10 things that make me smile Sunday

Inspired by some fellow bloggers who post a `Things I love Thursday` and by my little sister who just this morning reminded me that every cloud has a silver lining, I have decided to write a regular post every Sunday, full of things that make me smile.



* waking up next to the boy I love
* clear blue summer sky
* the feeling of the sun warming my skin through my clothes
* cute little Japanese kids waving me to me on the street like I`m some kind of super-gaijin
* cream cheese on crackers
* understanding enough Japanese to renew my video rental card
* finding cute baby clothes and having friends with babies to buy them for
* my kittens` purrs
* receiving a postcard from my dad in England
* skyping with my little sister in New Zealand

Here`s hoping that this post will help me focus more on the great things in my life rather than complaining about the things that I just can`t change.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is a chanchanko (ちゃんちゃんこ)?

Image
My chanchanko (ちゃんちゃんこ）is the answer to all my winter prayers!! Basically it is a big coat filled with cotton wool or feathers designed to be worn indoors. They are very warm, but are quite possibly the most unflattering piece of clothing ever invented, and that is probably one of the reasons why they are mostly worn by the elderly and the very very young.


I have decided to promote the ちゃんちゃんこ because they are a great way to stay warm and be comfortable, save on electricity and heating costs and be environmentally friendly all winter long! For less than $20!!

* not surprisingly they are made for cats and dogs too!

Despite the shocked reactions of all my students when I tell them that I bought one of these (sounding something like `Oh, yeah, I had one of those when I was a kid` or `Oh, yeah, my grandmother wears one of those` or `Really, hehehehehehe, you are so japanese!`), I continue to wear mine every morning (indoors only!) and my cats love it too...


* it is Daisy and Azuki sleeping in…
Read more

Maternity clothing in Japan

This time around I felt like I started showing much sooner, or perhaps because I was starting to show in summer (when clothes are a bit more revealing), I began to wear proper `maternity clothes` sooner too.


I stocked up on the basics (a pair of maternity jeans, and 3-4 short sleeved maternity t-shirts) at H and M which has a maternity section in their Shinsaibashi store, as well as a good selection online (here).

I also kept wearing my maxi skirts, so didn`t have to buy much more until the cooler weather hit! In Autumn, I bought a couple of long sleeved tops and some maternity tights/leggings on sale at H and M, some supportive maternity underwear from Wacoal and Nishimatsuya, and a cute long sleeved sweatshirt on Etsy (here).

I`ve been wearing my long cardigans (coat-igans?) from last season too, which look great with the bump!

Some other places to buy maternity clothes in Osaka (and perhaps in other parts of Japan are listed below), happy shopping!
Here goes...

CHEAP (good for basics)

Mu…
Read more

Where to buy baby clothes in Osaka

I have had a few emails asking about places to buy babies` clothing in Osaka, so I thought I would start compiling a list.

Shops
Akachan Hompo (store finder here - japanese only) Nishimatsuya Toys R Us / Babies R Us (store finder here - in english!!) Next (3F of Namba Parks)
Mamas and Papas (found in Aura - 5F of Namba Parks) Zara (the Lalaport Koshien, Qs Mall, and the smaller store in Shinsaibashi are the only ones with kids clothes). H&M (the Lalaport Koshien store is the only one with kids clothes).
Muji (store finder here - japanese only)
GAP (store finder here - japanese only)

Department stores
Daimaru Shinsaibashi 9F
Daimaru Umeda 10F Hanshin Umeda 6F Isetan Umeda 7F Takashimaya Namba 6F Hankyu Ings B1F and B2F

Online shops
Zara Japan (english) Next Japan (english) Akasugu (japanese only)
Lemoir (japanese only)
Akachan hompo (japanese only) Rakuten (english) Amazon (english)
Mamas and Papas (Rakuten store here) 
GAP Japan (japanese only)

Do you have any other favorite stores that we can add to the lis…
Read more