(Aya) Stess relief...

Aya:

Ever since I started my own business, I've been working non-stop. I'm not supposed to work 24/7 but I couldn't help because I simply love my work. I've always thought that's a good thing -thinking about work all the time, replying to emails right away, returning calls as soon as I notice the voice messages. I knew that my clients were happy and so was I.

But recently I had to deal with some difficult clients and that affected my mood pretty badly. It actually led to make me feel mentally and physically exhausted. I was extremely in bad mood and kept telling my bf and close friends what went wrong everyday. They tried to cheer me up (which was so kind of them) but I knew it was temporary solution because I had to find a way to deal with the problem on my own as well. So... I began thinking why this whole thing happened.

I'm pretty sure that the biggest reason is because I stopped going to the gym right after I caught a cold in January. Prior to that I used to go to gym in early morning for four times a week. I was more energetic and happy back then. My plan now is to get back into my gym routine again from next week. Also, I decided to get an oil massage from Yuka at least 2 times a month. I used to enjoy that a lot before too.

Now let's talk about the stuff that makes me feel relaxed at the end of the long day.

I love candles. I especially love Bath and Body Works candles. I buy tons of them whenever I catch them on sale. Normally I lit different candles for different purposes (work or relax). My current favourite is the sweet pea candles. They smell so nice and make me feel calm. They are my night candles.

I recently discovered that this tea is amazing. When I eat out, I normally order a cup of tea (earl grey) and I was served this tea few times in different restaurants. The smell was fantastic and tasted rich. It was one of the best earl grey tea I ever had. So I took a picture of the tea and was on a mission of searching. When I found it, I was excited cause I didn't have to go to the restaurant to enjoy it! If you are a tea lover, give this a try. Nothing is better than a cup of flavourful tea at the end of the day. (I have to be careful though because it makes me feel zzz after having it everytime!)

These are my recent discoveries as well. Bath and Body Works has a line called aromatherapy. They make products that would help you feel calm and relaxed. I have tons of their signature line products but I had never looked into the aromatherapy line so I was sniffing some of them to see what they are like. I was impressed because some of them smelled very good -I could tell that they would help me to fall asleep so I picked up the massage oil (so that Yuka can use it on me) and the pillow mist. Massage oil made me feel like I was in heaven when Yuka used it on me -she kept saying it smelled amazing and she loved it. Pillow mist was something I had never tried but I am so glad that I bought it. It makes me fall asleep in two seconds because the scent of it helps me to feel relaxed and release tension on my body. Great product -I highly recommend it.

This book contains 100 short stories that would help you to see things differently. My bf and I have been reading few stories out loud to each other before zzz and I think it has been helping us. I love hearing him read and I can tell that he is enjoying it when I read as well. Stories are kept short and simple. Sometimes we discuss about the story after reading. I am hoping that this book will help me to handle situation better when I go through hardships in the future.

That's about it. I will continue to look for things that would help me to relax and calm :)

(Aya) Recent haul #1

Aya:

I have to admit. I have been buying stuff.

Macbook Air 13"

I work from home and my work hours are a bit crazy (six days a week, approximately 10 hours a day). So it's probably the biggest challenge to me when it comes to how to separate work and personal life. A friend of mine recently told me that she has been doing her work at this cafe in Toronto where there is free wifi and serve a delicious pumpkin soup. I went there to work on my "document day" recently and totally loved it (document day is the day I work on documents instead of meeting with my clients). I only wished that I had a laptop instead of my work phone (BB) and the personal phone (iPhone). I do have an iPad too but I realized that it is great for using in bed while watching movie, youtube, and browsing but definitely not for work.

I love my new toy. It's sleek and pretty. It's light. This is my first Mac so I had to learn how to right click on the touch pad. Things are so different in Mac... but totally worth it. I am loving the experience. Now I can update the blog anytime I want with this new laptop (which I should name it).

MacBook Air買っちゃいました。
家で仕事をしているので、気分転換に書類処理をカフェでできたらいいなーと思っていた時に友人が「いいカフェがあるよ」と教えてくれ、行ってみたら最高。Wifiはフリーだし、かぼちゃのスープは美味しいしでもうこれはここで仕事するしかないでしょ、と思い買ってしまいました。薄くて、軽くて最高。今までWindowsしか使ったことがなくて戸惑ったけれど、だんだん慣れてきました。これでブログも手軽にアップデートできそう！

Physician's Formula Nude Palette

When I saw this on some people's blogs, I was thinking it wasn't cute. But when I saw the actual product at the drugstore, I had to get it. The packaging is unique and the eyeshadow colours are nice and neutral (right on my alley).  I have been using this recently for work look and I like it a lot. Nice and compact neutral palette with a cute twist :)

パッケージの可愛さにどうしても拒否できなくて買ってしまったアイシャドウ。ふたの周りに網タイツ？みたいなものがついてて可愛い〜。アイシャドウもニュートラルな色でとってもいいです。仕事で最近使用してます。

L'oreal Extra Intense Liquid Pencil Eyeliner

I love to experiment on different eyeliners. I bought this one because of the word "extra intense". They are right -the colour IS very intense and extremely creamy as well. In fact, too creamy so everything was transferred to my under eye in few hours after smudging it with black eyeshadow as always. I looked like a raccoon. This is a no-no product for my eye shape.

これは‥‥はずれ商品。アイライナーは色々なものを試してみるのが好きで、これはパッケージに書いてあった謳い文句に見事に買わされてしまったもの。でもペンが柔らかすぎてアイシャドウでぼかしたにもかかわらず数時間でパンダ目に。全部目の下に移ってました（泣）

Prestige My Blackest Lashes Mascara (left)
Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express Mascara (right)

I think Yuka is turning me into a mascara junkie. I know she uses at least 5 or 6 mascaras everyday to make her lashes "perfect" but I've always been using one mascara at a time. She has been teaching me what kind of mascaras to look for -and currently I am testing these two. They are pretty good so far. Prestige one makes my lashes look long and Maybelline one gives my lashes a volume. Drugstore mascaras are getting better and better in my opinion.

ゆかちゃんがマスカラを５、６本使うのを見ていてすっごく驚きました。私はずっと一本使い（というかそれが普通だと思ってた）だったので彼女のマスカラに対する情熱にビックリ。私にどんなマスカラを買うべきか熱弁してくれます。今はこの二つをお試し中。なかなかどっちもいいです。ドラッグストアマスカラがどんどん優秀になってきてる気がします。

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I actually bought tons more... I guess I should separate the post as this is getting long :p

(Aya) Possibly my HG fragrance!

Aya:

I admit. I am addicted to perfumes. I have way too many of them now. It's hard to believe that I have that many perfumes and I enjoy each and every one of them.

Yuka and I were checking out our favourite shops when we went out recently. I wasn't looking for anything in particular on that day, so I was just browsing through the stores we normally drop by. Banana Republic was one of them.

When I got into the store, I smelled something EXTREMELY good. I asked Yuka what it was and she said she didn't know. I started walking through the store sniffing around like a dog trying to find where the smell was coming from. Then I found it in the corner of the store -it was their new perfume called Banana Republic Wildbloom Vert. It just smelled like heaven around the corner of the store. Then I was thinking... no... I have so many perfumes. I shouldn't buy more. I can hardly ever go through the ones I already have.

So I just had a spritz on my wrist and left the store. While Yuka and I were having dinner, I kept smelling my wrist and saying "so good". She said "you've said that so many times already." By the time we are done with the dinner, I knew that I had to go back and get the perfume. It just made me feel like I was in heaven.

I am not good at describing scents so excuse me -it smells very light and fresh. It smells fruity so I think it's perfect for spring and summer. I would follow a person and ask what she is wearing if I pass by and smelled this perfume. Yes, it smells that good so please give it a try at the store if you found it.

Banana Republic Wildbloom Vert

Banana Republicにお買い物へ行った時に、入った瞬間お店の中がものすごくいい匂いでびっくり。その匂いの先を探していたらお店の隅にこの香水が並んでいました。お店の人が「新発売の香水よー」と言っていました。最近香水を買うことが多いので今回はパスしようと思い、とりあえず手首にシュッと吹きかけてお店を出ました。でもその後ずーーーっと手首から香る匂いにうっとりしてしまい、これは買わなくちゃと思い、結局買ったのでした。

さわやかな、春らしい匂いです。フルーツの香り？がします。街でこれをしている人とすれ違ったら後を追いたくなるような匂いです。お店で見たかけたら是非お試しを。

(Aya) Optimum Points Haul

Aya:

Shoppers had a "biggest beauty event" of the year -they let people purchase $200 worth of cosmetics with just 80,000 optimum points. I knew I had 92,000 points so I decided to take advantage of it (of course). Here are the things I picked up.

-Lancome Color Design Palette in 100 Taupe Craze
-Benefit Brow Zings in Medium
-Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in 30 Candy Coral
-L'oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadow in 015 Flashback Silver
-Christian Dior Addict Lipstick in 535 Tailleur Bar
-Nivea Visage Vital Teint Complexion Optimal Anti-Age Soy Eye Care Cream
-Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 53 Beige Clair

I will review them individually. I actually went overboard and picked 270 dollars of products and I had to give up some items (such as Christian Dior Amber Diamond). I feel like I didn't buy that many products but that is because I bought the Lancome Color Design palette I think. It is fdjkaljfklda expensive but I couldn't let it go -it looks gorgeous!

Now I have to start collecting optimum points again.


ShoppersのOptimum Pointイベントで200ドル分の化粧品を購入。どれもこれも欲しいと思っていたものだけど、思ったより商品の数が少なくてがっかり。もっと買いたかったけれど270ドルになってしまったので、MacのSoft and Gentleがあるからいらないと自分に言い聞かせてDiorのハイライト（Amber Diamond）を我慢。数が少なかったのはLancomeのパレットのせいです（怒）。でもとーっても綺麗な色なのではずせませんでした。それぞれ使用感等を個別にReviewする予定です。

またOptimum points集めに励みます。

(Yuka) Spring!!

Yuka:
Forever 21 恐るべし。最近お洋服はここでしか購入してない気さえします。

春色longジャケット。これは、ちょっと前だけど上戸彩ちゃんが出てた「絶対零度」と言うドラマで着てたlongジャケットがずーっと気になっていて、ついにforever 21で発見！チノパンと綺麗めパンプスや、ショートパンツと春色パンプス何かでも良さそう♪今春はヘビロテだろうな。

2着目もforever21.ペイズリー柄が私の中で今1番の流行り。しかも柔らかいピンクなので、春先にとっても良さそう。綺麗めカジュアルを目指してる私のこの春マストアイテムとなりそうです。

3着目も同じく。とっても鮮やかなグリーンのトップス。何と言っても色が綺麗めなのと肩の飾りがbowになってます！日本で買おうと思ったら(SHIPSやら、他のブランド)絶対¥5000〜¥7000くらいするんじゃないかな～。$20くらいでget！！


I think all my clothes that I have been buying recently are all from Forever 21. They are fantastic.

I was thinking about getting a spring, long length jacket because I've seen the actress from the Japanese drama was wearing one. I finally found a similar one at F21! I would be wearing this a lot in this spring.

The second item was from F21. Currently I am into paisley motif :) This shirt is a soft, pink coloured shirt so it would be perfect for spring as well.

The third item was also from F21. It's a bright green top with a bow on the shoulder! This kind of top would be sold in Japan for at least $50 to %70 USD for sure. I got this for $20 bucks!

(Aya) Haul #2

Aya:

As I mentioned in the previous post, I went on shopping with Yuka the other day. I bought some clothes -mostly from F21 except for the scarf.

F21 x Rory Beca Collection shirt. I had been keeping an eye on this piece for a week or so and I just couldn't take it. I am loving the colour of it -grayish off white, black, blue and pink... it's casual and feminine look in my opinion.

Forever 21とRory Becaがコラボしたコレクションの一品。1週間くらい買おうかどうしようか迷った末、やっぱりこの色の取り合わせとデザインが忘れられなくて買いました。女の子っぽくて好き。

I was looking for a lacy white shirt for a while but I couldn't find a perfect one. Most of the ones I saw looked cheap because of the materials. This one stood out to me because it's not really a lace but it's got that "light" look to it. I can actually see a fine silver thread across the shirt (you cannot see it unless you try to see it though). I wore this with charcoal gray cardigan with long gold necklace the other day and received a lot of compliments :)

白いレースのトップをずっと探していて、でも見るもの見るもの全部素材が安っぽくて半ば諦めかけていた時に発見したトップ。レースではないけれど、レースのような、軽い感じの素材に一目ぼれ。よーく見るとシルバーの糸が生地に入っていて可愛い。沢山の人に褒められました。

This scarf is the only item that is not from F21. There are tons of scarves in my closet but none that looks like this -which is a lime green, chiffon, extremely soft scarf. The length is quite long but I like it because I like to wrap the scarf loose or twice around my neck when I wear a jacket. The weather is getting warmer (hopefully) so this would be perfect for coming season.

このスカーフだけ今回Forever 21以外のお店で買ったもの。スカーフは沢山持っているけれど、ライムグリーンは持っていなかったので買いました。生地はとっても柔らかく、大きめなのでゆるく巻いたり、2度巻きでもOK。顔が明るくなります。

Polka dots is something I cannot resist. When I saw this shirt, I immediately thought about wearing it under the boyfriend blazer. I like how the polka dots pattern is random as supposed to even spaced (if that makes sense...). A little pocket is cute too!

水玉はどうしても見ると買ってしまうのですが、このトップは黒いジャケットの下に着たらよさそうと思って買いました。水玉の間隔がランダムでいい感じです。

This shirt is totally out of my comfort zone but I thought I would give it a try. I am thinking about wearing it with wide jeans with flat ballet shoes (a bit of hippie-ish style?). Hopefully I would look good in it :p

このトップは私が普段着る洋服とまーったくかけ離れた感じのトップなのですが、新しいものに挑戦するのもいいかなと思って買いました。ワイドなジーンズ、フラットシューズと一緒に来てちょっとだけヒッピーな感じで着ようかなと思っています。

Now THIS is something I normally prefer to wear. I always look for a girly, flow-y, feminine shirt when I go to F21. It's hard to tell because of the hanger but this shirt actually has a square cut neck and I love it a lot. I recently wore this shirt with a necklace I bought the other day from Etsy.

女の子らしい、淡い色で柔らかい生地の洋服が好きです。ハンガーにかけているので分かりづらいのですが、このトップは首周りが四角なので◎。先日Etsyで買ったネックレスと一緒に着ました。

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This is the first time making a post about the clothing haul -it was quite fun actually. I am expecting to receive some deliveries this week so I will post more for sure :)

(Aya) Haul!

Aya:

I was craving for shopping. I have been way too busy working so I needed a break from it. Yuka and I decided to go on a "weekday shopping" this week -and we ended up buying tons of good stuff!

I wasn't planning to buy shoes. But when I saw this pair I remembered that I have always been looking for a perfect leopard ballet shoes. They looked so pretty and I had to take them home. The best part was the price -it was $30 off from the original price and 40% off on top of that. Isn't that a steal?

I ended up buying this pair as well. They are girly and I love anything girly! Most of my flat ballet shoes are black colour so I decided to try something new. I've already worn them to the french restaurant dinner with my bf the other night and loved how they looked.

Yuka and I found this cute store accidentally and apparently they had a great selection of accessories. She bought a dainty, delicate looking necklace that the mannequin was wearing and I bought a big chunk of bracelet. This bracelet makes my wrist look thin :p The anchor necklace was something I found at F21. I am looking forward to wearing it in summer!

This isn't the end of my haul -more to come.


仕事が忙しくて気晴らしに平日の昼間にショッピング。どこへ行ってもガラガラで最高な一日でした。靴二足（本当にびっくりするような値段）とアクセサリー、洋服も沢山買って本当に大満足。Yukaちゃんも可愛い洋服やアクセサリーを見つけてたので二人とも上機嫌。やっぱりお買い物は平日に限ります。また行きたいな。

上に載せた写真以外にも沢山お買い物をしたので今度は洋服をアップする予定です :)