As I reflect on all the personal growth, changes and lessons that 2018 has blessed me with, I sit down to pen my New Year’s Resolutions. While my list has some pretty standard goals on it (get back in shape, eat healthier, buy less, make more), there’s one resolution that stands out at me. Take …
Mt. Takao, a highly revered mountain among the Japanese people, sees over 2.5 million visitors every year. This means it attracts more hikers than any other mountain in the world. With a close proximity to central Tokyo (50 minutes by train from Shinjuku Station), it’s an easy day trip for residents and tourists alike. Mt. …
‘Tis the season! I love this magical time of year with all of my heart and soul. The long cozy nights leading up to Christmas, the cheerful familiar carols, watching our favorite holiday movies, and admiring all the festive lights on people’s houses. (Or in Japan, the illumination shows throughout the city!) Click here to …
Nature provides us with so many decorations for the holiday season. That wreath on your door, the Christmas tree, colorful garlands, and decorative ornaments…although these classic holiday decorations are often plastic, they are modeled after their earthly counterparts. It just makes sense to do it the natural way instead. Not only will you help the …
With the cooler fall weather upon us, I’ve been craving soup day in and day out. Butternut squash is the ultimate fall vegetable and I’ve been lucky enough to find a local farmer who grows possibly the sweetest squash ever. Cozy up with a bowl of this soup on a cold night and it’ll warm your …
We started a new step in our parenting journey last week – introducing Ariana to solid food! We decided to try something called Baby Led Weaning (BLW) instead of going the standard puree route. I’m going to talk about what BLW is, how our first week has gone, what foods we’ve introduced to Ariana so …
This weekend marks one year in Japan for me! We celebrated by accomplishing a major milestone; taking the train into Tokyo for a day trip with our six month old. Sure, some moms have been doing this since the beginning, but it was always easier for us to just drive and spend the night. Let’s …
A few weeks ago, we made plans to drive to Yokohama. This Japanese port city is a little over an hour away from us, if you take toll roads. Although we’ve done our fair share of local road trips, this was our first time on the highway! We debated taking the longer route to save some …
I love this rigatoni recipe because it’s easy, made in one pot, and comes together in less than 30 minutes. It’s also vegetarian and vegan friendly! A couple hot peppers and lots of flavorful sauce makes it the perfect warming recipe for these cold rainy days we’ve been having. Back home, with convenient access to …
I’ve decided to start a recipe section of my blog, with some of my focus being around the theme “Make Instead of Buy.” In line with my recent sustainability efforts, I’ve started looking around my kitchen to see what I could make easily. Not only will this save us few dollars here and there, but …