Easter

Easter weekend- reading and general nesting in my cosy nook, a trip to the beach (I marvelled at an elaborate mermaid someone had made with seaweed hair, stones for eyes and lots of tiny little shells for the tail), bike riding and eating of chocolate. My little Lindt bunny is almost gone now.

Hope you all had a lovely Easter, what did you get up to?

Fumi

One of my favourite artists is the amazing Fumi Nakamura. I am constantly astonished by the detail, beauty and emotion in all her work. She also draws cute cartoons and little comics. To see more you can visit her lovely website.

(I almost forgot to mention that she has a pet chinchilla! So sweet.)

Tag

I was tagged by the lovely Hila to answer some questions. I'm really terrible at remembering to do tags, so apologies if I've missed some others.

What is your current obsession?
Japanese craft books. Cupcakes.

What are you wearing now?
A big grey wooly jumper.

Do you nap a lot?
Now and then.

If you were a tree, what tree would you be?
A tree with a nice smooth trunk which would be perfect for leaning against to read a book.

What's for dinner?
Thinking more about lunch at the moment!

What was the last thing you bought?
‘I Love Sleeping’ t-shirt from Genki (which is sadly closing) and a packet of spearmint gum.

What are you listening to right now?
Jose Gonzalez.

What is your favorite weather?
Rainy, snuggly weather or mild, sunny days.

What is on your bedside table?
My favorite mug, a pack of colored pencils, books, bobby pins, one earring (the other has been lost).

What is your most challenging goal right now?
Figuring out what to do with my life.

Say something to the person who tagged you.
Hi Hila! I hope your thesis is going well!

If you could have a house anywhere in the world, where do you want it to be?
This is a hard one. Probably somewhere in Europe/Scandinavia. Or the house I saw with the amazing garden on the train to Tokyo.

What can’t you live without?
A sense of humour.

What was the last book you read?
‘French Milk’.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
The mysterious owl café in Onomichi.

Last movie you watched?
'Pauline à la Plage'.


I would like to tag these talented ladies: Erica, Gracia and Ebony (if you want to of course!) and anyone else who would like to. :)

Studios

I love peeking at the studios where artists create (or procrastinate). So I was pretty glad to find this flickr group. These are some of my favourites but click to see more!

List Maker

When feeling glum, it sometimes helps to make lists of nice things. Of course it doesn't always work, (sometimes I just end up feeling greedy or poor) but I tend to do it anyway.

Nice things lately: belgian chocolate cupcakes, learning to bind books, big comfy dresses (which is great because it allows you to run when you are about to miss the train/bus/start of class), sunshine in the park with friends (not pictured) and the general feeling that cosy Autumn days are just around the corner. :)

Japanese Homes

I love these Japanese homes featured on Ku:nel Magazine (found via the lovely ii-ne-kore), they feel so natural and cosy. I can actually imagine real people living there which isn't always the case when I look at interior photography.

(Hmm, looks like I need a trip to Japan soon. I've just made three posts in a row that mention Japan in some way.)

Little Things

This is probably a tad late but here are some of the little things I brought back from my travels.

1. A lovely knitted hat in preparation for cold days.

2. A little bird whistle that makes chirping noises when you fill it with water.

3. Brushes and cute stationery.

4. Some books by Takagi Naoko ('150cm life' and 'My Solo Trip' which is a comic about her first time travelling alone throughout Japan). Unfortunately these books don't seem to have been translated into English yet and it's hard to find information about her that isn't in Japanese! For the moment, I'm content just to look at the cute illustrations.