Vietnam Fest

Had a perfect Saturday today - relaxed and sewed a bit in the morning, went to fabric shopping and vietnam festival at Yoyogi park and walked around the city with my husband. I love Yoyogi park - you get to see a lot of interesting people, people dancing while they jump rope (seriously, pretty impressive), kids playing basketball and drinking at the park (yes, drinking in public is not illegal here!).

I recently got this dress from Bombshell Bettie's vintage on etsy, and I love it! Too bad the Summer is ending and I won't get to wear it often until next year. The dress pattern is kind of like a water color painting with green and blue. Came in perfect vintage condition, I just needed to hem it a bit.

Gift for myself

Wearing: Vintage 70s dress, thrifted cardigan, payless booties,
coat I got 5 years ago in Japan, and Bally bag.

Last week, I went out to Ginza (it's like 5th Ave. in NY) with my high school friend. I knew what I wanted to get, and was glad to have found it on 50% off sale! I bought this Bally bag as a gift for myself...what's the occasion? Well, Christmas bonus from my job, plus, having 100th sale for my etsy shop. I usually feel terribly bad for spending a big money on clothes, and I rarely do it, but for some reasons, I can justify spending money on bags. How crazy is that..

By the way, I was in right timing for the Rebecca Minkoff project at TweetMyBag. By posting a picture of your favorite bag at TweetMyBag, you get 25% Rebecca Minkoff bags and enter a style giveaway from Rebecca, and of course I entered it:) Liebemarlene Vintage and KeikoLynn made lovely posts about their bags in their blogs as well.

I was in terrible mood this morning, so I threw on my favorite dress. I knew it would help my mood and it did. I auctioned this off at Market Publique for 20 bucks! And the color, pattern, fit... just about everything is perfect with this dress. I'm ashamed to say that that was my very first time to purchase clothes online. The whole time I'm selling clothes online, I had not bought clothes online until a couple of months ago. But after that experience, I realized shopping clothes online gets pretty addictive..sometimes you can just lost in worldwide web, browsing through all the pretty things that you could buy.

Peachy

I finally had a chance to wear this my new favorite dress yesterday since it was warm and sunny. I auctioned off this dress at Market Publique. Thank God, there was only one other person who was bidding on the dress, and I won! It is a vintage 70's dress in pale pink, and I think it's hand made. The skirt part is pleated and I just love how girly it is.

Well, I ended up wearing my zara sweater on since the wind was cold.

And I figured these pale pink earrings go so well with this dress. I got these for $8 at a consignment store on 21st and Samson st in Philly. I forgot the name of the store..but I used to pop in there time to time after work to find some antique goodies.

Also, thank you Marita Bliss for giving me a beautiful blogger award! Make sure to check out her blog for beautiful photography:) I'm supposed to write 7 interesting things about me:

1. I have things for guys with buzz cut. I like Wentworth Miller, and Channing Tatum only for that reason... When my husband and I met, he had a regular White boy hair cut, but after a year of dating, I begged him to shave his head.

2. I was a Journalism major in college - 4 years later, I'm doing something totally unrelated to living.

3. I've never been to Europe.

4. I'm seriously considering joining a boxing gym now.

5. I don't have any tattoos, and in fact, I dislike tattoos on women.

6. People always think I'm Korean, but I'm 100% Japanese in blood, but half American in heart and personality.

7. I grew up in church. Both of my parents are Christians. When I was a kid, I swore that I won't marry a pastor or missionary because I did not want to be poor. But here I am, married to a pastor/missionary.... happily!

Sorry, I don't have much interesting to say:( happy thursday:)

No more rain

Wearing: cardigan bought at flee market (for $1), white tank, Calvin Kline hight waist skirt, payless booties and scarf from Malaysia.

I recently purchase a new serger. The machine is 4 thread and 2 needles, and works great! I purchased it online, at an auction site (not everything is auctioned, they have buy it now option), called Rakuten, which is like an equivalent of Ebay in the US. The name of the shop in Rakuten was "Mishin Okoku", which literally means, sewing machine nation. If you reside in Japan, I totally recommend this seller. The delivery was so quick, it came next morning. This is what I love about Japan as opposed to Philly... don't get me wrong, there were a lot of things that I like about living in the States, and I was so sad when I had to move back here. But over here, things work according to rules and orders. I can't even count how many times my mail got missed in Philly, or perhaps stolen. Anyway, it works great!

A very generous friend of mine gave me this Calvin Kline skirt, and I love it! I would have worn it everyday if I still went to work... The skirt actually is consisted of three different panels in front and back. The scarf is also given to me from a pastor friend back in Philly. It was a gift he got from Malaysia and I always get a compliment whenever I wear this;)
aw I hope it will be sunny tomorrow! It was pouring rain all day today.

Bi-weekly trip to library

Wearing: f21 dress, wet seal leggings, pumps bought in Japan, vivatveritas cardigan, and H&M earrings.

I love every other Friday, when I make a trip to library during lunch time. Especially someday like today, which was so sunny and dry and just super nice to be out. I took out three Japanese novels for next week, when I will be traveling a lot on subway, train and bullet train.

Some stuff that I'm hearting lately...
* I'm late, Alice in wonderland necklace
* Brown and white polka dot dress
* Vintage navy blue sailor's dress
* Reading N.E.E.T. magazine whenever I have free time

Tokyo designer's week

From the end of last week to yesterday, Nov. 3rd, we had Tokyo designer's week exhibition here in Japan. Since my sister was helping out one of the designers' booth, I went to check out the exhibition with her.

Here are outfit photos of my sister and I yesterday.. it was freezing cold!

My sister wearing: thrifted coat for $20, boots she bought last year and the rest is unknown.

I'm wearing: thrifted Zara sweater, handmade skirt and scarf (also available here), thrifted boots and furla bag. oh and the hat, my mom bought it before I left for Philly 5 years ago, since she knew that it would be cold over there. Andy thinks I look ridiculous in that hat, but I like it! It keeps me warm, and that's all that matters when it's freezing outside..

These are my favorites from the designer's week. I wish I had an endless space/closet to store beautiful garments! The drawers below are shaped as a little black dress.. isn't this adorable?

The guy behind the drawers in the pic is the desiner for these.

I don't know how they are connected together! I would be afraid that I would knock it over!

Sunday: Church and BBQ

wearing: thrifted velvet dress, unknown tights, payless booties, moto jacket borrowed from my sister, handmade scarf

Snapped this photo before going to church today. I ended up getting totally lost, driving all around the town to go to church. I am like a typical woman, I am terrible at driving, can't read a map, and can't park. This drives my husband totally crazy.

Anyways, I LOVE this crushed velvet dress I found at a thrift store last week. It was only 50 cents, which makes it even better. I didn't try it on, but fits me just perfect. I will be wearing this dress a lot, with different jackets and cardis.

By the way, I recently bought this 70's floral dress from Market Publique. This was my first time, auctioning off a clothes online, because I usually use Etsy or Buy it now button. I'm so excited to receiving the dress!!!

Well, now I'm off to my friends' BBQ party;)

Have a great weekend:)

Friday library trip

I had this uniqlo bf jacket I thrifted a month ago, and the sleeves were way too long for me, because the jacket was for men's. So I did a little diy, and cut off the length, added polka dot fabric for a cuff and change the gray button to matching polka dot.

I am not sure if I like the result, because the polka dot limits the clothes that I can pair with, as opposed to plain gray jacket. but oh well. And I just realized that I was wearing three kinds of polka dot today, with gray tanktop polka dot, and skirt!
I took a trip to a library during lunch hour today to take out some sewing books. I got one about jacket, and old, "Mrs summer clothes" pattern book. I am not sure if I will use their patterns, but I just like to look at the books for inspiration.

Today's outfit: Plaid and black

Wearing: thrifted plaid shirt (borrowed from my sister while she is off to Bali!), thrifted black tunic, uniqlo leggings, unknown pants, thrifted gold and pearl necklace.

This black tunic was just what I wanted: mini, a bit over-sized, and perfect for layering. On top of that, it was only 50 yen!

Since I work from home, sometimes I just have to go outside to get some fresh air. Yesterday, I wondered off to a nearby park. It was beautifully sunny outside! I live about an hour outside of Tokyo. When you think of Tokyo, you might think of all craziness, crowds and neon and so on, and it is true, Tokyo can be overwelming. But if you take a subway to little off Tokyo, you find such a rural area like my place - lots of rice field. I do like living in the city and close access to a fund stuff, restaurant and shopping sites, but this has been a good break from violent, noisy Philly.

And look what I found? A small kitten at the park. Appearetly someone has been feeding this little one. Unfortunately, I can't take any more cats at home since I already have one.. but he is so cute.

Oh, and special thanks to Look 10, who featured my style in the blog (here), and Bleusnow, who purchased and reviewed the dress I made;)

New shoes

I went to shopping with my friend from high school on Thursday, and picked up these shoes. I was initially looking for flats, but then I found very low heel wedge pumps with gems, and fell in love with them. When I took them home, Andy commented, that these shoes look like the ones Genie would wear in Aladdin...

Wearing: handmade scarf, f21 knit dress, h&m camisole, uniqlo gray tights and new pumps:)

Since the shoes has such an impact, I paired them with a simple black knit dress that I used to wear when I worked at the office. My style definitely changed a lot from the time I used to go to the office and now, working from home. I am more attracted to shorts, mini skirts and bright color tights that I wouldn't have been able to wear to work before.

Oh, and I am definitely enjoying the weather here! It is so mild. So sunny during the day lately and cools down at night. I certainly do not miss Philly's shitty (excuse me) weather.

The typhoon is gone...

I wanted to experiment with the skirt I made the other day, and wanted to come up with a way to wear it other than paring a simple white tank. I saw Glamorai pairing a skirt with a LBD to wear the dress as a top, here. The hem of the LBD is showing a bit, and it makes her outfit so chic! So I tried her trick with my zara mini dress. Unfortunately, the dress was way too short to show the hem of it under neath the skirt, but I am happy that now I figured out I can wear this dress as a top.
This sandal & tights pair reminds me of Rebecca was a recluse. I love her flickr photos. In one one her outfit photos, she wears beige summer sandals with black tights, and I thought it was a great way to wear sandals even in the fall!
My upcoming weekend is filled with:
* Meeting my frined whom I have not seen for 5 years!
* Going to buffett lunch with my little sister
* Church, on Sunday
* Going to a tea celemony with my aunt and cusin
* Making a violet jumper...coming up soon!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Fabric shopping weekend

My sister just got back from a week trip to Thailand, and got me this harem pants. These are unbelievably comfortable. It is not in the pictures, but I must wear heels when I wear these pants, otherwise I look like a peasant from a village.

Went to a fabric shopping in Nippori this Saturday. When you go to the fabric row on Saturday, it is a WAR! Especially at Tomato. People pushing each other and stepping on each other, I get so exhausted after an hour of shopping. A lot of people go there with a suit case, and it makes sense. I had two big bags of fabrics, and I might need a suit case my self for the next trip.

Here is what I got this time. I wanted to buy more, but I just could not stand waiting in the line for so long, and the crowd!

From left: Flower fabric (I've been looking for a flower print with a vintage feel!), violet cotton, black jersey (always good to have it stocked), silver-ish knit fabric, and violet wool tweed (300 yen a meter, wow! )

Boyfriend blazer

Out fit detail: thrifted blazer, unknown tank, vintage belt and clutch, diy skrit.

I am a kind of person who is very easily influenced by other people. Reading Karla's Closet, I had been looking for a perfect boyfriend blazor, and was happy when I found this gray jacket in men's section of a local thrift store the other day. I went there with mom, and everything in that store was 50% off that day, so I got this jacket for whipping $5 bucks.

I really liked the belt my sister found in mom's closet. the back part of it is elastic band, which makes it easy to fit.

I am in serious need for a haircut, but I don't really like to go to hair dressers here for a couple of reasons. I hate making small talks with a hair dresser, because I know they could care less for what I say. It's just part of their job. I'd rather read magazines, but usually they try to have a conversation. Also, hair dressers love to make a comment about how damaged my hair is and how thick it is. Keep it to your self! I know my hair is hard to manage:(

Have a great weekend!

Scarlet flowers

Dressed up to go to church this morning. Wearing Zara dress I got a week or two ago for 990 yen. Andy and I started going to an international church that is 40 min away from our place. We are both excited to be more involved in the church:)

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone! xoxo

Thank you Burdastyle!

There was a pleasant surprise today in the mail. Burdastyle sent me their very first project book, which consists of Burdastyle members creations. All the creations are based on their pattern.

Here is mine! My tara pattern variation. I simply lengthen the pattern, and took off the sleeves (although I love its fairly like sleeves), and replaced them with straps.
Lastly, today's outfit. I felt pretty lazy today, it's Monday. I woke up late (7:30), and just have to be comfortable to start the week.

Outfit detail: top, gift from my friend, khaki cargo pants, thrifted in Philly 3 years ago for $3, necklace, thrifted, about $1, sandals, bandolino.

Ugh, why is Japanese yen so expensive right when I come home? I had to exchange some dollars to yen today, and a dollar is only worth 87 yen. When I went to school in the States, and had to pay tuition, a dollar was like 130 yen. I am getting screwed...

happy friday!

Just wanted to show off my new thrifted finds... My mom and I went to a thrift shop that's closed to my house yesterday. I got these chunky gold neckless and a fake pearl ring for about a dollar each.

Outfit detail: H&M tank and lace bra, Gap shorts, black tights, Bandolino sandals, F21 cardigan.

Excuse my dumb face, but I'm happy since it's Friday! Happy Friday everyone!

Blue lover

Thank you for your input on my last post about one-shoulder dress! With the fabric of that dress, I made a skirt as well.

Windy today!

Here is all you need:
1. Rectangle fabric, width should be bigger than your hip measurement, and length is your choice. It can be shorten or lengthen.
2. Rectangle fabric, two of them for pockets. I love pockets. I don't really use them, but I put hands in them, and for some reasons, it is really relaxing to have hands in pocket. Weird, maybe..
3. Waistband, same width as the 1 rectangle fabric.
4. An elastic band. I would use a thick one, mine was about 1.5 inches. Cut it to the measurement of your waist.

I paired the skirt with anne taylor loft jersey jacket (from Kaitlyn) and Payless booties!

autum flowers

Just quick post about today's (Wednesday) outfit. I'm doing pretty well with getting out of pajama and wearing actual clothes to work at home. Sometimes I skip make-up if I don't have enough time, but I think I'm allowed.. especially when no one is looking at me, unlike the office!

Dress: Urban outfitter's, $10 on sale 2 years ago
Ankle booties: Payless
Necklace: F21

I like this dress since I can wear it all year around. I pair it with a half sleeve white knit today, but in the summer I can wear it with a tub top, and in winter, I can pair it with a turtle neck. So versatile! And I love the price. Actually, my sister got it for me and myself about two years go. She is so lucky when it comes to Urban Outfitter's sale.

I got these booties last year, after looking at Jessica from what I Wore wearing it many times. I like the look of it, but they actually hurt very much:(

I wore this to work and go to gym after work. I joined a gym here. Excited to be back on schedule with working out more frequently.