a shower

Some expat friends are hosting a small shower for me this weekend. I'm very excited and I can't wait to see what they've come up with, they're so creative. Speaking of parties for little ones, have you seen this adorable first birthday Martha Stewart did for her granddaughter? So sweet and pure.

Source: lilsugar.com via Ann on Pinterest

japanese toys

I've been picking up some odd Japanese toys whenever I see them. These are my favorites. We have a local store called Niko which is sort of like an Anthropologie in the States. I'm not sure if I've written about this store yet but they have wonderful little soap dishes that say things like, "good for home and safari" and such. Anyways they had these little wooden animals when I was there a few weeks ago so I brought home this guy.

Then the other day I was walking through a market and saw a woman selling cypress wood toys which are a regional specialty. I'm not quite sure if the wheeled one is a mouse or a rabbit but no matter, he's cute enough for me. I found the little cat in another store and it is actually a box for when you lose your teeth. It had a little tag telling about the mythical tooth fairy that visits children in "Europes and Americas" so I had to buy it.

Still working on the nursery. As you can see while the drapes aren't lined at least they have trim. Priorities.

kitchen windows

I really need to cover my hideous institutional kitchen windows. I've been admiring DIY'ers and their faux shade tutorials in an attempt to cover them up.

Source: marthastewart.com via Ann on Pinterest

Source: redbarncandlecompany.com via Ann on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Ann on Pinterest

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Ann on Pinterest

Source: michellelunt.blogspot.com via Ann on Pinterest

Source: inmyownstyle.com via Ann on Pinterest

You can click to go to my pinterest and then the original tutorials.

I think nesting has kicked in as I've been furiously working on the nursery. I've got a wonderful woman working on my bedding (who puts up with all my slightest requests) and I'm feverishly ordering things left and right. I've been a bit all over the place as it is finally cooling and with it a second wind of productivity has hit me. For a long while I was not unpacked and I was not interested in unpacking. It was too darn hot, as Cole Porter would say. Now that fall has finally visited Japan I'm finishing the odds and ends, adding a few touches and tackling a few projects. I'll have to share some more in the upcoming weeks. At the moment I'm distracted by my horrible kitchen windows. In the house tour I showed you these windows, yikes.

 

Beautiful big windows with lots of natural light but also big ugly problems. These windows are a. huge non-standard sizes and b. have outside-mounted metal blinds. From what I've seen that's pretty standard around here but it makes it much more challenging to cover from a hardware perspective without removing the blinds. Also the windows sit nearly flush against the perpendicular wall leaving little room for wall-mounted window hardware as well. I've been scouring our local Homac (Japanese Home Depot type store) to find hardware that may work. The closest I've come is the hardware used for hanging door coverings or "noren" which uses very lightweight, thin curtain rods. I'm going to try ceiling mounting the hardware - we're getting creative here.

image from here

So in the meantime I'm leaning towards a tie up shade inspired by this room. If only it were so easy.

Source: bhg.com via Ann on Pinterest

And the best tutorial I've found thus far has been from Cozy Cottage Cute. We'll see how far I get.

Source: cozycottagecute.com via Ann on Pinterest

baby shopping, belle heir

I've been doing some shopping for the wee one even though we're not 100% on the gender. Despite not knowing, I've been ordering things from some of my favorite layette shops. A new one I found this week is Belle Heir. They carry lovely vintage children's clothes.

nebuta floats

A few weeks ago we attended the Nebuta Festival. I'm still (yes still!) unpacking so I'm just getting these up, sorry. Remind me never to move again if it can be helped. Anyways, I wanted to share these less so for the awe factor of the floats but more for the vibrant colors and patterns that are hand painted on paper and would make gorgeous inspiration for fabrics and prints.

 

 

 

And in case you are wondering, these are all man-powered.

Loved the traditional hats...

...and the less traditional floats.

photos by me, please credit, thanks!

house tour in japan - blank canvas

I wasn't sure if I wanted to share my own personal spaces in cyberspace when I started blogging. I do want to share our apartment now that we're living overseas since there's a lot of little things that I wish I could refer to when I'm discussing odd topics. So this is where we're starting. The walls are seriously white, as is everything else. As you can see, it has a lot of Americanized features. Sure, it isn't what I would design for myself but for a few years overseas, it is great. It is completely new and it  feels big and bright. Try not to faint, I know it is pretty fabulous - just kidding.

 

 

There are some things I'm getting used to like the short cabinets where I bump my head pretty much daily. Or the lack of stone counters since I have become accustomed to putting hot things there. I'm not a stainless fanatic so it doesn't bother me, in fact this is a lot easier than what I've always had as far as keeping it clean. I go back and forth on how involved I want to be with decorating. Part of me just wants it to be civilized knowing it is short term. The prettiest feature is the nearby park.

 

 Photos by me, not that you would want to share them.