I know I post a lot of food pictures and you’re probably like, “Does she ever separate her stomach from her brain?”

But this one is not really about the pink leopard print cake above but about the place I go to occasionally to work out and have fun and be with really nice open non-judgemental folks. It was a post-class birthday party for two girls and it was just a wonderful sparkly time with pina coladas and pink leopard print cheesecake which felt like a reward after busting our glutes during the bootcamp class.

As much as I’m a lone warrior when it comes to exercising, I actually enjoy working out with others sometimes and feels a lot less like “work”, as cliche as it sounds.

It’s an alternative dance studio at first glance but it’s one of the few places in Japan I feel 100% comfortable.

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I used to burn vanilla candles in Singapore when I lived on my own as an “aaahhh, the work day is over” kind of thing. So I got some more when I did some shopping at Ikea the other day. I got these dessert candles that are supposed to smell like cinnamon buns, cake, and vanilla, which make my office so cozy on these chilly wintry days. The difference now is that I burn them while I’m working…I’m feeling quite chill though I’m working away…Candles are food for the soul, methinks.

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I’m just spring cleaning my beauty stash so mosie on over to my beauty blog to nab Naruko and My Beauty Diary goodies!

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It’s not often I get flowers to put on display in the house. It makes such a big difference to my mood as well. I got these from a friend who came over for dinner a few weeks ago. She said yellow reminds her of me. How cute. I do like yellow…

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I was missing bubble tea so I made some for myself after I saw tapioca balls at Kaldi Coffee Farm near my place. I bought the fat straws at Tokyu Hands when I passed by to complete my whole bubble tea experience.

Amazingly, I also found decaffienated chai tea bags (I can’t take caffeine) at Kaldi so I got a box of those and whipped up a warm-ish chai walnut milk latte with maple syrup and tapioca balls. It was a little watery but still fun to drink. I think soy milk tastes better as a dairy replacement for tea and coffee but I only had nut milk on hand that day. Great hangover drink, too.

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I was sad to leave the Imperial Palace behind but I have a new running path to explore along the Meguro River just 5 minutes away from my place. I either go all the way up to Meguro station or take the more chic route down towards Daikanyama. I feel so refreshed having a new neighbourhood to explore now.

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My new house has a proper oven, though small, it can still churn out classics like roasts, lasagna, and pizza (no more expensive pizzas!).

I have never ever baked in my life so I thought of trying something really simple. I had all the ingredients in my pantry and the only thing I had to tweak was to whizz the white sugar in my blender to make it like caster sugar (a very fine sugar to make the cake batter smoother). And I was given a bunch of silicon cupcake cups as a wedding present so I used those as holders.

It only took 40 minutes, including pre-heating the oven. Voila – mixed berry cupcakes!

The berries made the cake a little moist and it tasted like how cupcakes should but I think I used a wee bit too much sugar. I don’t have a measuring cup and used my blender that has measuring marks so I think it wasn’t as accurate as it should be. But not bad for a first attempt, if I say so myself.

I think I’ll try baking bread or a chocolate cake next.

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I usually make my own lunch since I work from home, but sometimes, life just gets too busy and I treat myself to a sushi lunch.

That’s a pair of engawa sushi, a white fish with a sprinkle of green onion on top, that was deeeee-licious.

And I know there are so many kinds of sushi but salmon remains my ultimate fave…I’m such a gaijin!!

The best way to end a sushi lunch is some salty nori miso soup. Mmmmm…

What’s your fave lunch in Tokyo?

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We still don’t know what type of tree it is, but it is definitely not a sakura or plum tree. We had high hopes it would be a cherry blossom tree so we could have our own hanami picnic right at our house. We can only dream. But there is Meguro River (which has an awesome stretch cherry blossom trees) just five minutes away on foot so I can’t complain.

It still lends a very rustic feel to our house though which I like very much…

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I went to the Ikea in Yokohama with a couple of friends and got this pretty floral lamp as a “sleep time” lamp. It feels nicer to switch this one off than get up and stride all the way to the entrance of the bedroom to turn off the main light. My house is far from being decorated the way I want it to be — perhaps taking small steps is better (and easier)…

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