I know you’ve been on the edge of your seat waiting to hear if I ended up getting the rest of the things that I needed before we leave for our second trip to Japan that I mentioned last time… You can sit back now. We went all the way downtown (Toronto) yesterday instead of our crappy local malls and we were quite successful.
Since the last post, we actually went out twice. Once a few days after the last attempt to said “crappy local mall” – Bramalea City Centre. Although it has been renovated and is quite a bit nicer than it used to be, it still lacks a lot of good stores. The only thing I managed to cross off my list that time was the sunglasses. I ended up getting a pair of mens. I liked them when I tried them on in the store, but since then, decided I’m not that big of a fan. I was going to return them yesterday if iI found something else… but alas, that was the only thing on my list I wasn’t able to find. I’ll make do with the new ones. Hubby also found a pair in our basement that SIL left behind when she moved away 7 years ago. And, of course, I have my current pair.
current pair, SIL’s, new ones
I also hemmed one of the pairs of jeans I bought. I was wondering if I really needed to hem the second pair. I wore them that day to test it out. Turns out, yes, I should have hemmed those too.
I also decided I needed new undies and yoga pants for the plane. (Bought undies, couldn’t find yoga pants I liked.)
I tried to return the lip rings. Can’t return body jewelry. Duh. I just bought another set, this time from Spencers. It was a 5 pack of rhinestones – pink, blue, very pale purple, very pale yellow (which I thought was clear), and… I forget. Maybe it’s only 4.
There is a long story about the tattoo which I’ll explain later. And, just cause it’s on there, I decided to make the 3 bdays cards I need and the craft supplies ended up being moot because I’m buying a gift for someone instead.
So, yesterday~ the items I was still looking for were the sunglasses (boo), a backpack, and a purse. I also added a spring jacket and socks.
We left earlier this time and the weather was nice (as in not snowing, but still cold as a witch’s tit). Usually when we go downtown, we (Hubby) drive to Yorkdale Shopping Centre, park there, and take the subway the rest of the way. Hubby had been looking all over for the new Kobe 10s, and Yorkdale just happened to have the only pair in his size in all of the GTA, so we picked those up first and dropped off the second pair of jeans at Stitch-It to be hemmed before leaving.
Hubby’s new shoes – not as bad as previous year’s Kobes
“yoga hem” – where they reattach the original bottom so you don’t lose the look of the fading, fraying, or special stitching
I checked a few stores for sunglasses and a jacket too but didn’t see anything I liked. (Also grabbed a sandwich, cause I was starving, and a blossoming peach tea latte, cause I’m obsessed with them and they are only available for a limited time, from Starbucks.) Then we hopped on the subway.
Apparently, there was some sort of leak or something on the Yonge line so it stopped at Union Station and went no further. This put a kink in our plans. We had wanted to get back to Yorkdale before 2pm so Hubby didn’t have to deal with traffic – but we had to walk the rest of the way to Eaton Centre. It was only two more stops but that took longer. (At least it’s all connected underground and we were out of the cold.) And Hubby was also starving by that time so we stopped off at a random office building/underground shopping complex food court so he could grab something. That put us about an hour behind. And then, I didn’t have too much luck at that mall so by the time we were done there, it was after 3:30 already. We decided to stick around downtown and make a day of it and head back home after rush hour (as in after 6:30). It was a long day, but we both ended up going to each of our favourite downtown restaurants for 2 separate lunches.
Brookfield Place – the building’s basement connects to the subway tunnels where we surfaced
Hubby’s favourite – Ajisen Ramen in Chinatown
I was saving room for my favourite afterwards so I only had korokke (potato cake)
I had my usual – kani salad roll and spiny tuna roll – at my favourite restaurant, Sushi Inn on Cumberland
We also stopped along the way in Chinatown at Dragon City Mall so I could get… some of these things. (I don’t know actually what they are called in English. I usually say ‘bubble cakes’. In Cantonese, they are gai daan jai – 鷄蛋仔.)
I also took some pictures of various Toronto landmark things that I’m used to seeing all the time but never pay much attention to.
Ontario Legislative Building in front of Queen’s Park – I used to walk through here everyday when I went to U of T
Old City Hall at the junction of Bay Street and Queen Street – gorgeous building
new city hall – Nathan Phillips Square
At the bottom of the picture, you can see that people are ice skating.
I did manage to find a jacket in Eaton Centre at TNA. My winter coat is from there and all the hoodies I wear all the time. I figured I needed a spring weight one. The weather is mostly going to be nice while we are in Japan and we will be walking around a lot (keeps you warm) but the day of the YouTube hanami meetup, it’s going to be quite cold and that’s the day where we will be sitting or standing and not moving around much. It was expensive but I love it.
We looked for backpacks in every single luggage store and …whatever type of store West 49 and Boathouse are and a few sports stores and even some shoes stores at Square One and Bramalea and Eatons. Nothing. I had something in mind and nothing fit what I wanted. I pretty much wanted a similar type of backpack as my old one (the one I took with me to Japan the first time, and used for school for several years – to the point where the bottom ripped out). So I had the idea ~ why not go back to the store I bought it at? That would be the U of T bookstore. On a whim, we went up there and, lucky me, they had something very similar. Like, 7 years later. Nice. (Both are Swiss Army.) It does have University of Toronto embroidered on it, but I don’t care. I WAS a student there off and on for 3 years. I have officially given my current backpack that I hate to Hubby. He’s already ironed patches onto it. LOL.
I love the “smart scan” feature. The laptop pocket zips all the way open and has a see-through mesh panel so you can lay it flat at the airport and not have to take it out of your bag.
Superlucky me, they also had a purse I really liked. I had already given up on finding one. I just happened to pass it as I went up to pay for the backpack. It’s a cross over the body messenger bag style, which is what I always use anyway, but in a pretty purse form. It’s fuzzy grey felt and has a fun hot pink lining with a padded iPad pocket. Perfection.
Socks were a necessity. As with most things, I am exceptionally picky with my socks. I wear one style only and have been wearing the same pairs for about 8 years. Obviously at this point, they are wearing out and getting holes in them. I am so sad! They are mens (I detest women’s socks. Why the hell are they so thin?!) Quiksilver ankle socks. But a very specific one. I’ve tried other Quiksilver ones and they aren’t the same. Needless to say, I have been searching for new socks for a long time. Haven’t found any that are as good.
The other day, I popped into the mall after meeting up with a friend and went into Sport Chek to see what they had. I found one 3-pack of women’s (shock!) Adidas ankle socks that were thicker. I decided to buy them and try them out and if they were suitable, I’d get more. They are okay. They’ll do. I guess.
Anyway~ Of course the Sport Chek in Eaton Centre didn’t have them. On the way back home, I went to the Yorkdale location. Thankfully, they had them. Only 4 packs left. I bought them all. That makes 15 pairs of socks. One for every day of our trip.
I already wore the 5th pack.
And again, just cause it’s on the new list and I feel I need to cover it, I picked up shampoo, deodorant, and candy too. (Hooray for Hubby’s Shoppers Drug Mart discount!) They didn’t have the Yes to Cucumbers make up remover wipes I use but Hubby can get those from his own store tomorrow.
Swedish Berries are my favourite (for you Americans, they are the same as Swedish Fish – just raspberry shaped. Which makes a helluva lot more sense.)
By the time we made it home (like 8-freaking-o’clock!), I was sooooo tired and my feet and legs were absolutely killing me. This worries me. Last trip, I had such a hard time with feet pain. We had to end our days early because of it.
I wore my new walking shoes, at Hubby’s suggestion, to test them our and wear them in. They did make a difference (very comfy!) but only a tiny bit. My feet still started to hurt after about 2 hours. IDK if it’s my arches or what, but I seem to have way more of an issue with this than anyone else I know. IDGI.
I will push through as much as I can, but I’m afraid I won’t get to do everything I want to do. I’m already stressing about fitting it all in. 2 weeks seems like a long time but Japan is amazing and there is SO much to do. I could live there for a whole year and still not get to do everything I want. I could live there for the rest of my life and still have new things to do everyday. AHHHHH!
(BTW, Hubby has been flirting with my idea of actually moving there… more on that another time!)
Anyway, wish me luck~
The tattoo story: I was totally going to get it. I was already to go – dressed, makeup on, hair dried and straightened. I was planning to head to Yonge Street Tattoos where I’ve had 2 of my 7 done and got my lip pierced. Before I left, I needed to print off the reference pictures. I made them in various sizes, testing them against my ankle to see what looked good. I even went as far as drawing a few outlines. It was then I realized how hard it was going to be to fit in ANY detail at all. I decided I would end up losing too much and it would just look stupid. Ugh. Plan thwarted.
progression of doodles
Maybe I’ll just go with some cherry blossoms later on or something…
One other thing I needed to do before we leave was to dye my hair. It’s been 5 years since I have been able to do that. I don’t like my natural colour. I like darker better. I decided to start out easy this time. It’s not as dark as I want, but still an improvement.
inception
And I THINK that’s all I needed to do! I’m almost ready.
…Almost.
I’ve been working on making my own guide book – all the things I’m planning on doing with travel info and pictures and whatever. I need to finish that and get it printed and then we’ll have it with us as we go around and I can take notes and stuff. It’ll be a cool souvenir after. I’ve also been working on my Pinterest board. Everything I plan to do, see, buy, eat, etc. like a checklist.
Other than that, I have to still make those 3 birthday cards for the friends that are ageing while I’m gone and mail out those and their gifts (one gift purchased already, one handmade almost complete, and one that needs to be ordered online and sent directly).
And then I would like to get a massage.
And THEN I will be completely ready to go!
Oh wait. I have to do laundry and pack too. Yuck.
6 days to go!!
P.S. I know you’re wondering what happened with the computer… It miraculously worked when I randomly tried turning it on again! So yay. I have my baby for a little while longer. This is its 3rd life. Maybe it’s part feline…
I copied EVERYTHING on it to the hard drive including, song by song, almost my entire iTunes library. (I’m about half done.)
And Hubby bought printer ink. LOL.
(originally posted to Japan – Here I Come!)
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