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“Happy New Year! Shall I make the obligatory comment about the weather ? Tokyo has mild winters, and our highs have been around 48 degrees F while our lows are about 32 degrees. Not too shabby, eh? I’ll take it, especially compared to what most of you have been through! This past week involved a flight back to Japan from San Francisco. While it was tough to leave our family and friends, it’s nice to settle back into our routine. Every time I do that 12-hour flight, it seems to get a little bit easier. Three movies + a nap + some reading + 2 barely edible airline meals = Tokyo! It was actually kind of refreshing after the craziness of the holidays. I mean, how often are you left with no choice but to watch movies and sleep?”
*I’ve been (figuratively) eating up all of the 2013 roundups everyone has posted. Best recipes, best DIYs, best drinks, etc. I’m going through them meticulously so I don’t miss anything, which means that my reader is a bit backed up. But I’ve found some gems as a result! Like this ridiculously delicious-looking Thai taco recipe.
*Apparently you all knew about Lady and Pups, since it made Saveur’s “Sites We Love” list. But I just discovered this feisty blog and am really excited to try some of Mandy’s recipes. Like this spicy salmon mini hand roll, which seems like the perfect dinner party appetizer. No utensils needed!
*Is it too early to decorate for Valentine’s Day yet? I thought this easy heart chain was adorable, and I’m ready to make it right now.
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(I know this is probably actually a serious problem. But… ORANGE JUICE FUTURES? Is this Trading Places in real life?! Best public transportation giggle of the week.)
“Like most people, this was the first week back at work after a stupendous vacation. I’m lucky enough to get plenty of easy vacation time off around the holidays and remember all the years where I worked in banking and people were scrambling to get things done before the new year. I certainly don’t miss that!
I’ve taken some time to write down some goals and resolutions and hopefully some of that will overflow to this blog in 2014. I’m totally making some of those cute notebooks Alyssa posted earlier this week to track my progress. Do you make goals? Another trend for those who don’t dig resolutions is selecting a word or theme for the year- have any of you tried that? Tell me more!”
* One of my goals this year is to keep a daily gratitude journal. I have a five year diary (which I LOVE), but this website makes it easy, especially since I am on a computer so frequently.
*My awesome friend Erica writes over at Unemployed Lawyer Mom, where she blogs about her cute kids and cooks her way through cookbooks. It’s totally awesome, always interesting and completely brilliant- I’d love to cook my way through a cookbook or magazine this year!
* Do you Zumba? I’ve been a few times and, while I’ve liked it, the classes are usually crowded and the value really varies by instructor. I came across this video recently and I love the song and dig the routine. This one might need to stay in my home workout rotation!
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Since our last love letter, Buzzfeed added Alyssa’s Nutella Cappuccino to their list of 33 super-fancy ways to eat more Nutella.
Happiness is Creating included Alyssa’s fabric covered notebook in their Weekly (Web)spirations.
Rockabye Baby loved Carla’s homemade crunchy peanut butter cups.
Don’t forget to check out our Raspberry Sparklers, a contributor post at Oh So Pretty!