A Day at Chelmsford Tea & Gift

Konnichiwa!

And... Happy Easter :D If you celebrate, I hope this day brings you many joys and fond memories. I thought I might use some of my time while I wait for the bounty of food to cook, to share another blog post with you. If you follow my blog, you've probably heard me mention Chelmsford Tea & Gift in several of my Green Tea of the Month posts. It's an adorable tea boutique that sells a huge variety of bagged, and primarily loose-leaf teas. It has more green tea flavors than any other tea shoppe I've been to. Here are some pictures I thought you might enjoy

 Some variations of loose leaf green tea

 More green tea<3

 Aren't these awesome! Individual filters that you can fill with whatever loose leaf tea you'd like

 green green green

 A Japanese Book of Tea, right up my alley

 love love love these asian tea-cups with lids

 Remember the teapot-shaped tea steeper my boyfriend got me for Christmas? Found it!

A book just for green tea, it even looks refreshing

Have any tea stories or Easter stories to share? I'd love to hear them. Have a blessed holiday :)

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

Spring Break Goodies

Konnichiwa!

As you may know, Spring Break recently ended. Every Spring Break, my boyfriend goes to St. Augustine Florida (and I miss him soooo much every time). This year he brought me back some Japanese souvenirs because he knows how I am about Japan :)

First is a Japanese painted porcelain egg. I had seen one like this at the antique mall, and wanted it, but it was too expensive to buy. And now I have one :D

This may not look Japanese at first, but there is a message on the bottom: "The Art of Chokin- Chokin is the ancient Japanese art of engraving copper and gilding it with precious gold & silver & other decorative colors. This incredible art work first appeared on the armaments of the mighty Samurai Warriors in the late 12th century. The stunning Chokin Art has been handed down from generation to generation. Today it has evolved into an art of decorating various household articles as well as prized art collections by a handful of renowned and dedicated master of Chokin artists." I am currently using it to store some seashells he collected for me (fun fact, I also collect seashells)

How was your Spring Break?

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

Boyfriend Christmas Exchange: Matcha Tea Set

Konnichiwa!

It's that time of year again... hence my posting this one day late :P It's Christmas! Definitely my favorite holiday. Obviously, my boyfriend and I spend Christmas with our families, so we exchange presents early. And he got me the COOLEST traditional matcha tea set ever, some matcha tea (hello lattes) and a new tea steeping ball, because mine broke. The tea steeping ball is actually shaped like a tea pot ( ^-^)

Here are some pictures

 Isu Matcha (powder green tea)

 adorbs tea steeper

 bamboo tray

 tea set box

 tea set

 bowl

 scoop

whisk

And here are some pictures of me making it for the first time

 filling the teapot with water (yes, my pot is Irish. Hoping for a Japanese one as a Christmas present)

 heating the water

 filling the bowl

 gettin a scoop :)

 dumpin that scoop!

stirring...

 Almost done!

 Yum yum soothing ( ^-^)

So basically I have the best boyfriend ever<3 Let me know what you get for Christmas, and what your favorite present is! And please, inform me if I'm making this incorrectly; I didn't look up instructions online, I just winged it. 

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley