DIY cell phone charging station...

Hey all!  I did a very simple DIY project that I'd like to share with you.  After scouring the internets trying to find a suitable charging station for my various electronic devices, I found that I didn't have either the space or the tools to accomplish what I saw.  So I headed to the ¥100 store to see what I could find that would help me organize.  (Note: if you can't find exactly what I did, look for something with some kind of holes in it.)

Here are the materials:

This is a shoe organizer.  My goal was to find something with a hole in it that I could feed cords through.

Next, I was in a hurry so I kinda just threw this together:

It's kind of a mess and doesn't look very organized.  When I got back from lunch I sat and figured out how to make it better.  I found I could wedge the sockets into the opening in the pink container.

I also used twist ties to keep the cords neat (except I wish they were white and not green).  Much nicer.

I made two so I could charge various devices:

As you can see, this container is big enough to hold a regular sized iPad (so by default you know the mini will fit too).  You can also get a good look at how I wedged the sockets in.

Anyway, my life feels less cluttered and tangled now that I have a place to store everything I need to charge.

I hope this was helpful and can give you some ideas of how to get out from that pile of cords.  Happy organizing!

Christmas Illuminations...

A couple of weekends ago, my boyfriend and I went to see illuminations.  There was one place in particular I wanted to go but we ended up seeing some nice illuminations in Tama Center also:

Then on to what I really wanted to see was よみうりランド：

These illuminations were beautiful and I'm afraid the photos just don't do them justice.  There's something about illuminations that really gets me in the Christmas spirit.  I hope your holiday season is starting out magically. 

A vegetarian foodie in Japan...

Hi all!  I've been cooking up a storm lately but I haven't found the time or the energy to post about it.  So without further adieu...

I made some Buffalo Chickpea Tacos:

The chickpea mixture was awesome (and I didn't make the tacos vegan sorry but you can make them however you want) but I want to try this next time with flour tortillas.  The corn were a bit too dry.

I whipped up some Marinara:

And put it on some gnocchi I wasn't too impressed with.  I won't be buying that again Costco.

I made the best Mozzarella Sticks and ate them next to some French Onion Soup:

The red stuff is cocktail sauce because that's what I dip my mozz sticks in like a boss.  Both of those recipes to die for.  Cook 'em I say!

I made some everything bars to snack on.  I replaced the apricots with a dried fruit mix and almonds with pumpkin seeds:

So yummy!

I also made some killer Cranberry Sauce:

And finally some tasty Artichoke Pasta Sauce:

Phew!  That's it!  Happy eating!

Lipton Tea...

Hello!  I have some teas for you!

First is Turkey Apricot Tea part of the Tea's Travel series:

It was okay.  The apricot taste was really light, so it didn't seem too flavorful.

Next is Milk Caramel Tea:

Oh I had such high hopes for this one since I love caramel flavored anything.  I was just disappointed though.  The flavor was off.  It just didn't taste right.

Finally is Navel Orange Tea:

Orange is a popular flavor in Tokyo during the winter.  About this time last year was when Mikan Tea surfaced.  At first I thought Navel Orange Tea was too strong but as I continued drinking it, it kinda grew on me.

The list:

1. Milk Tea
2. Maple Milk Tea
3. Lemon Tea
4. Peach Tea
5. Earl Grey Milk Tea
6. Green Apple Tea
7. 50/50 Tea & Lemonade
8. Tropical Fruit Tea
9. Chamomile Citrus Tea
10. Roast Milk Tea
11. Jasmine Lemon Peel
12. Grape Tea
13. Straight Tea
14. Apple Tea
15. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
16. Matcha Milk
17. Tea Cappuccino
18. Mikan Tea
19. 50/50 Tea & Nectar
20. Luxurious Milk Tea
21. Muscat Tea
22. Plum Honey
23. Cream Milk Tea 
24. Grapefruit Tea
25. Orange Marmalade Tea 
26. Royal Milk Tea
27. Golden Pineapple Tea
28. Italian Fruit Punch Tea
29. Honey Milk Tea
30. Green Apple with Honey
31. Thailand Lychee Tea
32. Sweetened Condensed Milk Tea 
33. Turkey Apricot Tea
34. Milk Caramel Tea
35. Navel Orange Tea

The Top Five:

1. OG Milk Tea
2. 50/50 Tea Lemonade
3. 50/50 Tea & Fruit Punch
4. 50/50 Tea & Nectar
5. Jasmine Lemon Peel

Backlogged: Clothes...

Yeah I guess I failed at not getting backlogged.

Anyway...

October 15th:

October 18th:

October 19th:

October 24th:

October 30th:

November 4th:

November 6th:

November 7th:

November 8th:

November 11th:

November 12th:

November 15th:

November 16th:

That's it!

Tales from The LG 12th Floor Garden...

Hello!

Things have been growing here, of course, but at a steady pace.  Temperatures took a dive last week and it was quite cold.  They will be more normal this week.  Some developments...

The yellow tomatoes are coming in nicely.  One turned yellow already and I promptly plucked it ate it.

I harvested some green peppers:

(Which since I don't like them all that much promptly went into a pasta sauce.)

The lettuces are growing nice and lush:

(Romaine on the left, butter on the right.)

And the onions are growing like crazy:

That's all the news that's fit to print.  Happy gardening!