The eagle has landed... in Osaka!

It took a lot of going back and forth between cities and visiting of several patisserie schools but we have finally decided to set up camp in Osaka. The first time we visited Osaka was actually quite hectic because we were running all over the place to visit schools and having to decide right away since the hubby had two job offers, one in Hiroshima and another one in Osaka, both of which he had to accept or decline as the deadline was that evening. So after thinking about it and and comparing pros and cons we actually decided on Osaka. We ended up staying two nights in the city looking at apartments, finding one, visiting the school I really wanted to enter and get all the necessary info, going to hubby's new workplace and sign the contract before boarding the late afternoon bullet train back to Hiroshima. After packing and finding a moving company we got on a bus a week later to begin our new lives in Osaka.

As of now, after moving into our new apartment and somewhat settling down, well we are sitting on stools and/or cushions and our makeshift dining table is a moving box with a tablecloth over it, I am currently preparing for the interview and Japanese language test that the school will administer. Only if I pass both will I be able to attend the school. I'm keeping my fingers crossed while studying hard. Will update later. Wish me luck!

Just because we haven't acquired any furniture for dining it doesn't mean that we will skimp on food. As real foodies we need to have our priorities straight. Hopefully in a month or two we will have chairs and a proper table... Maybe!

New chapter, no, new book entirely

Hello there

I am not quite sure who I might be greeting. It has been so long since I stopped blogging that I feel so out of it. I just hope that I will be able to construct somewhat coherent sentences while writing down whatever is on my mind.

A lot has happened since I wrote my last blog post. I dropped out of business school, left that road I thought I was supposed to walk on. I have been unemployed, doing nothing at all, slowly sinking into hopelessness while gaining 50 pounds. Confused about life and myself and where my life was headed. I worked different jobs to pay my bills but felt like I kept being chained to the same post for a long time without knowing how to move on.

I even planned to spend the rest of my life with 2 cats as company but then something changed. Someone I didn't expect at all came and ruined those plans. First of all, I found out that apparently I was allergic to cats. Bummer! This person that entered my life, who happens to be my now-husband is a person who is the most patient and caring person. Big thank you to my wonderful sister and her then-colleague for introducing us. Along with my family, he helped me realise what my dreams were and to somehow help steer me in that direction.

This is one of the reasons as to why I decided to take up blogging again. After considering and weighing back and forth for the longest time I decided to jump right in the deep end and move to Japan to go to pastry school. I will be writing about my experiences, hardships, successes and challenges ahead. This is a way for me to keep a diary so I won't forget about my adventures in Japan as a woman in her thirties, leaving everything behind and entering the unknown territory that is inhibited by 17-year-olds, when I get old and grey. The other reason for me to start blogging again is so that my best friend can keep her newborn son, who is getting cuter and cuter these days, updated on his  auntie's Japanese pastry adventures.

This was a looong ramble since my thoughts were all over the place. Sorry about that, I promise to clean it up a bit in the future.

So, friends and strangers, please join me as I embark on my delicious journey, trying to make this world a happier and sweeter place. I also hope that I will be able to polish up my writing skills a bit in the process. Fingers crossed.

Wish me luck!

Smile

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking.
When there are clouds in the sky
you'll get by.

If you smile through your pain and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through
For you.

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide every trace of sadness.
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying.
You'll find that life is still worthwhile-
If you just smile.












Even though you were only a part of my life for a mere 8 months you had become more than just a pet. You were the bright spot in my otherwise mundane everyday. Thank you for being in my life.

RIP Bun-bun

A big surprise!

My aunt (my mom's older sister)never had kids. When we were younger she stayed with us and helped bringing the three of us up, so she's been like a second mother to us. Scolding us, teaching us, molding us into the individuals we are today. Eventually she got married at a much later age and due to various reasons I won't disclose here she decided against having kids.

I once jokingly said to her that she must've been scared of the prospect of having kids after raising us three. She just laughed, shaked her head and smiled to herself...

... Wait, what?!?

XD She never really elaborated any further on that but every year on Mother's Day or her birthday we still do a little something for her. Usually we get her a gift and I make her a cake (something with coconut since that's her favorite).

So this year we decided to play a trick on her. I knew that she was supposed to be in a meeting all morning until 2pm. So around 11.30am I quickly called her husband to give him a heads up and let him know we were on our way. Much to my surprise, it was a female voice picking up the phone... wait she sounded an awful lot like my aunt...wait, it WAS my aunt. Panic ensued and I desperately tried to think of something remotely intelligent to say so that she wouldn't have any suspicions. No, she wouldn't be coming over, yes the meeting had been cancelled, yes she was sure she'd stay in all day now cause she was tired...

I hung up the phone, very disappointed. What to do now?My uncle didn't even know about this, that was what the phone call was for. Argh! Several days of planning all ruined all because we didn't take into account a minor detail.

What to do now?

At this point my mom stepped into action, resourceful as ever :) She called them up again, asking to talk to my uncle, explained the whole situation and asked if he could drag her out of the house and over here. By then, we expected my aunt to suspect something was going on, so I quickly ran over to the local supermarket and picked up a "raspberry swiss roll" as a decoy. To be perfectly honest, I felt kinda embarrassed, standing in the ready-made cake department. I've never even looked at store-bought cakes before. We're not talking about bakeries but more like those prepackaged cakes available in supermarkets.

Anywhoodle, I rushed home, dumped the cake on a plate and waited for my aunt and uncle to swing by. When we saw them through the window we quickly covered up what we were doing and rushed to the door to greet them and sing "Happy Birthday" The funny thing is, the worst part wasn't seeing the hidden disappointment in my aunts face when she saw the swiss roll but more the fact that I actually had to eat an entire slice. We all did... My mom discreetly pulled my uncle to the side and asked for his house keys and after they left, we quickly packed up and drove to their place and finished arranging the surprise.

My uncle came in the door first and headed for the kitchen pretending to do his normal routine. When my aunt came through the door we had the cake in hand and yelled surprise. She looked very surprised, almost shocked.


Unfortunately we didn't get a picture with her surprised face but this was snapped just 2 seconds after.



The coconut deluxe. Replacing regular milk with coconut milk for the cake, then there's a coconut cream filling in the middle and then it's got glazing topped with shredded coconut.



My uncle then proceeded to the living room but seeing what was in there, he quickly closed the door and went into another room. So unknown to what was waiting for her my aunt opened the door and saw this:










I know it might not seem like a lot of balloons but when we were blowing them up it seemed like a million, well to me at least.

At the end of the day she was thoroughly surprised and very happy. She really didn't see it coming especially after the swiss roll decoy. Now the only thing is, we have to come up with something even bigger for her birthday next year...

Finally the temperatures are going down

It's not the warm weather I mind, well not as much as certain people I know at least. The issue I have here is...well. For those of you who know me in person can testify that I'm not exactly skinny, not that I'm morbidly obese either but you probably won't see me on the runways of Paris anytime soon. To put it in a nice way I have love handles... and front handles and back handles and side handles as well. To top it off, I have something that has a charming name like bingo wings. (Don't know what it is? Consider yourself lucky and please take 20 seconds to wikipedia the term in order to read on.)

You will almost positively never find me in something with bare arms and if you do it's very certain I'm wearing a cardigan, shrug or other piece of fabric to cover up the monstrosities. I especially hate it during the heatwaves in summer and people inquire whether I'm hot and if I wouldn't want to take off my cardigan and I look at them, all red and sweaty in the face, shake my head furiously and assure them that "I'm quite fine, thank you"

Beause heaven forbid that they see any more of my flesh than they have to. I would actually rather suffer in silence with beads of sweat trickling down my face and back than scare children and elderly people or anyone who is so lucky to have ventured out in the public the same time I have.

So, even though I enjoy the sun and the summer I certainly do not enjoy the outfits I have to wear during that time. Sure, I don't NEED to cover up but the reason that I'm so self-conscious is that I'm guilty of thinking to myself, every time I see an overweight person letting it all hang out or twisting and screwing themselves into an outfit that's several sizes too small, GEEZ cover some of that up, will you? And because I think the things I do is why I'm afraid to prioritize comfort over covering up.

So, yes I know that I need the change to start with myself first. Because if I can start seeing people of all shapes and sizes wear whatever they like, maybe I will dare venture out in a more baring ensemble. Not now though... but maybe next summer :)

Trip around the lake

Not too long ago, I suggested my sister that we take a walk after dinner. She was pretty reluctant at first but then she agreed.

I remembered a lake not far from where we live that we used to go to almsot weekly when we were kids. My mom would give us leftover bread from the restaurant and we would go with our grandparents and feed the ducks. For some reason I haven't been there in more than a decade, so I suggested we go there.









As the female swan and cygmets changed direction, the swan father rose up from the water and came towards us. Now, it's not very clear in the pictures and seeing swans in the water they look so regularsized. But trust me when I say that this swan was HUGE!!!

We kept walking and to our surprise saw a wall we'd never seen before. We call it the surprised wall :)



I might not be a teenager but I'm still young at heart. :) My sister snapped these pictures of me doing hopscotch!

On our way back, we found a line swing (sorry don't know the actual name) and of course we had to try it.

Weeeeee!!!


It was a lovely walk and it makes me want to take more walks in our area to explore som more :) I love it when I find something new.

Navy line

Hi Lovelies ^^

It's been a while since my last post, I've been a little busy but I'm back with a new EOTD.

Eyes:
Electric blue liquid eyeliner lined on upper lashline, then lightly topped with black liquid liner to make the blue less harsh.
Eyeshadow in "Ink" on inner 2/3 of lid and "Midnight" on outer 1/3 of lid. Blend and apply lightly on lower lashline. The "Ink" eyeshadow is such a gorgeous navy-purple loose shimmery eyeshadow. *LOVE*

Both eyeshadows I got here: FormulaD

I believe these two are sold out but there are many other to choose from and they're all handcrafted and vegan. A fellow blogger Click here makes them herself. Feel free to check out her blog and shop and show some support.







Thanks for looking!

Happy 101 award

So I got tagged by Londons Boutique

Rules are fairly straightforward, state 10 things that make you happy and tag people.

So here we go:

I'm a simple creature who take delight in simple things

1. Good food, delicious chocolate, fine wine and great coffee (might as well put all the edibles under point 1, otherwise it's going to be a list full of food.)

2. Being in the company of family and good friends (preferably with food involved)

3. Procuring an item you had no idea you needed but realize is something you can't live without (e.g. my handheld blowtorch for making creme brulee)

4. Music (one of the greatest pleasures for me, it lifts my spirits and runs through my veins. I can't go a day without it)

5. Making other people happy (How cheesy as this may sound it really does it for me. When you get a heartfelt smile from a stranger or when the eyes of my family members light up when I serve them a nice dessert, it's really all worth it)

6. When I finally solve a Sudoku puzzle that has been unsolvable for days, when I beat a Bejeweled high score or play a fantastic round of Modern Warfare ^o^

7. Shopping. Finding a fantastic item of clothing or the most gorgeous handbag or maybe a pair of heels I can't live without. That will surely make my day. I know, I'm a material girl but I love it (and my things)

8. Unexpectedly finding money in the pocket of an old winter coat

9. Some me time, be it taking a long walk, eating ice cream, snuggling up with a good book, playing games or taking a nap. Some solitude has a therapeutic effect on me.

10. The fact that my family and I are happy and healthy



I tag...anyone who hasn't done or wants to do this.

Raspberry mousse cake

When I asked my sister what she wanted for her birthday she simply replied: Nothing... well maybe your raspberry mousse cake :D

So, as the doting sister I am I made not only one for her birthday but I made 3, yes 3 raspberry mousse cakes. I def feel I've got the technique down now! One was for the birthday which is why I decorated it with and the other two were for the extended family and for her to bring to work. It was a huge success at her workplace btw.




I won't be posting the recipe here, sorry. The reason being that I'm thinking about selling them to friends, family and acquaintances and I'd like to keep at least this recipe a secret for now.

The bottom is a brownie-ish cake. The white stuff is a cream cheese/yogurt filling. Then there's a layer of blackberry puree, raspberry mousse and then raspberry jelly.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is easily one of my favorite desserts, especially during summer and the best part of it is that it's fairly easy to make. The preparation time takes me less than 10 minutes and after 4-5 hours of refrigeration time it's time to chow down.

I usually make this an hour or so before lunch and that gives it plenty of time for it to be ready by the time I want my afternoon snack. Remember if you spend more than 10 mins on it, then you're probably not doing it right.

(panna cotta literally means cooked cream in Italian but I often find cream alone to be a little too heavy so I opt for half-and-half or in this case, more milk than cream.) This recipe is how I make it, there are other measurements in different recipes but this is what I usually go after.

Ingredients:
-1 litre (4 cups) of full fat milk, organic if it's available
-1/2 litre of heavy organic cream (2 cups)
-1 vanilla bean (I usually opt for Polynesian vanilla, none of that bourbon stuff for me thank you, you can also use vanilla extract(1-2 teaspoon(s)) but I recommend you use a vanilla bean)
- 1 decilitre (1/3 cup) raw cane sugar
-10 sheets of gelatin or 4 teaspoons of gelatin powder.

Pour the milk and the cream in a saucepan and turn on the heat to medium-high.
Add the sugar.
While the mixture is heating up take the vanilla bean and slice it in half with a small pairing knife. With the back of the knife, scrape out the vanilla seeds and add it to the mixture. (Throw in the bean itself as well for added flavor, you can always remove it before adding gelatin)
Whisk the mixture as to evenly distribute the seeds, then proceed to stir with a sieve.
Bring the mixture up to a near boil without it actually boiling. Remove from heat.
Add the gelatin.

With the sheet gelatin, pour cold water in a deep plate and put in the sheets, once they've turned slightly soft, pour away the water, wring the sheets and add cold water once again. (I usually do this twice with sheet gelatin to make sure to get rid of the "gelatin" flavor)

With the powdered gelatin, sprinkle it over 3 tablespoons of cold water, let stand for 5 minutes before adding it.

Stir in the gelatin until completely dissolved.

Keep stirring once in a while until it's lukewarm, then proceed to fill bowls, cups, ramekins or whatever is at hand. Refrigerate for 4-5 hours.

Dip the moulds 5 seconds in hot water, run a knife through the edge and turn over on a plate. Drizzle with diced strawberries that has been sitting in sugar and own juices or any other fruits you may fancy. Maybe you can do it like me and eat it on it's own, au naturel. That's how I like it best :)


Doesn't it look yummy with the vanilla seeds?


Thanks for looking!

Mango mousse cake attempt #1

On my trip to Vancouver I got to sample a mango mousse cake made by my cousins father. He's a chef and made this really delicious cake to celebrate a few family members birthdays.

I recently decided to make this for my birthday. I was impressed with the taste of the mango with just a hint of passion fruit but never having made the cake before I could only go from my memory and guess how it was made.

I started with a regular sponge cake to begin with and then made a cream cheese/plain yogurt filling with a little bit of vanilla to spread on top of that.

I then proceeded with making the mango mousse not really knowing if it would work since I had never made it before but to add some freshness I decided to make a mango jelly on the top with pureed mango, lemon juice, orange juice and orange liqueur. It actually turned up pretty good to my surprise since all I had to go on was gut feeling. I decorated with some sliced kiwi fruit and TADA!





At the time being I couldn't get any fresh mango so I had to settle with frozen, hence making the flavor not quite as aromatic as I would've liked. When I give this another try I'll be using fresh mango. Dang, I wish I lived in Taiwan, they have the sweetest, juiciest mangoes there, instead we rely on imported exotic fruits. Ayah, the shortcomings of living in Denmark!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures ^^

Warm Summer EOTD

Today was yet another one of those warm, lazy summer days. You know, the kind of day where all you want to do is sit back on a porch, feet up with a cool drink in your hand and do nothing at all... well maybe except for refreshing the drink in your hand or to get more sun block. The kind of day where even the sun feels too lazy to move. Well, in the midst of relaxing I couldn't help but take in the beautiful scenery in our garden, in particular the beautiful colors around, so this is what todays face is inspired by.

I wanted to do the fresh green of the grass, the darker green of trees and add some warmth to it.

Eyes:
MAC Bold and Brazen applied on inner 2/3 of upper eyelid.
MAC Juxt applied all over lower lashline.
MAC Sumptuous Olive on outer third of lid.






Thanks for looking! ^^

Golden Brown FOTD

Hey Lovelies ^_^

A lot of people tend to think that brown can be a boring color especially for browneyed people but I don't necessarily think that it's the case if it's done right. Here I wanted to do a look where the colors complemented, tather than contrasted with my own colors, thus creating a softer more harmonious look.

A golden beige e/s was applied on inner corner of eyes, upper and lower.
A warm brown e/s was applied on mobile lid and focused on outer corner and crease.
Shadows then blended well with my fourth finger.
Brown/beige lipstick applied as well as cluster falsies.






Comments and criticism welcome.

Thanks for looking! ^^

Berry lips

Hi Lovelies ^_^

So, I was actually in the kitchen, baking the other day, a red berries mousse cake to be exact, when I realized what a beautiful deep red color the cake was. So that inspired me to do a FOTD with red berry lips.

The end product that inspired me:




I seem to have been baking a lot/producing various desserts lately but more on that in a later post. I will be taking pictures of my baked goods in the future and posting them on my blog.

..Anywhoodle, on to the look of the day:

I used a light sweep of mascara along with a light wash of pink shimmery e/s on the lids.
A bit of gel blush on the cheeks (I wanted to keep the make-up light save for the lips)
A berry-colored gloss (I used Lancôme Juicy tube in "Raisin" it actually smells and tastes like berries, hehe) applied on lips with finger and then using a q-tip I cleaned up the edges.






Thanks for looking!

Olive EOTD

Hi Lovelies ^_^

I'm back with another EOTD, this time with a mineral eyeshadow I got from a recent haul. A fellow blogger makes these mineral eyeshadows that are handmade and vegan. Feel free to check out her store, there are an array of eyeshadows as well as blushes and powder: FormulaDminerals

So the eyeshadow I used here was from her collection and it's called Ms Olive. It's a gorgeous golden green eyeshadow with shimmer and what I did here was just a light wash all over my lids all the way up to my crease. I proceeded to line my upper lashline with black eyeliner, making it thicker as I extended it upwards and outwards. Falsies as the last step and voila.






Thanks for looking! ^^

Trip to Malmo, Sweden

Seeing as Malmo is not that far away from Copenhagen, we decided to take a one-day trip to Sweden just for fun. The Oresunds bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden was, when it was finished in 1998, the longest suspension bridge in the world with its 1624 metres.

The Japanese thought no way! If anyone should hold the record for longest suspension bridge in the world it should be us, so they built the Akashi Ksikyo suspension bridge that spans 1991 metres making our bridge in Denmark 1st runner up as of now.

When we got over there, after walking around for a while and doing some shopping for asian groceries (they have more variety over there PLUS things are less expensive) and seeing that it was pouring down, we decided to stop at this little tea room that served homemade hot chocolate made from scratch, yum!



Passionfruit cake


Cake with nougat;


Raspberry cake.


I saw this on the pedestrian street, I kinda liked it so I snapped a picture.


Not sure what this was but I liked the architecture.


The bridge I was talking about earlier in my post. As you can see it was pouring down and the shots I took were taken in the car so I apologize for the blurry pictures beforehand.






Hope you all had a wonderful weekend ^-^