sewing table...!

finally! i finally purchased a cheap table for my sewing machine!
ikea, $5 top and $3 per leg...about $20 bucks! it's so perfect i love it!
i still got more cleaning to do in my nook, but sewing projects should be starting up real soon!
yay♥

his 90th...!

december 26th, the day after christmas is my grandfather's birthday
this year he turned 90...!
we spent Sunday visiting him at the nursing home facility.
he even had a piece of cake with us!
he is getting quite old and needs a lot of help to get around but he's still healthy and doing well.
happy birthday gramps!

xmas 2010..♥

*wow ladies and gentlemen...this is a super old photo of jamus.. circa 2002 ish?*

got so many awesome things this xmas♥♥
(the best one being my Jamus!)

super awesome! i got リラックマ＆小リラックマdolls/storage cases!
(it's creepy but their heads come off! and you can store stuff in it!)
i'm thinking of using them for my sewing supplies♥

ummm..a dwight bobblehead! i was definitely gonna be getting one at some point!
(we're currently in the middle of 'the office' marathon. we're on season3 right now)

i didn't bother taking a photo of EVERY gift i got, but i got great stuff♥
art books, movies, posters, clothes, new earphones, etc.
Jamus even donated $150.00 to 'benefit autism education' in my name! that was really cool of him

おかあちゃんからはDHCのセット！
これはすごく助かりました！DHCはかなり高めの商品なので、自分ではなかなか買えないけど、クリスマスに貰ってすごくうれしい★
お肌ツルツル！

おっ！部屋に飾れるキャンバス・アート！
最近フクロウにハマッてるのでMY部屋にピッたし！
みんなありがとう！

こ・た・つをゲット。。。！

ついにMYこたつをゲットしました！
ジェームズがこっそりと買ってた！帰宅したら大きな荷物が届いてて、開けたらこたつだったの！
内緒で買ってた！
So a "kotatsu" is a japanese coffee table with a built in heater that you cover with a comforter to trap the heat... you sit in it and get roasty toasty and relax--aaaah♥♥ heaven!
it's super common in japan. like, everyone owns one!
we totally had one but i haven't used one since we moved here.
i was telling jamus about it and i could tell he totally wanted one...
turns out, he secretly purchased a "kotatsu" online!

*cats LOVE cozying up inside the kotatsu-- heck, i would too!*

weeee!

bag o munchies...♥

aww how nice of her!
Erin, one of my accountants brought me a bag o sweet munchies♥
i was so hungry...i scarfed it all down...

gift exchange...☆！

so alon likes gnomes♥
(i looked up her wishlist she sent out at work)
hee hee they're cute! they remind me of the movie "Amelie"
so i went out looking for gnomey stuff but i thought this was the best.
it's the ATTACK of the gnomes!
this book does not cutesify them--instead it talks about how you should protect yourself from gnomes attacking your home and garden!! but in a way, that's what makes this book so cute♥
hahahah i found it at the bookstore and HAD to get it for alon--quirky goodness

alon made me an earring pin-up board and 2 earrings♥
it's funny--when i hung out at her place i noticed in the bathroom how she pinned earrings on a cork board and i thought "what a neat idea!"
it's been on my mind for some time but i never tried it out
my earrings are still stashed in a wall pocket thingy...and they get tangled all the time :'(

voila!!
now i have my earrings paired up~!
she used a super antique art frame (circa 1970)
the date is still on the back so that's kinda cool!
this might be the oldest item i have in my new aparment♥

"mister"...?!

so Alon is always telling me about how people automatically think Alon is a male..
well no, she told me it IS a guy name.
i was like, "whatevs! Alon is a cool name! it sounds pretty ~♥♥"
but then again, she's the only Alon i know and maybe if i just heard the name without seeing a face to match with it, i would assume it was a guy too...
upon further research on the interwebs it is indeed a boy name--
it means "oak tree" and it is related to the other more common boy name, Alan.
but still i'm like "whatevs.. i still like the sound of Alon♫ maybe others think it's a girl name too!"

BAM! check out the mail she received today!
what's even crazier is that this is from one of her contacts on the east side!
i'm sure they've conversed via the telephone at some point... ummm. hello!
Alon is not a mister! get・it・right・Saddleridge!!
（・＿・）

the Black Swan...♥!

i have been DYING to see this film♥
ever since it was first announced, i knew it had to be good.
Director? Darren Aronofsky
the casting? WOW! my 2 favorite actresses, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis (and i found out later Winona Ryder would be in it too) and Vincent Cassel, i find him so strangely... attractive?
he's not the best looking guy but his acting and his french accent just get me... AND he's married to the gorgeous Monica Belucci in real life.

i basically had goosebumps throughout the whole movie. The tension was high... Nina (Natalie Portman's character) is constantly on the edge and my heart was racy the whole time. oof.. i was literally exhausted by the time i left the theater.
The character Lily was played by Mila Kunis--she softened/calmed the movie down whenever she made an appearance-- which is kind of ironic since she plays the girl who tries to corrupt Nina... well not corrupt, but Lily is more carefree... she's more confident and not worried about anything. she's open to using drugs and promiscuous..rebellious.
Nina on the other hand is constantly worried, a perfectionist and a goody goody.

i think this was Natalie Portman's best movie to date..!! yep! totally!
i read that she trained in ballet dancing for a whole year before shooting even began.. up to 8 hours a day/7 days a week. now THAT is intense training. a strict diet helped her drop 20 pounds off of that already petite body of hers too.

the choreography was amazing and the way Aronofsky shot most of the dance scenes were perfection! and it really shows Natalie doing all of the dancing herself. no double, no CG, all real!

i don't want to accidentally spoil anything so i'm just going to recommend everyone to go see it!
well, it is a dark/thriller movie so some of the scenes made me cover my eyes..
but all worth it! one of the best movies i saw this year♥

so i posted all of the Black Swan movie posters because i love the style!
these Natalie shots are amazing and the black & red ones are really cool--like a retro/musical poster. i really want one to put up in my apartment♥
check them out!

oysters...!

here's オトパンshucking some oysters..!
見てるのがこわいよ～！！

３種類買ったそうです！

一番高かったのを１っ匹もらいました。
うん、美味しかった！ポン酢をかけて食べると美味しいよ！

キキも食べたいって！

パフューム到着！

やっと届いたよ！
２ヶ月近くかかったけど、無事に着きました★
やっぱ１２月に入ると遅くなるのね。

photobomb...!

hey!! i was trying to get a photo of jamus...
how dare you!

now jamus is upset...

"ivy the kiwi"--!

so i never got the chance to blog about the cute gifts my sister got me this year♥
(for my birthday)
owl themed--cute!

so she found this awesome Nintendo DS game called "ivy the kiwi" !
how crazy is that?!
she randomly found it online and got it for me♥
it's super cute and fun to play too!

and the 2 ramen bowls from World Market.
(the SOUP bowl is one i already bought)
it came with chopsticks and a soup spoon
yay i heart my bowls♥

baby gabriel is here...!

*katie and gabriel*

connie's baby, baby gabriel came for a visit on Friday♥
he's already grown so much from his first visit! a couple weeks ago!
aww he's so precious and a quiet one too

*o? is that him smiling?? (^o^)*

it's hard to get work done with a baby around!
(o_O)

my secret santa revealed...!

squee!
so Katie was my secret santa this whole time!
this is embarrassing... because for days i've been going to Katie asking
about who my secret santa might be!
"i wonder who got me~!" "i hope i don't just get a gift card~!" "who do you have, Katie?"
oy... i'm so silly.. i don't know why i assumed she didn't pick my name...
anyhow, i love what she got me!
on my wishlist i noted "fuego" as my favorite store and she got me the cutest shirt♥

complete with candies!! and a cupcake lip balm♥
♥LOVE LOVE♥

who the hell is Stone...?!

this is the second time i got this in my work mail...
who is Ivy Stone...??!!
how did i go from Smith to Stone...how?! it's not even close!
i am boggled...

(AP dept) holiday breakfast...♥

YUMMERS!!!!
so every year the AP dept holds its own holiday breakfast get together where we exchange our secret santa gifts. mmm!
traditionally we would go to Pesos for breakfast but now that our department has almost doubled in size, we made reservations at a larger restaurant. Tolouse Petit♥
o my goodness... hello breakfast happy hour!
i loved that their coffee was served in a french press.
i was drooling just reading their menu--i opted for the eggs benedict (never had it before)

look at this dish! go ahead, drool away!
eggs benedict--hollandaise sauce over poached eggs, roma tomatoes, avocado and biscuit.
served with potatoes...mmm!!!
i am definitely coming back with erika and jamus for breakfast.

(o, and to give you an idea of how delicious the menu is, here's alon literally fainting of hunger after reading their online menu!)

チキンかつ出来た！

今夜はチキンかつにハムかつ♥　美味しく出来ました！

ジェームスも喜んで食べてくれたよ！