Kawaii Cupcakes

Cutting Cake 
8 inch - German Chocolate -  ombre horizontal organic sunrise colors (blue, yellow, orange) with black satin ribbon.

Mini Cupcakes
Pineapple Haupia Pina Colada
Chocolate Macadamia
Sakura Vanilla Bean
Key Lime
Lilikoi

Kokechi preview!!!

So, a while back, I had ordered custom Kokechi from 卯三郎の孫....

And they finally sent me a preview of them tonight!!!!

They are so cute and I can't wait to get them!!!!!

She said they'll be finished tomorrow and sent out to me by Friday!!!!

Sho-chan on Kaua'i

I am less than a week away from going back to Kaua'i....

And to get myself ready for both the trip home, and for WakuWaku School of Arashi this weekend, I watched the Arashi ni Shiyagare episode where So-chan went to Kaua'i.

I still can't believe he went to Wailua.

And I still can't believe he killed so many things in such a short amount of time.

JJ's Broiler

Kayak Wailua River

Fern Grotto

Holoholokū Heiau (kinda)

Opaeka'a Falls

Lydgate Beach Park

Hamura Saimin

I mean, he actually did all of that in three hours.  Luckily he didn't have to kayak the whole river, cuz that would've been the whole three hours right there, but to be able to kill the Hamura Special after eating half a burger only two hours earlier, that's a champ.

Pixar Up Quotes

My biggest gripe about other people who are on the Pixar Up theme bandwagon is that they over use the, "You are my greatest adventure." quote.

First of all, NO ONE said that in Up.

No.

One.

Mr. Incredible is the one who said it, back in 2004 when the ENTIRE Incredible family was caught in Syndrome's force field chains on his secret island towards the end of the movie (about an hour and fifteen minutes in).

He was talking about how bad of a father he had been.
"I'm sorry. I've been a lousy father, blind to what I have. So obsessed with being undervalued that I undervalued all of you."

then he continues,
"So... caught up in the past that I... You are my greatest adventure, and I almost missed it."

BOOM!

Kinda makes me wonder if people even watched the movie.

I mean, I guess I can give them a little credit for at least getting the Pixar part of it right. But the amount of "You are my greatest adventure" prints available that have Carl and Ellie's house on it makes me confused.  It even made me doubt myself to the point where I read through the entire Up script to make sure I wasn't wrong.

And since I've made such a huffy-puffy statement about that, I will not be using it in my wedding.


Here's the list of quotes that I will be using.

- Adventure is out there!
- The Spirit of Adventure
- You and me, we're in a club now.
- Cross your heart. Do it! Cross it!
- You know, you don't talk very much. I like you.
- Stuff I'm Going to Do
- Thanks for the adventure - now go have a new one! Love, Ellie
- I have just met you and I love you.
- I was hiding under your porch because I love you.
-

The #hashtag dilemma

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Instagram.

Before Pinterest, I used Instagram as my project inspiration... 

And the one thing that actually needs a lot of thinking for my wedding is THE #HASHTAG

Since my wedding is loosely based off of Pixar's up, I need to somehow incorporate that into it.

Ellie's My Adventure book would inspire me to do a TheMurphyAdventure hashtag....

Or my beloved Kauai could be honored, LoveisonKauai... 

Although I prefer to honor my love, Wailuanuiahoano, we are not actually getting married in Wailua.

So it would have to be something to do with the actual location  CoconutCoastWedding... but that sounds so generic...

I wanna be punny but it's so difficult with the name Murphy... I could use our nicknames, the B/Bdon/Bu-bear and Chuchu/Chu-bear

1001 Cranes: The Line Up

Finally getting into the mid-way point of folding these cranes...

I know, I know, I should already be done with them by now, especially since I'm already in the four week countdown to the wedding... but I work well under pressure and always seem to challenge myself.  hahaha.

I managed to measure and calculate my origami cranes and figured that getting a 10 inch by 10 inch shadow box would be the best for what I want to do.

Look at all my pretty cranes all in a row.

















600 cranes left to fold...

Queen's Bath Resort

1001 Cranes: 千羽鶴: The Struggle Part II

We are officially in the final countdown till the wedding with only a few weeks left.... And I'm only on crane number 362 right now....

The. Struggle. Is. VERY. Real. 

I'm folding cranes everywhere I go.

I even managed to get a few in before my final Wednesday night class!

The Bow tie

After letting the idea of wearing a bow tie (no, I haven't let go of the Up theme yet) stew in his brain for a few weeks.... The B finally agreed that a bow tie would look good!!!

We were in Kichijoji over the weekend pants shopping and he humored me by trying on ties too. 

Then... He ended up liking one!

We decided to think about it at home and look at what was available online... But couldn't find exactly what we wanted so he had me go back to Kichijoji today because we didn't know the name of the store. 

I got there and was hoping they had two... But they only had the one in store and the worker told me the closest available one was in Nagoya... Which I didn't believe. Especially because as I was waiting for him to do the research, I did some of my own and saw that they had one in Shinjuku and Shinbashi. 

I told him what was up and he checked again and then apologized for his mistake. 

I had him put the tie in Shinjuku on hold and dashed for the station.

Too bad I got distracted by Wood Betry. 

I love their froyo! This one is avocado and is 超 yummy. 

Made it to Shinjuku and booked it to their shop, picked up the tie, rushed back to the station and am now on the train heading to make it just in time for work. 

E Kuʻu Lei, My Love Lyrics

Kuana Torres Kahele featuring Maila Gibson

Auhea lā ‘oe, e ku‘u lei
Mau loa a‘e nō ku‘u ha‘eha‘e
E nanea nō kāua i ke kulu aumoe
E nanea nō kāua i ka ‘olu o ka uka ‘eā

Hui:
Ho‘oheno ho‘i ‘oe e ku‘u pua lanakoi
He lei nani ho‘i, nani nō
E ku‘u lei, he mea more than I have asked for in this lifetime
My love

So many nights have passed me by since I dreamt of you
I need you here right by my side 'cause I’m in love with you
So many nights seem long and restless without you close to me
I want to hold you in my arms forever and never let you leave
My love

Chorus:
I want to hold you in my arms
I wanna feel your gentle touch
You’re all I ever wanted, my love
E ku‘u lei, you’re all I ever wanted in this lifetime
My love

Ho‘oheno ho‘i ‘oe e ku‘u pua lanakoi
He lei nani ho‘i, nani nō
E ku‘u lei, he mea more than I’ve asked for in this lifetime
My love

Youʻre all I want

Youʻre all I need

Shiraito Falls

Today we finally made it out to Shiraito Falls in Yamanashi.

We had thought about going a year ago, but they were doing some improvements and it was closed, so we finally decided to go and check it out over breakfast this morning.  

There are actually two main falls here.  

The first, Otodome Falls, reminds me a lot of Wailua Falls on Kaua'i.

Here's a picture of Wailua Falls on a fuller day...

Is it just me?

The main attraction is Shiraito Falls. It's basically a weeping wall.

Apparently there is one in Karuizawa as well, but this one is much bigger than that one.

It was soon beautiful and the pictures definitely don't do it justice at all.

Fitting and details...

Today was the B's fitting appointment at Mokumeganeya for his wedding ring.

OMG I have ring envy!!!!!

He tried it on and got really excited about it.  We decided on the diamond placement ourselves and studied the wood grain design they made for him.

Since it's still in the fitting stage, it wasn't polished with the finish that we want.

We are both super excited to see the finished product!!!

Here's a little preview

Tsumutsumu

I'm totally addicted to the TsumTsum game and when we went to the Japan Amusement Expo I was bummed that they stopped giving out tickets to play early in the day.

Lately the B and I have been hitting up Round One weekly and I was stoked when I saw they had installed the machines!!

You can play single player or Vs. mode. 

The little Gacha in the middle is ¥400 a pop and they're TsumTsum character straps that you can level up in the game. 

I got Mickey and the B got Olaf. 

I hope they start putting these machines all over Tokyo!

Spring is here!

The clearest sign that spring has arrived is the blooming of Sakura. 

I think this time of year is one of the things that I'll miss the most about Japan. 

Today is officially the end of my full-time job as an EST at HMES. 

My Japanese co-teacher gave me this lovely bouquet when I left. 

And the nutritionist gave this cute one to me tonight at our お疲れ様 dinner. 

Bye Bye Ogikubo

Tonight is my last night in Ogikubo.

Now things are REALLY getting REAL.

Look at how stoked the B is.

I've lived here for just about four years, and since I will soon be unemployed, full-time wise, it's time to let go of this little apartment.

Last Day of School...

School has come to an end and it was pretty hard to say goodbye to my kiddos.  

Last school year, I was in charge of three kids from the US, Taiwan and Iraq, but this year I was challenged with a class of 11.  They came from the US, Dominican Republic, Iraq, Pakistan, Poland, the Philippines, Australia, the UK and Scotland.  

Working at HMES was as much of a learning experience for me as it is for my students.  I hope Japan takes this pilot program to the next level and expands it beyond this school.  I have seen foreign students who are put into Japanese public school without any support and it's an uphill battle for them.  Having a program like this available  helps these kids grow and is a really good way to ease them into the special culture and language this country has.

Looking forward to seeing these kids again a few times before I leave and all of the wedding planning I have ahead of me.

Mokumeganeya and Tachikawa

Friday the 13th.

The second one in a row this year... I think this is a rare occurrence.

And with this strange and eerie day, comes my date with the B in the midst of cleaning up and moving out of my apartment.

We met up in Tachikawa, which is where we had our first date, and were on the lookout for a restaurant to have dinner at when I spotted 杢目金屋 (Mokumeganeya).

This place uses the Mokume-gane style of metal smithing to create wood grain patterns out of metals.  They basically layer different metals in various combinations, heating, pounding and twisting the metal to create the pattern.

They used to make the guards on a katana using this method and now they make rings and other fine jewelry.

At first, the B was NOT interested in going in, but I wanted to see their sakura diamond in person, so he humored me by going in.


After looking at their displays, he actually gained interest and we sat down to get more info and see more samples.

The B decided that he wanted his wedding band from here!

I was super jealous because I wanted it first, but while he was selecting what metals he wanted in his ring and  the shape and pattern, I was looking at the sakura diamond.

They're made beautifully.  

A standard round brilliant cut diamond has 58 total facets while the round sakura cut diamond has a total of 87.

It actually has two layers of sakura on it!  One in the cuts of the crown and the other in the base of the pavilion.

After a while, the B said that I could get a diamond if I really wanted it, but it was kind of silly for me to have three rings.

Then the salesman said that they also made pendants!

SOLD!!!!!

We ended up getting these diamonds called kizuna diamonds.  

They're called kizuna diamonds because they were cut from the same stone.

The sakura diamond on the left is mine and will be made into a pendant.

The kizuna diamond on the right is the B's and will be set in his wedding band.

The fitting for his ring will be sometime in mid-April and I am soon excited to see it!

Three hours later, we were starving and hit up McDonalds... which was right across from our first date site!

Yep, starbucks.  We actually met up here after work one day back in February 2012 and had coffee... for four hours. lol.  

Since then, they have renovated and revamped the shop, but this location is still special to us.

Order Made Kokechi

I Gunma is home of the Usaburo Sosaku Kokeshi doll (卯三郎創作こけし) and I remember getting one from my boss and also giving one to my friend as a housewarming gift. So I thought it would be the perfect thing to have for my wedding!

Upon searching through their website (http://www.usaburo.com/en/about/index.html), I thought I could have the B and I bond over the kokeshi making class they have... 

But right now it's not available. 

So I googled a bit deeper and when I searched for "Bridal Kokeshi," I found 卯三郎の孫 produced "Kokechi" and I realized I had bought their Doraemon kokeshi for Bb when she moved to Tokyo!

So I jumped on my gmail and sent an inquiry.

After much discussion and pleading, the artist O-San agreed to accept my order on Saturday when Chika-chan when to the shop in Maebashi even though they are very busy. 

I decided I needed to get my order in this week and started thinking about it over the weekend. 

I knew I wanted to use these aloha print shirts 

because we haven't decided on our wedding outfits yet, this green shirt is one of three aloha print articles of clothes the B has, plus our wedding will be in Hawaii and our new home for the next four years will also be in Hawaii. 

Then, on Tuesday I drew my rough sketches. 

And tonight before and after my part-time job in Shinagawa, I managed to finish my colored sketches to send to O-San. 

I don't know how detailed she will be able to draw them in, but the aloha part is almost as important as my birthmark. 

I emailed the photos to her earlier tonight so hopefully I'll hear good things from her soon!!

Postcards Sent!

The B finally got around to sending out the Save the Date postcards to the U.S. addresses!!!!

I sent mine last Wednesday on my bike ride home after work and he just sent it out today!


Wonder how long it'll take for everyone to get it....

Apartment Renewal for the B

Next month the B's apartment needs to be renewed and there is SO MUCH paperwork to be done!!!

He actually got the renewal paperwork a while before I went to Paris, but he didn't know what was in the packet and I was way too distracted by the trip, school, grades and my part time job to remember to look at him when I was over.

Finally, I worked everything out with MiniMini (the realestate middle man company) and after two extentions I got it all done and turned in! So glad for all of the post boxes between my apartment and the station.

Invitation Scouting

Had some time before meeting my friends E-chan and M-chan so I stopped by Loft to check out their paper selection. 

Talk about overwhelming!!!

The cool thing is that a lot of the pieces are pre-cut and the envelopes are made to size but there's so much to choose from!

Will have to solidify my color choices and work from there. 

1001 cranes: 千羽鶴: The struggle begins

In Hawaii, it's tradition for a Japanese-American wedding to have 1,001 gold cranes (千羽鶴), often used as the welcome board for the wedding reception, for the wedding.

This whole time, I thought it was a Japanese tradition, but after being to a fair share of weddings here in Japan, I realized it's a Hawaii thing.


The bride-to-be is supposed to fold 1,000 cranes (and the groom does one for good luck) to show she is hard working and diligent (so I've heard).

And now that I'm officially engaged, I figure I better get started!

Day One of being a Teyoncé to my Beyoncé fiancé. Lol

I decided since we don't know where we are moving and I'll have to bring the display back to Japan for our party here in Tokyo, I don't want to make the "traditional" size. 

Usually they use the regular size origami and the display ends up being the size of a movie poster. 

I decided to cut the regular origami paper into 16 squares so the display is easily transportable and won't take up too much room in our home wherever it may be. 

Crane number 1/1000

The struggle has begun!!

He Proposed!!!

This is my first blog entry... and I'm starting with the proposal!

Although the B and I have been talking about getting married for almost five months now, it didn't really get real until we sat down and compromised over the rings.

After a long discussion, we agreed that the engagement ring needed to be something simple and not too gaudy even though that's what I was aiming for at first and it needed to be something that would look good with the wedding band.

So we headed out to the department stores in Tachikawa and I tried on some rings. 

The B has never cared about diamonds before so I had to show him what different weights and shapes looked like on me so we could choose something we both liked.

We ended up ordering a 2 ct. total weight bridal set on Kay Jewelers in mid-December.

Normally the wait would've been excruciating, but I went on a whim and took a trip to Paris with my friend BB.  The trip definitely was worth it and I was still able to get the updates on the ring's travel from the B as he was tracking the package online.

I got back to Tokyo from Paris a few days after the New Year and went straight to the B's.  We had plans to meet my friend on Sunday who was down in Tokyo for the day for a seminar.  So we met her and her daughter in Shibuya and had lunch at Shakey's pizza.  After lunch, the B said we should go to the metropolitan building to check out the sunset.  I have lived in Japan for almost seven years, four of which being here in Tokyo, and I had yet to visit that building. 

We headed to Shinjuku and there were quite a few people up on the observatory floor.  

It was a bit cloudy so we didn't get a clear view of Mt. Fuji, but it was still nice to see the 360 view from the center of Tokyo. 

After that, we headed home and watched the B's favorite Japanese TV shows, Tetsuwan Dash and Itte Q.  He had to work today, but I have the day off because it's "Seijin no Hi" (Coming of Age Day).  So I decided to just relax and take my time with going back to my place with all of my Paris goodies.

This morning his alarm went off at 4:45 and he ran into the living room and bathroom to turn on the heaters like he does every morning.  Japanese apartments SUCK when it comes to insulation and heating... I really don't understand why they have yet to jump on the central heating bandwagon,

He jumped back to bed and was ice cold.  I was trying my best to avoid his ice cold hands but he grabbed my hand and slipped the ring on my finger.

(O_O)

Then he asked, "Will you marry me?"

I was still half asleep but the combination of his cold hands, the cold ring and the shock of what was happening....

I said.... "Yes!" after a few seconds of letting my half-asleep brain process what was going on.

Then I teased that I didn't really have a choice in what my reply was since the ring was already on my finger to which he said that it wasn't like I was going to say no to the ring I helped him choose.

It was still a little before 5am, so I couldn't really see the ring and I didn't want to be blinded by him turning on the light, so I just felt it and held it up to the faint light coming through the Japanese paper door to the lawn.

Then, he had to get ready for work and was on his way.

Now I'm sitting here on the couch with a cup of coffee, admiring my good taste in jewelry. Lol