gets: shoe ver+new glasses+Hello Kitty

Hello everyone~!


Based on answers from my giveaway, I've decided to include some more personal posts and I'll start finishing all those drafts I have partially typed. I swear, there's at least 15 blog posts!


Last night I edited some photos so I decided to blog on that. Recently I bought two pairs of shoes from AMI Clubwear. The site has soooo many cute things! Shipping is expensive, but if you spend $50, you can use a coupon for free shipping!

Tan/Beige Mary Janes

Black OTK Suede boots.

I know, I know, OTK boots are sooo last winter. Well, I don't care! I love them, and they go with a lot of the outfits I want to wear this summer, so I'm sticking with them!


And the Mary Janes are shoes I bought kind of on a whim, but I've noticed they go really well to create a retro-girly kind of look, which I've always loved!

If you take at look at my (recently not updated at all) poupee, you will notice that I LOVE Charlotte Russe. I honestly own wayyyyy too freakin' much from there and it doesn't help my best friend is also obsessed.

I bought these shoes back in February, but I cannot wait to wear them out more! Winter in Pennsylvania makes it so hard to coordinate because there's always lots of snow and random snowstorms and the last thing you want is to be stranded in heels like these. Or really anything other than water-resistant, lined boots, haha!

Yesterday, Jenny made this post which included a picture of a girl with shoes similar to these and over-the-knees similar to these from sockdreams! I currently have white socks that go to my knees, but I'm really tempted to get those from sock dreams, too.

The box pictured above is the new shoe box design. Compare this box above to the box below! I bought these red heels over three years ago! Can you believe that? I recently found these in my room at my dad's house and I thought, "Hey! I might still be able to get some use out of them!"

notice the spot in the right corner? editing fail~ lol

I still really like these heels though! They work well with jeans, which is nice for family Christmas dinners, haha!




Two weeks ago I dyed my hair, again. I really love the two-toned look, so I think I'm going to keep it for while. This time I went with copper red on the left and blonde on the right.

during the dye process.

a couple days ago. can't see it well, but I haven't taken many face shots lately, haha!

And good news: my hair is starting to grow out! In January, my hair was butchered. Like cut so short I cried for three hours and constantly whined about how I had been robbed of my femininity. Now, don't get me wrong, some women are made for short hair. It looks great on them. I am just not one of them. And for some reason every single beautician I go to thinks I want an emo mullet/shag cut when I specifically say "Long, blended layers". Ugh, it still makes me depressed just thinking about it.


Yesterday afternoon I picked up my new glasses. I haven't had new glasses in two and a half years, so it's nice to have the new glasses feeling.

They're purple with a flower design on the side.

I think they make my face more adult-ish. You know what I mean? Probably not, haha~

Yesterday I also painted my nails. Tonight is "Girls Night" with my resident nail artist/bff Melissa, but I just HAD to do something. I was going crazy with all this plain nail-age. So I painted them Dolly Wink #9 ミントグリーン　with a dollar store (!!) brand nail art holographic gold.

Did I ever show you guys my Hello Kitty laundry bag? If you know me personally, you would know I'm obsessed with: the brand Harajuku Lovers, the brand Body Line (I eat up loli-kei stuff<3), and I will fork over ridiculous amounts of money for HELLO KITTY! I LOVE Hello Kitty. My travel toothbrush is even Hello Kitty (thanks Danielle, luv yaaa! haha)


So, it seems only natural I would have a Hello Kitty laundry bag, right? Maybe you have no idea what that is? Well, before Japan, I didn't either. In Japan, they use them to put smaller items (like underwear, camisoles, or delicates) in the washer without losing them/ruining them. I began telling my mom this and she went, "Uh... I used those when you were a kid too..." Shows how much I remember, haha! My fourth host mom knew I liked Hello Kitty, so she bought it for me so I could put my undies in them on a week long trip I went on! 優しいんだね＾＾ I try not to use it, but lately I've used it to just hold random things (like my makeup and toiletries on my trip to Japan in March!)

For Easter this year, I didn't get much (but I'm also agnostic so, big whoop!). But my mom got me......... Hello Kitty Jellybeans!! Do you think I've opened them yet? Nopeeee~ Maybe I will in July. Jelly beans don't expire, right? Right?!

I'm moving so I've started going through my books. I have a lot on Japanese culture, studying Japanese, different dictionaries and phrasebooks, even the first textbook and workbook in the Genki textbook series used by many colleges. If I were to make a sales post, would anyone be interested? I'll do reviews beforehand, I think. Most would be around $5USD plus shipping. I honestly don't care to charge anyone an arm and a leg for them, you know? Let me know if you're interested!

And lastly, don't forget my giveaway! It ends on the 25th, so don't forget to get as many entries as possible by then! :] 



The next part: The Japan haul! (I really didn't think I had bought much, but I guess I didn't factor in the eyelashes, boots, eco bags, and the snacks! haha!)




May this post find you smiling and enjoying life, wherever you are!

the 和風 giveaway!!!!!

久しぶり！(long time, no see!) My laptop charger recently died after we experienced a blackout after lightning struck a pole near my house! But, I had it looked at and after confirming it was only the charger, I have a new charger and my laptop is back~!

I was so bored during this past week that I actually hand-wrote a couple blog posts. Yes, my life is that boring! hahaha~ I also took a bunch of pictures that you will see in upcoming posts. I've decided that I'm going to start including more of my personal life because I know that once I move I'll have a much more interesting life笑



I've had this planned out for awhile and I was going to hold off, but the weather has been so nice recently, summer is just around the corner and I'm just feeling so great about life that I want to share it all with you guys! That's why I'm announcing my next giveaway!

the 和風 giveaway

The theme of this giveaway is 和風 or Japanese style! I chose this theme because I love all things traditional Japan and I'm sure someone else does, too! haha

the prizes:

- a hand-painted uchiwa from Asakusa, Tokyo!

- a 和柄 (traditional Japanese pattern) flower cell phone strap!

- Bath & Body Works Signature Collection fragrance mist and shower gel in Japanese Cherry Blossom! (my favorite fragrance!)

- a matcha green tea flavored Nestle Kit Kat bar! (comes in a cute box too!)

the rules:

- open internationally

- must be a follower (GFC, bloglovin', bloggers, RSS feeds, anything works!)

how to enter:

- comment with your name and a valid email address.

for extra entries:

[+1] in your comment, state your favorite part of Japanese culture. For example, you could mention Sadou (Japanese tea ceremony), sushi, sumo, maiko, geisha, ikebana, anime, jpop, jrock, kabuki, noh, the possibilities are endless!!

[+1] in your comment, say what you would like to see more of on hello nippon!!. For example, "Things I Learned in Japanese", advice on living in Japan, personal posts, Japanese language lesson posts, reviews of products from Japan, travel posts, etc.

[+1] Retweet my original tweet on twitter or link to this blog post and tag me [@stacywahh] in your tweet. Post the link to your tweet in a separate comment.

[+2] Make a post on tumblr linking back to this blog post. Post the link to your post in a separate comment.

[+2] Make a blog post linking to this blog post. Post the link to your blog post in a separate comment.

each person may have up to 8 entries for this giveaway!

also, feel free to use the picture below to promote the giveaway!

the deadline for this giveaway is Wednesday, May 25th 2011 at 11:59 PM EST! After the entries have been tallied, the winner will be selected by random.org again, and then the winner will be emailed. If the winner has not responded to my email in three days after being selected, I will choose a new winner.

Thank you all for your support and I wish everyone lots of luck!!

Things I Learned in Japan: Why Sakura are so special...

Hello all, I originally was going to post about my trip, but I've decided not to. So many others have posted their stories, experiences, and ways that you can help that I feel it would just be redundant to post the same kind of story. It's a positive story (I'm still alive, obv.), but I feel like we need something even more positive to talk about. So here it is: Sakura.



Some vocab for this post:
花見 - hanami - flower viewing
花見酒 - hamami-zake - drinking while viewing flowers
桜 - sakura - cherry blossoms
桜が咲く - sakura ga saku - cherry blossoms bloom
桜が散る - sakura ga chiru - cherry blossoms fall
桜の開花予想 - sakura no kaika-yosou - estimation of bloom for cherry blossoms
桜の名所 - sakura no meisho - famous places for viewing cherry blossoms

For more vocabulary (and other Japanese lessons), visit this page from Japanese Lessons with Maggie. (Do you like the vocab part? Should I keep it for all future "things I learned in Japan" posts? let me know!)

Sakura, or cherry blossoms as they’re called in English, are a predominant part of Japanese life in the spring. If you’ve never been to Japan, are not Japanese, or are just learning what cherry blossoms are, chances are you have no idea what the heck I’m talking about.

Sakura in Tokyo last year. Some place near Otemachi, but everywhere in Tokyo is close to there.

To be honest, when I was living in Japan and saw how much “sakura” was plastered everywhere, I just didn’t get it. I mean, I had seen pictures, thought they were pretty, but I never really was told what was so special about them (uchi/soto much?). So, I did the very American and un-Japanese thing and asked my host brother to explain why they’re so special to Japanese people.

Sakura only bloom once a year. It starts in the south and spreads upwards, bringing with it a seemingly endless amount of hanami parties, sakura-themed festivals/events, food, drinks from Starbuck’s, TV programs, news stories, singles released by every semi-popular band/boy-band/girl-group and an over-all positive attitude. For any unaware non-Japanese, you’d probably think “…….it’s just a flower….”. But that will probably end as soon as you experience hanami season in Japan.

Sakura from a park I visited with my 4th host mother.

I think that the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi(see here for a good explanation) also applies to their view of sakura. Sakura are special because they teach a valuable lesson about the impermanence of youth, beauty and life itself.

Every spring, sakura bloom. At the height of their beauty, they fall. Once they have fallen, they soon disappear. Quoting this post from zencrafting, “How do we reconcile the beauty and the destruction? Buddhists have a certain way of viewing the cherry blossoms. They enjoy the beauty of the blossoms but recognize that at the height of their beauty they are about to fall. Death resides in their flowering, and their beauty is all the more poignant because it is so fleeting. The sakura teach us about life's impermanence even as we are celebrating this season of rebirth.”

My host brother explained that it is because they are only around once a year and will soon disappear that they are so beautiful. With sakura comes a time of renewal in Japan: the school year is just beginning, winter has (hopefully) just loosened it’s grip, and most people are happy to finally be able to picnic with their friends. (And lets face it, Japanese people love any excuse to kampai and drink until their plastered and fall asleep, especially under beautiful sakura trees)

This year's sakura, in light of the recent (and seemingly unending) earthquakes, will also teach another lesson: recovery. Sakura, no matter how much people adore them, will face defeat against perhaps a late frost, too much wind, or just whither away, but they will return, just as beautiful as before.

And so will Japan. Quoting this post from Geisha, Interrupted(awesome blog, btw): “…In the week after the first quake and tsunami, a friend told me, half-joking, that we really don’t need to see the cherry blossoms bloom and fall this year. We get it. Life is impermanent. We don't need to be reminded yet again.

But maybe we do.

The cherry blossoms teach us that nothing lasts forever, still this concept is not necessarily limited to beauty. Pain and anxiety cannot possibly endure forever either. Rebirth and recovery are just as inevitable. 

That said, the cherry blossoms may be just what we need right now.”

I know I am not alone in thinking that Japan, which has survived for thousands of years, through many unfortunate events, will eventually return to it’s usual beautiful self, given time. It may not happen before next year’s sakura, but it will happen, and I am sure of that.

Until then, we can rejoice in the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossoms and the lessons they teach us.

This and the following two pictures are the sakura that blossomed at my school.

Taken during lunch from the balcony of my homeroom.

 

 

My host mother took these pictures when we visited the park to see sakura.

 

Articles about sakura, containing pictures of sakura, or the like: (if you find any more, let me know!)
Japanese Lessons with Maggie: Hana Yori Dango
zencrafting: Cherry Blossom Time
Geisha, Interrupted: On Time
「日本語」ワシントンDCパーティーガール社長日記: 桜とわびさび
Caroline Josephine: Sakura Perspective Mixed with Egoist Inspiration
Sushi-cat: Cherry Blossoms
Tokyo fashion-HOLIC: Early cherry blossoms
Shanjae: Sakura 2007
Lost In Translation: Hanami at Osaka Castle
Moments Like Diamonds: Sakura photos from Ichinoe
Tokyo Moe: Sakura song provides winsome melancholy
Agepoyo: Back In Beautiful Japan
1000 Things About Japan: Will Miss #216 - cherry blossoms (the good)

Originally, I was going to make a collection of youtube videos about sakura, but I've decided that would take too much time, so instead I'm going to embed a video that was posted above at Tokyo Moe, but I feel really sums up sakura and all of its beauty.







May this post find you happy, healthy and enjoying every day as it comes♥