Jul 21, 2010 | DIY
Thank you all for submitting your projects into my last DIY Roundup! I know I’m a little late in posting this…but I’ve had trouble staying on track with the ol’ bloggy blog while in Japan, what with the time difference, having to share the computer with 4 other people, and trying to deal with annoying JIS-standard keyboard, which had the apostrophe above the 7 key and the @ mark over on one of the brackets keys. A very weird setup.
Regardless, I had a great time visiting all your blogs and checking out your pieces. You’re all so creative! Here are the top 3, as measured by user clicks:’
I love how incredibly sexy and tough this is. And her tutorial is so detailed that anyone can make one for themselves!
Gorgeous! The lavender canvas gives them this sweet girly vibe. But holy heck, that’s a lot of tacks!
and, for the top slot,
This is so incredibly like the original I had to look twice. What a fabulous job!!
Thank you so much for sharing, and please enter any other projects you have in my next DIY roundup!
If your project has been featured above, feel free to grab the button below.
xoxo
Carly
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Jul 20, 2010 | Life
I’m beginning to think that myself and planes JUST. DON’T. MIX.
Rough translation of the above video:
Today [Monday, July 19], around 5:15 PM, a Delta Airways plane bound for Portland out of Narita [Tokyo] tried repeatedly to take off, but was unable to due to the brake refusing to release. The pilots gave up the attempted take off, and the plane was manually towed off the runway and back to the hangar. None of the passengers were injured. According to Narita officials, the cause of the problem was due to the plane getting stuck in the unevenness of the runway surface covering. They ended up having to close the runway for about 40 minutes.
Perhaps if you peer closely at the image above, you can see my scowling face from one of the windows on the plane. (Just kidding; I wasn’t near a window.;-)
And this was AFTER a 1-hour delay where we went to take off and the pilots couldn’t get the rear hatch light to light up and indicate the rear hatch was actually closed – so we taxi’d on back to the hangar and waited while the maintenance crew fixed it.
Then, the SECOND time we went out onto the runway, the pilots opened up the engines SIX TIMES, and the plane did NOT budge. That was pretty scary. I thought they were just playing chicken with the Air Canada B747 next to us – kind of revving up the engines, like at a racetrack. (At least that was what it sounded like!) 15 minutes of sitting out there on the runway doing that, 8 planes backing up behind us. and we didn’t budge…so the tower had to stop all incoming traffic and we had to be towed off the runway as you saw above.
Here’s the screenshot of the news article on Japan’s AP saying basically the same thing, except with a little more information. What had actually happened was that due to high temperatures in Tokyo the asphalt of the runway had softened, and the planes wheels had sunk into the depressions. Apparently the 23,000 pounds of thrust per engine on the Boeing 737-600 could do nothing to pull us out of those divots created by the wheels. Um, okay…
The pilot said that between him and the other 3 in the cockpit they had a combined total of more than 120 years of flight experience, and none of them had EVER experienced anything like this!
I swear, I am so sick of bizarre things happening to me on airplanes!!!
(In other news, I am back safe and sound in Portland, after a flight that was supposed to be less than 9 hours had us all stuck inside the plane – but not necessarily flying – for 12 and a half hours. With a four-year-old in tow. UGH!)
xoxoxo
Carly
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Jul 19, 2010 | Fashion
Mixed Chain & Rhinestone Necklace: Forever 21
Watch: vintage
Tulle Skirt: Spiral Girl (Ala Moana Center, Honolulu)
Or so the people I had lunch with told me. I took it as a compliment.;-)
Coincidentally we happened to have lunch at my FIL’s favorite Italian restaurant – which just happens to be owned by the family of a kid I went to school with…20 years ago here in Japan. Weird. But the food was delicious! (Ham and prosciutto…squid ink risotto…homemade mozzarella and tomato caprese…bakes cocoa ganache…yum. I skipped the squid ink, though!)
This Priscilla Super-Easy Midi Bun is my new favorite accessory! You just pull your hair back into a ponytail, and plop this on top, and you’re good to go.
It has a comb inside that you anchor to the front of your ponytail, and a stretchy band on the underside, that you pull tight to cinch the bottom and then tuck in. It’s so much better than the buns offered through US wig sellers since you can wear this messed up or smooth (and the construction’s so much more elaborate!)…the US ones are all for either bridal wear or a bunch of messy curls that don’t look like a real bun no matter how you wear it. I so wish you could buy Priscilla brand hair pieces abroad!
Bun top view. My hair is still too short to fully put up in a high ponytail, so I have to stick a ton of pins in the back.
On my way to the airport soon to come back to Portland! The next time you’ll be hearing from me, I’ll be stateside again!
xoxoxo
Carly
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Jul 18, 2010 | Fashion
I’m sure you’re all just dying to know, right??!;-)
The top twelve trends that I’ve noticed out and about in Tokyo, mostly in the Shibuya and Harajuku areas:
1. Boater Hats
The summer sun is fierce once the rainy season ends in mid-July, and many girls add hats to their ensembles just to ward off its rays. The shape this year? The cute retro-style straw boater, often worn akilter on the head.
2. Scarves as Headgear
Sweet and 70’s-ish, scarves as headgear have made a major comeback. Many scarves are also sold with flexible wire in them so you can stand the ends up like pseudo- rabbit ears, kind of a more ladylike version of that crazy Louis Vuitton-fueled trend that looks unfortunately dubious even on 16-year-olds.
3. Flowered Maxi-Rompers
It almost sounds as if those three words strung together will cause a worldwide cataclysm, but yes, tiny flower prints (think of the good ole days of 90210 the ORIGINAL) paired with flowing, full-length jumpsuit shapes are all over the place. There are also flowered dresses and blouses in similar patterns, and jumpsuits in more subdued hues (I have to admit I finally caved in and picked myself up one in black) to be found all over the place – it’s just these particular reincarnation of that 70’s staple seem to be everywhere.
4. Basket Bags
Going along with the neo-hippie-bohemian-flower-child-vibe is the wicker handbag, in all varieties of shapes, sizes, and sporting all sorts of accoutrements, be it silk flowers, cascading streams of pompons and lace, or chic leather and hardware.
from beauty-box.jp – tons of recent Japanese hairstyles there if you want to check it out!
5. Shoulder-Length Bob with Thick Bangs
This trend has been going strong for about a year, and it definitely lends a childlike innocence to those who wear it. Now that summer’s here apparently the “new NEW” thing to do is create a small side part in the thick bangs.
6. Leather and Suede Gladiator-Style Sandals
But softer and more feminine than last year’s tough chic version, in brown and taupe and gray and black, with understated studding, fringe, or ankle-wraps.
7. Gel Nails
Now with acrylic nail sculpture a thing of the past, everybody whose anybody is doing gels. And not just CALgels! I got mine done with a state-of-the-art technique that does not use UV light to harden the gel, but instead uses LED light – and it lasts up to 4 weeks! (I chose not to have my nails lengthened by building up the gel layers, which I was originally planning on doing. If the gels extend beyond your natural nails they only have about a 2-3 week staying power.) Right now lame (lah-meh) glitter powder mixed in with the gel and applied to the tips of the nails, in multiple layers, is really popular, and it looks fabulous even as your nails grow out. The shine, glitter, and gloss of my nails is unending!
