

I have been a big fan of glasses/spectacles for a couple of years now! Even though I have perfect eyesight, I have quite a collection of plano spectacles in my wardrobe. Sometimes I steal the danna’s glasses to wear too! 😛

Did you know that a pair of glasses can instantly create an entirely different look and make your fashion super fun?

Even more so you should invest in good and stylist glasses if they are your daily necessity.

Megane Samurai Japan is one of the most popular spectacle shops in Hokkaido, Japan. And they are the first and only spectacle shop that arrives in Malaysia which focuses on not only 100% Japan quality, but also the fact that spectacles are an essential part of fashion and it should be super stylish and fun! read more

A post on shopping and souvenirs in Tokyo!!

Having stayed in Singapore for a short period of time put many things in perspective.

First of all, when in Tokyo doing groceries:

OMG WHY EVERYTHING SO CHEAP OK BUY ALLLLLLLL.

Remember the $22 broccoli in Singapore? Well I can feed a whole farm of bunnies here.

My grocery!!! I can even splurge on one of the most atas ranges and YET still at least half the price cheaper than Japanese groceries in Singapore.

Ibarakiss Ichigo from Ibaraki Prefecture for like $8, grapes for like $3, super premium Mexican avocado for $4 and also some super sweet fruit tomato for $4, which Singapore sells at $12. Siaooooooo. read more

We are back from Tokyo!!!

I’m back KL now to take a rest. Every time we come back everybody gets sick -_-. The weather maybe? Looks like the haze is back T___T.

To add insult to injury, our helper decided not to return after we sent her back to her country when we were away. The danna had to go back to Singapore immediately for work. Now I have to take care of Junya alone at 8 months pregnant. Two nights ago Junya vomitted and had diarrhoea, and now it is my turn.

Things can’t go any worse than this at the moment. It’s a little bit depressing really. But I will be strong. I am a mother. There’s nothing I can’t do. read more

Final post on my trip to Tohoku!

On the last day, i left Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture and headed to Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture.

A lot of people may think that the name “Fukushima” has very negative associations due to the nuclear crisis after 3.11, but Fukushima Prefecture is a HUGE prefecture, and I think it is very sad and unfair that travellers are shunning the entire prefecture because of the bad name it has.

Let’s look at the map of Fukushima.

The place I was heading to, Koriyama, is right in the middle, and it’s a long distance away from where the Daiichi Plant is at Futaba and Okuma. Again, many people are still concerned about the radiation level. read more

This is an extra post on Miyagi Prefecture. During my trip to Tohoku, we visited a strawberry farm in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture for ichigogari (strawberry-picking).

I had such an amazing experience that I decided to make this an entirely separate blog post!

The farm I went to is Ichigo World.

Actually it would be quite misleading to call it a farm, because…

It looks more like a chic studio/lab with a lot of stylish designs and thoughtful decos everywhere.

And the products they carry are not just fresh premium grade ichigo from the farm, but also sparkling wine and skin care range! read more

Junya turns 21 months today. ^^

(Also read  1st month , 2nd month , 3rd month , 4th month , 5th month , 6th month , 7th month,  8th month, 9th month , 10th month , 11th month , 12th month , 13th month , 14th month , 15th month , 16th month , 17th month , 18th months , 19th month and 20th month here.)

After an emotional month, Junya and I are currently traveling/holidaying in Japan. And I am just so glad that we made this trip together. I felt like he has grown a year for the past week. read more

This coming March 11 marks the 5th anniversary of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake that happened in 2011.

It has already been 5 years (I haven’t even met the danna back then!) and until today, it is still an incident everyone talks about here in Japan on a daily basis. The TV channels run daily special features on 3.11 every day now, and I was crying so much watching a documentary about the fire fighter teams in Japan going out for rescue when the disaster happened. Real footages taken on that day itself was shown for the first time on TV. One of the fire fighters lost his wife and child in the morning to Tsunami, but he was still determined to go out and save as many people as he could. T______T. read more

So. I feel like once you become a mother, traveling is like a playing a warlord game, where you have to clear each stage and advance to the next level and sometimes you die (and then undie) in between, with the enemies coming at you all. The. Damn. Time. And random traps wherever you go.

Level 1

Game started when I travelled to Japan in Spring 2014, while I was 7 month pregnant. I could enjoy it like how I did before pregnancy, except that I also had to watch my diet, take enough rest, fuss over my wardrobe and bring extra suit case for all the baby shopping. It was like a trial game to practice for the real deal. read more