New MT Tapes! {Tokyo shopping}

I am finally able to share some pictures of the MT tapes I bought last weekend in a small shop in Ark Hills. I feel that my collection will increase at a fast pace here in Tokyo! I had never seen this pattern {photo below, on the left hand side} in Singapore, I wonder if it's a special edition...?

I will soon start crafting with them, and embellish my mails {I love writing letters and sending pretty cards - how about you?}. Another thing that I plan to continue since I moved back here is most certainly my stationery collection. There are so many pretty paper and cards in Japan!

Stay tuned!!

Coup de Coeur!

Happy Monday!

I am glad to start my week which a gorgeous find on Etsy... It's the little things that make us happy, right? Well today I am falling for this statement necklace by Hitokoo. Gorgeous, right?

Screen-printed and stuffed gem necklace - CAD$75 

I wish you all a very lovely week, I can't wait to move in our new home and discover all about our new neighborhood!

A plus!

My Tokyo Diary {Week 3}

It will soon be a month that we've moved to Japan! The past week was easier that the previous ones, I am slowly getting control over my life again... I am really looking forward to the coming week though, as we should move in in our new home, and I will share that with you all as soon as possible. You will love it!

Here below are some images taken with my iPhone 4 and edited with Instagram {if you want to say hello, connect with etincellestudio on Instagram}

Day #1: It was last Sunday, Mother's day in Japan and in some other parts of the world... We didn't do anything special to be honest, but I treated myself with a Mont-Blanc {it's my favorite dessert} from French restaurant Aux Bacchanales in Ark Hills. It was light with just the right amount of crew, pastry and chestnut, miam!

We then headed to Ginza in the afternoon, after the kids' nap, to wander and RE-discover the area.
We HAD to go to the food floor of Mitsukoshi Ginza, as it's one of the most amazing ones in Tokyo. We bought a few snacks, including the colorful balls below {no idea what the name is...}. I also tasted wonderful croissants! There are bread shops all over the city, and believe me or not {I'm French and I know a lot about bread}, all what I have tasted so far is exceptional.

Day #2: Weekends pass by too fast, and Monday was here in no time. Nothing special to highlight, apart from a photo of Chloé's creations in play dough. She's the sweetest girl when she wants!

Day #3: I am eating light these days, whether I am lazy or too tired to cook in the evening. Plus I am either eating with my fussy kids, or by myself {hubby works very late every day}. I really can't be bothered to cook at the moment. On a side note, we've been eating "real" tomatoes again => I mean by that tomatoes with "real" taste :-)

Day #4: We did a lot of things on Thursday; we spent a bit of time at the Aoyama Book Center in Roppongi Hills in the morning as I wanted to get new books for the kids, and also have a look at the Japanese magazines {they are fantastic!}. I got the mag below for myself, Alice in Wonderland for Chloé and Where is Charlie? for Mathias {but everyone else enjoys it}.

In the afternoon I brought the kids to the Yoyogi park again, I love the trees with their brand new leaves, and the peace and quiet of weekdays. The park is indeed buzzing with people on weekends.

We ended up at my favorite place in Omotesando to eat gyoza. I don't know the address, but I will try to get a photo of the restaurant + the address or directions next time. Go there early as it's always full!

Day #5: Loads of fun last Friday! We were out the whole afternoon, coming back home super late, which is very rare actually. We first headed to the Robot park in Roppongi Hills, my kids' favorite. We spent far too much time in there, as many many children arrived just when we were about to leave and mine insisted to stay "a bit longer".

When we were finally able to leave, we stumbled upon the LEGO shop at B2 floor of Roppongi Hills. What a haven for lego lovers {like me!}. I felt like a kid again, and would have bought almost the entire shop. I am so happy to see how well the brand is doing, and I can't wait to indulge in legos in months/ years to come. I might even start collecting the mini figures :-)

Day #6: Saturday is market day here at Ark Hills. I hope to have an entire post on it this week {if my photos look good}. I took the photo below quite early at 8am, when the vendors were setting up their stalls. I almost felt like I was in France!

I spent the whole afternoon at my friend's house, all by myself - I left the kids to the best baby-sitter in the world: their dad! My friend offered me this gorgeous ring among other things: it makes me so happy!

Have a lovely week ahead!

Sweet Gift Thursday

My {Sweet Gift Thursday} column is back, and what's better than a pair of summery earrings to celebrate the gorgeous sun that we have today in Tokyo? I am in love with the styling of this photo too...

Dangling earrings by pawpapel on Etsy - US$12 only

My Tokyo Diary {Week 2}

Hello,

We've been in Tokyo for nearly two weeks, times flies! I have got busier and busier every day this week, visiting one school after the other. It's rather important to figure out which school will best fit the kids, while being in a nice neighborhood and within reasonable distance from work... No easy task, believe me! So not much about pretty things yet, a lot about daily life in Tokyo this week again :-)

Day #1: The sun is back, I spend the morning with the kids at ark Hills nearby. It's Sunday, there are other kids around playing and despite the language barrier, my kids still manage to make friends. It's nice to witness!

Day #2: After a morning dedicated to schools visits, we finally find out where the famous Robot Park playground of Roppongi Hills is. It's rather small, but the slides are a delight and it's sunny most of the day. Delight! We end up our afternoon with a hot chocolate at Starbucks to warm us up and give us the energy to go back home by public transport + walk. No more taxi to the rescue! Kids have been doing well lately, they {almost} don't winge anymore...

Day #3: I am suddenly craving for Japanese food, something warm that will fill me up! It must be the weather {rainy and cold}. I satisfy my crave in Kamiyacho, where I used to work. It's very close to where we currently stay, and I am there every day. It brings back old memories!

Day #4: School visits after school visits... Bento lunch purchased at noon near the office towers in Kamiyacho for 500 yen! The kids are granted a Mc Donald lunch {!} and we head to the local {mini} playground for a picnic. Then another school visit after which we spend the rest of the afternoon at the Children's Castle in Shibuya. Great great indoor playground with plenty of different types of games for all ages. Highly recommended!

Day #5: This is today actually. We are done with school visits but start with house hunting... I always make time to bring the kids to a playground and we walk a lot everyday. The weather is nice and sunny but super windy which is not so convenient. A warm and comfy dinner is in order for today and kids don't fuss to it for once: they enjoy it!


As you may understand, life is a lot about kids and being a full time mum lately, which isn't bad at all. It leaves me completely exhausted at night though which explains the lack of posts here... I hope to be able to discover more fun things in Tokyo and share them with you all. There are tons of cute shops selling completely amazing stuff. If you have been here before, you know what I am talking about. If you haven't yet, then I hope to make you dream about Tokyo!

Talk soon!
x

My Tokyo Diary {Week 1}

Woot! We have almost completed our first week in Tokyo as a family, and oh my, was it challenging at first! Mathias was not feeling well at all, it rained a lot (two entire days) and the kids have been waking up everyday at 5am {with the sun}.... EXHAUSTING!

I am now going to sleep earlier and I am learning to be patient, which is not my strongest point if you know me. I will touch base in the coming weeks with my good old friends here, so it's gonna be a lot more fun! Stay tuned...

Day #1: We are lucky to stay in the center of Tokyo, near Roppongi Hills in a lovely serviced apartment. This {above} is the view from my balcony which, you will agree, isn't that lovely... but it's only for one month so it's fine.

Day #2: I manage to make some time and start a new doll {an order placed at the last minute... I couldn't say no!} while the kids nap in the afternoon. I have almost completed the embroidery, then I will be waiting for my sewing machine to arrive {next week?} to complete it.

Day #3: Oh man, it starts raining! I am getting mad at home with two super excited kids. The photo above was taken in the morning before the rain started... Kids are moody and difficult to manage... I have taken a stroller, no scooters and the little one refuses to walk after a while which means I must carry him. I am glad the weather here is much cooler than in Singapore!

Day #4: Doing painting early in the morning... like 5:30am! Kids have been waking up with the sun ever since we arrived. Japan is the the country of the Rising Sun, right? well, it rises a bit before 5am, you bet I love it!!! I am dead tired by 10pm now...

Day #4 {bis}: Catching up with some much needed French tuitions for Chloe at cafe Doutor... while it's pouring rain outside and while Mathias takes a much needed nap. It rained all day on Thursday, but we did manage to have fun at the end of the day :-)

Day #5: As soon as the rain stops in the afternoon, we get out of the apartment and go to Harajuku, then wander in Omotesando all the way to Shibuya. This photo of Mathias was taken in a little cafe called The Fresh Burger where, well, we had delicious burgers! We also had crepes in Shibuya later on :-)

Day #6: The sun is up and shining early in the morning, finally! the sky is blue, clear and beautiful. We check out the Saturday market at Ark Hills before heading to Yoyogi Park for an afternoon of fun with friends {who live in Singapore but happen to be on holiday in Tokyo}. The kids enjoy the park, the {too many} snacks, they make new friends and manage to communicate despite the language barrier... It's great to be a kid!


How was your week?

7 Passport Holders

To close the chapter of the creations made while I was living in Singapore, here are seven passport holders in felt and hand-embroidered with beads and sequins made to order. Each piece has its owner's name hand-embroidered and each embroidery design is unique. I really enjoyed creating these pieces, I owe the idea of making passport holders to my friend Sheila. Thanks dear!

I would actually love to develop this product in leather rather than felt, I hope to be able to do so here in Tokyo! Stay tuned, and feel free to share your suggestions and ideas.
xx

My last Mini-Me dolls from Singapore

Hello,

I am back! Blogging from Japan now, lost somewhere in the huge city that is Tokyo. I am lucky enough to be in the very center of the town, which makes it easy to get around and about. However one of my children has gotten sick shortly after our arrival, and it's now raining so we are kind of stuck at home watching a lot of cartoons in Japanese {which isn't too bad to catch up with the language, right?}...

Because of a lack of time, I didn't have a chance to share with you the seven Mini-Me dolls that I made two weeks before leaving Singapore. It was a special order placed by my hubby for his female workmates {sweet, isn't it?}. Every doll is of course unique with the name of each recipient embroidered on the heart.

Do you like them all? which one is your favorite?