I had a post planned for earlier this month.. but here we are now at the last few days of March and I’m finally sitting down to write something. March went by sooo quickly and has been filled with so many things. But I still wanted to get something in before Aprils wine club list next Tuesday.
In case you didn’t know, Zach and I closed our first home at the start of February. We had the dream of doing the first floor reno before moving in but.. wishful thinking.. and here we are heading into April with more flooring to be done, the half-bath to be tiled and toilet to be installed, and our fireplace wall to be drywalled post mantel installation, tiled, and have the hearth installed. We moved out of our rental earlier this month, so the month has been full of packing and cleaning up one house, to renos, cleaning, and attempting to unpacking at the other. But we’re really happy with the progress so far and can’t wait to share more! Here is a little before and after at least of the hardwood flooring and fireplace, as a sneak peak.
Had three amaaaazing meals this month. All of which were in our new neighborhood (bless!).
We went for lunch and got: Okinawa tea, Hayashi Udon: Refreshing, chilled udon with beef, tempura balls, and fresh green onion. Tamago Sando: Japanese egg salad sandwich with fresh cucumber, chopped onions, and house made milk bread. Kakigori Japanese Shaved Ice: Traditional Japanese shaved ice made with premium kuramoto ice made in Kanzawa, Japan topped with matcha and matcha cream, and vanilla gelato.
Right next door to Hatsuzakura is Soichi, a Michelin star omakase restaurant. Reservations go so quickly, so I always add as many waitlists as I can… and we finally had luck of a last minute opening. We sat at the sushi bar and got the full omakase set menu. Seasonal appetizer tasting that has the most amazing oyster and the silkiest tofu I’ve ever had in my life. Seasonal chef’s choice sashimi, Jidiri steamed egg custard, Chef's choice of marinated grilled fish, with a sweet potato chip, a pickled young ginger root and a shishito pepper, 15 pieces of sushi, light fish broth, and housemade gelato to end. The uni was one of my favorite things of the night, as well as whole fried anchovy bones that were like eating an anchovy chip!!! The experience was amazing and food was unreal. 100/10 recommend.
We went to the taco tuesday patio takeover with Binchō Taco at Kairoa Brewing Co, and they are making some delish stuff! We got the quesa curry taco: japanese chicken curry with mozzarella, miso cod fish taco, Binchō grilled shrimp taco, vegan fried chicken karaage taco, cheese yaki onigiri: cheese in crispy grilled riceball, taki mame x corn butter: grilled edamame and corn with corn butter. Looking forward to another pop-up of theirs for sure!
This month I read I’m A Fan by Sheena Patel. It was a WILD read. Best way to explain this book is a book full of rumination and thoughts. No plot. Full of unnamed characters, told through an extremely narrow lens from the unnamed narrator. Some Moshfegh vibes in how you don’t want to root for the character and her actions can make you feel icky, but also at the same time they are still somehow relatable. Especially in her deep thoughts and feelings of parasocial relationships and influencer culture that are times are very heavily filled with.
I also got back to some fiber WIPS, and finally finished a granny square balaclava at my craft club this month. The ladies really inspired me because somehow I also managed to begin and finish a little cat blanket. As if wrapping up the renos weren’t enough.. we’re adding two kitties to our family! We’ve talked about getting a cat for most of our relationship (I’m a big cat person, Zach wasn’t so because: 1. allergies and 2. he didn’t like the classic cat persona of skittish, scared, hiding all the time) but got more serious of talking about it within the last year. My family lost our cat of 13 years at the start of the year, and so for some comfort I went to the cat cafe in our neighborhood on a random hour during the week, where I then sat with about two cats on my lap and two cats on each side. After sending Zach the photo of me glued down by cats, he promised we could get one once we moved into our new house. Key word on one here…. but we’re adopting two. The cat cafe has a lot of kittens right now, and it’s recommended when adopting a kitten to get at least two or to have another cat already for the kitten to adjust and learn. Our second cat choice was picked for us because the girl kitten that choose us (if you don’t know cats, cats choose you, you don’t choose what cat you’re getting 😉 ) is bonded to a male kitten. I’ve been nesting hard to make sure the house is ready for them. I’m so glad I got to finish up a little blanket for them just in time to welcome them home soon. We haven’t decided on names yet, so stay tuned for that 😊
Alright. That’s all I have to update you with for now. I’m ending the month with a ladies night out staycation downtown with a good friend and new moon yoga with the womens group on Sunday before picking up the kitties! I’ll chat with you all next week for April’s wine club drop <3