French Madeleines are a cross between a cookie and a cake and they are so easy to bake for coffee or tea time. Check out this recipe from King Arthur Flour. You can omit the orange juice and add vanilla if you like.

Sunday, July 21, 2024 No comments

My uncle gave me some packaged turkey stuffing and I have no turkey bird to stuff it into (it’s not even fall or halloween yet!). I didn’t know what to make out of it so I searched the web and found out that yes, it can be repurposed into a baked casserole dish. So here it goes- a breakfast strata that can be customized. Add chopped bell peppers, sweet onions, ham or sausage if you please.

Check out the basic recipe below:

Tuesday, June 04, 2024 No comments

Crochet, cooking and flea market shopping with Ame Life

Blogs are not just the only source of arts and crafts inspiration. Youtube is a great resource as well for virtually anything under the sun. I jokingly call it Youtube University! If you like cooking, baking or home keeping there's a treasure trove of great content that's aesthetically produced.

These are some of my favorite lifestyle channels that inspire me to improve my mindset, try a new recipe or redo my space. Hope you find something that you will enjoy as well. Happy watching!

Crafting, crocheting and embroidery with Kiko Sabi

Decor and cottagecore aesthetics with Indoora World-Cottage Library

The Cottage Fairy

Cultivating favorite hobbies with Cups and Thoughts

Tuesday, May 28, 2024 No comments

Japan is a land of anime fantasy turned reality. If you are into Studio Ghibli movies and nostalgic Japanese anime cartoons, you would be delighted to turn your Japan travel photos into authentic retro cartoons with the help of SNOW AI profile app. It makes for unique travel storytelling. Seeing yourself as a cartoon character in Japan is so fun. Travel adventure reimagined as a cartoon story!

We visited Kyoto and Osaka lately and enjoyed the sights, sounds and culinary delights of these prefectures. Just like any other Japanese city, Osaka and Kyoto exceeded our expectations and it's like we stepped into a different dimension where everything we see in cartoon movies just came to life! In this little travelogue, I am exploring the sights in my retro cartoonized self. So kawaii!

Me, Cathy and Aisha in our retro cartoon selves

The kitsune (fox) Tori gate guardian leading to Fushimi Inari Taisha

At the vermillion Tori gates of Fushimi Inari

Stopping for washi tapes and postcards at the Ghibli Store in Higashiyama

Catching a souvenir photo with the Hokan-ji or Yasaka Pagoda in the background

At Gion Tatsumi Bridge in the Geisha district

At the Gion Geisha Village alley admiring the stone streets, lanterns and old wooden houses

Lost in vermillion haze

A visit to Nara Park to see (and feed) the world famous Nara deers. They are so polite and cute! They bow to ask for deer cookies.

Capping off a long walk at the park with Amao Strawberry soft serve ice cream. Only Y500!

Walking the stone streets of Kyoto on a warm spring day can leave one hungry and thirsty! Good thing there are vending machines (jidouhanbaiki) everywhere!

Rainy day in Dotounbori, Osaka. Rainy days are so romantic in Japan!

Do you see Glico man billboard?

At the entrance of Osaka Castle (Osaka-jo) overlooking a beautiful moat

On the train to everywhere!

The obligatory hotel room selfie!

Saturday, May 25, 2024 No comments

Kennin-ji Zen Temple in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto beckons the tired and weary soul for a day of peace, quiet and tranquility. It was established in 1202 by Eisai, a Japanese Buddhist priest, father of Japanese tea culture and founder of Rinzai School of Zen Buddhism. Kennin-ji Temple is believed to be the oldest zen temple in Kyoto. The temple is an 8-minute walk from Gion Tatsumi Bridge, a beautiful stone bridge located at the juncture of Shinbashi Dori and Gion Shirakawa. Gion is Kyoto's famed Geisha district with its charming stone streets, lanterns, ryokans and old wooden houses. We stopped by Miffy Kitchen Bakery Gion for some usagi/rabitto shaped bread, cookies and trinkets before heading to the temple.

A solace from the touristic crowds of Higashiyama, Kennin-ji Temple offers a path of contemplation to the visitors. To enter the temple gardens, a minimum entrance fee is collected at the reception counter. We left our shoes (my rented geta sandals) on old wooden racks for safekeeping. Photographing people inside the temple gardens is prohibited to give privacy to the guests and visitors.

I enjoyed the warm feel of antique wooden floors as I quietly walked along the corridors, admiring the view of the zen gardens which looked beautiful at any angle. The shoji windows opened up to a spectacular vision of red pine, Japanese maple trees, moss and stone. I imagined the ever changing colors and scenery that those windows framed. As it was late spring, the trees were in youthful shades of green.

You may opt to sit on cushions in tatami matted meditation rooms facing a rock or moss garden. You can also also enjoy the scenery through round windows called Windows of Enlightenment as you meditate on the wholeness of the universe or the cyclic nature of life. Through square windows aptly called Windows of Confusion or Delusion, one may ponder the inevitability of life, old age, illness and death.

There are meandering stone paths to immerse oneself in the the beauty of nature- crisp seasonal foliage, warm sunlight filtering through the maple trees and water glistening on stone and bamboo basins. Amidst the tranquility, your ears will catch the subtle fluttering of bird wings. Slippers are provided near the stairs descending to the rock garden if you fancy a stroll in the lush, healing garden.

Visitors can also enjoy a cup of specially prepared uji green tea and biscuits at the temple cafe and gift shop. There are souvenir items for sale to bring home to remember your visit to Kennin-ji Zen Temple.

The peace that one can experience in a zen temple is profound. One's chaotic mind naturally falls in orderly alignment once faced with the harmonious elements of nature. Truly a garden for the mind and soul.

“One must be deeply aware of the impermanence of the world.”
— Dogen

“Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft, can you be extremely hard and strong.”

— Zen Proverb

“Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is Zen.”

— Bodhidharma

“The obstacle is the path.”

— Zen Proverb

Furu ike ya

kawazu tobikomu

mizu no oto

古池や　蛙飛び込む　水の音

The Old Pond

Old pond…

a frog jumps in

water’s sound

-Matsuo Basho

“Zen is a path of liberation. It liberates you. It is freedom from the first step to the last. You are not required to follow any rules; you are required to find out your own rules and your own life in the light of awareness.”

— Osho

"Let go, or be dragged.”

— Zen Proverb

Tuesday, May 21, 2024 No comments

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