ANOTHER present from Ayana!

Konnichiwa!

So you remember my pen-pal Ayana, right? Well she totally surprised me and sent more Christmas presents :D And I mean a LOT. And its all extremely awesome stuff. Even the packing is freaking adorable. I feel really blessed to have her as a friend, and to live in an age of technology where international online correspondence is available. Here are pictures :)

 the gorgeous packaging

 I love seeing all the Japanese characters- its the little things that excite me<3

 extremely soft 'A' bag (A is both my initial and hers)

 strawberry lotion. I actually had put strawberry lotion on my Christmas list, so now I can cross it off :)

 flowers/watermelon bellyband. I've never had one of these before!

 Hi-chew candies! yum yum yum

 again with the authentic Japanese characters

 chopsticks with a holder!

 fake eyelashes. So glad to receive these because I planned on using fake eyelashes for prom

 unique envelope<3

 little Japanese stickers. So kawaii ( ^-^)

 very heartwarming, hand-written letter (Ayana's English is really impressive)

and here they are all together - yay!

I am so absolutely astonished at her generosity, and I have already found a use for every gift. This Christmas season has provided me with a lot of culture and love<3

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

A Day at World Market

Konnichiwa!

If you are an American you know yesterday was the infamous... Black Friday. Getting up extremely early and heading out for good deals is what I was all about. As part of my "holiday" experience, I took a trip to a store called World Market. They have products from around the globe: Italy, Sweden, Germany, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese- you name it. While I enjoyed browsing all of these cultures I mainly, of course, enjoyed the Japan sections. Here are pictures of some goodies I spotted while shopping.

 Hello Panda & other treats

 mochi & other treats

 ramune drinks (I spy a Hello Kitty ramune)

 traditional Japanese teapots with steepers inside (i find their extremely flat and round shape rather intriguing)

 the picture says it all

 teacups with lids

 a kokeshi Christmas ornament- bringing something Japanese into an American tradition. And its adorable!

 and my personal favorite... SUSHI ERASERS. Definitely want for school

 sushi stapler

sushi rolling mat with chopsticks and a rice paddle- perfect dining packer

So if you're looking for a gateway to the rest of the planet, check out World Market. Clearly it has captured other cultures with class! (props for alliteration there hmm?)

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

Green Tea(s) of the Month: The Chelmsford Collection

Konnichiwa!

I'm late again- sorry, it's just how I am. Anyway, here is the Green Tea of the Month post for the month of October. My mom and I recently found another tea place in Wichita, called Chelmsford Tea. I really like it because it has free wifi and is family-owned. However, it is smaller than The Spice Merchant and has less samples. So they end up being equally good :)

This month I got a set of four mini tea packs, but I lost one of them. Here's a pic

Missing in Action: Citrus Peach

So here's the low-down

1 favorite: Honey Ginseng- this one was awesome because it was really calming and zen. It especially helped out when I got a sore throat (not fun). I just feel like this flavor combination is what tea is all about

2 tie between Blueberry and Acai: These are very similar in flavor. They are very fruity, but I think my favorite thing about them was the beautiful vibrant blue and purple colors they created.

3 Citrus Peach- don't be fooled by it's position in third place; this tea was still great! It had a sweet tang which complimented my mornings perfectly, so I primarily drank it at those times

If anyone is in Sedgewick County, KS, you should really try out Chelmsford Tea and Gift, it's pretty quaint! I highly recommend these flavors. Also thank you to all of you who have viewed my blog because it has FINALLY reached (and passed) 100 views :D A special thanks goes out to my 1 and only subscriber (hoping to get many more... hint hint) I will try to post another blog entry tomorrow since I have been falling behind.

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

The Sushi Shorts

Konnichiwa!

I hope everyone at blogger is having a lovely week! I certainly have, and if you'd let me I'd like to brag a little bit about a little present from my mom 

Check out these adorable sushi pajama shorts she got me online from David and Goliath! (sorry I don't know why I can't get the picture to rotate). She saw them when she went to Hawaii for her 25th wedding anniversary with my dad (just a bit of info, there's a huge Japanese population in Hawaii and I'd absolutely love to go someday), and ordered them when she got back home after showing me. I love them :) :D However I can't really wear them around non family members because she ordered an extra small, asian extra small. And I gots a big booty for a little girl so they're a bit inappropriate for public wear (besides the fact that they're umm... pajamas ^-^)

My favorite part is this little guy. Poor thing got chopped in half!

Today's blog post was rather short, but hold tight for next week because I'll have to tell you all about the asian festival i'm going to this weekend. So excited!!! There will also be a Green Tea of the Month post for October.

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley