Vacation all I ever wanted...

...Vacation had to get away!

Some photos from Minnesota in August. It was so beautiful and peaceful to get away. I was so happy to be reunited with my family and Buxtehude! Although, I had to do some school work during my vacation (so lame) it was nice to spend time with family, eat good food (I baked pie!), and get away from the DC heat. Northern Minnesota is one of my favorite place on earth and I always relish getting out there, esp. being out in the beauty of nature. It was a great 10 days. Can't wait to go back next year!

3 weeks

Crazy to believe that I only have three full weeks left or two full weekends left to explore Cape Town. I am so amazed by how fast time has gone by! I still can't believe it is July already. I am going to be so sad to leave this beautiful place. I have loved seeing all of the nature here and I know that I am not going to see everything that I have wanted to see. But, hopefully I can return one day... 


This weekend, I had ice cream in Camp's Bay, saw the beaches at Sea Point and Clifton (lots of other bays too), visited Hout Bay Market and ate fish & chips at my favorite place- Fish on the Rocks, then drove through Chapman's Peak (I went previously with my classmates, but it was at night)! We also went to an amazing viewing spot above  Constantia (whenever I hear and see this word I can only think of Seinfeld and  George "Can't stand ya.") and was wishing the day wouldn't end. I wish I had a car here, that I knew how to drive stick and how to drive on the opposite side of the road. I feel like you can access this city better and see so much more. I am so glad that sun came out and that I could spend the day being a tourist. Today, it rained a lot. It was a relaxing day and I started "Long Walk to Freedom." Mandela is a beautiful and humble writer.  Well, off to bed - gotta start the week just right! 

Stunning

Saturday night, I was looking at pictures from my trip to Robben Island. Not only was it a powerful, inspirational, and moving day, but the views of Cape Town from the boat were breathtaking. I think it added to impact of the trip. Here are two pictures of Table Mountain (and Cape Town) from a distance in the afternoon and at sunset. Absolutely, stunning. I am going to miss this place... 

Cape Town adventure begins

Yesterday was my first full day in Cape Town. The city is just so beautiful and there are moments where I felt like I am in Europe and even New Orleans (though I never have been, besides photos). I am really excited to explore and just see much more of the city. It was a very adventurous trip out here which included almost missing my flight to Johannesburg and bags that were MIA. Luckily I got my bag and can smell nice and beautiful again! I need to figure out how to post pictures on here, esp since picnik is gone. But, I wanted to share this nice photo of the king protea (Protea cynaroides), which was in our guesthouse when we arrived. The lovely owners left us with some groceries and this beautiful flower that is also the national flower of South Africa. It can be found here in the south-western and southern areas of the Western Cape.  Apparently it represents the rich and diverse history of South Africa and the rainbow people. It is also part of what makes up the Cape Floral Region, a major global biodiversity hotspot and a Unesco World Heritage site or so, says the southafrica.info page.


Hope to post more soon, but I need to work on a paper and sleep! 

Spring forward!

It feels like spring.  School starts tomorrow and I'm dreading it. I feel like a little cloud has been over my head because I know that my spring break is almost over. I spent some time at home visiting my parents and then tried to play catch up when I returned to DC. I also made my annual trek to see the sakura trees at the tidal basin. I hope that this weather stays... it helps my soul. Peace & love.

Holidaze

Happy New Year! I hope you had a nice start to your 2012! I keep writing 2010, which is is problematic since that was two years ago. Haha, maybe I can only remember to write even years? Let's just hope that I can type/write out those numbers correctly in the future. 

I thought it would be fun to share some of my holiday adventures with you. Like this cute video of my friend, Buxtehude, with her new ball/squeaking toy that I got her for Christmas (Warning: Puppy is very cute that you may become extremely jealous and try to steal her. Also, the quality of this video is not very good). It's not exactly a ball, but you can throw it like one. It kinda looks like a baton that wobbles. She loves it! Buxie is so smart and I love watching her mind work. 

Have you ever travelled 110 miles to go a super market? No? Sounds crazy? Well, the second adventure was a journey to Mitsuwa, the biggest Japanese grocery in our area (I use the term "area" very loosely to mean the Mid Atlantic states region), which happens to be located in NJ. My parents (mostly my mom) thought it would be a great idea to stock up on our New Year food, a couple of days after Christmas. It was a very long trip for delicious food.  

Getting to the store was easy, but getting back was rough due to (holiday) traffic and construction. The high point, besides the food, was watching my parents interact, which is always funny. The low point was waiting for the ramen to come out. There is a little ramen shop inside the grocery store that probably serves hundreds of people a day and the wait time was a half an hour, which is a long time to stare at yummy looking food all day. Also, the seating area is like "first-come, first-serve" with a lot of small tables and communal tables. So you have to have an eagle eye to find a spot and this place is ALWAYS busy. It was so funny to watch people try to steal spots and one couple almost came to blows with an older couple over two seats. Don't worry, everyone got a seat at the end. And no, the culprit of this story was the older and sneaker couple, who later found a four person both for themselves. The broth of the ramen was good, but the noodles needed a couple more minutes...oh well. A good time was had by all... except for my sister who had to stay at home with the dog. It's okay, we brought her back a sushi party platter. Yes, a party platter.  As always, Mitsuwa is always worth the trip.

The last adventure was to Terrain. Did you know that Anthropologie has a sister store that is focused on plants and home goods? No? Well, I didn't either until my sister told me around it over the Thanksgiving holiday. So, I really wanted to visit the store over the holidays. Anthro (We are on a first name basis) is based in Philadelphia and owns retail brands Urban Outfitters, Free People, and BHLDN. I love all of those stores, esp. Antro. Terrain is a very cool store - full of things i love like plants, books, scarves, cards (which are hilarious) and home goods (like a jacket rack that looks like a rake!). The shop looks like a plant shop/Green house, which it mostly is, but there is also a very cute cafe that makes killer $4 hot chocolate (for that price, it should be killer so I wasn't disappointed). 

Recently, I have been interested in creating my own terrarium. I have always been interested in terrariums, mostly the idea of it being its own green house and water itself was always a neat idea. Also, seeing Hipster Home's light bulb terrarium how-to 2 years ago was also enticing to make. But the biggest motivation was my mom, who actually started to make terrariums in our home when we were kids (I think it was those terrariums that we made is the reason why I love plants so much. One year, I gave my sister and brother plants for x-mas. For my brother, a bonsai tree (very Japanese, I know) and a cactus for my sister (it had a pretty flower on the top). I thought it was a great idea, but I think they were less amused. Especially when they killed their plants. Punish me, not the plants!) and now, started making them again. So, I did bought myself a little terrarium and thought I would give it a go! 


In true Anthro style, everything was expensive (for me) at Terrain, but it was a beautiful place full of inspirations and dreams... 

Enjoying

I am loving Jane Marie's  HOW TO BE A GIRLguide on the Hairpin, like her recent "The Guide to Bold Lipsticks," "The Cat-Eye Tutorial,"and the best/hilarious guide to becoming a  Sexy Zombie Vampire. So snarky and fun, plus I like the idea of playing with make-up and drinking, esp. the red wine in the Halloween makeup tutorial.  Her videos are also very informative. Though, I am not sure if my asian eyes are suppose to be cat-eyed or maybe I just the tape wrong... 


I miss dressing up and putting on make-up for work and going out, which I have stopped doing since starting grad school.  Now, I look blotchy and tired  just like that grad school barbie, but without the waist and boobs. 

introspection...

...with Wangari Maathai. Recently, I read Unbowed about the amazing and inspirational life of the recently passed nobel laureate. I think one of my greatest takeaways from this memoir is her persistence and passion. I will never forget when she spoke at my graduation and the gift that she presented to my classmates and me of a pine tree. Hopefully, the beauty and hope of her words will forever transfer and stay within me. I feel a deep connection with her, her values, connection to the earth, and dreams of progress. I wanted to share this short paragraph in her book that I loved. It resonated with me and hopefully, with you.  

These experiences of childhood are what mold us and make us who we are. How you translate the life you see, feel, smell and touch as you grow up – the water you drink, the air you breathe, and the food you eat – are what you become. When what you remember disappears, you miss it and search for it, and so it was with me. Hen I was a child, my surrounds were alive, dynamic, and inspiring. Even though I was entering a world where there were books to read and facts to learn – the cultivation of the mind –  I was still able to enjoy a world where there were no books to read, where children were told living stories about the world around them, and where cultivated the soil and imagination in equal measures.

(pg. 52) 

Truly inspiration, wise and amazing. There needs to be more women and people like her.  

Tokyo time = fun times

I must make an admission, I don't like big cities. New York is too crowded and makes me feel claustrophobic. Tokyo to me, always felt overwhelming and concrete jungle-like. I am more of a small city/surburban/country person because I like access to nature. But, my recent trip to Tokyo made me think differently about Tokyo. It seemed more accessable and nice. Also, my workspouse lives in Tokyo now, so anything with her is great in my eyes. It was fun to walk around all of the neighborhoods, be a tourist, shop, and chow-down!  

The first part of my week was work, which was full of long hours and interesting briefings. I had anticipated that our conversations would be depressing because we would be focusing on the lack of leadership, tough economy, demographic problems, and recent Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami disaster. But our meetings were actually quite positive and focused on areas of hope, like growth of civil society and businesses working on social entrepreneurship. That was really inspiring! 

On the weekends, I was with my wonderful workspouse. The first weekend together we went out for dinner at a yakitori restaurant where she turned me onto sours. We also went out to Odaiba with my friend Adrienne where we did a lot of drinking and eating. The weather was great so we ate outside and caught up, then we had parfaits. I really should have taken a picture of them because they were so good!  It was very easy to lose track of time when you are with good friends, which I did! Oops! The second weekend, we went shopping at my favorite shops in Shinjuku (Uniqlo, Tokyuhands, and I finally made it to Top Shop!) and then we traveled out of Tokyo to attend a party that was hosted by my Tokyo colleagues at her beautiful home. We also went to Adrienne's place where we had a nice and chill night, exactly what I needed after a crazy week. Then the next day, I moved over to Mari's cute apartment and then we took off to Kamakura to see the big Buddah and hydrangeas. You might be thinking, did I just hear her say hydrangeas, like the flower? Yes, we spent two hours waiting to climb up a mountain/hill to see an assortment of beautiful hydrangea plants. It was a really fun day that ended with good friends and food (okonomiyaki) - yum! It was a nice end to my trip. 

Blossom, not just the tv show

Friday, I walked down to the tidal basin to see the cherry blossoms. The weather in DC has been freakish. One day, it was 60 degrees and the next, it would be 30 degrees. Lately, we have been suffering from the cold spell. Granted, yesterday was 84 degrees and sunny & today, it was 45 degrees and rainy.  I was really worried about the cherry blossoms dying from the cold weather, so I walked down after work. I think my fingers were numb from being exposed and the tidal basin felt empty, in comparison to other years during high season.  As always, cherry blossom season is the best time of year in DC. Just beautiful!

cherry blossoms at sunset

What's wrong with this photo? Do you like the photo bomb to my left? I think that guy was whipped. Being a pro that I am, I used my long monkey arms to photograph myself.  I don't need a man to take my photo!

So where did the mustache come from? Well, I was goofing off on Picnik to add the purple arrows  and  decided to give myself a mustache. Pretty cute, no? Reminds me of my high school brit literature teacher, Mr. Doyle.  Do you like my mustache, Shannon?

Spring is near!

GNP Top 5

Helloooo Montana!

View Larger Map

So, how do you see the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem" in one day? My United magazine suggested that I drive Going-to-the-Sun Road, which is the 53 miles (85 km) long road that drives through the heart of the park. Everywhere I read said that this road would cause me to have white knuckles, which I realized only once I was in the surrounding area of Logan Pass. It reminded me of driving in Japan for a moment because the roads got curvy and thin. It was freaky, but luckily there was a stoplight that allowed groups get up to Logan Pass.

After a ride up Going-to-the-Sun Road, I hiked up Hidden Lake trail on my injured ankle (graceful me fell on my ankle at the hotel, not on the trail). It was beautiful trail and I would definitely do it again (esp. if I were not injured) so that I could see if I could actually get to the Hidden Lake and dip my feet in. Oh well, the entire park was breathtakingly beautiful!

french facination

I am fascinated with many aspects of French culture- food, fashion, and 35-hour work week - but not, the French (and often European) arrogance and xenophobia.  So, I enjoyed this article, below, about being minimal and a natural beauty by not trying to conform to an "ideal of beauty” which is one of the French secrets to aging well.

Fashion & Style
Aging Gracefully, the French Way
By ANN M. MORRISON
Published: July 14, 2010
If there is a secret to aging well, Frenchwomen must know it.

10 Ways to Age Like a Frenchwoman

Published: July 14, 2010

[I like number 6: Exercise: Why? Go to a spa instead.]

Now, if only it were that  easy. For the most part, I am believe and follow the french motto on beauty, but do worry about wrinkles even at my young age.  Oh well, wisdom and grace comes with age (and hopefully, not too many wrinkles).

Spring raindrops

Every spring for the past four years, I walk by the Tidal basin and try to get a different photo of the cherry blossoms from previous years.  Here are a couple of my favorite from this year.

Happy Happy Day!

I have never had the gift for words, especially for poetry. But, for the Birthday of my dog, Buxtehude, I have written a poem.

Beautiful
unbelievable
xenophobic (to other dogs)
inquisitive
energetic

Simple, I know. This is the kind of poetry that I did in the 1st grade but, it is the only poetry that I can write. I suck at writing and for selecting adjectives that start with x. Sadly, my dog is xenophobic to other dogs. Buxie only likes humans b/c she is so spoiled. But, luckily for me, I am a human and I love her.

Happy First Birthday Buxie! I can't wait for more exciting years with my crazy girl.

What time is it?

Cherry Blossom Festival TIME!




This is one of the only time of the year that I love living in D.C. b/c it's not too cold and not too hot. Also, it is beautiful. The sun's shinning, trees have leaves and the flowers are beginning to bloom. I also love Cherry Blossom Trees! I was always lucky as a kid, because my house has a beautiful weeping cherry tree. So, I had a beautiful Cherry Tree in my own front yard.

This year, I visited the Tidal Basin twice and attended the street festival with Mari. It was so much fun! I will definitely do it again. The only thing missing this year was a creepy new video of Willard Scott talking to little girls in kimonos.



I love the little girl who says "I don't own a tv..." Willard is so creepy. "Oh, how sweet it is..." to be old and creepy.

Lights

My previous post might make me sound like a grinch, but one thing that I do like about the Holiday Season is Christmas/Holiday Lights, especially excessive amounts of lights. I thought that I would share the best that I have seen, so far.

Cheonggye Stream in downtown Seoul


Jamaica Plains, MA

New Londy, CT

I think the New Londy house is best, b/c it is all excess. I love it! It makes me smile! I could see it everyday b/c it makes me so happy.