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Custom Wedding Dress & Kimono Upcycled Clothes | オーダーメイドウェディングドレス&着物ドレス

/ Archives for Chie

Chie

Babymoon

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Hello all!  How was the weekend?  I had a great weekend.  I finally got to go on my “Babymoon”.  I had never heard of a babymoon until I read Hanamik’s blog post about her’s. After reading her blog post, I kept telling Andy that we need to have one too. Sadly, until I explained it to him, he had no idea what it was.

According to Wikipedia,
“A babymoon is a period of time that parents spend bonding with a recently-born baby.
More recently the term has come to be used to describe a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby. Babymoons usually take place at a resort that offers appropriate services like prenatal massage.”

Andy and I have been busy every weekend since January.  One thing after the next. Finally, last Saturday, we made an entire day for ourselves and went on our babymoon:)

I first suggested that we go to a rural resort called Hakone.  It is an onsen (hot spring) resort  about an hour from where we live. But, Andy told me that he thought I would prefer living it up in Tokyo more than relaxing in the country side. I was skeptical at first, but he was right. I really enjoyed wandering around places in Tokyo that I have never been.

We started the day breakfast.  Andy made his (almost world famous)homemade french toast… yum!

Then went to Shimokitazawa for for some thrift store shopping. I have complained in the past, somewhere on the inter-web, that Japan does not have good thrift shops. I was wrong. If you are looking for a good thrifting experience in Japan, you should check out Shimokita!

My new favorite place is called “3 biki no koneko” (three kittens). They have a 630 yen section (about $7 bucks). There I found a really cute tulip print skirt and a great polkadot dress! The polka dot dress opens with front buttons.  the buttons themselves are glass. This dress is perfect for nursing. I will post some pictures soon! 

Above you can see my favorite picture of the day “Andy and fish”! This snack is called “Taiyaki” in Japanese, and it’s like a fish shaped waffle with sweet vanilla custard filling. Beyond delicious!

I was happy to find a  store that sold Tootsie Pops.  I was surprised to find them for sale at this coffee shop pictured below. You can’t usually find Tootsie Pops in Japan.

After our time in Simokita we walked to Shibuya, and took a break at my favorite coffee shop, Ningen Kankeion a street named Spain Valley (Spain zaka).

After that we walked to Omotesando, and walked around small shops and checked out possible photo shoot locations. We then walked to Shinjuku. We ended up walking 15km in total. How crazy is that? lol But the weather was nice, and Andy and I just kept walking while talking about all kinds of stuff.

Finally we ended the night at the New York Grill. Have you seen a movie “Lost in translation”? The movie itself was terrible, I thought, but I really liked the bar that the main character frequented during the movie. The New York Grill bar is where I took Andy  on the day he proposed me, 5 and a half years ago. It was nice to think that we ended our babymoon night at a place where our marriage life started. They have a live jazz music from 8pm. If ever you have the chance to go, it is located on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel. The view is just indescribable!

The winner is….

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Thank you everyone for entering into my first giveaway!

I used RANDOM.ORG to pick the winner.

The winner is.. the comment number 20, Jasmine from wit and glitter!

Jasmin, I’ll email you to ask your shipping address:)

Thanks again for participating in the giveaway! I would love to do something like this again in the future. Any request or suggestion for what you would like to see in the giveaway? Another clothes, fabric, pattern…?

Have a great weekend everyone!
xoxo

33 weeks

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Hi! Last week I posted about getting pregnancy photos taken by our friend Photographer Will Robb. The photos are ready now and I wanted to share some here! These were taken when I was 31 weeks. I have 100+ more photos but the ones above are my favorites:)

Andy and I both enjoyed the photo shoot. Will and his wife, Sue came over to our apartment with all the equipment, and set up a shop here. Obviously I’m not a professional model so I usually get pretty nervous in front of camera, but I really felt at home while he was taking the pictures. The shoot lasted for about 5 hours, but the time flew!

I love how the photos came out and it is really nice to have something to remember this time in my life.

So, I’ve been reading a book called “Making children mind without loosing yours” by Dr. Kevin Leman for the second time. The book was passed down from my grandmother-in-law to my mother-in-law to me. I read it when I was about 18 weeks, and now I’m getting close to the end of the pregnancy, I decided to read it again. So whenever I take a long bath, I take the book with me and read it in the bath.

I’ve noticed that I have a different feeling reading this book for the second time now. For instance, in the beginning of the book, Leman talks about how his doctor gave him advice about leaving the baby with a baby sitter for a couple of hours every week in order to take his wife on a date without the baby.  He discusses how this system worked worked well for both he and his wife, and (amazingly) the baby in the long run. He writes that it was really hard for him at first, but it helped a lot in order to maintain a strong love relationship between he and his wife. This, in turn, helped both of them to become stronger parents.  Quality time alone as a couple leads to quality  time together as parents.

Leman wonders what would have happened if he did not take the advice given him and instead restricted his entire life around a little baby… He strongly holds that if he had done this that the baby would not have grown up to be as responsible and disciplined as she is now.

When I first read this, I was thinking, “leaving a baby for a few hours? This won’t be hard for me! I want to go out and take a break sometime and I can have my mom come over to watch the baby”. But now when I re-read the same thing, I wonder if I can actually do this. I feel so attached to the baby already and leaving the baby just for a few hours sounds like a real big deal. It’s strange how my feelings and attitude have changed over the past couple of months.  I feel the baby move and I’m looking forward to her coming every day.

Anyway, although it may be hard for me, I want to try to leave the baby for a few hours each week to go out with Andy.  I plan to make a conscious effort to do this even if it feels scary. Perhaps starting on my birthday, which is 10 days after my estimated due date. It will be hard I am sure, but I think it will help my whole family in the long run.

Any opinion? If you are a parent, do you find it hard to leave your baby to someone else?

P.S. Last day to enter the cut out dress giveaway! The winner will be picked and announced tomorrow:)