Can't. Stop. Eating.

I have spent the majority of my day off in 2 places.

On the sofa watching Masterchef and in the kitchen.

What did I manage to rustle up today?

A humungous amount of Thai green curry, strawberry cupcakes and a stunning dinner of pork fillet stuffed with garlic, green onion and wild mushrooms on a bed of wilted spinach, served with nira mash and some brocolli.

It was seeeriously good! If I do say so myself - haha!

Watching Masterchef has given me so many new ideas for cooking meat. Normally I would stew pork fillet or poach or roast it, but I saw a new technique today where you wrap the fillet (or whatever other meat you're cooking) in baking paper,  twizzle the ends like a Christmas cracker and then shove it in the oven as is. I wasn't sure about doing it, so I put it on a low heat of 150 and let it do it's thing for 40 minutes.

My goodness, the meat was PERFECTLY cooked - so tender and juicy with all the juices gathered in the paper - which made for a good sauce over the top. As you unwrap the paper, the fragrant stuffing just wafts in your face and it smells AMAZING! I'm a huge garlic fan, so I added a couple of small cloves and it was just heavenly. LOVE the smell of onions and garlic together. I really enjoyed it.

Then I made some custard and had it with a couple of cupcakes for dessert. They were OK, but ended up in a variety of different shapes and were much sweeter than I was anticipating! So why did I eat them with custard? Because I didn't ice them and they're too boring on their own.

So full  now though. In between the curry lunch and pork dinner, I scoffed 3/4 a huge bar of white chocolate and some cockles. Love those things - the tiniest amount of vinegar and they are ready to eat.

Lovely jubbly.

Not looking forward to getting on the scales at the gym next week!

xoxo

Nom Nom Nom!!

I swear Masterchef is seriously starting to take over my life!

HAHAHA!!

I watch that show and then while I'm at work or in bed, I'm constantly thinking of different food combinations and recipes I wanna try!!

And it's all coming a day before I'm due to go to Costco which means I'll be able to pick up the ingredients that I need to actually make some of this stuff!! I'm so excited it's not even funny!!

After a hardcore workout in the pool, I hit up the supermarket. I have 5 supermarkets within a 20 min walk from my house. The thing is, every week the prices of fruit and veg are different in each one. The one nearest my house is suddenly really expensive, so I thought I'd pop into Seiyu today - mainly because I wanted to pick up some Asda white chocolate! I was in there and I thought I'd just have a peek at the fruit and veg before nipping to Tesco....and what a surprise I got!!

EVERYTHING was sooo much cheaper than usual!! Avocados for 78 yen and so much other stuff for under 100yen!! I completely filled my basket and then after I'd been to Tesco as well, I had to lug home 3 very full bags fo fruit and veg. Happy though, because it means that when I come back from Costco tomorrow, I'll already have all the fruit and veg I need to start cooking some awesome dishes!! Masterchef inspired of course!!! 

Absolutely loving it!

On a completely different note, I can't wait until this week is over so I can stop seeing stupid Halloween pics clog up my FB News Feed!!! Driving me crazy!!! **** Halloween! HAHA!

And on that note, I'm off to bake a cake!

xoxo

Halloween

Saturday night and I'm hiding out at home.

Why?

Not just because I'm tired but I'm just not a fan of Halloween.

I don't wanna go as far as to say I hate it, but I'm just not interested in it AT ALL. Especially not over here. It's increasing in popularity year by year, but the whole dressing up as Disney character thing drives me insane. The times when I did go to Halloween parties was the excuse I need to go out dressed in just my underwear. LOL!!

I just don't wanna be out surrounded by it. But all you who have put copious amounts of effort into your costumes, you go for it!

But for me, it's gonna be an evening of catching up with TV shows and an early night.

Rock and roll!

HAHAHA!!

xoxo

Noooooo!!!!!

PAY DAY!!!!

やった！！！！！

As soon as I finished work this morning and had my appointment, I went straight to Marunouchi...and into Burberry.

I was all set to buy that coat I was raging about earlier in the month. I picked it up, tried it on and probably spent about 15 minutes posing in front of the mirror. It looked AMAZING!!! Hate to be arrogant but seriously, anyone could put on that coat and looked good. It clung in all the right places, was the perfect length AND the perfect thickness. Thick enough to keep you warm, but not so thick that you'd be sweating bullets on the train in winter thanks to the insane heating. The colour, the cut - everything was stunning. There was no way I was leaving the store without it.

Grinning from ear-to-ear I reached into my Coach, pulled out my Gucci (label whore, much?!?!) and was heading to the till to pay. I had already decided that 200,000yen would be acceptable for the coat. I had no idea why I thought it cost that, but I did.

On the way to the till, I realised that I hadn't actually checked the price and about 10 metres from the till decided that it would be a good idea to do so.

And then my heart broke.

That stunning piece costs a whopping 495,000yen!!!!

NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!

The thing is, I CAN afford it. And even though I would have some cash left over, it would be another month scrimping and being tight. I've just managed to survive October on 40,000yen and I don't wanna go through that again.

Actually, what am I talking about - it wasn't even that bad!! Perfectly doable without sacrificing nights out.

Anyway, the point is, as much as I do love my brands, not even I can justify spending that much on a coat. My friends already thought that 200,000yen was pushing it and I disagreed. But nearly half a million on a coat - that's just a little too expensive for me. I'm not a rich girl you know!!

However if someone wanted to buy if for me, naturally I wouldn't stop them! HAHAHA! Looks like I need to find a sugar daddy!!

Gutted.

xoxo

 

Pay Day!!!!

Nyyyaaaaaa!!!!!

Tomorrow is pay day!!!!

I'm so damn excited because it means that I can FINALLY go to Costco!! Man, I am so gonna wipe everything off the shelves in there - MEAT, CHEESE, CEREAL and this time I'm gonna stock up on a crap load of baking stuff and treat myself to a whole loada sweets and crisps. I'm totally allowed since I didn't last time.

Mustn't go too mad mind you...need to put some cash aside for my trip to NZ. So my mammoth shopping spree for new clothes is gonna have to be toned down....maybe. (^_-)

Just got back from the gym - I love mornings like this in Tokyo! The sun is shining, I've got the music pumping as I walk to the gym and then 30 minutes of aqua to club classics! And to top it off, FINALLY the cute lil ol' ladies called me by my actual name today! RESULT!

They're too cute. And I never fail to be impressed by their fitness - it's far superior to mine!

Feeling great today!

xoxo

 

Drained

As October is drawing to a close, I'm feeling absolutely shattered.

Working my arse off and have a lot going on in my personal life.

So, so tired.

I tried to catch up on sleep last night. I was in bed by 10pm...and still lying there awake at 1am. When my alarm went off this morning at 5.15am, I got up and was pretty much walking around with my eyes half closed - such a mission to wake up.

But no early night tonight either - I'm heading to take my girl out for a very special belated birthday dinner. It's rare that we can both find a gap in our schedules, so when she mailed me yesterday to tell me that she suddenly had the day off, even though all I want to do tonight is just mooch around, I couldn't say no. Only because her birthday was in September and we both have an insanely busy November lined up.

I promised I would take her somewhere really nice as well, so we're heading to a very plush joint in Ebisu. I know it's gonna be great - I just wish I had a bit more genki in me right now.

There's just too much that has happened this month to go into everything. I realised as well that it's exactly 2 months until I arrive in NZ - really need to start looking into what I'm gonna be doing when I get there. Time is just disappearing in the blink of an eye.

On a completely different note - the X Factor results this week? WTF?! Rylan and Jade completely sucked on Saturday night - how they managed to escape the sing off ahead of MK1 and Kye is mind boggling. My support for Rylan disappeared last week - his performances are now making me cringe...although I LOVE the fashion!! And Jade? Well, naturally she has an awesome name and I DO love the tone of her voice, but I just find her so damn dull to watch!! I haven't enjoyed ANY of her performances in the live shows yet. Just goes to show that you never know what will happen.

Who am I backing this week?

James Arthur.

Undeniable talent.

xoxo

 

Run, Run, Run!!

So I told you last week I discovered a forest with a jogging course behind my house.

This morning I decided to check it out.

I got all decked out in my Stella McCartney for Adidas gear (OK, fine my trainers were Nike!!!) and headed out. 

I didn't actually do that bad - the course is only 500m a lap and I went for 20 minutes straight with trance blaring out of my iPod.

My God I hated every single second!!! I will never understand this running for fun lark. When I was younger I actually did a lot of long distance running, but as age and laziness has taken its toll, I just can't do it anymore. Give me an hour of intensive aerobics any day over running. It's so....boring!! It's funny though, coz I can easily walk for hours. I just hate running!!!

So why did I do it?!

Well, in NZ this winter I'm planning on doing a lot of hiking and I really need to get my fitness in check before I go. I don't have time to go to my aqua boxing class before work so I figured I'd go for a run instead. I'm still considering cutting it fine into work to make the aqua class - it's way more rewarding than running. I'll see how I feel in about 30 minutes.

Respect to all you runners/joggers out there!! I don't know how you do it!!

xoxo

Well Done UK!!

I've just watched the results from the second live show of the X Factor.

The public got it so right this week! Not necessarily with the bottom two - I mean, I love District 3's vocals - they are absolutely stunning - but with sending Melanie home.

I've never really been a fan. She does have a good voice and she can sing, but I just felt like she screamed her way through every performance with her power notes. Look at Ella and Jahmene - both of them have power notes and can deliver an amazing performance without the screaming so I never really enjoyed any of her performances.

And like Carolynne, even if she had stayed in the competition, she would never have won. That's the truth of it.

I've had a really chilled weekend. Given the fact that I'm trying to hold out until pay day, I'm saving the little cash I have for next weekend. My girl is coming down from Saitama and my other girl is coming over from Nagoya and a few other Tokyo peeps are gonna hit up my place and then we're all heading out to ageHa!!

Really looking forward to it - it's gonna be a Friday so I'm gonna be able to get my dancehall groove on!!!! Yay!

Roll on Friday! Hang on a sec...it's only Monday!! =(

xoxo

If You Go Down To The Woods Today...

....you most definitely are sure of a big surprise.......

.....a huge bite on your arse!!

HAHAHAHAHHA!!!

My girl hit me up this morning and asked me if I wanted to go on a picnic lunch. I'd just come back from the gym and thought it would be kinda nice to spend the afternoon outside.

She mails me and tells me that she'll meet me at Ekoda-mori.

Huh?!?!?!

Where?!?!?

She's like "えええええええええ？？？？ウソでしょう？"

Me: Ummmmmmmmm

Her: ジェイドの家の裏だよ！！！！！(It's behind your house)

Me: Huhhhhhhh???!!?!?!?!?!

I've been living in this house for 3 years and I have NEVER walked down the road that goes behind my house. I've never had to and I've never really gone exploring down that way. Even when I went exploring when I first moved in, I always walked the other way for some reason.

But sure enough, I walked down there and there is this huge park and forest!!! It's so pretty I could also kick myself for never having walked down there before. And on top of that, there is a jogging course!!!

Now you all know how much I hate jogging and the last time I did it was along the main road. But this is away from the road and the course goes around the park. Wouldn't do it at night but I'm considering giving it a bash. It's only short and literally less than a 5 minute walk from my house so I can bail out and go home easily! LOL!

We set up and enjoyed a really cute lil lunch and caught up. She is one of the first people I met when I came to Tokyo 3 years ago and we've been good friends ever since. She works her arse off, I work my arse off so it's hard for us to find a lot of time to spend together, but it's great because when we do, we always have such a fun time. She's hilarious and her inability to use a camping stove had me in stitches all afternoon.

Great afternoon in the woods. I was a bit worried because when I hit the gym this morning it was kinda cold and looked like it was gonna rain, but it held off and actually became really warm as the sun came out. Streaming between the trees, it was so gorgeous to be having a picnic.

I came home and called London to check on my grandad. It's not good news and it pains me to know that this is going to be a long and drawn out affair. It's hard for my family and even harder for him to know that he will suffer so much before he goes. I've offered to go home but my mum said there's nothing I can do there. My grandad knows that I'm in Tokyo and I've been sending him cards and letters which my mum said really cheer him up. But I told her, the second he starts asking where I am or if he starts asking to see me, I'm going back.

Trying to stay positive.

xoxo

It's Back!

Nothing like a bit of American drama to make you appreciate that your life really isn't as bad as you think it is! 


Now I'm thinking about my nan with a smile instead of sadness.

Gossip Girl is back!

I get totally absorbed in that show. That kind of life is something that I'll never understand...not that I necessarily want to but I just love it.

And this season is looking very promising indeed.

Scandal, scandal, scandal.

Love it.

xoxo

 

R.I.P

Today is the fifth anniversary of my nan's death.

And with my grandad still in hospital and deteriorating at a painfully slow rate, it makes the sense of loss even harder to deal with today. I always thought that as the years go by, the pain would subside just a little, but it hasn't. =(

When my nan passed, I was left a whole load of jewellery. I wear a piece every single day, so there isn't a day where I dont' think about her. She was a stylish lady back in the day with the most unbelievable collection of shoes.....which never fit me. Not that I'm complaining - I'm glad that size 8 feet didn't get passed down through the generations!!!

It's just kinda hard being here knowing that every day my family are getting physically and mentally drained taking care of my grandad. I'm not even sure he's going to remember what day it is today.

I miss my nan.

Gone but never forgotten.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

 

LOL

Today I went to work with my hair tied up.

Sure, I very rarely tie my hair up, but I didn't think anything of it this morning.

When I went out my house, so many people I encountered today commented on my hair...starting with the guy at the station followed by coworkers and clients. I didn't even do anything special with it - just scraped it up into a chignon.

HAHAHAHA! Highly amusing! I had no idea that I looked THAT different with it tied up!!

Just finished watching the first results show of the X Factor.

I have no idea why people are surprised Carolynne was in the bottom. At the end of the day, even though she has a great voice, her performance of that Nicki Minaj song was just horrible and people like her NEVER go all the way in the UK show. There is absolutely nothing original about her voice and she's up against so many more amazing singers who have their own thing going on.

Feeling well sorry for Rylan - the press are gonna rip him to shreds!!! What people forget is that he DIDN'T receive the lowest number of votes so people should give the guy a break!!! Not that he's gonna last much longer with the standard of talent being so high mind you.

xoxo



 

The Most Talented Year Ever?!

Oh my dayz!!!

I've just finished watching the first live show of the X Factor 2012.

Even though I'm a ltitle gutted Amy didn't get voted back in, there's no denying how much talent is on the show this year. I truly think this is pretty much the most talented year EVER.

I started watching more religiously after Leona won back in the day. She is by far the most successful artist to come out of the show....but One Direction are right on her heels, smashing it on both sides of the pond.

I have 5 very strong favourites this year. Based on the performances last night alone, the front runner is easily Ella. My goodness, she absolutely SMASHED SMASHED SMASHED Take That's "Rule the World" in an absolutely stunning and faultless performance. I just love watching her - she takes my breath away.

Other strong faves include Jahmene, James Arthur and Kae. Jahmene has an incredible voice and is easily the best male vocalist, but both James and Kae have amazing tones and so, so talented as artists. They are gonna be absolute superstars after this.

MK1 have it for me. Super modern, super urban - I'm not sure we've seen someone like them before. I love the rap - it's always on point and I'm excited to see how far they're gonna go. 

Since we're talking about the groups - Union J. Complete and utter cack. I thought before that Louis had made a mistake with the groups - he only choice this one coz they're 4 young boys and he's heavily reliant on the girls voting for them. He would have done so much better with one of the other original acts or that older (and extremely hot) boyband. Worst performance of the night, followed very closely by Carolynne. 

Trying to make Nicki Minaj country?! Oh dear, that was a mistake. And a very boring performance. Hated it.

Speaking of boring perfomances - Chris. I LOVE him - he's adorable and he has an amazing voice but that performance was soooo cheesy and dull. I hope Gary does better things for him next week. I feel like Gary has the  weekest category. Kae is great, but that Melanie? She has a very powerful voice, but she literally screams her way through all of her performances and it gets boring to watch. Not to mention that I'm really not feeling her style. oh well - each to their own. Not sure how far she's gonna go in the competition when she's up against much cooler and fresher acts.

Disappointed in Lucy last night. That's all I have to say about that. 

And Rylan. Oh Rylan. Hands down THE FUNNIEST REACTION I have ever seen to being told someone's made the live shows EVER. Effing HILARIOUS!!! Yah, he's not the best vocalist but I LOVE him!!! Not to mention that he's absolutely GORGEOUS (yeah, I don't care that he's gay!!!) and I just LOVE his sense of style. Absolutely HATED the performance last night though. he could be in trouble after that.

Love, love, loving it! Excited for the results show tomorrow!!!

xoxo

Fiercely Real

I've just watched the final of BINTM.

AT LAST!!!!

A girl with REAL effing curves has finally taken the crown!!!

In both BINTM and ANTM there are always plus size or curvier girls in the line up. But the sad truth is, no matter how much everyone gives them respect for being "fiercely real", in the real world of modelling, at the end of the day they are just too busty or too big. That's just how it is.

The girl that took the BINTM crown is absolutely, insanely, shockingly stunning. She actually kinda looks like Angelina Jolie and you can't help but be absolutely fixated by her. But not only is she stunning, she has a huge chest!!!! Like seriously!!! And it's nice to see that she was able to break out of the glamour model mode and be taken seriously as a high fashion model.

Good for her!!

Not only that, but the other girl in the final had as much personality as a plank of wood so I'm glad she didn't win!!! You can't deny how stunning she was, but she just sent me to sleep week after week.

It gives aspiring models hope that the industry is changing and we could be (hopefully) saying goodbye to size 0 models on the catwalk. 

Who DOESN'T love boobs anyway?!?!

A deserving winner. If you wanna see what I mean, check out BINTM Season 8. Her name is Leticia.

Stunning.

xoxo

What's In A Picture?

**Grrrriiiiinnnnnn**

My day started off so crappily....and then late this morning the first smile of the day was put on my face....

...by a pro footballer. =)

All women living here know that insanely hot J-guys are few and far between. And the other girl that was also lucky enough to be in close proximity to this fine creation totally agreed. Only for window shopping though - he's married. =(

HOW hot?!?!?!?!

This was another 6ft 1 +, buff, tanned, jaw droppingly sexy guy with a few ADORABLE freckles!!! And not that it matters, but he was decked out in Tims and a Rolex.

Niiiiccccceeeee.


So naturally, as soon as we say goodbye, my instinct is to google him and find out everything. I was stunned when I saw his pics - is that the same guy?!?!?!?! If I had to go by that pic alone, I wouldn't batter an eyelid.

Pah - I know all too well that I don't photograph very well either. It just goes to show that you can't go by pictures of people! Either they photograph badly and look better in real life, or they're lucky enough to be photogenic....and then don't quite live up to expectations in real life.

I'll take the bad photo anyday if I get that kind of surprise!! HAHA!

xoxo

One Lazy Day Off

I haven't had a day off where I've literally done nothing for ages.

I was up early with the intention of going to the gym....until I realised I hadn't washed either of my swimming costumes. Weak, I know, but it is what it is.

So this morning I was just chilling out on the sofa messing around on FB....and then I was overtaken by this massive urge to sift through my friend's list. I ended up cutting about 80 people from the list. I mean, seriously, what's the point in keeping people who have deactivated their account, or people that you dont' even speak to? There were people in there that I didn't even remember. Delete, delete, delete. I need to keep going but I got bored so I'm saving the rest for another day.

And then I started to go on a HIMYM marathon....until a wave of sleepiness washed over and I decided to go back to bed. It's after 1pm now and I've just gotten back up. Sounds gross, but actually that nap was only about an hour or an hour and a half.

Why I get up so early on my rare days off I have no idea.

Now it's back to HIMYM and then more planning for my trip to New Zealand!

What a fantabulously lazy day off.

xoxo