Tag: Japan

memory archive — day 100

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Finally, I’ve reached day 100 of writing about the things I’ve been letting go off and what could be a better item to celebrate this appropriately than the disposal of a whole house?! No, I am not talking about the bird house in the picture, even though this one was, sadly, left behind (together with the tree it was fixed to and all the other beautiful greenery surrounding it – amongst them two Japanese Maples and four, massive banana plants). In fact, I am talking of our family home of the past four and a bit years. The house has vanished, disappeared within a week. I’d confidently say that getting rid of a whole house can easily be considered the pinnacle of minimalism, can’t it? Continue reading “memory archive — day 100” →

memory archive – day 97

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Besides lots of general items and items of the other family members that I parted with (I have to admit) easily in the lead up to our move, there were some  items that I felt more strongly connected to. A good  example is this poster. Once – back then in really good shape – it adorned one of the walls in our hallway. That was before it came crashing down (and subsequently) my son jumping onto it. It had clearly seen better days, however, I kept hold of it  (by now, hiding in storage)  until the very last couple of days prior to our move. It is not just the design of the poster that I liked so much but also its story. Continue reading “memory archive – day 97” →

memory archive — day 93

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I don’t know how many pairs of those we have owned since moving to Japan. Both kids plus myself don’t tend to keep good enough care of them I feel as we never manage to keep them clean and without cracked soles for very long. When you search online or in a store for indoor shoes in Japan you will immediately come across this style. Continue reading “memory archive — day 93” →

memory archive — day 88

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As I’ve mentioned many times, I am longing for a complete clutter free home. It is a challenge, for some rooms in the house more so than for others. The kitchen is a good example for one of the more difficult rooms. A space with nearly never–ending activity; it is the perfect space for clutter to pile up. I am not sure you can officially call food ‘clutter’, however, I feel if it ends up not being eaten and just taking up space, I can refer to it as just that. Continue reading “memory archive — day 88” →

memory archive — day 85

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In hindsight I regret getting rid of this scarf. I had kept it and worn for about nine years for a good reason after all. Looking at the image of its cross pattern now, I realise that it does remind me of Japanese traditional pattern designs; two-tone and minimalistic repetition. So even long before I knew that I’d be going to live in Japan, I was, subconsciously, drawn to the country’s design aesthetics.

memory archive — day 83

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This Sunday will be Hinamatsuri or Girls’ Day, here in Japan. It takes place every year on March 3rd and is celebrated by families with young daughters, wishing for a healthy and prosperous life for them. Besides the set-up of special dolls at families’ homes there are traditonal foods and beverages that will be consumend. These days all sorts of pink, white and green sweets as well as other treats are being sold in the lead-up to the day. That made me wonder whether the above pictured box of candy that we were given once as a gift (on a different time of the year though) had originally been a Hinamatsuri product. It definitely appealed to my daughter!

If you’d like to, you can find out more about Girls’ Day here.

memory archive — day 79

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Happy New Year! It’s been, again, a long time since I’ve last written, making one of my new year’s resolutions the resurrection of this blog. We’ve only just come back from Europe where we spent some quality time with friends and family. Discarding our return flight boarding passes and luggage tags, which were piled up on the entrance cabinet, made me remember that I used to keep all those things as a teenager, when flying somewhere was still a novelty for me. Continue reading “memory archive — day 79” →

memory archive — day 80

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I believe I don’t know anyone who is into minimalistic design but isn’t a fan of the Japanese brand Muji. When moving to Japan, I was excited to go and see the brand’s flagship store, having only known a relatively small version in London (that was back four years ago). Actually, my first outing on my own in Tokyo, back then with baby in tow, was a 40 minutes walk to the Muji Concept Store in Aoyama — a big thing as, at that time, I hadn’t really been outside of our neighbourhood yet. Continue reading “memory archive — day 80” →

memory archive — day 78

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FINALLY, I am in the right frame of mind to start decluttering (and thus writing) again. I did a big tidy-up yesterday to get the house ready for a birthday party and this made me realise again how much happier and relaxed I feel when my home looks in order and things are cleared away.

To kick-off the countdown to 100 items (well, that’s my current goal as it feels achievable), I decided to say goodbye to a pair of craft turtles that I kept as I initially thought those were extremely cute. Continue reading “memory archive — day 78” →