autumn fashion – kids edition

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Marjorie

I’m a married woman. But I still have the penchant to shop around in the kids section – for my clothing needs. T_T
If truth be told, the boots I’m using now is actually for kids.

But who can blame me? Kids clothing are just so cute! And recently, young girls’ dresses somehow seem to have that mature edge already.

Take for one this mannequin of a girl in Zara in front of the office.

Mid-thigh high boots. Knee-length socks. Dress just right above the knee. Coat just long enough to show the dress. Coat opened to show the muffler that’s wrapped around the neck in a fashionable way.

Can pass for an adult fashion, right? Right? Right. Hehe. Now off to look for knee-high socks. 🙂

pudding endorser

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Marjorie

Over the weekend, I have practically become a Marlowe pudding endorser haha. Since our trip to Takamatsu last weekend got canceled due to the typhoon, we decided to have Marlowe pudding delivered to our family in the west and eat instead the vanilla flavored ones in Hello Kitty mugs which we’ve bought earlier since shelf-life is only 3 days.

I’ve tasted the chocolate, coffee and maccha Marlowe pudding flavor. But this vanilla flavored one is by far our favorite. Them black spots are vanilla beans.

The great thing with Marlowe pudding is that they come in classy especially-made Pyrex glasses with different designs. This year’s anniversary glass is by Sanrio with Kitty-chan.

Great collectibles aren’t they? while we were queuing however (and it was a looong queue at that), we saw people returning the mugs and receiving something in exchange. Nice.

They have kabocha / pumpkin pudding as well but we decided to gift it to a friend – kabocha pudding is my favorite pudding. End result, I’m really curious how it tasted. I guess nature gives back to you what you gave away. This evening, I finally chanced upon the kabocha pudding in the convenience store that I’ve been searching for for yearSSSS! I almost panic-buyed haha.

One thing though. I need to loose 2 kg within one week. But for three nights in a row, I’ve been eating pudding. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Cartoonatic

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Marjorie

Was having fun with this app. At almost 3am in the morning. LOL.

Marlowe Pudding

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Marjorie

Learned of this pudding’s existence through Okasan. As It’ll be a good omiyage/pasalubong idea, I headed out to the ground floor of Sogo in Yokohama which is actually a haven for pastries and other pasalubong/omiyage ideas.

The place was practically teeming with stalls selling different kinds of cakes, jams, puddings, sweets, bentos, preserved side dishes, und so weiter. But it was only Marlowe’s pudding that has a long queue. The almost empty glass display attests to it’s popularity I think.

When it was my turn, there was only one maccha left. Bought the maccha for us to taste and had the vanilla flavor in hello kitty mug as omiyage.

The pudding comes in a Pyrex glass which probably contributes to why it is sold at a costly ¥750 per glass. It reminds me of glass beakers though back in University laboratory. Good memories!

But oohhhhh I just absolutely love the front design! It features Mt Fuji, a torii, and a light tower which Hubs and I surmise must be the one in Kannonzaki (I’m yet to post our visit there this summer!).

And of course it comes with an instruction manual. You don’t have to know Nihon-go to be able to follow it. Tee-hee.

We were good in following instructions i think. 🙂

It’s made out of fresh milk from Hokkaido, eggs rich in Vitamin E, sugar, naturally made vanilla beans), with no additives and no gelatin. It came out as the number one pudding choice on a survey by Nikkei back in April 2010.

Sure enough, the taste lives up to its popularity. YUM!!!

Do visit – Marlowe Japan

a Demel wedding cake

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Marjorie

Ahhhh….to have a Demel wedding cake for your wedding…slurp.

It’s not just the taste; they probably are the original in confectionery art.

And sure do. Love the cake at the top left, for obvious reasons. 🙂

Soon-to-weds can even hold their reception in Demel’s lovely and historic baroque salon in Kohlmarkt which had been Demel’s abode ever since it’s founding in 1786.

Viennese soon-to-weds sure are lucky.

Mikoshi in Gumyoji

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Marjorie

Hubs and I doesn’t really keep ourselves updated with the community billboard hence it came as a surprise to us when we went out the house and met some Mikoshi-costumed people and heard the boom of drums a few minutes after.

Right around the end of August, just when the peak of summer has just passed and temperatures have started to drop a bit, Mikoshi (神輿) parades are held all over Japan. The Mikoshi is actually a sacred palanquin where the spirits or diety of that particular festival are ceremoniously enshrined. Mind you, the mikoshis really are elaborately designed.

The Mikoshi is carried around by the people taking part in the parade.

The sacred palanquins are preceded by the drums, announcing its passage.

I once participated in a Mikoshi parade back in 2007 and interestingly enough, it was also here in Gumyoji. I can’t say though that I’d do it again. We didn’t wear tabi (足袋 or たび or the traditional Japanese socks) though like what this year’s participants did.

And it seems more elaborate this year because the priest paraded with the group.

Yeah there’s a high probability that I just didn’t notice the priest parading with us back then, laden as we are with the Mikoshi (yes, it is heavy!). But I do believe this year’s Mikoshi is more festive, more passionate, more feverish than it was years before. I could think of one reason why it is so but whether I’m right or wrong, it makes me happy that this kind of tradition that has been around for centuries is still going as strong as ever.

On Chocolate Hill

A chocolatey journey, with Yui!