tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6376723075372893152024-03-22T08:52:04.601+11:00stitch by stitch“stitch by stitch” is a blog written by Allie who is the owner of "nuno and stitch", a Japanese fabric and craft shop. Of course, her life totally changed after she had her little son “Nico”, but some of the changes were a bit unexpected. She lost her job, so she decided to open a web shop with her husband's support. This blog is about the adventure of her new career and her simple yet happy life in Melbourne and (sometimes) Japan. Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-22522390415856492682018-01-03T22:44:00.000+11:002018-01-03T22:58:26.519+11:00one more week to go...<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">It's been a while since my last post and some of you might be wondering if nuno and stitch is around. Yes, we are here!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Unfortunately we couldn't do many market stalls and workshops this year because I've been carrying a new little person in my tummy. We will have our new family member very soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">We are extremely happy to have a boy at the moment but when we found we're going to have a girl next, Paul and I were both excited. I can't wait to put a beautiful <a href="http://www.nunoandstitch.com.au/mihokoseki">Mihoko Seki bib</a> from nuno and stitch on her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">I am 39 weeks pregnant at the moment and the birthing time is really coming closer. Am I ready? Am I nervous?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">I had a good and bad experience for Nico's birthing. We tried Hypnobirth (calm birth) and the birthing itself was really great but after the birth, I had a big blood loss and that memory scares me (and Paul) a bit, but we're still excited about having another birthing experience, which we will talk about the rest of our lives. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Is Nico ready to be a big brother? He became three in October and he understands lots of things now, but maybe he won't understand this situation until he actually sees his little sister. He is a loving and caring kid, so we know he will love her, but we want to make sure that he doesn't have to feel lonely or left out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Our friend suggested that we give Nico a present from his sister at the hospital and we think that's a great idea, but do you have any other suggestions for us to make Nico feel better with our new family member? I 'd like to hear!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">With love </span><br />
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Allie</span><br />
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<br style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" />Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-8592260633847500372017-03-30T13:23:00.000+11:002017-03-30T13:23:15.790+11:00Our wonderful holidayIt’s been a while since I put the last post on this blog! I have many excuses, but most of them are not worth talking about, so I’ll just talk about something worthwhile instead.<br /><br />While I’ve been away from this blog, something unexpected in my life happened. Do you want to know what happened?? Well, I went to America!<br /><br />I know it’s not a big deal for some people, but for someone like me, who thought America was the "worst place in this world", it was unbelievable! Oh wait.. I don’t want to offend anyone so let me say this first, I actually loved it!<br /><br />So I will share our wonderful memories here today.<br /><br />In January, everyone from Paul’s family started to talk about his brother Mathew’s wedding in San Francisco. I thought we wouldn’t be able to make it with our little boy and low budget, so I didn’t really join this conversation, but encouraged Paul to go there by himself. If you know these brothers, you know how much it means to Paul to go to Mathew’s wedding and also for Mathew to have Paul at his wedding. They are not just brothers or best friends, they just say they are twins, separated by 4 years!<br />But Paul couldn’t make a decision. He said he didn’t want to leave his family – what a lovely husband! I really wanted him to go there, so tried to review our budget and plans for the next couple of years and said to him “Well, let’s go to San Francisco all together! “ He was soooo happy.<br /><br /> Once we decided to go, I thought we’d better make the most of it. So I did a lot of research..on Pinterest! What caught my eye were lot of lovely photos of pastries.<br /><br /> <br />
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<br /><br /><a href="http://mrholmesbakehouse.com/">Mr Holmes Bakehouse</a> was a small shop but photogenic and their breads were really yummy!<br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br />
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<br /><br />From my favourite blog “<a href="http://mrholmesbakehouse.com/">Cakies</a>”, I found out about a farmer’s market at the Ferry Building. We went there on the wedding day and got some flowers for the bride.<br />
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<br /><br /><br /> I knew that one of the shops on my bakery list- “<a href="http://www.craftsman-wolves.com/">Craftsman and Wolves</a>”, had a stall at the Ferry Building too, so we didn’t miss a chance to try their pastries. We loved their simple croissant.<br /><br /><br /> </div>
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<br /><br /><br /> As a Melbournian, you can’t really miss a nice coffee. We tried “<a href="https://sightglasscoffee.com/">Sightglass</a>” and “<a href="https://bluebottlecoffee.com/">Blue Bottle</a>”. Sightglass was a really photogenic place and their coffee was really good.<br /><br /> </div>
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<br /><br /><br /><br /> If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you probably already know how much I love trams. San Francisco is a great place for tram nerds.</div>
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<br /><br />Not only their famous cable cars, but other cute trams run around San Francisco city. We also went to the Cable Car Museum.</div>
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<br /><br /> We enjoyed their massive Chinatown, but we also enjoyed their Japantown. I’ve never visited Japan Town in another country, so it was really interesting experience. I saw some TENUGUI and TABI socks which we sell at nuno and stitch there too!</div>
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<br /><br /><br /><br /> San Francisco is a great place for little kids! Nico enjoyed the merry go round at Pier 39.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> </div>
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<br /><br /> This is a concrete slide at Seward St, Eureka Valley.<br /><br /> </div>
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<br /><br /><br /> The playground in Misson Dlores Park was really good too.</div>
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<br /><br />The 14 hour flight with a toddler wasn’t easy, but we really enjoyed this trip and loved San Francisco very much.</div>
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With love,<br />
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AllieAllie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-3887303665939365482017-02-01T14:06:00.000+11:002017-02-01T14:06:25.913+11:00How to throw a sushi party During the Australia Day holiday, we invited Paul's sister and her family and had a sushi party. It's a great way to celebrate our multi-cultural country :-) <br /><br /> Over the last ten years in my life in Australia, I noticed that many Aussies worry about handling raw fish. Of course you should be careful about it, but you don't have to be scared! <br /><br /> Go to a fish shop on the day you're serving. They sometimes have sashimi pre-cut in a pack. If they don't, just ask them if they have sashimi-grade fish. A fish shop won't want to risk food safety, so they should answer honestly. <br />
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<br /><br />When you get home, keep the fish refrigerated until you serve. If you find it hard to cut soft raw fish, put it in the freezer for a couple of hours and it will make it easier to cut. <br /><br /> We got salmon sashimi from a fish shop in Chadstone shopping centre this time. Also they had a whole sashimi grade king fish, so we asked them to cut it for us. <br /><br /> Paul's sister has a teen-age girl and I wasn't sure if she liked raw fish, so I prepared other options - teriyaki chicken and tuna mayo. <br />
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<br /><br />Prepare nori and sushi rice. You can get sushi seasoning from a local supermarket usually. You cut nori into four pieces so that your guests can make their own sushi rolls in their hand. <br />
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<br /><br />I usually prepare heaps of cucumber for garnish. This time I prepared some lettuce for tuna mayo too. <br /><br /> For the two toddlers, I made teriyaki chicken rice. <br /><br /> Everyone enjoyed my sushi party except for little kids. They were distracted too much ;-) but they had a great time too. <br /><br /> I hope you feel more encouraged to have a sushi party now! <br />
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With love,<br />
Allie<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-1673414936814602672017-01-19T09:30:00.000+11:002017-01-19T09:30:17.744+11:00These are my new favourites!I have a set of beautiful <a href="http://gense.se/category/design-bestick/">Gense</a> cutlery which I bought years ago. They look so stylish on my table and always make me happy. But I didn’t have chopsticks that I could love as much as my cutlery. We use chopsticks at our dinner table almost 5 or 6 days a week -except for the times we have steak or pasta!<br />
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<br /><span style="color: #0078d7;"><br /></span>Whenever I go back to Japan, I looked for chopsticks, but I couldn’t find simple, stylish chopsticks that I could match with my favourite Marimekko/Bison bowls and plates.<br /><br /> When I saw these Japanese traditional colour chopsticks on my favourite Japanese online shop, I was so excited! These are what I've been looking for for a long time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqIpYVzR7UsKbFOgvWoMXT3B9Ro8Y1O_8yo42wOW0Gqel1tPUk2IjlyJWpPn80E8k5Pwp1d0QbWcDMFjGOPnsyMV78USljtysPZ6-J0_xsK0L-a9X8oL5eARChhDKzdeTu-cqvfFxamon/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqIpYVzR7UsKbFOgvWoMXT3B9Ro8Y1O_8yo42wOW0Gqel1tPUk2IjlyJWpPn80E8k5Pwp1d0QbWcDMFjGOPnsyMV78USljtysPZ6-J0_xsK0L-a9X8oL5eARChhDKzdeTu-cqvfFxamon/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />I found the company that makes these beautiful chopticks and asked if nuno and stitch could be their stockist and they were very happy to have stockist in Australia;-)<br /><br /> This company is based in Obama City, Fukui which is famous for Wakasa lacquered chopsticks. 80% of lacquered chopsticks in Japan are made in this city. Traditionally made lacquered chopsticks are not that easy to handle…you can’t use them in the dishwasher, you can’t leave them in the sink for long , you have to avoid sunlight, heat, moisture… BUT if you look after these chopsticks well, you can use them for a long time. It’s like when you have to look after your silverware carefully.<br />
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<br /><br />I wonder if Australian people are interested in beautiful chopsticks...but I hope so! As far as I know, Aussies love cooking Asian food and love entertaining people. They are really good at using chopsticks too! You can get cheap chopsticks from supermarkets, but they don’t look nice at all. Disposable chopsticks are terrible for the environment.<br />
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We will have these traditional yet modern Japanese chopsticks in 12 colours at <a href="http://jcjsm.org.au/fest/">the Japanese Summer Festival</a> at Federation Square on Feb 26th.<br /><br />They will be sold online after this festival. Come and feel these traditional lacquered chopsticks. I hope you will love them! <br /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-43477395164956706812017-01-16T13:08:00.000+11:002017-01-16T13:09:55.979+11:002017 started!<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "meiryo ui" , "ms ui gothic" , "ms pgothic" , "ms pゴシック" , "ms gothic" , "ms ゴシック" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">As a mother of 2 year old boy, I always had a good excuse not to do my work. After we bought a sand pit for Nico, I have to do vacuuming inside our home at least three times a day. I often need to change his clothes three times a day too, so I have more washing. I often needed to catch up on my sleeping time while Nico was having an afternoon sleep because he used to wake up a couple of times during the night.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "meiryo ui" , "ms ui gothic" , "ms pgothic" , "ms pゴシック" , "ms gothic" , "ms ゴシック" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">At the end of last year, my friend asked me to go to a business seminar together. A famous Japanese blogger who lives in Hawaii and has a successful business had a seminar in Melbourne. I always had a good excuse not to go to those things too, but when I read her blog, I thought it might be interesting and decided to go…and it was really great!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I went to a seminar, I even had time to have lunch with my friend..Thanks Paul!</td></tr>
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<br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "meiryo ui" , "ms ui gothic" , "ms pgothic" , "ms pゴシック" , "ms gothic" , "ms ゴシック" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Of course what she talked about was interesting, but I found that she was interesting herself, very energetic and somehow I got power from her ;-)</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "meiryo ui" , "ms ui gothic" , "ms pgothic" , "ms pゴシック" , "ms gothic" , "ms ゴシック" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">After her seminar, I’m trying hard to find the time to do my work more. I do more work while Nico's sleeping, I do more work after dinner.</span><span class="contextualExtensionHighlight ms-font-color-themePrimary ms-border-color-themePrimary ident_1001_1067" role="button" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: rgb(0 , 120 , 215); cursor: pointer; font-family: "meiryo ui" , "ms ui gothic" , "ms pgothic" , "ms pゴシック" , "ms gothic" , "ms ゴシック" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" tabindex="0"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "meiryo ui" , "ms ui gothic" , "ms pgothic" , "ms pゴシック" , "ms gothic" , "ms ゴシック" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">It’s quite tiring but I achieved a few things during the last couple of weeks, which I thought I would never have time to do.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "meiryo ui" , "ms ui gothic" , "ms pgothic" , "ms pゴシック" , "ms gothic" , "ms ゴシック" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">During Paul’s Christmas holidays, I finally weaned Nico and he started to sleep through the night, so I don’t have an excuse to have a nap while Nico’s having a sleep now.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "meiryo ui" , "ms ui gothic" , "ms pgothic" , "ms pゴシック" , "ms gothic" , "ms ゴシック" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "meiryo ui" , "ms ui gothic" , "ms pgothic" , "ms pゴシック" , "ms gothic" , "ms ゴシック" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Looking after my boy and my shop at the same time is not easy, but I started to enjoy my work more and the energy comes out from my body…then I remembered about my Japanese favourite book written by Hayao Kawai, a psychologist who said that “ people who try to save their energy often look like they're dead. The good example of this is a public servant who doesn’t smile at the counter (note: the customer service of a Japanese public servant is usually pretty bad and unfriendly). The more you use your energy, the more power comes out from your body, like a natural spring.’</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "meiryo ui" , "ms ui gothic" , "ms pgothic" , "ms pゴシック" , "ms gothic" , "ms ゴシック" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">In 2017, I will try to find more reasons to do my work and give myself energy!</span>Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-69104476738422940562016-12-06T11:40:00.000+11:002016-12-06T11:40:06.202+11:00My birthday weekend Unlike during my childhood, the last several years I didn't really enjoy my birthdays that much. It's not that I didn't want to get old, but as an adult, I just felt bad that everyone had to buy presents for me and sing "Happy Birthday". I usually don't like to be the centre of attention. <br /><br /> But this year, I really enjoyed my birthday because my boys enjoyed it very much. My birthday became an excuse to have fun together and celebrate this happy family. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Paul, I had a nice sleep in and brekky.</td></tr>
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<br />On my birthday, Paul took the day off and we went to Mornington Peninsula. Paul's parents came with us too. Paul found a lovely pie shop called <a href="http://johnnyripe.com.au/">Johnny Ripe</a> in Red Hill. With a 2 year old boy, having lunch at a nice restaurant can sometimes be just torture, so this choice was great and their pies were really lovely. <br />
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<br /><br />After that we went to my favourite homeware shop "<a href="http://www.redhillhouse.com.au/">Red Hill House</a>" in Red Hill South and bought a couple of things there, then we went to a farm called "<a href="http://www.rhsfarm.com.au/">Rain, Hayne & Shine</a>" in Balnarring. This place was really great! <br />
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<br /><br />It was a Friday, so not many people were there. Nico had his first pony ride and he really enjoyed it. There were many baby animals and Nico loved touching and holding them. It sounds like Nico's birthday rather than mine, but when Nico enjoys himselves, we enjoy ourselves most. <br />
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<br /><br />The next day, we went to Brighton beach. The last time we went there, Nico was still a tiny little guy in his pram and he was just gazing at the beach. This time he enjoyed digging in the sand and putting his feet in the water. We had a lovely walk along the beach too. <br />
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<br /><br />For dinner, we went to a new restaurant called "<a href="http://www.newshanghai.com.au/">New Shanghai</a>" in Chadstone shopping centre, with Maria, my sister-in-law and her family. It was my favourite Chinese restaurant in Sydney. The original restaurant was in a dingy looking shopping arcade in Chatswood but now they have shops in Brisbane ,Shanghai and Melbourne too! Their fried pork bum is really yummy! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">marimekko placemats I got for my present</td></tr>
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<br /><br />My birthday wasn't only about presents (although I got some really lovely presents) but more about spending time with my favourite people. I'm already looking forward to my next birthday! <br /><br /> With love, <br /> Allie <br /><br /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-71729379226745115562016-11-30T21:20:00.000+11:002016-11-30T21:20:34.550+11:00Little Keeper's Market<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Now we've finished our (maybe) annual Little keeper's market this year. Phew! <br /><br /> When we organised this market in April, some people asked if we were having it again, and we said "maybe before Christmas". It wasn't a promise or anything, but I was feeling a little bit of pressure that we had to do it. Now I'm so glad that we could do this again. I feel free from the pressure! <br />
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<br /><br />Last time, I organised the venue, stalls and my sister-in-law Maria helped me with the preparation. This time Maria got even more involved, and she organised the venue and stalls!<br /><br /> Yet Paul and Maria were still calling this market "Allie's market", so I felt a bit strange. This is becoming more "everyone's market". We could raise some money for wonderful causes (this time we raised funds for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and El Salvador Action Group) with everyone's generous offer of money, time and effort. Our friends helped us with coffee making. Paul's parents, their friend and Paul's uncle did the sausage sizzle. Fr Dave at St Benedict's offered the venue for free and our lovely friend and one of the stall holders, Charmian donated all her workshop money. How generous they are! The people who came along to support this market were great too! Some of them brought their family and friends too. Paul's workmates also came to support us. Some friends helped us with packing up and cleaning the venue after the market too. <br /><br /> The preparation wasn't easy, but I think this became a really great event. <br /><br /> Are we doing it again? Well I don't want to make a promise, but I hope so! We had great fun ourselves in the end :-) <br /><br /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-83705844228248313682016-10-27T12:03:00.000+11:002016-10-27T12:03:37.507+11:00Our little boy turned 2!!Last week, our little boy, Nico, tuned 2. My sister visited us from Sydney and spent whole weekend with us. We went to <a href="http://www.zoo.org.au/healesville">Healsville Sanctuary</a> on Saturday, an indoor play centre on Sunday, and <a href="http://www.farm.org.au/">Collingwood Children’s farm</a> on Monday. It was full of fun!<br />
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<br /><br />I was so excited about his birthday and was singing and dancing whole week. He doesn’t get new toys often, so we knew he’d get super excited about his presents.<br />
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<br /><br />It’s funny that now his happiness is our happiness. We enjoy Nico’s birthday more than our own birthdays. He changed our life completely.<br /><br /> Since he came, I lost my<br /><br /> Sleeping time<br /><br /> Work<br /><br /> Some pleasure – shopping, movie, catching up with friends, fine dining etc…<br /><br /> But I found none of them are important compared with the time with my little guy. He sometimes makes me cry and upset, but he always makes me happy. <br />
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Thank you very much for coming to our home and making us your parents.<br />
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We love you so much!!!<br /><br /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0オーストラリア 〒3777 Victoria, Healesville, ヒールズヴィル・サンクチュアリ-37.6825187 145.53088760000003-63.204553200000007 104.22229360000003 -12.160484200000003 -173.1605184tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-14730932117262534102016-10-04T13:03:00.000+11:002016-10-04T13:03:09.618+11:00Handy Japanese baby goods! I think Japanese people are the "laziest hard working" people. They love something handy, so to make things easier, they try their best to make something convenient. Whenever I go to Japan, I check the local pharmacy's baby section to see what's available there and end up buying heaps of handy baby goods. When I read a Japanese person's blog and found that she's starting a Japanese baby goods online shop in Australia, I thought it was a great idea. As far as I know, Australian people are sometimes a bit lazy too, so they should love these handy Japanese goods! <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qStwTrpAlA-GBaC1ZXOkCadmomw8CWCaOVChFLIePgzaqniWI1uHtVGdUtVrM-5xB_ZzAiY6vbVBYBOGTqZZIzgSPheC9w5VPDE7xnEsSibnAUBAwNecmQJVCPM6j_jtt79DEeZK5Sha/s1600/snook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qStwTrpAlA-GBaC1ZXOkCadmomw8CWCaOVChFLIePgzaqniWI1uHtVGdUtVrM-5xB_ZzAiY6vbVBYBOGTqZZIzgSPheC9w5VPDE7xnEsSibnAUBAwNecmQJVCPM6j_jtt79DEeZK5Sha/s320/snook.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo from "<a href="http://www.littlesnook.com.au/product/360do-brush-baby/">Little Snook</a>" This 360 degree tooth brush looks amazing!</td></tr>
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<br /><br />Then one day, I got a message from the online shop owner. When you get message from your favourite blogger, it's like you're getting message from a celebrity! It was a lovely surprise. I know how hard it is to start up business in a foreign country, especially when you're a mum with small kids. She has 16 mo boy and works a couple of days a week too. We decided to meet up and exchange some information while our kids made friends. <br /><br /> I wanted to ask her a lot about her interesting products but we ended up chatting about all sorts of different things. I always liked her Japanese blog because her writing was always positive. It is really nice to see someone with good vibes. It was a shame that I had to admit I was a bit lazy with my business, using Nico as my excuse, but I got good energy from her, so I will try my best again ;-) <br /><br /> Are you interested in Japanese handy baby goods? Check her online shop "<a href="https://www.littlesnook.com.au/">Little Snook</a>". If you like her products, please share this with your friends! Word of mouth is really important for new small businesses. I hope her new shop will be loved by many Australian people for a long time! <br /><br /> With love, <br /> Allie <b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-55806397104116810502016-09-12T13:53:00.001+10:002016-09-12T13:53:53.484+10:00Big decision as parents<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Recently we had to make a big decision as parents. Probably it’s not a big thing for some people, but at least for me, it was really heartbreaking, hard decision.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">About a week ago, I noticed Nico often touching his front tooth. I thought some food was stuck but when I saw it, I noticed that his front tooth had a crack. He used to like rice crackers or apples, but when I gave him those, he started crying after one bite. I told Paul about it and he said maybe Nico did that when he bumped his face on ground in front of our house when he was playing with a ball with Paul. Because Nico was crying so hard after eating something hard, we decided to take him to a dentist. She told me his front tooth was split and we have two choices.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">1. Pull out the tooth and not worry about it anymore.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">2. Fill the root with medicine and put crown over the remaining tooth, which leaves some possibility for infection and when it happens, it’s worse.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">The dentist told me it’s totally our personal decision, but from her explanation I knew what’s best for Nico – pulling out the tooth. When I imagined Nico having no front tooth until 6 or 7 years old, that made me cry. He’s not even two yet!! The dentist said that it’s normal and I was a good mother. She said I cried because I care about Nico.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">I told her that I’d talk to Paul and make a decision.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">I wanted to keep his tooth. He looks cute with his tooth. I don’t want him to change - so I tried to think of a good excuse to keep it. “I feel sorry for him if he didn’t have his front tooth in all his childhood photos.” “He might be teased at kindy." "If he worries about it, he won't want to show his teeth, so he might not smile. ” I told a couple of people these things, but their reaction was “small kids don’t care about those things!” --- and then I realized I wanted to keep his tooth for myself, not for Nico.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">I didn’t want to feel sorry for him when I saw him with no front tooth. People might think it’s strange that he has no front tooth. We might not get any more compliments about Nico’s looks.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Paul’s way of thinking was more simple. He didn’t care about Nico’s looks or those things. He only cared about Nico’s health, so he preferred pulling tooth out. I knew it.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Paul said to me that wanting to keep Nico’s tooth is not a selfish way of thinking. He said that some parents might choose pulling out the tooth only because they don’t want any trouble or it’s cheaper. But I knew what’s the right thing to do.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">We don’t need to think about what other people would think about Nico’s looks. The most important thing is Nico’s health. Besides, to us he’s the cutest little kid even without his front tooth!</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">So we made a big decision. He has to go to hospital for the procedure and have general anesthetic. It’s going to be a big thing for his little body. I’m pretty sure that we made a good decision – but when I see him laughing with his mouth wide open, I probably can’t stop thinking about his cute little tooth.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">I still remember when we saw this white thing in his gum for the first time. From teething, he (and I) had some sleepless nights. I was really annoyed when he bit me with his sharp teeth when I was feeding him. But now those things are very good memories. I love every part of Nico and I really love Nico’s little front tooth.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">When I was looking at Nico’s old photos, I noticed that he looked super cute even when he had no teeth. It’s really heartbreaking for me, but I will be okay. At least I can be proud of myself making the right decision.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">With love,</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Allie</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-74670878936946850672016-09-02T13:04:00.000+10:002016-09-02T13:05:02.208+10:00 Let’s talk about Fathers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56kcV8CtzKIMT342fPYKerWm1OWst5bswVr-QKHI6ZBWvCMLX-fDiA8jms8_qfPAcPHtRDju34JBEw9SYmjlpTOZT97MO5VqJc6QPClPU-HKerbj28aEdAmnMWDZRbPYwi2uLpVr1wfL7/s1600/fd1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56kcV8CtzKIMT342fPYKerWm1OWst5bswVr-QKHI6ZBWvCMLX-fDiA8jms8_qfPAcPHtRDju34JBEw9SYmjlpTOZT97MO5VqJc6QPClPU-HKerbj28aEdAmnMWDZRbPYwi2uLpVr1wfL7/s1600/fd1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "meiryo ui", "ms ui gothic", "ms pgothic", "ms pゴシック", "ms gothic", "ms ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /></span> <br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif , "apple color emoji" , "segoe ui emoji" , "notocoloremoji" , "segoe ui symbol" , "android emoji" , "emojisymbols";">Father’s Day is coming up soon, so I will talk about my dad today… Well Japanese Father’s Day is in June and we celebrated it when we went there, so probably I won’t do anything for my dad this Sunday –instead I will do something for my father in law and my son’s father, but it’s nice to talk about it anyway.</span><br />
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When I was little, I was such a daddy’s girl. I was wearing a harness for my hip problem from 3 months to 10-months old, so my dad was carrying me all the time and my mum worried that my sister didn’t get much attention from him –of course he loved us equally though.</div>
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I really loved chatting with my dad in the bath. We made a story about a little girl called ‘sacchan’. It was often about her adventure in forests. From those days, I developed my creativity and love for writing stories.</div>
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However, my teenage phase pushed him away a little. When my dad and mum had arguments, my sister and I were always on mum’s side. My teenage phase lasted until late 20s (too long!) when I could really appreciate what he’s done for me. In those days, my mum was in so much pain from relationship with my dad – it’s not violence or anything, just my dad had his own way to do things and he was terribly stubborn. She sometimes cried over the phone. I wanted to blame my dad like I did before, but instead I tried to understand him. I was old enough to do so. Then I found that he was probably lonely in the family last 20 years. I wrote a letter to him thanking for everything he’s done for us. Gradually he changed and now my mum and dad are happy enough.</div>
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The last thirty something years, I didn’t do much for my dad. But I still remember how happy he looked when I introduced Paul to him. As soon as he found that Paul had Irish backgrounds, he stood up and shook Paul’s hand (My dad was an Irish literature professor). Now Paul is his favourite son. He loves drinking with Paul at dinner and chatting when we visit. The last 20 years, no one listened to his stories at home but Paul listens to him with all ears. My dad looks really happy.</div>
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And what's more, my dad really loves our son Nico. After our two week stay, my dad pretended like he had enough and was happy to have a quiet life back, but he wanted to come to the airport to see us off. When I have chat with my mum over Skype, he pretends like he’s not interested, but he constantly asks my mum to show Nico something they got for him.</div>
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I wasn’t a good daughter for him except for the first ten years, but now my husband and son are making him really happy and I can be proud of myself for bringing them to his life.</div>
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I hope he will live long so that I can make up for the lost twenty years.</div>
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Happy Father’s day!</div>
Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-60170616793950386532016-08-08T12:22:00.001+10:002016-08-08T12:22:53.914+10:00Flight with a toddler (20 month old) If my parents didn't ask us to come to Japan, we didn't really want to go this year. It's not that we don't like going to Japan, actually we really want to go there as much as possible, but if you know our son Nico in person, you'll know why. He's a lovely and happy child, but too wiggly! He can't stay still in one spot for more than 30 seconds. <br /><br /><a href="http://stitch-by-stitch-melbourne.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/the-flight-with-8-month-old-nico.html">Last time when we went to Japan</a>, he was only 8 months old and wasn't walking yet. We knew this time would be harder... So we tried to make it as easy as possible. We decided NOT to use direct flight - Jetstar. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_2RGJa1wdGioLwq6lyJlOZJBwOxPOIW7kjfH2qeinP6jrRE3YhquF0hsznT4fLOufT_dTbW7g57-PedIE2oSzoOblpmENiukSAsWEghF-iFY_UqrRK5-FkSXVfxVfLuRoHpmHF6Iu1Lb/s1600/flight1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_2RGJa1wdGioLwq6lyJlOZJBwOxPOIW7kjfH2qeinP6jrRE3YhquF0hsznT4fLOufT_dTbW7g57-PedIE2oSzoOblpmENiukSAsWEghF-iFY_UqrRK5-FkSXVfxVfLuRoHpmHF6Iu1Lb/s320/flight1.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melbourne Domestic Airport</td></tr>
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<br /><br />Direct flights sound easier, but not with Jetstar. <a href="http://stitch-by-stitch-melbourne.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/the-flight-with-8-month-old-nico.html">We had a terrible experience last time with them</a>. We booked a night flight, but they changed it to a <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830907" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">10am</span></span></span> flight the next morning, and then that was delayed even more to <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830908" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">1pm</span></span></span>, so we arrived in Tokyo nearly <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830909" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">12am</span></span></span>. We were really exhausted. To make sure our night flight was really a night flight, we booked Qantas this time. Qantas doesn't have direct flight from Melbourne to Tokyo, so we had a transit at Sydney. <br /><br />We left Melbourne around <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830910" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">9.30am</span></span></span> and arrived in Sydney at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830911" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">11am</span></span></span>. This short flight was actually the hardest part of our trip. Nico slept in our car on the way to the airport, so he was wide awake on this flight. He kept moving around non-stop between Paul and me and the empty seat. We were prepared for this though. I read some tips for flights with toddlers and bought new small toys for him. I also wrapped them up to make it exciting to open. We gave Nico one of them during this first flight. He really loved it! Also we saved Nico's favourite Gibli animation (Kiki, Totoro, Spirited Away and Howel's moving castle) to our iPad and it worked well too. He sat down and watched it for at least ten mins.<br /><br />In Sydney, we caught up with our friends and had lunch together. Then we went to my sister's home to have a nap before our long night flight (9 hours). Actually Nico fell asleep after lunch so by the time we got my sister's place, he didn't really want to go to sleep, but at least we Paul and I could have a little lie down while my sister was looking after Nico. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIZcPADn8z4uQjK4gFZadwTRYw_J4oRIfskO0qoBDb8KMPQ38YalTkRfRgf957BnxEXbMe-5NZAMb0L7EV_Vq-dwQrisxnMm2cWqViLslkofIDgqPS6sBwUto0Ix8WXR1XZhie9khNJrz/s1600/flight7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIZcPADn8z4uQjK4gFZadwTRYw_J4oRIfskO0qoBDb8KMPQ38YalTkRfRgf957BnxEXbMe-5NZAMb0L7EV_Vq-dwQrisxnMm2cWqViLslkofIDgqPS6sBwUto0Ix8WXR1XZhie9khNJrz/s320/flight7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my sister and Nico</td></tr>
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<br /><br />We left my sister's place around <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830912" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">5pm</span></span></span> and had dinner at the airport. We knew that dinner would be served on the flight but the flight was <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830913" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">8.30pm</span></span></span> and we knew that by the time the dinner was served, it would be nearly <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830914" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">10pm</span></span></span>. We didn't want to interrupt Nico's sleep. <br /><br />When we got on this flight, Nico was pretty tired and was ready to sleep. We got 1 extra seat so he put his legs on my lap and head on a cushion (it was actually my feeding pillow) in the extra seat and went to sleep after a feed (I still breast feed). He woke up a couple times for a feed, but slept nearly whole time! It was a good surprise for us how easy it was. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1lkq9Dqj3OjvpwZG17xV0BiekPUryuxL8ZqYEgkfc9sqe4CEIXpoKNGQUQJ66MhKDsKKXMn13kIEGqHO3UYBFhAHuNb-IFF9C_nL7dNYv53Irrigxu_xDR3jv2fhZuDaT80uo7nagABB5/s1600/flight2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1lkq9Dqj3OjvpwZG17xV0BiekPUryuxL8ZqYEgkfc9sqe4CEIXpoKNGQUQJ66MhKDsKKXMn13kIEGqHO3UYBFhAHuNb-IFF9C_nL7dNYv53Irrigxu_xDR3jv2fhZuDaT80uo7nagABB5/s320/flight2.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">breakfast time- Paul was still sleepy....</td></tr>
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<br /><br />The flight back was easy too! We could get two extra seats this time, so Nico could sleep pretty well and I could sleep well too. We didn't need to give him a toy nor iPad. The arrival time was around <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830915" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">6.30am</span></span></span> so the flight attendants started to wake passengers up for brekky around <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830916" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">5am</span></span></span> (<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830917" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">4am</span></span></span> Japan time). Nico always wakes up quite early so it worked well too. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuYh0xPhfxGfrmR11AWzhYMmzmrga0PrhdWmnr0eCT3Al6ZZQbJDerHrAec26ntjgV8ND75OEoErhuB9qvGHJFmffHE6f31pk-HrVaxlKi0Usoz1N1SNv5Y3KW3nFWIDJQEqD5ajC9NeP/s1600/flight3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuYh0xPhfxGfrmR11AWzhYMmzmrga0PrhdWmnr0eCT3Al6ZZQbJDerHrAec26ntjgV8ND75OEoErhuB9qvGHJFmffHE6f31pk-HrVaxlKi0Usoz1N1SNv5Y3KW3nFWIDJQEqD5ajC9NeP/s320/flight3.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nico had an afternoon nap in the stroller we borrowed at Narita Airport</td></tr>
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<br /><br />Our transit this time was at Brisbane and waiting at the airport was the second hardest time for us. We wanted to sit down and have a rest after long flight, but Nico wanted to move around. Well at least at the airport, we had space for him to run around. Also we could borrow a stroller there (our stroller was in checked luggage so we had no access during transit) so it was good. Our boy wants to be carried all the time so having no stroller can be just torture. We gave him another new toy there too. <br /><span class="im"></span><br />
<span class="im"><br /></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">having dinner at Narita Airport</td></tr>
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<span class="im"><br /></span>
<span class="im"><br />Because we had to wake up early for brekky, Nico was pretty tired by the time we got on the next flight at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1376830918" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">10.30am</span></span></span>. Nico slept for two hours from Brisbane to Melbourne. What an easy flight! <br /></span>From Melbourne to Tokyo, it takes about 10 hours by direct flight. Like I said before, direct flights sound easier, but actually breaking up that 10 hours was much easier for us. If you're on the same flight for more than 10 hours, that means your kid will just be awake for longer hours. Just playing with kids in a small space for an extra 1hour will make you really exhausted. <br /><span class="im"><br />If we can give someone tips for flight with toddlers, we'd say.. <br /></span>1. Choose a night flight as much as possible. If you have to fly during the day time, choose a flight around your kid's nap time. <br /><span class="im">2. If the flight is longer than 10 hours, break it up by using transits <br />3. Prepare some new toys </span>4. Ask check in staff to give you a whole row ( two extra seats) - it's sometimes difficult but you can still ask! <br />5. Get your kids ready for bed before the long flight - give them dinner, brush their teeth etc. If you try to have dinner with the other passengers, you and your kids won't be able to sleep until all the trays are cleared.. <br /><br />Personally breast feeding helped us with this trip (and the last trip) quite a lot. I was going to wean Nico before this trip but I'm glad I didn't. Whenever he was unsettled, I just fed him and he was happy. Feeding while taking off and landing helped Nico with ear troubles too. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
there was a play space at Narita Airport.. </div>
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It's good to make you kids tired before long flights!</div>
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<br /><br />We think Japan is one of the easiest flight destination with toddlers because you can choose a night flight. If we go somewhere domestic and it's 3 hour day flight, it would be harder than this 9 hour night flight. <br /><br />Through this experience we got a little confidence in flying with a toddler. But we've seen mums with two kids or parents with a baby and a toddler on a flight too. Probably we haven't experienced enough to talk about this topic yet! <br />
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with love,<br />
Allie<br /><br /><br /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-86042195042907918752016-08-01T12:35:00.000+10:002016-08-01T12:35:26.683+10:00Kids-friendly Japan Trip- Mount TakaoIf you're visiting just Tokyo and still want to enjoy beautiful Japanese nature, <a href="http://www.takaotozan.co.jp/takaotozan_eng1/course/">Mt Takao</a> is where you should visit. It's only about 40mins by train from central Tokyo. You don't need any hiking gear, you can even go there with a toddler in a stroller (if you wish, with baby in a pram too!) <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you find Paul in this photo?</td></tr>
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<br /><br />This is where I used to go with my kinder and school for excursions. A cable car will take you to the halfway point of the mountain, where you can enjoy some attractions, a monkey park, a botanical garden, lookout and Yakuoin Temple. From there, you can walk up to the summit, but you can also stop there and go back. Of course you can climb the mountain from the bottom too-you'd better prepare proper clothes and shoes for this though. There are many routes to go up to the summit and you can choose which one depending on your hiking experience. It's a mountain that even school kids can climb so I'd say it's a"kids-friendly" place. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoum3-UwiaF0IQoujOLg39VL22cnmhWBfS5V2fuipDZpHhf4shOGgh4x5dbtNWgjuQCsHdZ8b_P0h7pUChrYEh715CC8-gLyC_RPzCpWNxBk9AcSoD7giydSI2r6FJoCEkbc34FeX7T-P/s1600/takao12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoum3-UwiaF0IQoujOLg39VL22cnmhWBfS5V2fuipDZpHhf4shOGgh4x5dbtNWgjuQCsHdZ8b_P0h7pUChrYEh715CC8-gLyC_RPzCpWNxBk9AcSoD7giydSI2r6FJoCEkbc34FeX7T-P/s1600/takao12.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /><br /><br />Since it got three stars in the Michelin guide book, it became really popular for international tourists. My mum told us that we would have to wait for a cable car for long time especially in autum leaves season.. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFP4aajTXw_9DHY1kZoTx5x2llNGsX6cd_OmSQO-iytVQGmohj96eEmiSck6MPqjXOOI1_aeL3s5VP18OTMFPfh9xTROC-4zKG6q_WyEKsVKgFub-ycocMqJwVpW1Y_kxaXgk3c9cJ6h1/s1600/takao9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFP4aajTXw_9DHY1kZoTx5x2llNGsX6cd_OmSQO-iytVQGmohj96eEmiSck6MPqjXOOI1_aeL3s5VP18OTMFPfh9xTROC-4zKG6q_WyEKsVKgFub-ycocMqJwVpW1Y_kxaXgk3c9cJ6h1/s320/takao9.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
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<br />But the day we went was quite foggy and had light showers, (well the forecast was fine!) so there were not many tourists and no long queues for the cable car. The only thing we got disappointed was that we couldn't see the view from the mountain (you can usually see the city) but we really enjoyed the fresh air in the rain. <br />
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<br /><br />We had rice cakes near the monkey park and it was really yummy! <br />
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<br /><br />Nico really enjoyed seeing many monkeys. <br />
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<br /><br />Lovely walk in light rain. <br />
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<br /><br />At Yakuoin temple <br /><br /> We didn't go to the summit so it took us only about two hours to go up and come back. We had Italian lunch near the train station. <br />
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<br /><br />Hopefully we can go there again when the weather is better next time. We're looking forward to climbing the mountain with Nico too when he gets 5 or 6:-) <br />
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with love,<br />
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Allie<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0日本, 〒193-0844 東京都八王子市高尾町 高尾山35.6251209 139.2436593-17.054202600000004 56.62647179999999 88.3044444 -138.1391532tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-9879384600313690292016-07-27T12:45:00.000+10:002016-08-01T12:39:49.181+10:00Kids-friendly Japan Trip - Kodomo no kuni (Kids world)I can't recommend this place enough. Nico, my parents, Paul and I really enjoyed this theme park called <a href="http://www.kodomonokuni.org/english/">Kodomo no kuni</a>. But it's not like Disney Land where you have to spend heaps of money for the entry, food and souvenirs. This park was founded in commemoration of the Royal Marriage of Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko (the present Emperor) and focused on developing kids' sound mind and body. <br />
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They don't have a big roller coaster but they have a 110m-roller slide! <br />
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My favourite American-Japanese artist <a href="http://stitch-by-stitch-melbourne.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/my-favourite-things-isamu-noguchi.html">Isamu Noguchi</a> was involved in the project of making this park and they have his "Octetra" and a special slide he designed too! <br />
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You can enjoy nature walk in this 250 acre park but they also have little trains going around the park. You can rent a bike too. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mini steam locomotive </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farm (they are making soft serve there!) </td></tr>
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Lots of play equipment </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch time.. </td></tr>
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I went to this place many times with my school and I still remember I had lots of fun there, but didn't realize that it's such a great and special place until I became an adult and went back there with my own kid. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9wfq7NpEkm0ZeAWXHBjQcLzLSaAWkVFWiOXnx2uTmxATuKilSV7KmnyfCdsGNarrfuSSVpUvHHp7CWK5K-OSHodUWH4CtSHZeuoJ0DbLnn3czO0siNUXWsDo3pWUDvTqvGYyq8yDegOv/s1600/kids14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9wfq7NpEkm0ZeAWXHBjQcLzLSaAWkVFWiOXnx2uTmxATuKilSV7KmnyfCdsGNarrfuSSVpUvHHp7CWK5K-OSHodUWH4CtSHZeuoJ0DbLnn3czO0siNUXWsDo3pWUDvTqvGYyq8yDegOv/s320/kids14.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
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It's not easy access from central Tokyo but I'm sure your kids will love this place! <br />
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Kodomo no kuni <br />
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Website: <a href="http://www.kodomonokuni.org/english/">http://www.kodomonokuni.org/english/</a><br />
Open hours 9:30-16:30 <br />
Closed on Wednesday (NYE and New Year's Day)<br />
Entry fee: Adults 600yen<br />
School kids 200yen<br />
0-2yo Free! <br />
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Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-58903069387408875202016-07-25T13:08:00.001+10:002016-07-25T13:08:59.037+10:00Kids-friendly Japan trip- Rainy day activities <span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">(My Japan trip report is still going..I will try to finish it quickly but please be patient! )</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">This trip was focused on my parents, so I didn't really tell many of my friends that we were coming, but we couldn't miss a chance to catch up with my close friend Yuri. I did some research for the places where kids can enjoy themselves and picked this place called "<a href="http://savvytokyo.com/asobono-tokyo-dome-city/">Asobono</a>". It's an indoor play centre. The day we caught up was raining hard so it was good that we picked an indoor place to meet. However, because of the weather, Asobono was super busy with many kids and families. It was a weekday but we had to wait about 30mins to get in and we also couldn't get an all-day ticket, which was cheaper. (When it's busy, they limit the number of all day tickets to sell). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYim1So48yPnX_GkfDRVD025H-tXar-aRHEBR0dkCIkWPuQ0H04JVsEKRQK7XndmC8QGvrORfidgFdVX2HS9Pq605HKzUf3T3QewSqTQmcudle-ZejNPUNUjFwVg08CobF2eA4ZVEMw8_g/s1600/asobono1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYim1So48yPnX_GkfDRVD025H-tXar-aRHEBR0dkCIkWPuQ0H04JVsEKRQK7XndmC8QGvrORfidgFdVX2HS9Pq605HKzUf3T3QewSqTQmcudle-ZejNPUNUjFwVg08CobF2eA4ZVEMw8_g/s320/asobono1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">many kids and parents</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NXqXjMR9L5qhVTxBI-JbscrWH2pFJq2AfD5ewflKDeLNqJdgmNqt7Jyfyiu-xgd5j-fQR03GW2FxAB7flOgO-NCS-5-UEn-ebe7MDcOiMF1huD5S3KC9FKDXMkqJUuMh0TVCHcwCQn3Z/s1600/asobono8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NXqXjMR9L5qhVTxBI-JbscrWH2pFJq2AfD5ewflKDeLNqJdgmNqt7Jyfyiu-xgd5j-fQR03GW2FxAB7flOgO-NCS-5-UEn-ebe7MDcOiMF1huD5S3KC9FKDXMkqJUuMh0TVCHcwCQn3Z/s320/asobono8.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">where is Nico?</td></tr>
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<br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">They had many sections which we could enjoy - a huge ball pool, toy trains, wooden toys, kitchen toys and so on. Except for the ball pool section, it was a bit like bigger version of someone's home, where kids can play with toys that aren't theirs, so I wasn't quite sure if it's worth paying and waiting to get in this play centre. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexbUO6xbDtLxkyHZLO1ZBqc-31TpiTEwrg4cBmYY1R8Cm6mqEkRou0PgO8V5cfICU96xqMLiuGDk2JyX52UzYZadqHTSH-cDBkgDfCP-XuojgjcU4O5mLONo0usnD42vcqW4v4PirGava/s1600/asobono4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexbUO6xbDtLxkyHZLO1ZBqc-31TpiTEwrg4cBmYY1R8Cm6mqEkRou0PgO8V5cfICU96xqMLiuGDk2JyX52UzYZadqHTSH-cDBkgDfCP-XuojgjcU4O5mLONo0usnD42vcqW4v4PirGava/s320/asobono4.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">love father and son time;-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu170Qx0xgXgrU-ah2YXfOP5_pAVjgtLubR2F82t-lxt17Mu9778KuSxRaulzqBx1bWY-Kb9uc0EndvosdZ-DEDWc77P0h0vfLSQBrq8gmdTj8mfYrjpTXL2nMGVfBqwCkBKv6Z2HrnOF9/s1600/asobono6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu170Qx0xgXgrU-ah2YXfOP5_pAVjgtLubR2F82t-lxt17Mu9778KuSxRaulzqBx1bWY-Kb9uc0EndvosdZ-DEDWc77P0h0vfLSQBrq8gmdTj8mfYrjpTXL2nMGVfBqwCkBKv6Z2HrnOF9/s320/asobono6.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is Nico's favourite type of toy</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi119iZUghQ8aIrdEe5z7gLuaBHgAyHV-rEm6TS3eo4bKpzU7FjnQvpxwgZnit6oKtXAuOdvCgv7TsR5whFnhn-1Bc6xt6OlbK0SCFGXiZAx_i0-IIbP76iowBHk8MVBrf3sEcc23BwAkf1/s1600/asobono7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi119iZUghQ8aIrdEe5z7gLuaBHgAyHV-rEm6TS3eo4bKpzU7FjnQvpxwgZnit6oKtXAuOdvCgv7TsR5whFnhn-1Bc6xt6OlbK0SCFGXiZAx_i0-IIbP76iowBHk8MVBrf3sEcc23BwAkf1/s320/asobono7.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">little kids friendly space</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">If you're visiting from overseas though, it might be interesting to see Japanese toys. Especially their "pla rail' (plastic train set) collection, which was massive! The good thing is that both of Yuri's kids and Nico enjoyed it so much that they didn't want to leave. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeq3sXiBq7KDaPULG9B4wMh2ItAeIAh-g6ZfBbpqkEcDybfrRw8py_dyIEpjP324PA2HoC8EbFhZ_tK0tAre_r7qeeY_TNp2nU0div31Dpq-BXi-B_KzTU6cZAUREGptSlx5ttZCeXTWu/s1600/asobono3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeq3sXiBq7KDaPULG9B4wMh2ItAeIAh-g6ZfBbpqkEcDybfrRw8py_dyIEpjP324PA2HoC8EbFhZ_tK0tAre_r7qeeY_TNp2nU0div31Dpq-BXi-B_KzTU6cZAUREGptSlx5ttZCeXTWu/s320/asobono3.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pla rail</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ybVEqdOYI7sxGcee7D4vcNZ66QIFRuaRwroHxiLMOfYIUF_j5-u_J957lDnWFFFkwQAIJI4ncZvMnP8Z_-3B11ihLVYyS__nB5x-MYlYLI984x0CDBC-Vtyjmd1D6j7ah7G2O8AljNN2/s1600/asobono5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ybVEqdOYI7sxGcee7D4vcNZ66QIFRuaRwroHxiLMOfYIUF_j5-u_J957lDnWFFFkwQAIJI4ncZvMnP8Z_-3B11ihLVYyS__nB5x-MYlYLI984x0CDBC-Vtyjmd1D6j7ah7G2O8AljNN2/s320/asobono5.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">For me, it was really really nice to see Nico and Yuri's kids were playing together and laughing together. When we were studying at uni together, I didn't really imagine this would happen. I'm also happy that our friendship has been lasting so long, even though we're in different countries.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNb_IiCBwzqpVz1ynG7mmdYPKH-7eeClCWGbMw_WfcFXUrW5rR3b4qBRLORYAJwBAuqHyqIAsUD3aDdYzaXDFCIABPkQ-WvF8oe2VGLqt39qowWby3aFFGiG43zM0C-ZHNvJ1IOMMK5Bi/s1600/asobono9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNb_IiCBwzqpVz1ynG7mmdYPKH-7eeClCWGbMw_WfcFXUrW5rR3b4qBRLORYAJwBAuqHyqIAsUD3aDdYzaXDFCIABPkQ-WvF8oe2VGLqt39qowWby3aFFGiG43zM0C-ZHNvJ1IOMMK5Bi/s320/asobono9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yuri and Me and kids</td></tr>
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<br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">After the play centre, we went to a cafe which was specializing Japanese sweets. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7q_Nugi3GvuPSQqF3IugPDGFvzRGrbwB7KdcCtq-P8gSanE8bMhS1p0OZ5xhL8Qf2Ss5UCEiWHYUPWlrx8QgHHL5reTYOQnxaYXfoWNQ64dZqm67iulKLRANVu1pWVfpo69pg6B55w4pS/s1600/asobono11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7q_Nugi3GvuPSQqF3IugPDGFvzRGrbwB7KdcCtq-P8gSanE8bMhS1p0OZ5xhL8Qf2Ss5UCEiWHYUPWlrx8QgHHL5reTYOQnxaYXfoWNQ64dZqm67iulKLRANVu1pWVfpo69pg6B55w4pS/s320/asobono11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They became friends!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXxb5BPRO9fl9ifdQF8xNS7IM_L2OGWJNlS-6XbySiKa-pAhfA5kelb5ybtj6D-gAZ53y-h0XGsw-CciywKabd8870-pV3KXyI9JNCinPRMNhq_VUCLMgHMrWQs8qec9S4fP9V64pRGQS/s1600/asobono10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXxb5BPRO9fl9ifdQF8xNS7IM_L2OGWJNlS-6XbySiKa-pAhfA5kelb5ybtj6D-gAZ53y-h0XGsw-CciywKabd8870-pV3KXyI9JNCinPRMNhq_VUCLMgHMrWQs8qec9S4fP9V64pRGQS/s320/asobono10.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Match crepe cake!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">It wasn't easy for us to walk in the heavy rain with kids from the station to the play centre (it was only about 150m) and the centre to the cafe (which was about 50m), but we had a really lovely day. Of course Nico slept in the train all the way back home:-) </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Meiryo UI", "MS UI Gothic", "MS PGothic", "MS Pゴシック", "MS Gothic", "MS ゴシック", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;" /><br />
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with love<br />
AllieAllie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0Tokyo, Japan35.6894875 139.6917063999999321.711287999999996 119.03740939999993 49.667687 160.34600339999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-63275706433045422982016-07-20T11:54:00.000+10:002016-07-20T11:54:07.123+10:00Our special birthday! Our day in St Kilda July 18 was my husband Paul's birthday! He had to work on the day, so we decided to have a special birthday weekend last week. We thought about what we would do carefully and decided to go to our old favourite place, St Kilda. We asked Paul's parents if they wanted to come and Paul's mum joined us (dad had something to do..) so it became an extra special fun day. <br /><br /> We started our day in St Kilda East to get lunch. Last time we went there, we found a super nice burger shop called <a href="http://www.ziggyseatery.com.au/">Ziggy's</a>. We saw this shop on <a href="https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink/directory/restaurant/ziggys">Broadsheet</a> and it became our new favourite. Their Blue cheese burger is the best! We also didn't forget to get our old favourite bagles from famous <a href="http://glicks.com.au/">Glick's</a> (but not for lunch..) <br />
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<br /><br /> We took the burgers to the <a href="http://www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/st_kilda_botanic.htm">St Kilda botanic garden</a> and had lunch there. It was lovely weather that day, so we had a wonderful time there. Nico also enjoyed playing with the play equipment. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lovely father and son</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lion King??</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is where we took our engagement photos 4 years ago!<br />
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<br /><br /><br /> After lunch and play, we walked to the beach. We're not usually beach people, but we love walking alongside the beach - especially on a warm day in winter! We had hot drinks and walked on the pier while chatting. It was a really relaxing time. <br />
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<br /><br /> On the way home, we couldn't forget to get an ice cream tub from <a href="http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/">Messina</a> in Windsor and a jar of salted caramel from <a href="http://www.burchandpurchese.com/">B & P</a> in South Yarra. <br />
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<br /><br /> This is a kind of our perfect day for us. Paul's mum really enjoyed it too! Don't have any plans for the weekend? Try this route and you will definitely love every part! <br />
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with love,<br />
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Allie<br /><br /><br />Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0St Kilda VIC 3182 オーストラリア-37.864 144.98199999999997-37.8890715 144.94165949999996 -37.838928499999994 145.02234049999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-34031257668360547282016-07-13T10:30:00.000+10:002016-07-13T10:30:27.228+10:00Kids-friendly Japan trip - Tokyo toy exhibition for a big kid! While I was doing some research for our Japan trip, I found some information about the "<a href="http://www.toys.or.jp/toyshow/">Tokyo toy exhibition</a>" held during our stay. I talked about it to Paul and he was so excited. Some of you might already know, he loves toys! When we got married and he moved into my little apartment in St Kilda East, he was allowed to bring only 3 toys with him and he struggled;-) <br /><br /> It was open to the public just on 11 and 12 of June, and our option was just the 11th, which was the next day after our Hakone trip. I thought it might be difficult for Nico, but we decided to go there. Personally I wanted to see Paul's happy face:-) <br /><br /> Going to central Tokyo with a toddler is quite tiring. My parents live about 30km away from central Tokyo. To get to Shinjuku, which is one of the biggest stations in Tokyo, it takes about 30 mins by train, and to get Tokyo station or Tokyo Bay Area where the exhibition was held, it takes more than 1 hour. <br /><br /> To avoid the rush hour we left my parents' home around 10am and aimed to come back before 5pm. It actually worked very well for us, because Nico had a morning sleep all the way to our destination in his pram and had an afternoon sleep all the way back home. We didn't have to struggle with a noisy kid in a quiet train - Japanese trains are really quiet! <br />
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<br /><br /> We arrived at Toyosu Station, which we had transit around 11.30am, so we decided to have lunch at Toyosu shopping centre. We wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant, but the restaurant was very small and we couldn't go in without folding our pram - Nico was still sleeping - so we decided to go to a bakery and have lunch outside. It was actually very good choice and we really enjoyed it! <br />
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Nico slept really well so we could actually enjoy shopping there too. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">look at this shop name;-)</td></tr>
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<br /> After lunch and shopping, we got on the <a href="http://www.yurikamome.tokyo/">Yurikamome Line</a>. I always thought this was a monorail but when I actually read about it, I found it's different. It runs on an elevated path all the way so there's no traffic lights, crossings or jams and with the special techniques they use, there's no vibration or sound and it's very quiet. It's all automated so there's no conductors or drivers too! It's a bit like a future train:-) If your kids love trains, they will love the Yurikamome line! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the view from Yurikamome</td></tr>
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<br /><br /> When we arrived at <a href="http://www.bigsight.jp/english/">Tokyo Big Sight</a>, there were many families and toy-loving adults. The queue looked long but the venue was massive so we could enter smoothly. (It was free event so we didn't have to queue to buy tickets!) <br />
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<br /><br /> There were so many booths with the newest toys. Nico and Paul were excited trying all the different toys, but it was really hard for us to take him to the next booth - he didn't want to leave the toys he was playing with! Small companies were selling toys at the booths with special exhibition price but big companies like TOMY were just showing the newest ones coming in September. We didn't buy any toys there -which was very good for us;-) - but got some ideas for Nico's birthday and Christmas.<br />
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<br /><br /> It was quite tiring with the massive venue and crowds, but we all had a wonderful time. I really loved seeing Paul and Nico's happy faces. <br />
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At Tokyo Big Sight, they have interesting exhibitions all the time, so if you're going to Tokyo, it worth checking what's on there. Even if there's nothing, traveling around this Tokyo Bay Area is quite interesting. The big fish market will move to this area (Toyosu) in November too. You will see a futuristic side of Tokyo there:-) <br /><br /> With love, <br /> Allie <br /><br /><br />Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-39385684240400815012016-07-07T10:00:00.000+10:002016-07-07T10:00:24.981+10:00Kids-friendly Japan Trip -Hakone trip 2 June is the rainy season in Japan, so we thought we could do some indoor activities if it was raining in Hakone. "<a href="http://www.yunessun.com/enjoy/list.html">Yunessan</a>" is an indoor spa theme park where kids with nappies can also enjoy themselves - most of the Japanese water theme park usually don't accept babies - so we thought it's an good option. But the night before we went to Hakone, Nico had a high temperature, so we changed our plan and decided to go to <a href="http://www.hakone-oam.or.jp/">Choukokunomori Museum</a>. <br />
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<br /><br /> We arrived in Hakone around 10.30am. The ryokan check-in time was 2pm so we left our bags in a locker at Hakone Yumoto station. From the station, we got on the "Hakone tozan railway". This is a special train I really love. You know <a href="http://stitch-by-stitch-melbourne.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/my-favourite-things-trams.html">my love of trams</a>. It's a little bit similar to a tram experience! <br />
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<br /><br /> This is the only mountain railway in Japan using a "switchback system". The driver and the conductor change shifts and the train switches to reverse travel directions halfway up the line. The view from the train is really wonderful. In June you can enjoy colorful hydrangeas both sides of the railway and it's really beautiful too. <br />
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<br /> When we arrived at the museum, it wasn't raining but quite foggy. This was my first time to visit Chokokunomori (means forest of sculpture) museum and I was really impressed. <br />
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Most of the artworks were outdoors and you can walk around the lovely gardens while you see great sculptures collected from all over the world. Unlike other art galleries, you don't have to worry about your kids running around or making loud noises. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">footbath in the museum!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cafe</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">they have very good Picasso collection</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our boy enjoyed this museum too!</td></tr>
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<br /><br /> We enjoyed a pleasant morning there and had a buffet lunch and then after lunch Nico had a little playtime at the museum kids space where he enjoyed Isamu Noguchi's (<a href="http://stitch-by-stitch-melbourne.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/my-favourite-things-isamu-noguchi.html">my favourite artist</a>!) "Octetra". <br />
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<br /> After that, we went back to Hakone Yumoto and went to our ryokan and had a lovely evening there. <br /><br /> On the second day, we had breakie at the ryokan and checked out at 10am, then left our bags in a locker at Hakone Yumoto station again. We caught a bus to Tougendai where you can get on a gondola and see lovely views of the mountains, Mt Fuji if the weather's good, and Lake Ashi. <br />
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<br /> When we went there, a part of the gondola line was closed due to the active volcano. Usually you can get on Hakone tozan railway to Goura and get on a cable car from there and then get on a gondola to Togendai. This is the most popular route, but we couldn't do that, so we decided to get on a gondola from Togendai and see Owakudani, where you can see smoky mountains from the window and go back to Togendai. The weather was good, but we couldn't see Mt Fuji unfortunately. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Owakudani-smoky mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We saw Mt Fuji at Owakudani in 2012 (we were a bit younger..)</td></tr>
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<br /><br /> At Togendai, we bought some take-away lunch and got on a pirate ship ( ! ) to cross Lake Ashi. I really like that we can enjoy all sorts of transport like gondolas, ships, cable cars and the views in Hakone. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo is from 2012 with Mt Fuji and younger Paul</td></tr>
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<br /><br /> After that, we went to Yasuragi no mori which was a little bit of an odd choice for us. It's a national park and you can go for a bush walk. I thought there would be some kids play area (obviously I didn't do good research) so when we arrived and found nothing much there, I was a bit disappointed, but in the end we enjoyed the nature and the walk:-) <br />
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<br /><br /> After this, we went back to Hakone Yumoto Station and got some souvenirs from shops around the station and then caught the Romance car home. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sleeping in the Romance car</td></tr>
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<br /><br /> It was just a one night trip, but Hakone take you to a completely different world in Japan. I know people enjoy the mixture of traditional and new things in Tokyo but if you feel a bit tired of walking around the busy crowds, this is a great escape from the hustle and bustle ;-) <br /><br /> With love, <br /> Allie <br />Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-59625118974017439322016-07-04T10:00:00.000+10:002016-07-04T10:00:40.763+10:00Kids-friendly Japan Trip - Hakone trip 1 Ryokan When we planned this Japan trip, we thought we wanted to go on a little trip. A "little trip during your trip" might sound strange, but it's like visiting Phillip Island while you're visiting Melbourne. <br />
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For people living in Tokyo, the easiest one night trip option is always Hakone. Hakone is in Kanagawa prefecture, which is south of Tokyo prefecture. From central Tokyo, there are express trains called "<a href="http://www.odakyu.jp/english/romancecar/">Romance Cars</a>" to take you there and just within an hour, you get to a place where you can enjoy all the lovely mountains, rivers, a big lake with Mt Fuji view and soothing onsen (hot springs) . <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from our ryokan</td></tr>
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My dad wanted to go there with us, so my mum and I did a lot of research for ryokan (Japanese style hotel). We didn't want to spend too much money but wanted somewhere that offered good food and a kid-friendly environment. Ryokans usually offer two meals - dinner and breakfast - so when you choose a hotel with good rooms but bad food, it affects your whole trip! After some research, we booked "<a href="http://www.aura-tachibana.com/">Aura Tachibana</a>". They have two types of rooms, western style room with a bed and Japanese style room with Tatami mat and futon - we booked the Japanese style rooms which were much cheaper. <br />
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Usually in a Japanese style room, they keep futon in a cupboard, so kids can run around in a big space. The only thing you need to be careful with kids is shouji and fusuma - washi paper screen sliding doors. But even if your kids accidentally run into them and tear them, it doesn't cost much for hotels to fix them (because they are paper! ) and also harmless for your kids compared with glass doors. <br />
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While you're having dinner in a common dining room (some ryokans let you have dinner in your room), staff come to your room and put your futon out, ready for you to sleep. With a futon, we didn't have to worry about Nico falling from a bed! <br />
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Aura Tachibana was in Hakone Yumoto where the Romance cars arrive. It's a bit busier than other parts of Hakone, but the volcano around Mt Fuji has become more active from last year and some parts are closed for tourists, so my dad wanted to stay somewhere easy to evacuate in case of emergency. It's 15 mins walk from the station, but they'll come to pick you up from the station by a little bus. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we walked around the ryokan and fond a nice temple</td></tr>
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They had a lovely lounge where you can read cool books and magazines and have coffee/alcohol. With Nico, we couldn't really use that place, but they also have a lovely balcony space, so we took Nico there. <br />
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We went there on a weekday, so there weren't that many guests. When we went to their public hot spring bath after dinner, no one was there in both ladies bath and gentleman's bath (well Paul told me about gentleman's bath ) so we enjoyed a huge bath just by ourselves. Paul worried that he might have had to have a bath with my dad, but my dad went to the bath before dinner, so it was ok;-) <br />
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Dinner and breakfast were very lovely. Dinner was course-style and took a while so Nico got bored (his meal came soon but he had to wait for us) so one of us had to take him out to a balcony and play with him in turns, but it was good that there was a space for that. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJl4JA4RSZm8tOUoldvtqUtILYaUM3OwEdcPHf478NNMstu0tesecQRtEymVktnwnLVP3Br-xEfl4mKJ3fYuhX0nB0Pr677XZgiRwcT61cYCHZcTSfnXijoNBnxJAMXCZipWXisRV8CWOI/s1600/ryokan6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJl4JA4RSZm8tOUoldvtqUtILYaUM3OwEdcPHf478NNMstu0tesecQRtEymVktnwnLVP3Br-xEfl4mKJ3fYuhX0nB0Pr677XZgiRwcT61cYCHZcTSfnXijoNBnxJAMXCZipWXisRV8CWOI/s320/ryokan6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">common dining area</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYLEUyrU4L0NGmgJZpp4qVst2Axu2dZ63hQLExM0Jq0bNCPlhGX4NOxhtmiUfD148vsmb7FWZ_H2HJxRimfCqeRdJK2vRAHM92a4_cVo8R1VvcLrR8WaRWLAs0p5Bx9JELddWGX3j-wEs/s1600/ryokan7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYLEUyrU4L0NGmgJZpp4qVst2Axu2dZ63hQLExM0Jq0bNCPlhGX4NOxhtmiUfD148vsmb7FWZ_H2HJxRimfCqeRdJK2vRAHM92a4_cVo8R1VvcLrR8WaRWLAs0p5Bx9JELddWGX3j-wEs/s320/ryokan7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lovely dinner- wagyu beef!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_fAHJ4H7_6h4UCQgvkIzOL2eEXNl2ldgjE_bhRvpOWhoalm8sh2Pe68EdiwgO42SqPKOpF54MB4CMNeA7PuTLvQhyJSDH5GmfpxD2Dd3eCo1hCdvtODeyFKFHJy8HA3JudxiB3ZTalrZ/s1600/ryokan8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_fAHJ4H7_6h4UCQgvkIzOL2eEXNl2ldgjE_bhRvpOWhoalm8sh2Pe68EdiwgO42SqPKOpF54MB4CMNeA7PuTLvQhyJSDH5GmfpxD2Dd3eCo1hCdvtODeyFKFHJy8HA3JudxiB3ZTalrZ/s1600/ryokan8.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we liked all the presentation<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">breakfast</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVjNreAhDIw1my_dkMMVU9CvSNVCOD3GW9HieZXBAc-r9n-Cy8UvdvOEj7O6e8qZt9jvmK1hMMR0doh4XvAscZJTx5rs54y3x4fXzwaI2NtsvKY3OAO_ykYDa-AP30AG6LSWvFIxjjZbz/s1600/ryokan13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVjNreAhDIw1my_dkMMVU9CvSNVCOD3GW9HieZXBAc-r9n-Cy8UvdvOEj7O6e8qZt9jvmK1hMMR0doh4XvAscZJTx5rs54y3x4fXzwaI2NtsvKY3OAO_ykYDa-AP30AG6LSWvFIxjjZbz/s320/ryokan13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some people go to the bath in the morning too to make the most of it - a trip to Hakone usually has the whole of relaxing in the hot springs, but Paul and I chose to relax in our room. Our stay at the ryokan was really great and even with a busy little boy we could have a relaxing time. Japan trips with kids wouldn't be easy, but if you want to have some relaxing time, I do recommend this little Hakone trip. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKl63WuXkAT9RrC2HIa8i5z_qyKFxGrpHXDH_RSRtLM2qRE8IVi0WaBoxvJBr29E1-w9d7P4dHKaA1WZr4errdtBX82y21rZzfIRN42E6XprQQRU0roPVu2yv2Bm4lMJ52JEnG69gmVVUd/s1600/ryokan2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKl63WuXkAT9RrC2HIa8i5z_qyKFxGrpHXDH_RSRtLM2qRE8IVi0WaBoxvJBr29E1-w9d7P4dHKaA1WZr4errdtBX82y21rZzfIRN42E6XprQQRU0roPVu2yv2Bm4lMJ52JEnG69gmVVUd/s320/ryokan2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul having a relaxing time</td></tr>
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Next time I will write about what we did in Hakone. <br />
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With love, <br />
Allie <br />
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<br />Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-50813311168185777582016-06-28T10:00:00.000+10:002016-06-28T10:00:30.053+10:00Kids-friendly Japan Trip - Tama ZooI wrote before that my parents bought us tickets for this trip. My dad had a little surgery this year. When people are ill, they usually find out what they really want to do. My dad found that he wanted to see his grandson. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my dad and Nico at Tama Zoo</td></tr>
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<br /><br /> Soon after we bought the tickets, my mum started planning things that she (and dad) wanted to do with Nico, like going to the zoo, theme park, little trips and more. All we wanted was for my parents and Nico to have wonderful time together. <br /><br /> Tama zoo was one of the first places we visited together. June is the rainy season, so we couldn't really choose the best day to go, but it was pleasant day with a few showers. In Japan, when the weather's good, people are everywhere, so maybe it was good that we could enjoy a quiet zoo without much of a crowd. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nico in his rain coat</td></tr>
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<br /> I visited this zoo so many times when I was little. The entry fee was about 50c for school kids in those days (now it's free and for adults about $7) so I used to go there with friends. <br /><br /> Since I came to Australia, I often heard Japanese people talking about Japanese zoos negatively compared with Australian zoos..they felt sorry for animals in Japanese zoos having not much space and always seemed to be in cages.<br />
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<br /><br /> I don't know which zoo they used to go to, but those discussion became so common, so I kind of forgot what Tama zoo was like and just believed that it was worse than Australian zoos. Then this time, I actually really enjoyed this zoo all over again - Paul was really impressed with this zoo too, especially the huge spaces for the animals. We also saw some interesting animals that we'd never heard of before.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATOUGEf5dyEJ4qsxDg9xI5chqgAT0NcB6_o6CT66UOTegL6kQEf8TMEEqzvHyxu-SmKIy9JOMN2MopTlvfCmQM-2zhNyHdwO9nTZwyEsKRWu3DF0W59JO-_goueyWnZP8O-NRvQx6fUy4/s1600/tamazoo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATOUGEf5dyEJ4qsxDg9xI5chqgAT0NcB6_o6CT66UOTegL6kQEf8TMEEqzvHyxu-SmKIy9JOMN2MopTlvfCmQM-2zhNyHdwO9nTZwyEsKRWu3DF0W59JO-_goueyWnZP8O-NRvQx6fUy4/s320/tamazoo3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br /> This zoo is in the middle of the mountains, so you can enjoy hiking at the same time - you can catch a bus to go up the top and walk down the hill too. The animals were close in their enclosures, so it was easy for Nico to find them and really enjoyable for him too. <br />
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<br /><br /> Tokyo has many interesting things to see, so you might not be interested in going to a zoo, but if you plan a trip with kids, I think this is a great option to enjoy Japanese style zoo and nature at the same time. <br /><br /> With love, <br /> Allie Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-7745884325393634662016-06-22T13:07:00.000+10:002016-06-22T13:07:13.650+10:00Tokyo icon plate <div>
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<button aria-label="その他の受信者" class="ms-font-s _rw_4 o365button" role="button" style="display: none;" title="表示数を多くする" type="button"></button>Now we're back from Japan. The two weeks we spent there seems like a dream now. Just a couple of days ago, we were sweating in humid 30-degree weather and now we're shivering! I can't live without my ugg boots at home... <br /><br /> I'm going to write the details of our trip in this blog soon, but before I start, I'd like to show you this cute plate I got from Japan. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZEWc8Jl-DPUPtlWnBBc00e3xRg-IRhl2DoE9QhWmHK4x41JsPRhVPvPbXfIP8xvELA4souNvPo6L4EQuZlf7c1jeKS2d7ZDFdpKJcsDM9E1WrTON0miC3BrT__Zv5VZC1-YWQnHA7Gxs/s1600/tokyo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZEWc8Jl-DPUPtlWnBBc00e3xRg-IRhl2DoE9QhWmHK4x41JsPRhVPvPbXfIP8xvELA4souNvPo6L4EQuZlf7c1jeKS2d7ZDFdpKJcsDM9E1WrTON0miC3BrT__Zv5VZC1-YWQnHA7Gxs/s320/tokyo1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /><br /> I always had a strong attachment with Melbourne and Sydney ever since I lived in these cities and I love having some Melbourne/Sydney memorabilia like tea towels, posters and so on. But I was never interested in Tokyo goods. It's probably like Paul not being interested in Mount Waverley goods (if they exist...) I like Tokyo and my hometown but wasn't really proud of it. When someone asks me where I'm from and answer "Tokyo", it's handy because I don't have to explain anything about it, but it doesn't sound special to me. </div>
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<br /><br /> So I guess now you can imagine how strange it is for me to buy this plate. During this trip, I had a wonderful time in Tokyo (and a little bit outside of Tokyo ). I loved sharing things I enjoyed when I was little with Paul and Nico and now these new memories changed my whole impression on this city. It's been about 10 years since I left Tokyo and now it became somewhere I simply enjoy my holidays without thinking about my work, daily stuff, relationships with people. Tokyo truly became my favorite city. <br /><br /> This plate is full of our memories with some icons of the places we visited together. We'd love to visit some other places of these icons next time too! <br /><br /> With love, <br /><br />Allie</div>
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Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-56459735967124759722016-05-27T09:00:00.000+10:002016-05-27T21:43:23.363+10:00What do you do when earthquake happens? <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We're going to Japan soon - yay! We thought we couldn't go this year after the big renovation, but my parents bought tickets for us to see Nico. We're lucky... Because my parents are buying the tickets, we'll try to focus on more family time this year, so we might not be able to show you some exciting spots in Tokyo in this blog! But I will try to update our trip here.<br /><br />Whenever we go to Japan, like other tourists, we have to worry about earthquakes (and Mt Fuji eruption). Especially after the big earthquake in Kumamoto in April, people are talking more about a big earthquake around the Tokyo area. I wish Japan didn't have earthquakes or volcanos, but because of that we can also enjoy lovely hot springs. Japanese people can't avoid those natural disasters, so they know how to live with them very well I think. We had lots of earthquake evacuation training at school.<br /><br />I'll write some basic tips for an earthquake situation here... </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />1. When you go to bed, prepare your slippers or shoes next to you. If a big earthquake comes while you're sleeping, sometimes you have to evacuate with your barefeet. If there is broken glass on the floor, it makes it difficult for you to evacuate.<br />2. If an earthquake happens when you're indoors, open the window or door first and then go under the desk or table. An earthquake might change the shape of the door or window frame and you might not be able to open those later. If a fire stars, you won't be able to get out!<br />3. If you're at outdoors, stay away from shop signs or something big because they might fall on you. Once the tremor stops, go to a wide space like a square, park, or vacant land because there might be aftershocks.<br /><br />We worry about these things, but we still want to go. That's funny how much we love Japan;-)<br /><br />From June 4th to 20th, nuno and stitch shipping will stop. We'll still accept orders, but please note that the shipping will be after <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://1" x-apple-data-detectors-result="1" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">June 21.</a> If you need us to ship soon, I recommend you to order before <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://2" x-apple-data-detectors-result="2" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">June 2.</a><br /><br />With love,</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Allie</span><br />
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Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-29252811836293645852016-05-24T12:37:00.001+10:002016-05-24T12:37:04.005+10:00Our new cupboard! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our storage space is finally ready and now I'm keeping all nuno and stitch products here :-) I got so much stuff for markets to display, so some of them are still in our little study/bedroom, but it looks much better now. <br />
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As you know already, our home is very small, but we've got quite a lot of storage. I think this is the key to live neatly in a small space. <br />
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As I was organizing this space, I made an inventory and feel a bit more organized. When I sell my products online, it's easy to track of my stock, but when I sell at markets, sometimes I forget to keep records and lose track. The worst nightmare for shop owners might be having no stock when you receive an order..well at least for me, so it's good to know how much stuff I've got. I think I'm stocking too much at the moment, so I might be able to do some stocktake sale soon. Stay tuned! <br />
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Now we also started using our cupboard door to record Nico's height. This was Paul's idea originally. At his parents place, one of the doors have heaps of height records for all members of the family (and sometimes friends too!). We wanted to do something similar, but we didn't have the courage to write something on our new doors! Now see what we did. We're using washi tapes. It's easy to peel off, it's colorful, neat and cute! We're looking forward to recording more and more heights for Nico in the future. <br />
Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-51028004142988651152016-05-17T15:50:00.001+10:002016-05-17T15:50:18.477+10:00Shopping in Japan I probably wrote this here already, but my policy of living in Australia is "when in Rome, do as the Romans do". Sometimes I miss Japanese style customer service or little handy Japanese products, but I try to be happy with what I can get here. <br />
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However there are some goods I always get from Japan. <br />
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tooth brush <br />
Simply because it's cheaper over there. You can get a pretty good one under $2 in Japan usually and the 100 yen ($1) shop ones aren't bad at all. When I came to Australia for the first time, I was shocked how expensive tooth brushes were. Also, the head part is too big and it's hard to brush the back teeth, at least for me. I always get 3-5 tooth brushes! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese toothbrush (top) and Australian toothbrush</td></tr>
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Socks <br />
Socks are cheaper and better quality with more designs in Japan. It's often 3 for $10... I also get tights for winter. They are usually 2 for $10-12. If you wear stockings, I do recommend buying Japanese ones there. You'll be impressed! <br />
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I often hear that people are thinking how expensive things are in Japan, but it's not true. They do sometimes have crazy prices, like some special melon for $100. Or if you try to have a coffee in Ginza, it's sometimes $9. But those things are just for some special people who want to spend money! <br />
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For example, I feel eating out in Australia is super expensive! <br />
In Japan, if you pay $50, you can get pretty nice French 3 course dinner. Breakfast never costs more than $10! Lunch set menu is often around $10 -15 with coffee and dessert. If you get sandwiches and a drink from 7eleven, it's definitely under $4. <br />
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I read that the average Japanese salary is about 45k and even the average of top industry, like the financial industry, is about 75k, so things have to be cheaper there. If you have visited Japan or lived there before, probably you know what I mean. What did you feel cheaper over there? <br />
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So don't be discouraged to go to Japan just because you think it's expensive! Of course it's more expensive than other Asian countries, but things are often cheaper than Australia. <br />
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Do you have any plan to go to Japan soon? Don't forget to put toothbrushes and socks in your shopping list;) <br />
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With love, <br />
Allie <br />
<br />Allie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637672307537289315.post-74136721969605534202016-05-10T16:14:00.000+10:002016-05-10T16:14:37.054+10:00cookpadI hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day last Sunday. Me? I had a wonderful day with my boys. I got lovely gifts, cards and flowers from Paul and Nico and also Paul made yummy breakfast for me. I was spoiled! <br /><br /><br />My Mother's Day gifts <br />
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<br /><br />-<a href="http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/80282091/">IKEA iPad holder</a> <br />
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<br />-<a href="http://www.nunoandstitch.com.au/apps/webstore/products/show/6102014">double gauze hand towel from nuno and stitch</a> <br /><br />These two items make my cooking time in the kitchen extra fun!<br /><br />I often use a website called "<a href="http://cookpad.com/">Cookpad</a>" for some great recipes. It's a Japanese website so you might not be able to read it, but people can post their own recipes to this website and you can find thousands of recipes there. You often know which one is a good recipe from the number of reports from people who say they used that recipe. <br />
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They upload their own dishes and leave a comment on that recipe like " I cooked this dish twice already and my family absolutely love it! " or " I made this dish using apple instead of strawberries and it works well too". I think most Japanese mums are now using this website...even my mum!<br />
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Hopefully I can write a report on some of the cook pad recipes here and share them with you someday:-) <br />
With love,<br />
AllieAllie @nuno and stitchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725143331963317213noreply@blogger.com0