What better way to start my first blog post of 2017 than with the oldest garden in Tokyo. Koishikawa Korakuen was an incredibly calm oasis within the biggest city in the world. When we arrived, the maple trees were just beginning to turn their firey red. The pond at one of the edges of the park was so still, the reflection of the city looming above was as clear as a picture. Every corner we turned was more beautiful than the last. Growing up in NYC, I never thought that cities had much green spaces. Then I moved to Chicago and I fell in love with how much green Chicago has. But Tokyo? It worships it's green space and it's obvious how important nature is to the Japanese.
Steven and I have had a nice break from work this past week. We spent the holidays in the city, seeing friends and making lots of food. Since we were in Japan for Thanksgiving, I made all of our favorite Thanksgiving food for Christmas day. We had cornish hens, baked mac and cheese, corn bread, spinach torte, basically, a bunch of carbs. Being home during the days meant lots of holiday movies like Rare Exports and C.R.A.Z.Y. We also ventured downtown on the warmest day to go ice skating, visit our favorite roof top bar, and to walk around the parks. Our first dinner of 2017 was a Japanese feast made entirely by our friend John. It felt fitting to ring in the new year with soba noodles and matcha old fashioneds, being that going to Japan was my favorite thing about 2016.
We were oddly productive over our break. I kept up my new weekly yoga routine. We cleared out a few boxes of things that we were storing in a closet and never using. We even painted the rest of our kitchen - more on that soon! Our friends came over to enjoy leftovers with us, we went to their place to listen to vinyl records and cheers to the new year. The best part of every weekend this past year was all rolled into one week, ending 2016 in a really lovely way. I know that 2016 wasn't a great year for most, but I find myself feeling so fortunate for all that I have, and all that I've done this past year.
Steven and I have had a nice break from work this past week. We spent the holidays in the city, seeing friends and making lots of food. Since we were in Japan for Thanksgiving, I made all of our favorite Thanksgiving food for Christmas day. We had cornish hens, baked mac and cheese, corn bread, spinach torte, basically, a bunch of carbs. Being home during the days meant lots of holiday movies like Rare Exports and C.R.A.Z.Y. We also ventured downtown on the warmest day to go ice skating, visit our favorite roof top bar, and to walk around the parks. Our first dinner of 2017 was a Japanese feast made entirely by our friend John. It felt fitting to ring in the new year with soba noodles and matcha old fashioneds, being that going to Japan was my favorite thing about 2016.
We were oddly productive over our break. I kept up my new weekly yoga routine. We cleared out a few boxes of things that we were storing in a closet and never using. We even painted the rest of our kitchen - more on that soon! Our friends came over to enjoy leftovers with us, we went to their place to listen to vinyl records and cheers to the new year. The best part of every weekend this past year was all rolled into one week, ending 2016 in a really lovely way. I know that 2016 wasn't a great year for most, but I find myself feeling so fortunate for all that I have, and all that I've done this past year.
Comments
Post a Comment