a little sun

Sunbathing, is our little one, Rain.

He does this around this time, soaking up the sun and enjoying the breeze. He lies there in that perfect shape, we often call it the specimen pose. 

His ears gets pink and all his body becomes warm and a little soft?

A little time to enjoy the sun even in our little balcony. 

ha~ miss the beach in LA!

Mid May

   

Love it when the weather is perfect!

The trees and plants are soaking all the sun and everything is turning green all around us.

At our little balcony garden, this year there are lots of flowers on the citrus tree.

The fruit is called Kabosu, in Japanese, it is similar to a lime, it is green and small but smaller, more round and  but I think is tastes a little sweeter.

The smell is so strong it makes me want to leave the widows open all day. The breeze even carries the scent inside the studio at night.

During the day, there are butterflies, small bees, big black bees with black wings that come to the trees. We wait patiently so they can do their job and we can enjoy the fruit in autumn~!

exciting month

April is an important month in Japan. 

New school year starts in April not, September.

New employees start their new jobs in April. 

Fiscal year start in April. 

Cherry blossoms make us feel that spring is here and the weather is getting warmer. 

A lot of "new-ness" is felt everywhere you go.

There is a new building that is going to open tomorrow~

It is called Shibuya Hikarie.

It is a building that houses theatre, restaurants and cafes, shopping and a floor that is dedicated to arts and culture. There are offices spaces above and parking lots and the subway station should connect right below all of this.

I am trying to see when I can go check it out~

I get excited when I see buildings that are being built, and I can see the process. and yes I have shared it here before but it was two years ago when I took this photo.

A year later of so I took this.

This was also the same time I was preparing to do the pop-up store, at the department store right across from this one. We pack all the displays and everything else that we need and stack them up on the dolly so that we can take it inside and start setting things up.

Well, this time we had 3 white plastic containers and one cardboard box stacked up on each other and bound together with a durable rubber cable. 

You can see the similarity right?

The great and exciting thing is that there is a store that will carry some of the ileava jewelry, starting tomorrow! 

Yeah~!  I can't wait to go see it all!

In another month or so, there Tokyo Sky Tree will have its grand opening. Always a lot of exciting things happening in Tokyo!!

feels like Spring

It really feel like Spring is here when you see cherry blossoms in full bloom.

Every year I forget how pretty they are!!

This year I wasn't able to go to any area where the cherry blossoms are famous but I was able to see them bloom in my usual neighborhood.

This is the closed park from where I am. Small park but really great trees.

This was in Shibuya. It's really funny that cherry blossom trees are so appreciated this time of year but you forget the trees lining up the streets are cherry trees.

It is a also great to see them at night specially when it is lit up.

I know it's not that great quality but even my father who was visiting had to stop and capture that moment.

Then a week later another type of cherry blossoms are in full bloom!

They are the type that cascades downward and creates a really pretty walkway by the stream.

Here we are back at the small park. I love how the ground is now covered with the petals.

Rain is also happy that the weather is getting warmer.

The tradition is to have a small get-together and enjoy the cherry trees. There would be more people under the trees just a week before. But I thought this season is really nice, too. It's almost like snow falling but pink petals!

I never get sick of looking at the cherry blossoms every year. So pretty.

And sometime they surprise you by following you all the way home on a train back to you house~

April

Playing around with my new rings. 

This is the ring, I now where on my thumb. And I'll probably have to move it to my pointer finger when it gets warmer. My finger is half a size bigger......

For now I'm liking how flat the ring is and how this the line is. It will be part of the arabesque  collections.

I hope everyone will like it too ~!

Doing another pop up shop in Shibuya this time!

Tokyu Department Store Toyoko 4/5~4/11

the key

Sometimes I'm looking at the ground as I walk, just in case there are any diamonds that fell off a ring that no one has noticed.

Today I saw something that caught my eyes. It was right on the painted sign that says "stop" on the asphalt. 

I took a few steps back. Was it just the metal tab off of a can? Was it something gold? I tapped it with my feet so that I can pick it up.   

But no! This little key that was a pretty pink gold color was stuck. Mashed into the paint of the signage on the ground. It probably got run over so many times by cars that it can't be peeled off. 

A start of a little public collage....  

I could maybe add to it when I go there again.  

Either way I found a little story, at a place I go so often. It made me smile a bit~

I am doing a pop up shop in Tokyo~

Seibu Department Store 3/21~ 3/30

Tokyu Department Store Toyoko 4/4~4/11

getting ready for spring

So I looked up the other day, and there it was! Plum blossom. 

I was just in time to see the pink buds ready to burst.

I like the plum trees with a few flowers and those pink buds, and their the branches that usually  grows upwards. 

It doesn't feel like spring yet but there are a lot of signs from nature.

Like the frogs in the pond....... very loud and big!