Friday Favorites

I’ll be honest– one of my guilty pleasures is shopping online. Not necessarily buying anything, but I’m a huge fan of “window” shopping. When I stumbled upon John & Kira’s chocolates on Gilt, I had to get them! Unfortunately, we were about to leave the country for vacation and I wouldn’t be home to get them, so I waited until now. These little chocolate bees are just so darn cute! Best of all, the company is local in Philadelphia and they use honey from a supplier in Millerton, PA. I’m all for local flavors…for some reason they taste so much better :)

Their packaging is beautiful:

And it comes with a description of the goodness inside:

Aren’t they adorable?! Each bee is hand painted and there’s a fact underneath every one. Chris and I discovered this when we decided to do a taste test (and subsequently had to refrain from devouring the whole box in 37 seconds– because I  yelled “NO! I have to take pictures for the blog!”).

The honey-flavored caramel inside is more liquid than chewy, and the dark chocolate is a perfect complement to the sweetness of the center. Yum!

Since I’m such an impatient person when it comes to cute, yummy, or otherwise awesome stuff, I really appreciate that John & Kira’s chocolates arrive within one to two business days (that could be dangerous though, haha). Perfect for a quick gift for someone (or the most important person in your life, YOU)! They definitely make an impression, both to the eyes and to the tastebuds.

Happy Friday!

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I’m cheating a little bit with the title of this post because, to be honest, I’m stuck in that time warp of international travel. You know, the kind where you’re not quite sure what day it is. It’s Friday somewhere, or at least pretty close to it!

To celebrate the new year, and since we’re in Japan, we thought we’d give away our favorite candy: Kit Kats!

Apparently Kit Kats are the most popular candy bars here, because “Kit Kat” sounds like the Japanese phrase “Kitto Katsu,” which translates to something like “to certainly win” (possibly a variation on ftw? hehe). Kids take them into exams for good luck. We’re taking them into our next year of business for good luck, and we’d like to extend the good luck to you.

To make Kit Kats even more fun on this side of the world, there is a HUGE assortment of flavors, many of which are seasonal. The four we are giving away are green tea (sakura maccha latte), strawberry tarte, a “regular” version, and my personal current winter favorite, otona, which is a blend of dark cookies and white chocolate. Cookies and cream Kit Kat! They. Are. Delicious!

Btw, as far as I know, you cannot get green tea Kit Kats in the States. I did find an online retailer once, but they were selling it for 3x the normal price, plus an obscene amount for shipping.

So, how to enter! Leave a comment below telling us your favorite place to travel (or where you would like to go) and why.

You have until 11:59pm Eastern time on Sunday, January 1, to enter/comment. A winner will be chosen using random.org (comments will be sorted by time/date) on Monday, January 2. Please also note the following rules:

• Only entry per person is allowed, but feel free to comment as much as you’d like!
• You must have a valid US mailing address. We didn’t want to exclude our international readers, but we also wanted to avoid customs and shipment delays, so if you live overseas but have relatives in the US, feel free to enter!
• We are not responsible for lost, stolen, or late shipments. Or candy bars damaged during transit. Or postal service employees eating candy bars.
• Winner will be announced on the blog and will have 48 hours to email us with their valid mailing address (or we’ll choose another winner and you’ll be sad).
• Should any conflicts arise, we reserve the right to make the final decision.

Good luck, and here’s to a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012!

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Yesterday was our first birthday! I totally thought we passed it, but when I checked our records, yup, it was December 15. It’s crazy how time flies and we’re very happy at where we are. 2012, bring it!

To celebrate, here are some beignets from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans! They were SOOOO addicting! We were joking about how certain we were that it wasn’t powdered sugar on these things… ;)

Happy Friday!

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Okay, so I dropped the ball on Friday Favorites from this summer. But in an effort to blog more, I’m bringing them back!

Abby Grace and Windsor Collective inspired this personal post, and since I love reading lists of random facts about people, here’s my list :)

1. I was born in the Philippines and moved to the States when I was two years old. I retained my native tongue because my parents refused to answer me if I spoke English inside the house. It was torture back then, but I’m so thankful now!
2. I’m very picky with pens– since I write so small, I need a thin pen (0.5 or thinner). American pens are too fat, so I usually stock up when I visit my parents in Japan.
3. I lived in Japan for a year (my senior year of high school), and I’ve visited at least once a year since college. My dad’s job has him stationed out there, and it is the best place EVER. I’m also very, very critical of sushi.
4.  I knew Chris was the guy I was going to marry when we went to Costco one time (very early in our friendship; I think about 2 months in)– we both ate our hot dogs plain and used the condensation on our soda cups to “wash” our hands. L-O-V-E! Of course, I didn’t tell him he was my future husband and let him figure it out for himself, bwahahha.
5. Needles don’t phase me at all. This probably has to do with the fact that I’ve been type 1 diabetic for 18.5 years. (I also love answering questions from inquiring minds about diabetes!)
6. As a product of going on my first big international trip when I was a toddler, I absolutely LOVE to travel, preferably to other countries. I don’t mind being jet lagged because it means I’ve been somewhere. :)
7. My attention span is too short to watch a movie (unless it’s in a theater). I’m also waaaay behind– I watched Armageddon in 2008 and Scarface oh…3 days ago. :X
8. My poison of choice at Starbucks is a grande soy latte. Hot or cold depending on the weather.
9. I love to cook and I actually don’t mind ironing Chris’ shirts. He does the dishes and laundry, so it’s a pretty awesome trade off. ;)
10. My most productive hours are between midnight and 6am…which sometimes poses a problem because my full-time job starts at 9am.
11. In freshman year of college, a friend and I were wandering around Newport Harbor (in Newport Beach, CA). We were walking by some huge yachts and I pointed to the biggest one and said, “Man, I wanna get married in that!” I forgot about this until six years later, when that same friend reminded me…at Chris’ and my wedding reception on that same yacht.
12. I have astoundingly bad vision. My contact lens prescription is probably worse than yours; I’ve only met one other person who has a higher script than I.
13. I have a scarf obsession. They’re just so darn cozy! My wallet is not safe from those $5 pashmina stands in NYC.
14. Chris is in pharmacy school, and I laugh whenever he mentions vancomycin. It sounds like a villain!
15. I love lists, and as much as I use my iPhone, nothing beats a pen and paper for list making.

Happy Friday!

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I’m not the world’s expert on baseball (or any sport, for that matter), but I know enough to enjoy a game and follow along. So when a company affiliated with my work passed along their group rate for a Phillies game, Chris and I jumped at the chance. We’ve lived here for three years and this would be our first Phillies game. I was excited to sport my Victorino shirt!

But then we found out the Phillies would be playing the San Francisco Giants. Uh oh…

As I mentioned in this post, Chris is a Giants fan, and I’ve become one to keep the peace in the marriage by association. ;)

I’m sorry Philly, but we rooted for our home team. After a whack first game with Barry Zito pitching, the Giants won games 2 and 3! We weren’t planning on attending last night’s game, but one we found out that Tim Lincecum was pitching, we had to go.

I gotta hand it to Phillies fans though…not once did we feel threatened, and the few heckles we did get were all in good fun (and when it started raining last night, the guy next to us offered me a poncho). I’ll be sporting my Victorino shirt for another game. :)

Here was our view for Wednesday’s game 2. Despite the nosebleed seats, we had a pretty awesome view of the skyline:

Happy Friday!

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I hardly wear any makeup. I’m usually running around the house in the morning, trying to get out on time…plus I never had the patience to learn how to put it on properly.

That being said, there are some beauty products that I swear by (in order of my morning routine):

1. Clarisonic Mia + Aveeno Skin Brightening Daily Scrub
When we lived in Southern California, my skin was perfectly fine. Now that we’re on the east coast, I’ve noticed the crazy reactions I’ve been having to dry winters and hot, humid summers. Specifically, during the winter, my skin over compensates and I end up oily, but in the summer, I end up dry because it’s too humid (weird, huh?). Enter the Mia. It’s from the makers of the SonicCare toothbrush, which I also use, so it’s essentially a giant toothbrush for your face. It arrived the other day, and despite having only used it four times, I can already see a HUGE difference. I use the Mia with the Aveeno scrub, and this combo works well for me.

2. Estee Lauder Idealist + Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream
My friend Christine recommended the Idealist and it quickly became one of my favorite products. It goes on before Estee Lauder DayWear. If I’m running low, I’ll use Aveeno’s Ultra-Calming Moisturizer. The baby cream is for the very mild eczema I have on my eyelids– it’s totally gentle and the bottle lasts forever!

3. My usual final step is a mineral foundation powder. Currently I’m using Laura Mercier’s Mineral Pressed Powder, but I used Powder FX for a few years and loved it. Both go on with this lovely brush.

4. If I’m feeling particularly adventurous (read: we’re going somewhere fancy), I’ll throw on some mascara. My favorite is Maybelline’s Define-a-Lash.

Happy Friday! And Happy Hottest Day of the Year…it’s supposed to reach 103 degrees today, with a heat index of 115. Yikes!

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New York, New York…where do I even begin? In the nearly three years that Chris and I have lived on the east coast, New York City has definitely captured my heart. It’s one of my favorite day trips (we live a 2-hour drive away). I love the sights, I love the sounds, I love hearing the different languages, and most of all, I love that we find something new every single time we visit. There are always something to discover (and photograph!).

Since it may our last year on the east coast, we made it a goal to go to NYC once a month, though I’m hoping we go more than that!

If you do have the chance to go, check out some of our favorite places to eat: Ippudo, Shake Shack, Cafe Habana, Quality Meats (say hi to Fiona), and Billy’s Bakery. :)

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope your first weekend of summer is a good one.

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