Meh, it's my life :)

Well 2011 has been the craziest year of my life, except for 2010 (when I moved to Japan). So while I am very thankful for:

• My family
• My friends
• Music/art
• Tumblr (of course!)
• The randomness of my life which prevents me from ever being bored…

…I am not sorry to be leaving 2011 behind. Here’s a whole lot of love and good wishes for everybody and best of luck for the New Year ahead.

<3

Goodbye 2011…

Well, it’s almost time to say farewell to a very complicated year and welcome what will hopefully be a great 2012. By far the biggest thing that affected me this year was the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami, which still saddens me when I think about all the suffering it caused.

 However, I also have many happy memories of this year, which is why I created a ‘Memory Box’…

The idea is to write down as many happy memories of this year that I can think of, and post them into the box. Then, whenever a blue moment strikes, I pick out a memory at random to cheer me up :)

Happy New Year! xx

Quality time with my mother (who didn’t want to have photos taken) xx

My other blog, about cooking, crafting and exploring life’s adventures.

I’ve recently become inspired to veer off the beaten track when shopping/eating/exploring/getting lost, so when I went out shopping today, I tried to avoid:

• Starbucks
• H&M
• Forever 21
• Body Shop
• FamilyMart etc

I rarely venture through Omotesando/Aoyama because I have a chronic fear of designer stores (and there are lots of them in this area). It’s not the scarily thin mannequins in the display window, it’s not the hideously high prices, it’s the demonically-possessed glare that the shop assistants give you if you don’t look rich enough to be there. 

- Can I just cut in here and point out that my fingers are freezing? Seriously, they’ve gone blue. -

Anyways, I found some hidden treasures in the Omotesando area, which were:

• Chicago (right next to Meiji-jinguemae Station Exit 4) - a second hand clothes shop. Perfect for vintage finds!
• Blenz Coffee - which is a chain store, but I dare you to try the Sweet Soy Chocolate Latte and egg roll and not give up on Starbucks completely! 
• Natural House - an organic shop, selling fresh food, dried food, beauty products and lots of other miscellaneous organic wares. 
• Pure Cafe - organic vegan cafe. 

My treat after 3 - 4 hours of walking: 

Tokyo (mostly Kappabashi) today. 

Evening in Tokyo.

German Christmas Market, Tokyo.

My cross country medals! 

Yesterday I ran in an International Schools (in Tokyo) cross country competition, and I won first place for girls of my age group. Finally I feel a sense of achievement, and kind of good about myself. A great end to the week!