Spring Break Fun + LAVA Reaction Video + Suthard Wedding | #WeeklyWednesday2018

And we are (kinda sorta) finally all caught up! Yay!

This blog post covers what all happened over Spring Break (March 11 - 17), with not much else to add between then and now because classes resumed and life is boring again. With one exception, because Ash is home for break. Whee!~

I apologize in advance that there aren't very many pictures, but I wanted to be able to focus on the PEOPLE I was spending time with over the break rather than be consumed with getting pictures onto the blog (which I was technically on hiatus from anyway).

Before I get started, I want to clarify what my plan was for the visit (so that things in this post will make a bit more sense). Cassie's birthday was that Saturday and I could only leave Sunday. Her day off is Monday, so I spent Sunday evening till Tuesday morning at her place. Hannah's birthday was Tuesday, so while she was busy during the day, I made plans to catch up with Chipo and Eric before heading over to her place. She had things to do Wednesday, 1pm onward, so I had brunch with her and then headed over to Strat to stay with Ash and attempt to catch up on some homework (which failed, btw). We made our way back to C'dale Friday after her class was over to rush to Angel + David's wedding rehearsal (we were both going to be in the wedding on Saturday).

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Spring Break Travels: IN > Champaign, IL

I'm going to break this up into sections because I got to spend some GREAT quality time with some great quality folks and I'd like to make sure I do them all justice :)

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Cassie

So...after many months of not seeing her, I took the plunge and decided to take on a solid extra couple of days worth of traveling and packing for my Spring Break to visit my dear friend Cassie (who I last saw mid-late July 2017). It's amazing how you don't necessarily need to spend hours talking and talking and talking to make up for lost time when you're good friends with someone. You just...kind of spend time in each other's company, create more shared memories, talk about whatever you need to over a meal to make the most out of the time you have together, and you're good. 

We spent a hilarious amount of time binge-watching Once Upon a Time, making snarky comments at the TV and also filming YouTube videos together. Would you believe I managed to talk her into filming THREE with me (in rapid succession)? That's a record for sure. I'll make sure to update with links when they're posted.

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Chipo + Eric

I had made two new friends during my time in Champaign in December 2017, so I wanted to take the time to properly visit with them. The first one I met up with was Chipo, who is the worship leader at the church that I attended. She's also getting married and moving back to Africa in the near future, so I wanted to prioritize a good quality catch up. :)

I met up with her for lunch (because fellowship over food is always fun) and we chose to go to Sushi Rock. On the way to the restaurant, we discussed lots of things, from her recent ski trip with some of the students in the dorm that her church runs, her recent wedding planning, where she is on her packing process, etc.

Anyway, as I said, I wanted to prioritize hanging out with people over taking pictures for this trip, but I DID want to capture a photo of the takoyaki from Sushi Rock. 

the end verdict, Ozu Ramen still has the best takoyaki in town so far...

Sushi Rock is the THIRD place where I've had it in Champaign

After having lunch with Chipo, I went on a long walk around town with Eric, one of Ash's friends from the dorms. He's a soon-to-graduate student at U of I, studying Music Education, and is probably the deepest thinker that I know. Hilariously enough, we have a lot of the same interests, so the transitions from topic to topic made no sense whatsoever. To anyone else, anyway. But it was great fun, he took me to a cool rooftop view on top of the amphitheater by the Krannert Center for Performing Arts to sniffing candles in the Walgreens on Green Street. lol

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Birthday Happenings with Hannah

After hanging out with Eric, I made my way to Hannah's place. No pictures, again, because I really wanted to be able to focus on my friend and making sure that she felt like she was loved on her birthday :)

I met three of her friends and we just had a great time, sharing laughs and lots of food. Hannah had gotten this spinach and goat cheese pizza that was DELICIOUS. I also discovered that despite my previous dislike of hummus, I'm surprisingly okay with it now, and I was practically ADDICTED to a combination (introduced by Hannah's roommate) of the hummus with white cheddar popcorn (update, I tried hummus with tortilla chips recently too and really liked that). 

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The Hound + The Fox Reaction Video : Lava w/ Hannah

Something that Hannah and I had decided we'd do together after everyone left was a reaction video to The Hound + The Fox. Hannah plays the ukulele, so when H+F released their cover of Pixar's Lava, I KNEW that I had to film this with Hannah :)

Here's the video. We also debuted a small snippet of Hannah's original song, Mr. Porcupine. This was one of the MOST intensive editing sessions that I've put myself through in a long time (3 solid hours at the computer) and I'm quite pleased with the results. Above all, we had lots of fun. <3

If you're interested, click here to see our reactions to OTHER The Hound + The Fox videos. 

You can also watch their original video here.

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Brunch at Pekara Cafe

Hannah suggested that we go to this place that she likes called Pekara, which if I remember correctly is over on the Urbana side of town...? Eh. Something surprisingly fun was that it was Pie Day when we went, so there were lots of pies being featured in the cafe. 

We decided to go with a slice of pie each (to share with each other), a coffee, and a crepe each (we ended up getting the same one lol). Also, I know what I said about the photos, but this was more like a casual hangout than a full-on catch up, so out came the camera. Because the food just looked SO GOOD, I HAD to share it with you all.

fun panoramic shot of the "art gallery" in the cafe with Hannah cheekily popping in on the right lol

"Chipmunk pie"

Hannah with our pies :)

    

crepe portion of the menu, I got the Prosciutto (I can NEVER pronounce that word...)

happy Hannah with our food!

And thus concluded my time with Hannah.

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Caffe Bene + Tea-Making! (@JapanHouse)

I'm not even going to make excuses for going to Caffe Bene. You guys know I love it. 

Also, remember my trip up to work a tsumami kanzashi workshop during the Hinamatsuri event? Ash told me that she'd treat me to a bing-su when I came back the next time. 

Awww. <3 

view from our table

Ash with our green tea bing-su

So, while we were at Caffe Bene, something really cool happened. There we were, minding our own business, grabbing a "brunch" before Ash had to be at work at Japan House (I'd be tagging along for the heck of it), and up walked a Caffe Bene employee holding an Acai bowl. She said that the kitchen had made it on accident and she asked if we wanted it. 

Which, of course, the answer was yes. 

There are all manner of reasons why she could've chosen us, out of the twenty or so Asians in the cafe at the time, but I'm just gonna call it the favor of God and leave it at that.

Acai bowl. $8 at Caffe Bene, so while Ash had always wanted to try it, she couldn't bring herself to buy it. 

Free food, anyone?

Now that brunch was over, off we went to Japan House. The decor from the Hinamatsuri event was still up to keep in the fun Spring theme that they had going for the season. 

Also, I didn't get to take any pictures of the tea ceremony area in the building the last time because I was so busy running around, so here are the pictures!  

that pillar right in the middle is where the guest of honor sits (where I got to sit the last time) for the tea ceremonies. I don't know if that's EVERY TIME or not, because the hot water bowl (sunken in the floor there) shifts around depending on the TYPE of ceremony done (varies with seasons and other variables). The set-up here is winter-specific, as having the hot water bowl in the floor would help to warm the floor (traditionally, in Japan, as tea ceremonies can be outdoors). 

this is the "step" that they have in place to help people get from the floor to the tea ceremony floor

The fun thing about being the sister of an intern AND someone who is genuinely passionate about Japanese culture (I make tsumami kanzashi, I have a ton of Japanese merch, I donate unneeded supplies and merch to JH for them to keep / sell at Bazaar), is that the higher-ups at Japan House apparently love me now. Remember the amazing FREE tea ceremony I got to experience the last time? Talk about a fun front-end experience.

NOW I GOT THE BACK END. I got to see some of the snacks that were to be served to the tea ceremony being conducted (with high school students), and as the school these students were from had also arranged for the students to MAKE tea, I...GOT TO MAKE TEA. For the first time. I was so excited.

    

look. at. these. gorgeous. snacks. they look like...macarons. or something. how cute are THEY?!

my first attempt at making tea, which apparently I did really well on 

I was actually floored from the reaction my first tea-making attempt received. All the interns were making a big deal about it, resulting in the thing that MADE my day. Jennifer, the director of Japan House, came over to see what all the fuss was about and provide an ACCURATE description of my tea-making skills, which according to her...are A-LEVEL. Shy of 100% perfect because I left a few tiny bubbles, but on average, most interns manage a B-C level tea on their first try. To have the director HERSELF tell me that I killed it and did really well was SUCH. AN. AMAZING. FEELING.

from left > right: Semi-sensi, me, Jennifer (director of JH), and Della (an intern and Ash's best work friend)

Yet ANOTHER special experience at Japan House. I love how these keep piling up and they seem to just keep getting better. :D

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David + Angel Suthard Wedding

No photos from the rehearsal because THAT took place after a busy morning of packing, shopping for a few groceries on Mum's behalf, driving 3 hours back to C'dale to make it back for the rehearsal, a long rehearsal, late dinner, and then just finally "dying" back home.

So here are photos of the reception instead. No photos of the wedding because I was IN it, on stage, playing flute, and the seat I had, despite being on the first row, was all the way in the corner, which was a horrific angle for taking pictures of anything.

table decor (I helped clean off the sparkly blue bottles, which were an AMAZING find at Goodwill)

decor out in the hallway of the appetizers table which was empty by the time we got there. whoops. lol

pic with Hannah's mum, Myra!

reception area, catering table for dinner, cake table

cute slideshow going of the lovely couple, head table

view from cake table of the back side of the head table

oh look, it's me lol Danae and Olivia were amazing. Loved working with them, as always.

Pic was sent by a friend (can't remember who at the moment, sorry).

these pictures were filched from some posts about the wedding

1. bridal party, 2. the iconic moment where Angel came down the aisle as Mrs. Suthard and fist-bumped her brother. BEST conclusion to the ceremony. SO CUTE.

family photos

in my not-so-figure-flattering dress at side angles lol 

And we are FINALLY ALL CAUGHT UP. Thanks again for being patient with me during the hiatus! We'll be back in the swing of things starting next week.

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Hinamatsuri (Girls' Day - Japanese Holiday) Event at Japan House | #WeeklyWednesday2018

*posted March 26

Blog Post for Feb 28th - March 6th

Ever since I took a break from making tsumami kanzashi, I feel like my knowledge and "professionalism" as a crafter has gradually just...seeped out of me. In a terrifying one-way traffic kind of way, and while being asked to decorate for weddings and other events helped the creative juices to continue flowing, I never felt quite as accomplished as the days that I made tsumami kanzashi on a weekly, if not every other day, basis.

There was a great sense of "I did that..." whenever I finished a piece, all the more so if it was for a photo shoot (that I would also take the pictures for and edit). While I do not regret taking the break (as it was HIGHLY HIGHLY NECESSARY for my general health and well-being), Japan House, where my sister interns in Champaign, IL, provided me with a rare opportunity to revisit those days.

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Hinamatsuri "Hype-Sesh" at Broadway Food Hall

Hinamatsuri, or Girl's Day, is a holiday in Japan that's meant to celebrate girls (typically younger girls 12 and below). Japan House wanted to host a tea ceremony (12 and younger, and then a second one for 13+) and wanted to have someone come in to do some girly Japanese crafts to bring the event up to the next level. I was HONORED and almost speechless when I got the invite to be the craftswoman they called.

THEIR event was going to be Saturday, but they had a "inform the public about Japanese culture" kind of event the Friday before, and asked if I'd be willing to go up. Going up meant one more evening with my dear sister, so of course I said yes.

So, Friday, as soon as I finished my weekly Friday lunch with my girls, I drove up with a full car of tsumami kanzashi stuff (some personal stash tsumami kanzashi to show off in addition to 1/2 of my library) to Champaign where I picked up the sister and we drove to Broadway Food Hall. We then got dressed in yukata, popped tsumami kanzashi into the hair of all the female interns, and set out the stuff for the Champaign public's viewing.

sister with wisteria (fuji) tsumami kanzashi made by my friend, Arleen

GORGEOUS black and pink kimono from Japan House (for viewing)

people here to view the stuff

tsumami kanzashi (my stuff) is what's closest to the camera, further down was some information stuff about Hinamatsuri and some origami crafts for them to do

people flipping through my "library", my tsumami kanzashi stash, and tsumami kanzashi displayed on one of my favorite mid-length wigs on a figure head

I have a string of these (in other colors) that was given to me as a gift from another Champaign trip (by the sister and dad), and these lovelies were on display at the event. I LOVED the color scheme, particularly in the cold wintry/soon-to-be spring weather in which everything is grey...

Sorry, guys. No pictures of me here. I was "working", but while it was very long...it was also a welcome "return" to my craft sale days. I wasn't there to sell anything (are you kidding? Those tsumami kanzashi are MINE. My own. My preeeeeeeciousssss!! lol XD ), but it was nice to be able to don the professional face and talk about tsumami kanzashi for 4 hours. :)

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Einstein's Bagels

Saturday morning was gonna be really important to get a good start on for me and Ash because we would be working for the next few hours in a high-stress (unintentional, but it was going to be) environment and we KNEW it. So Ash took me down to the Union building on U of I's campus for some yummies. I honestly didn't really know what to expect and I was a very happy foodie when we were done.

Yep, we went to Einstein's Bros Bagels. Had never been, will definitely go again.

Good coffee. Good morning.

Just look. At all. The bagels.

The logo, bag, and cup were ADORABLE. Good branding, EBB. 

I couldn't help it. I got mini pepperoni "pizza" bagels (to split with Ash) and an Applewood Bacon and Cheddar bagel sandwich for breakfast/brunch.

NOM. Picture taken by Ash, to whom I gave free reign of which filter from the Snow app she'd use

All in all, a good start to the busy day and boy, did we need it!

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Girls' Day Event

After breakfast, Ash and I headed out to Japan House where we would be busy working for the next few hours. There, I met (again) the Director of Japan House, Dr. Jennifer Gunji-Ballsrud. I had met her VERY briefly the first time I visited Japan House for the Bazaar back in Dec, but this was the first time that I really got a chance to see what kind of person she was. 

Can we just say "Asian woman goals"? Altogether now. Jennifer is LITERALLY the most gracious, equal parts sweet and elegant, mild-mannered, mature, and put-together Asian woman that I've ever met in my life. All 5 ft and a couple inches of her. 

ULTIMATE. RESPECT.

Jennifer and her niece. SO KAWAII. Look at that...little...chibi... <3 <3 <3

also, can we talk about Jennifer's platform slippers? A-MAZE-ZING. 

(you don't wear shoes in Japan House, you're in socks or in indoor/bedroom slippers)

an intern explaining to the first "tea group" (this is the 12 and younger, their moms are sitting in chairs) what would be going on in a few minutes

Regrettably, there are no photos of the time that I spent working the tsumami kanzashi workshop, but I CAN tell you about the fact that I was made the guest of honor for the 2nd tea ceremony. Pardon my reusing the word, but what an HONOR that was. For those of you who have never seen a tea ceremony in action, there is 1 "tea master" (or tea maker, if it's low-key) who makes the tea for 1 honored guest while the rest of the participants watch it happen. The guest of honor is served first and partakes in their tea before any of the other guests. 

Typically speaking, you have to pay to take part in a Japan House tea, even if you're a student. This helps pay the interns and also pays for the materials and upkeep of Japan House. I was getting this amazing experience FOR FREE. And now you understand my excitement. 

The only dampener on the whole experience was the fact that I have something like a semi-handicapped right ankle due to an injury that has never properly healed due to never having actually been "broken" back in 2010. It's bothered me ever since, with varying degrees of intensity. While the ankle itself was okay that day, I was worried about the state of it because I had already been on my feet for the 1st tea + workshop, the tea ceremony would mean about 30 min of sitting seiza (link here for some info on what that entails) which would put all my weight ON my ankle, and then I'd be on my feet for the rest of the workshop after the second tea was over. To make matters worse, the joint from my big toe that connects to my foot was swelling and in all kinds of pain that past week and seemed to only be getting worse as the days went by. Thanks for all who have been praying, by the way. At the time of this posting (March 26), it's improved somewhat.

In conclusion, it was a special, albeit painful, experience, and I'm still very grateful that I got to be a part of the tea ceremony as the guest of honor. Hopefully my next time won't be quite as painful.

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KO-Fusion Dinner + Coco Mero

After a LONG, arduous day of making TONS of tsumami kanzashi (which were, given the time constraints and additional untrained help which was the fault of no one, of questionable quality) that had me limping slightly with a sore ankle and Ash who had gotten burnt by the glue guns that were too big for the fine work we were doing, we went to KO-Fusion for dinner (located near Caffe Bene).

interior of the restaurant and the menu

these...fried rice, crab, and (I didn't know till I bit into it) cream-cheese balls

they were...okay. If you like crab rangoon, you'll probably love them, but for someone like me...not so much. 

I DID eat it all though, because you don't waste food (unless it's like...gone bad).

As a treat to ourselves for a long day of work and a "last treat before I go" kind of thing before I headed back to C'dale, Ash and I went to our favorite fro-yo place in Champaign, Coco Mero. I got the original flavor (kinda tart) and green tea with mochi bits and adzuki red bean. I think I'll skip the original next time and just go for the super Japanese combination. haha

And that was my super packed weekend! It was actually nice to get back to the regular swing of things afterwards, but the trip was SO MUCH FUN and brought me such fun moments with my sister (in addition to reminiscing about my tsumami kanzashi making days).

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Thanks again for being patient with me during the hiatus!
Backlogged blog Post 3 / 3...DONE! :D

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