A House is Not a Home Without You

For those in the military, home is more often a person and than a place. I was lucky to only move three times as an Air Force Brat and my parents have lived in the same house for almost 20 years so I had a home (eventually). Now I start that lifestyle all over again. But the idea of moving every few years doesn't sound too bad because as long as my husband is with me I have a home.

Doesn't mean I don't want a nice home to go with the trophy husband.

So when we found out where we were PCSing I began the search for the perfect house. No joke I would spend hours on different websites looking at houses and the different areas around Camp Lejeune. There is obsession and then there was me with my pad of paper and a list of houses I liked with the all the details and why I liked the house or not. With a legend that described those houses I loved to those I only kind of liked. Organized on crack!

At least it paid off because we now are the proud renters of a great house! 

It took a month of searching but as soon as I saw this place I knew I wanted to live there. Granted we have yet to actually see the place since I wasn't back in the states yet. We knew this house would go really fast so we decided to rent it without ever seeing it. 

I love our front porch!

Fire Pit on the Back Patio

This will be the first place Tom and I will exclusively refer to as home in a very long time. We have a running list of places we have called "home" since we started dating that at this point is about 11 different places.

On to the next project: House Decorating Notebook :)

 

Colored Skinny Jeans

I have a horrible time finding a good pair of jeans. Especially skinny jeans. At 5'1" even the short pair of jeans is usually several inches too long. As a short girl I have to get every single pair of my jeans hemmed. And sometimes re-hemmed. I shrink or the jeans grow.

So when I decided I wanted a pair of colored skinny jeans I figured I would find a great pair at an exorbitant price and then have to pay more money just to get them hemmed. But on a spur of the moment trip to Target I found these.

Mossimo Supply Co. Juniors Cropped Denim

They were rolled when I found them as they are advertised as cropped skinny jeans. When I unrolled them they were the perfect length. I walked out of Target with a pair of white, orange and neon pink skinny jeans for under $75!

 I am one happy little shopper.

 

Congratulations Graduates!

Between Tom and I almost all of our siblings graduated this month. I was unable to make the west coast graduations since I had just gotten back from traveling around the world. But we are both very excited to celebrate with the family for Tom's return to the US, birthdays and graduations next month in California. 

Tom's sister graduated from University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in Psychology and Communication. 

She will be going back to California to start the job search while she is an intern for the children's ministry at her church. I am sure she will find a great job when the time is right and enjoy working with kids until then. 

 

Tom's brother graduated from University of California Hastings College of the Law.

He has accepted a job at a law firm he interned at for the past two summers. But before that comes the California Bar Exam. Good luck studying - you will do fabulous! 

Congraduations - congrats and graduation rolled into a made up word. 

We are so excited to see you soon!

 

Proud Big Sister

One of the main reasons I came back to Florida was to go to my little sister's graduation from the University of Florida. It was really important for me to be there. 

I was really excited for the weekend to celebrate with her and our older sister. She was coming in from Atlanta for a weekend away from the kids. But on her way down she had car troubles and couldn't find a rental car. I was so excited to spend time with both of them. We will have to wait till next month. 

Graduation was on Saturday afternoon. She graduated with honors from the College of Education with an Early Childhood Education degree. She is starting graduate classes for her master degree this summer. I am really excited for the track she picked. It is closely related to the work of an Occupational Therapist. 

UF Graduates doing the Gator Chomp

 We went out with her friends that night to one of the main bars I used to go to not too long ago. And even though it hasn't changed much I felt so old and out of place. And then one of my best friends showed up. I missed this girl so very much while I was in Japan.

I am so proud of my sister - she is one smart cookie and has grown so much in the past four years. I love you!

In Front of Chi Omega or affectionately referred to as The 807

 

J - Pop

J-Pop: term for Japanese pop to differentiate itself from pop of foreign countries. And the only thing that was on the TV at our hotel in Tokyo that was entertaining and we could pretty much understand what was going on just by watching the videos.

I have to have background noise when getting ready. So we listened to J-Pop. It was somewhat of a distraction though because I found it so entertaining. 

Our favorite was this song mostly for the odd lyrics and hilarious video: 

Most of the other videos were of large (some over 10 people) boy and girl pop bands. Their videos were reminiscent of Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys back in the good ole days. Lots of dancing and broken hearts. 

Enjoy the video!

 

Tokyo Adventures: Part Three

Our last full day in Tokyo we started the day with brunch. It was a beautiful day outside and T found this cute place in the middle of a Shibuya neighborhood called Good Honest Grub. I love the name! The owner is from Canada so the menu is full of Western style breakfast items. 

We sat outside on the patio and enjoyed the sun. We were the only people there for quite some time. But some neighborhood kids played out on the street while we ate. 

T had an omelet that came with broiled tomatoes, beans, breakfast potatoes, and toast. I got a breakfast burrito that came with beans, salad, and salsa. We devoured as much of the food as we could. 

After we ate, we walked back towards the metro. Near the Shibuya metro station is the well-known Shibuya Crossing. The crossing is an intersection known for the cluster of people crossing all at one time. All traffic stops and you can walk in any direction. It is an interesting spot to people watch and get some good pictures. We went up to the second floor of the building with Starbucks to get some pictures. 

We left Shibuya for the Tokyo Dome. Before we even booked the hotel T had booked tickets for us to see a Yomiuri Giants vs. Hanshin Tigers baseball game at the dome. He's a sports fanatic. I was actually pretty excited as well. The game is a huge rivalry within Japanese baseball. 

The main difference between an American baseball game and a Japanese one are the crowd never stops chanting. Not once was their silence. There are cheerleaders. You can get sushi at the game. And even at a huge rivalry game everyone is civilized. 

Cheerleaders

Giants Won!

We left the game at the end of the 7th inning. Both of us had started falling asleep and I figured it was time for us to get going. I had looked up buildings where you can go to the top for a good view of the city and found out the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku is free and you can go until 11 PM. We wanted to get there around sunset. In the summer in Tokyo, there is a lot of fog and haze so you don't get a great view of beyond the city. But on a good day our view would have included Mount Fuji.

Shinjuku is one of the more popular areas for young professionals. It looks and feels a lot more like the Tokyo seen in pictures and in movies. It is also known for shopping! And of course I dragged my husband into a shopping mall with seven stories. I walked around the first few stories thinking I wasn't going to find anything at a decent price. I was just about to give up the search but the last store I found some cute things at a good price and they fit! 

Shinjuku at Night

It was pretty difficult shopping when the ladies helping me didn't understand English very well. But they were so sweet and between some broken English and charades I left with a brown shift dress, casual black capris with bows on the bottom, dressy coral shirt, light pink chiffon pleated shorts, and navy and white striped flats. I wanted more but I could tell T was getting anxious to leave. 

 

While we were in the mall I felt a jolt and then really dizzy. The intercom came on pretty soon after and people kept going on about their business. The lady helping us pay for the clothes asked if we felt the earthquake and told us the intercom was to let everyone know there was no need to exit the building. Crazy - it ended up being a 5.8 - normal for Japan after the large earthquake last March.

We walked a few blocks from the shopping mall towards an area that looked crowded and should have lots of places to eat. We found an Indian restaurant on the second floor so we could people watch. Sensing a trend. The food was pretty good but it was the Pineapple Shake that was delicious.

On the way back to the metro we stopped into another bakery. This one specialized in macaroons. I have never had a macaroon and wasn't sure if I would like them. But there were so many and they were so cute I bought three. T got a lemon eclair. 

Cutest Bags & Boxes

We went back to the hotel to pack and eat our treats. I told T that if ever get orders to Okinawa again, I want to come back to Tokyo more often. There is so many things we didn't get a chance to do or see!

 

We both had flights the next afternoon to different places. He was going back to Okinawa and I was flying to Florida. Our flights were at the same time and in different terminals of the airport. To say I was upset is an understatement. I am not a public crier. I think it is incredibly embarrassing to have people watch you fall apart. But sometimes you just can't help but fall apart in a public place. 

Now I am back in Florida waiting for my Marine to come back to me.

 

Tokyo Adventures: Part Two

Our second day in Tokyo was supposed to start really early but I love hitting the snooze button several times and even then sleep until T gets angry that I woke him up hours ago for nothing. We had planned to be up early so we could see as much of the action as possible at the Tsukiji Fish Market. But by the time I was ready for the day I was afraid we had missed everything.

We got to the fish market around 10 AM and I have to say it was perfect timing. There wasn't much of a crowd and most of the little shops were still open. I loved walking around and checking out all the stuff being sold. So many different things from kitchen items to produce. I ended up getting a ceramic spoon and a small plate with an owl.

Wasabi Root

We found a place where this lady was selling desserts. They were so cute and they looked tasty. 

I almost wish we would have gotten an extra so I could have kept it.

 After poking around the stores I told T I really wanted to find the area where all the fish and other seafood was. I thought it would be interesting to see what you could buy in the market. It was deep in the back of the place but you cannot miss it - just search for the stench of fish. They were packing up most of it by the time we found the area but we still found some pretty interesting critters.

At this point we were getting hungry. The lines for many of the restaurants within the market can be hours long. We opted for a sushi place that looked just as good as the others and had only a few people waiting. They get their fish from the same place, right? While standing in line we joked that if we had made this trip two years ago there is no way we would have eaten at this place. The menu was completely raw fish and T used to hate the idea of eating seaweed. Only a few weeks ago I had my first piece of raw fish and now I was eating a whole meal.

My Meal: Yellow Tail, Shrimp, Salmon, Tuna, and Clam

T's Meal: Squilla, Clam, Scallop, Tuna and Salmon

On our way out of the market T found this sign.

We walked from the market just down the street to the Hamarikyu Garden. There is a small fee to get inside the garden but you can get a free English audio set automatically tells you about things as you pass them. There are even some areas that have a video on the audio. 

The garden was stunning. If we ever leave in a place with a park or garden this beautiful I will be there everyday just sitting. And because I loved it so much, there are a ton of pictures.

Still Blooming Cherry Blossoms

Wow I am married to this man.

We walked around for at least an hour. My feet were killing me and we were both tired. Our next plan was to take the water ferry from the gardens to an area of Tokyo called Asakusa where the Sensō-ji Temple is located. The ferry was perfect for healing my tired feet and letting T take his afternoon nap.

Asakusa is pretty touristy. The area leading into the temple is referred to as Nakamise. It is lined with 90 stores and lies between the Hozomon gate and the Grand Kaminarimon Gate. I figured we could find some decently priced souvenirs in the stores. We ended up with a Japanese Fan, a few prints of Japanese Art, and some gifts.

Inside the gates of the temple, there is an area where you make a donation and shake a can until a stick pops out. That stick then leads you to your fortune. We both did this and found out we have a pretty good looking future ahead.

 We saw people tying their fortunes to wires and so we figured this was what you do. I found out later that you only do that if the fortune is bad. Oops.

Our Good Fortunes

We stepped inside the actual temple for a quick second to check it out. But if you didn't know what to do you will feel a little out of place. I knew there was something about clapping your hands but not enough.

As we made our way back to the main street to find the metro station nearby, we walked past a friendly reminder of my childhood. Snow Cones! I had to have one and T agreed. We each put three different flavors on our snow cone and slurped them up while sitting on the sidewalk people watching.

We went back to the hotel and headed straight to the pool to soak my swollen and now blistered feet. As we walked in to show them our passes (most hotels in Japan have fees for entrance to the pool and exercise rooms) and get our pool caps, I remembered the Japanese are now very against display of tattoos. Not all Marines have tattoos but mine does. It is small but I made him wear his shirt in the pool for fear of offending someone.

Once I found fit my feet into my heels, we headed out to dinner just down the street. T picked a cute and recommended Italian restaurant: Tharros. This was our splurge night as it was pretty expensive. We ordered the five piece appetizer without knowing what would be coming out. It was a little surprising to see whole fish with heads and tails but most of it was delicious. The food otherwise was great. But we decided not to have dessert there.

Breaded Swordfish

Pasta with Sausage

Back at the hotel we ordered dessert from room service. Not expecting to get the best dessert ever. I was wrong! I got strawberry shortcake and I crave that little piece of heaven at this very moment. T got something pudding or custard.

For drinks we headed up to the 40th floor bar. It was nice up there and very swanky! The drinks were a little too expensive so we only had one each and then headed back down to get some sleep.

The View From The Bar