Buchita Nimman: cozy hotel in Chiang Mai

In February, I spent almost the entire month in Thailand. Although it's my hometown, there were so many places I never got to visit when I lived back home. This time I decided I had to visit Chiang Mai, Thailand's most popular city in the north.

To rest from street strolling, food feasting and temple hopping, I stayed at a really adorable hotel called Buchita Nimman. 

Newly opened, the hotel is clean, comforting but modern at the same time. It's located at Nimmanhaemin Soi 2, which is basically downtown Chiang Mai, making it an easy access  around the city.

The room we choose was cozy and modern, there are options between a king size bed or 2 twin beds. 

A simple breakfast also comes with the stay, which was extremely affordable plus the staff were very friendly and accommodating. If the breakfast options are not to your liking, many good breakfast places are within a walking distance. 

The room also comes with a private balcony, decorated in a rustic tropical style. 

Really nice and cozy stay, highly recommended. To check out more info, here's the link to Buchita Nimman's Facebook page. 

MONTHLY TAROT CARD FEBRUARY

February 2019 

This month's tarot card is an inspiring quote from Vincent Van Gogh.   

What ever you do, do it with love!

...

The printable card is from our print shop. One sided only (the back is blank, so you can write your own affirmation). 

See more at the link, here.

Books: Big Magic

Today, I want to talk about books.

I must admit, I'm not the speediest or the most enthusiastic reader out there but I have gotten back into reading more in the past few years. I mainly enjoy what people call "Self-help" books. Now, I have to say I'm not too fond of the term "Self-help", it doesn't come with the best label. The way I see it, it's rather more of a "Self-care" or "Soul Development" kind of genre.

One of my most favorites is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. Most of you may know her as the author of Eat, Pray, Love which was her best-selling memoir. Big Magic, however is a book about creativity and Gilbert's experience living life as a creative.

When I read Big Magic, I was in my very early stages of illustration. I had so much doubts, fear as well as many other roller coaster emotions. Reading Big Magic really reassured me that choosing this path was the right decision. Yes, it's difficult and it will continue to be. But through her words, I could see similar struggles people pursuing the creative life must go through in order to continue on this path.

Gilbert mentioned about fear and how many people never fully pursue the creative life out of fear. I remember almost giving up my long term goals since I was so scared it would be impossible. The latter chapters talked about persistence and this is what really helped me to stay focused on my goals. Through numerous rejections, competitions and my own self-doubt, persistence is what helps push through tough times.

Long story short, it's hard to explain in one post on how wonderful this book is. In the few years of  owning this book, I had re-read it many times, re-listened to the audio book again and again as well as recommended it to my friends. If you're someone who needs a little push and shove or someone who needs a little hug while you're trying to get to your goals, here's a good book for you.

Amazon link and review for Big Magic: HERE

Monthly tarot card January

January 2019 

This month's tarot card is a celebration of a new beginning (new year!).   

It means a new start or the beginning of an adventure. 

A new opportunity will be coming you way!

...

The printable card is from our print shop. One sided only (the back is blank, so you can write your own affirmation). 

See more at the link, here.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019!

Happy new year! 2019, year of the pig is here. 

I hope everyone's new year is filled with happiness and positivity. 

Here's an illustration I made for New Year postcards for

my clients, family and friends. 

Brunch at Claska Hotel

Claska is a multi-faceted space in Tokyo. Besides from being a hotel, they also have a furniture store, an event space, a lifestyle goods store as well as a dining space. 

Conveniently, I live within walking distance to Claska and occasionally enjoy my brunch there. I'm not much of a morning person but I do love breakfast and brunch meals. I could be wrong, but to me western style brunches still aren't much of a thing in Tokyo so I appreciate being close to a place that serves proper brunches! 

This time, I ordered English Breakfast, served with an omelette, salad, assorted breads and two choices of beverages. They also offer other options with mostly western style menus but also a traditional Japanese breakfast type.

The choice of bread includes a croissant, a quarter baguette and a dinner roll. Comes with their homemade confiture.

Another popular option they serve is a clam chowder breakfast set.

Their restaurant Kiokuh also serves lunch, tea time and dinner in this beautiful space. I haven't tried other menus besides the breakfast but their other menu sounds amazing. 

You can find some more info about their menu here. Happy dining! 

Winter Desktop Wallpaper

Today's freebie is a fun holidays inspired desktop wallpaper 

Hope you enjoy this colorful wallpaper!

Download 1920x1080

Pre-winter High Tea at Aman Hotel

Since I am rather a coffee fan, I don't always go to High Tea. Although every once in a while, it's great to feel fancy and try out this century old British-inspired meal.

This time, the location was at Aman Hotel, located right at Otemachi station. Their High Tea lounge is right on the 33rd floor which of course displays a fantastic view of Tokyo skyline. Our reservation was at 3:30 so we were able to see Mt. Fuji in a distance as well as the sun setting.

Like other High Tea menu, Aman also serves 1 layer of savory and 2 layers of sweets platter plus scone plates. Because I am a pescetarian, the staff at Aman kindly made a custom savory platter and replaced their usual menu with seafood. They were quite nice combinations of fresh seafood and crisp veggies. 

We were able to select 4 kinds of seasonal sweets in which the staff brought in a leather luggage, quite an interesting concept. I chose Monc Blanc, Strawberry Pistachio, Apple Caramel Choux and Pear Financier. On the top tier, Aman served their signature chocolate trunk filled with berries. 

As for the tea selection, they were from Ronnefeldt, a tea house from Germany which I have never had. Quite nice aromatic tea but I wished they would have more selection for the course. I would have liked to try some kind of milk tea. 

If you're a High Tea fan, this is worth a try. Plus, they do have live traditional Japanese music to accompany guests played by a koto musician in a kimono.

We're Back!

Hello! Long time no see! It’s been a really really long time. Life gets too crazy sometimes and so much had happened within the last few years that we discontinued MTH blog.

But but but the blog has always been on my mind - it kept me thinking about it. It would be really nice to continue sharing this blog with my sister, thinking that one time we are in this time and this space together. It could be something amazing :)

 A little quick update about my life:

 - I move to a new place in the past two years. Yes! I own a house now!

- I get to travel to Toronto and Bangkok often these days. How amazing!

- I’m still doing jewelry, and officially a full-time maker/designer.

- And I recently got featured on Etsy’s blog! Yay! You can read my interview, here.

- I’ve learned to letting go of things/opinions that are no longer serve me.

- And much much more!

 What about you? I hope to hear about what is going on in your life! So great to be back!

 Xo

Fai

Tokyo Vegan Scene

I'm happy to report that Tokyo has been getting a better vegan scene in the recent year. When I moved to Tokyo 3 years ago, I couldn't find too many places but recently, I have seen many vegan or vegetarian restaurants around the city.

I'm actually a pescetarian but I would say 85% of the time I eat vegetarian on a regular basis. I've only been to a few vegan restaurants but here are my 2 favorites so far.

Restaurant 8ablish in Omotesando

A sister restaurant with Pure Cafe, Restaurant 8ablish offers Mediterranean style vegan food not commonly found in Japan. I ordered Souvlaki Plate and ended with soymilk ice cream (with bergamot oil) and couldn't be happier!

T's Restaurant in Jiyugaoka

Located in Luz Jiyugaoka, this place has friendly staff and offers Japanese, Western and Chinese vegan food that were all really delicious. I especially like their curry set with soy meat.

Also, Happy Cow is a really good vegan restaurant guide site that I swear by. I've been searching for a lot of vegan restaurants in Tokyo but they have lists for cities all over the globe!

Cafe Kitsune

Cafe Kitsune is quite well known to locals and tourists but somehow I could never get a seat at their Omotesando location. 

My last visit was a lucky shot on a quiet weekday and I was able to drop in. 

Their coffee was good plus their honey toast was a nice little treat! 

Momotan

Momotan is a peach-flavoured snack I received from my friend, K, during her visit to Okayama.
 

This is what the snack look like. Isn't the packaging adorable?