My Fav Halloween Snack!

Rice Crackers for Halloween??

Recently, Halloween is getting popular in Japan. I heard they enjoy Costume parties. Why not? We are a country known for Cosplay (Costume Play). On the other hand, Trick and Treating is not that common since we don't have "knocking a door in the neighborhood" culture.

Last week, I went to Marukai (Japanese Grocery Store) in Little Tokyo, downtown L.A. Surprisingly, there were lots of Halloween related snacks! Then I found my favorite rice cracker, "Happy Turn" in Halloween theme bag. It was so cute and I could not refuse.....yes, I did.

Happy Turn (individual)

Happy Turn and Bakauke

I thought it's kinda cute to make our own snacks into Halloween! Happy Turn is rice cracker with a bit of salt taste and Bakauke is with a shoyu (soy sauce) taste. Both are too good!! And it is individually wrapped, so in my opinion, it will prevent to eat entire bag....especially this specially packed one. It's nice to have those for Halloween for a change, isn't it?

This is a flyer for Halloween snacks.

If I had unlimited budget, I would have bought all of those!

Since I was talking about snacks, I would also mention my other favorite stuff....Gumi (gummy)..

Lychee hard candy, Lychee Gumi, Konpeito

Fruit Mix Gumi

Japanese Gumi has more fruity taste and it has real fruit juice. Konpeito is Sugar Candy. It's pure sugar, so it is awfully good!!! 

There are so many other cool snacks (and more) there, so if you have time, please stop by. You'll have fun!

Have a Happy Halloween!!!

Great Cosmetic Deal!!!

Too Many To Choose From....

I am not sure if you all are familiar with cosmetic (full size & samples) "subscriptions". Let me tell you what I subscribe first, after the great deal of consideration. My #1 favorite is "#ipsy #Grambag".  If you are interesting in makeups, you might know who Michelle Phan is. She is #1 Youtuber and now makes a loooooot of $$$. She and her friends got together and started "ipsy" cosmetic sampler bag subscription. This is what I received this month.

Every month, you will received 4-5 beauty products (you'll answer some questions to tailor to your preference) and a nice bag. Usually, one or two of them were full size. And it costs ONLY $10!! They are all great name brand products, so I think this is a super good deal.

This month, there were 5 items in MY bag.

1. Royal & Langnickel Moda Standard Eyeshadow Shader Brush - full size

2. MicaBeauty ipsy Exclusive Cream Eyeshadow in Bronze - full size

3. Lavanila Laboratories Pure Vanilla Deluxe Mini Roller Ball

4. The Balm Cosmetics Meet Matte Hughes Long-Lasting Liquid Lipstick

5. Beauty Without Cruelty Fragrance Free Hand and Body Lotion

I loved everything except 3. Vanilla Roller Ball. I just did not like the scent of Vanilla on me that much.

I could say those five products would cost about $35-40, so $10 is a steel!

After you received those, you go to ipsy's website and tell them if you liked them or not and they'll adjust next bag according to your reviews.

If you want to try, please go to https://www.ipsy.com/new?refer=831s. 

I also subscribe #WallmartBeautyBox. This month I received these.

Their box is not as fancy as ipsy's but it will be handy when I travel or just keep some in my purse. Plus they include sample+coupons. This month, there was a Full size #Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara which values $8.50, so, yeah, great deal.

Another box I like is Target's Beauty Box ($5, sometimes $7 or $10), this one, you have to go to Target.com and order it. However, this box is very popular due to the value of the contents, so often sold out. This month I missed it. From time to time, they have Beauty Box for Him, and it is also a good deal.

Subscribing those boxes are nice way to try out the new products before you commit to buy the full size or just to get a good deal.

There are many other Beauty Subscription - #Birchbox, #Allure, #beautybox5, #NewBeautyTestTube, #FitBitFun and more. I used to subscribe #NewBeautyTestTube and #FitBitFun, but not any more. I thought they were a bit too pricy.

Hope this helps!

Have a great rest of the week!

Fitbit, you are always with me...

Fitbit CHARGE

I used to carry a pedometer to track how many steps I took a day. Because I should take at least 10,000 steps a day to be healthy, so I heard. But if I wear one piece dress without any pockets or fancy outfits, I can not carry it.

I know....I should do some exercise.. I know, I know.... I walk my Shiba, Musashi, though. No, it's not enough.

So I've been trying to take 10,000 steps a day. To make it easy to track my steps, I had wanted #Fitbit last year. And I got it for Christmas, yay! Since then, Fitbit is with me every single day. It has been with me more than Michael, haha. There are many kinds of Fitbit, but I wanted CHARGE, why? Because CHARGE has vibration alarm. It is really the best way to wake up (for me), much better than the alarm sound. CHARGE tracks steps, distance, calories burned, floors climbed, active minutes and sleep AND includes Caller ID! How perfect is that!? There's CHARGE HR which tracks continuous heart rate, but I did not need this function that much.

Only downside of CHARGE is it only comes with rubber wrist bands (has 4 colors to choose from), No Bling....sad face.

Then, this spring, I saw the ad for Misfit with Swarovski bling wrist band....my heart sinked....

This looks really pretty and I loved the design. But I prioritized the function and decided to keep my Fitbit. Very hard decision...function over Bling..... Good job, Ikko!!!

A couple of month ago, my Fitbit started not holding the charge well, like it lasted only 1 day (usually the battery lasts 5-7 days). I searched online and I read other people had the same issue and contacted Fitbit company to replace it. I thought they would send me the new battery to replace. With the original receipt, Fitbit sent me BRAND NEW Fitbit! Wow!!!! When I charged and synced with my desk top, the data goes to Fitbit Company such as how many times I charge my Fitbit, so they said it was good enough proof that my Fitbit had a problem. I Love Love Fitbit Company. Wonderful customer service!

Fitbit has an app to oversee your progress and input the information.

And you can also sync with the desktop.

Today, so far I took 5,484 steps, walked 2.54 miles, burned 939 calories and climbed 4 floors as of 1:55 pm.  More steps to take!!

The price for CHARGE is $129.95 on the website, but you can find it on sale somewhere. Not big discount, though. I got mine $99.75 with $20 off with 5% Target Red Card discount last year. 

Sorry for the lengthy story today. 

Being healthy is the inner beauty! So let's take some steps today!!!!

Coffee..coffee....coffee

I love Coffee. A lot.

I started drinking coffee when I was a high school student, I guess I was a freshman. At that time, it was a cool thing to skip the classes and to go to Kissaten (Coffee Shop) - it was not a good thing to do from the school's stand point. There, my senpai (older students) introduced me "Vienna Coffee". We pronounced "Wiener Coffee". It was espresso with whipped cream and it was so good. Since then, I became Coffee Lover or addicted....

Now I have many kinds of coffee makers. Every morning, I use either Keurig or Tassimo.

I love Tassimo because I don't have to have cream/milk, but the pods cost more and it needs water filter. I buy cream pods and coffee pods. It has bar scanner and make coffee as it supposed to be, like Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte and so on. The cream is frosty just like you buy at some coffee shops. Keurig seems to be more easier. When you buy the pods on sale, a cup of coffee costs only 25-30 cents. I've been using my Keurig over 5 years. Our friend, Cheryl, Dave, Kari and Ruben kindly gave it to us for Christmas. I have Tassimo over 3 years. I received this to give my review (Lucky Me!!). Which one do I like better? It depends... When I forgot to buy creamer or milk, I go with Tassimo. When I want more coffee flavor, I use Keurig.

Then I have these... to search for the best coffee taste....

French Press

Vietnamese

Siphon

French Press, I think I can get full body taste, Vietnamese coffee maker gives you much darker and stronger flavor. Condensed milk is usually added.  Siphon gives me more flavorful taste, but it takes longer to brew.

I drink Green Tea as well.  I'll save it for another day.

It's fun to change the way to make coffee here and there to enjoy the different flavor. I like darker and stronger coffee better.

In Japan, we have "American Coffee" which is weaker than the regular coffee. So it was funny when I came here all the coffee was American.... Yes, it was much weaker. Plus we can not get refill for coffee or any drinks over there. In that sense, it is heaven for me to be able to drink almost anything as much as I want at restaurants and fast food places here. The servers even come to the tables to give more until I tell them to stop. What a wonderful country!

Sushi Cake!!

#Sushi Cake with "#My Parlour" 

Tonight, I made "Sushi Cake" using Japanese "My Parlour" mold that I bought in Japan long time ago. This comes with the molds like these..

  

It is very easy, you just make "Chirashi Sushi" and put the sushi in the mold and pull it out, take out the pulling pole, put the plate on top and flip it onto the plate you want to serve. Then decorate with eggs, green peas, shrimps and red ginger or whatever you like.

You don't even need to cut it. You can just slide in the knife and move it to your plate. 

As you see on the box, you can make many things with mold such as...

 Cake using a microwave oven

Jello or Almond Jello

The final products are very very "#kawaii" and any children(I hope) will be happy to see them! The imagination is endless!

For now, only place I could find this online is #Bento&Co (http://en.bentoandco.com/products/my-parlour-cake-mold?variant=1064543129 ) . They sell "My Parlour" at $10.90 +shipping.

My Go-To Hair Serum: Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum

I've tried many hair serum from the expensive ones to drugstore ones. And this #GarnierFructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum is the one I always come back to.

After I towel-dried my hair, I pump 2 or 3 times on my palm and pat my end of the hair with this serum. Since I have long hair, my ends tend to be dried and damaged. This is like a water to the plant! I finger-comb my hair with the hand with left-over serum.  I added a couple of pumps to other part of my hair.

Then I blow-dry my hair.  When my hair is completely dry, I have silky, smooth and shiny hair!!  It's not oily or anything at all. If you feel some on your hands still, just rub it off with your hair.

But when you have those silky, smooth and shiny hair, some strange things might happen to you..... a few times, at a grocery store register, a middle-aged guy complimented my hair. "You have such a beautiful hair!" AND he stroked my hair with his hand... "Whaaaat??????? What just happened?" - I thought. Luckily, the cashier lady told him, "You know, you shouldn't be touching her hair! It's weird!" The guy said, "I know, but it's sooooo beautiful. Sorry..."

Well, yes, it is very weird to touch somebody's hair like that. We all know that, right?

#GarnierFructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz is around $5-7, depends on where you buy. It's $4.99 at #Target now and you can get $5 gift card with $15 personal care purchase!

I will post other haircare items soon!  Even though, I like this particular product, I want to let you know about other products. 

BurgerKING Halloween Whopper Review

I could not refuse to try after I saw this ad....so there I went for lunch today.

The ad said this #Halloween WHOPPER Sandwich was with A.1. (steak sauce) flavor baked into the black bun.

And this is the real one...

Just wanted to show the inside the bun.. 

I did not taste much of A.1, but the bun was very soft and a bit on a sweet side. To me, it had too much sauce, though. I could have saved little bit calorie-intake if it was a half of the sauce.

But it's been a looooong time since I ate at BK, so all was good. WHOPPER was tasty. According to my son, Akira, BK has the best fries and I agreed with him. The fries were crunchy, thicker and less oily comparing to the competitors, including In'N Out and Five Guys. He tried all the fries in our city, and awarded "the BEST Fries in town" to BK.

I believe it was $6.99 for this special burger. If you have a BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) or other Whopper Coupon, they told me I could just add 70 cents each. Good deal! I happened to have $8.99 WHOPPER Meal BOGO Coupon, so I paid extra $1.40, the total of TWO WHOPPER Meals was $11.33!

Let's see how happy I was...

Michael wanted to take this pix, because he thought my hairband (I knitted it!!) and the bun looks the same and it was hilarious to him.

I think it's fun to try #Halloween WHOPPER, just because it's different and it will be a great conversation piece. You can take selfies and post wherever, it'll be a hit.

By the way, I could not finish the whole burger....I could have, but I knew I'll be so stuffed, so I stopped and wrapped a quarter of WHOPPER to take home. Well, it's "mottainai（もったいない）"- Don't want it to be wasted....in Japanese.

Happy Eating!!

REVLON COLORSTAY GEL ENVY NAIL ENAMEL Review

I bought this a couple months ago, and today I finally used them. Description said, "Our revolutionary 2-step system: Brush on the base+color in one, and then finish with the protective ColorStay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat for superior strength. Together, they create vivid color, diamond-like shine and gorgeous life-resistant wear."  Well, we will see....

030 Beginner's Luck

First, I applied this Color+Base (2 coats) on my nails.

Then I applied this Diamond Top Coat.

010 Top Coat

See the difference a bit???? Before and after Top Coat (2 coats)?

Now I will do what I usually do, like washing dishes, and see how long this will last. I will keep you posted.

One thing I noticed when I was applying these was that the brush has two separate parts for smoother strokes (you know what I mean???).

This set was sold at $12.99 at CVS and it was where I bought it.

Have a nice weekend!!!

The Intern

My husband, Michael and I went to watch "#The Intern".  In The Intern, Robert De Niro stars as Ben Whittaker, a 70-year-old widower who has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway).

I laughed a lot and cried a bit. Overall it was much better than I expected.  I think this movie attracts both young and not-so-young crowd. It was "feel-good movie". After the movie, I checked how old Robert De Niro really is and found out he was a bit younger than 70. Then I started thinking who are 70ish around me...I have a few.  They all look lively and have sharp minds. When I was a teenager, 30 was old and 70 was beyond imaginable.  But not so much now anymore.

Susan Lucci is 68, Jane Fonda is 77. They still look beautiful.

In Japan, Nana Kinomi is 69 and Yukiyo Towake is 72!

I am determined to try to keep my youth and health so that I will look as good as they are when I am 70 (wishful thinking?)!! And I will keep trying lots of products and write about them for your youth and health here on my blog.