Nori = Seaweed

Beautiful sheets of Nori aka 'seaweed' by Design Nori for  Umino Seaweed Shop .

What will they lasercut next?

Scrap fabric made beautiful

I can't seem to throw away remnants of beautiful fabric.
Here's a few things I've turned them into in the past....

embroidered denim

Japanese fabric 

hand dyed cotton fabric 

waste tie turned mens bracelet

Red Wagon Makeover

A friend of mine wanted to borrow our little red wagon for her sister's wedding for the ring bearer to ride in....isn't that a cute idea? Although the wagon was used only a mere two times to haul my then toddler children through the grounds of the Los Angeles County Fair, it was in no condition to make an appearance in a wedding! It sat outdoors and I was using it as a garden cart to hold my empty pots and gardening tools. The paint was chipping off, and the interior was just awful!
However, after a good scrub, some sanding, and a  fresh coat of paint, I must say it looks pretty good!

Mini Curio Cabinet Makeover

We bought this mini curio cabinet before my first daughter was born, which was like 8 years ago.
I never really loved it, but it happened to be the right size and budget ($50) at the time we purchased it.
I currently use this to store my vintage collection of mugs. I finally got around to painting and refinishing it this weekend. Here's the before and after photos....

Namitatsu clothing - Japan

For the past few years, my amazing Aunt Miho from Japan has been sending our whole family Namitatsu T-shirts (made in Japan), knowing that we love to rock a modern take on Japanese motif fashion. The shirts are well made using high quality materials with nicely screen printed designs and beautiful touches of embroidery work. We love the shirts by Namitatsu which the direct translation means "wave rider".

Jason in  Men's Koi Nobori print

Maya in  kids Sakura print

Jaxon in Koi Nobori print

 Check out all the designs here.

for Maya

My little girl turns 8 tomorrow and I wanted to make her a special hair accessory!

Humble Potato

I can't wait to try Humble Potato! Opening this Friday October 26, 2012.
They tout American comfort food with a Japanese kick.

Shichimi, garlic & parmesan fries....Yum!

A Somen Salad Recipe

Sōmen are very thin--less than 1.3 mm in diameter--white Japanese noodles made of wheat flour.  Sōmen are usually served cold with a light flavored dipping sauce or tsuyu. In the summer, sōmen chilled with ice is a popular meal to help stay cool. In Hawaii, they make what they call a "somen salad". Here is my version of a somen salad.

Note: Feel free to double the dressing recipe as needed. Add water to dressing for desired strength.