Veggies are here!

We started subscribing to this organic vegetable delivery service since last week. $35/week, a box full of vegetables and fruits!

Therefore, we have eaten more vegetables throughout the week! I love these -premium- salad we put together last night with a few pieces of scallops. Insanely tasty and very healthy.

We don't know if the service is financially viable in our household. Hubby claims that we can get more vegetables/fruits at Wholefoods with the same amount of money. So we are going to try it out for another week and see if we want to stick with it. Nonetheless we have promised ourselves that we will see more greens/yellows/reds on our plates!

another shop inspiration: Society of the Spectacle

I got a new pair of prescription glasses as a birthday/Christmas/New Year gift after spending last 15 years with my (not very savvy) glasses I have been wearing since I was in highschool. (gulp...) During my "next eye-wear hunt", a friend recommended me to visit this boutique shop, Society of the Spectacle.

If I have walked into the store without my prior knowledge,  I would have never guessed that they sold glasses. The store interior and its details were so untypical in a such an unexpected way!

Antique letterpress cabinet to store/display hand crafted frames from all over the world... typewriter displayed on the mirror table... They had so much to see (aside from their awesome eye-wears)!

Their service was amazing too. The person who helped me spent more than an hour helping me try all these glasses. She was so thorough with the search... I think I gave up on finding the perfect fit before she did. I ended up purchasing this beautiful glasses ... designed in Southern California and handcrafted in Japan. Yes. With a touch of pink in the inner frame.

I absolutely LOVE my new pair! You might even see me walking on the street with this hip glasses here and then!

CHOCO tape dispenser

I have an exciting news to share with you today!
We are now carrying CHOCO tape dispensers designed by a Japanese designer Toshitsugu Fujiwara. If you like to have good design around you (in your office or your home), I think you will love this product.

The CHOCO tape dispenser is milled out of a single piece of walnut in order to create a design that is beautiful yet functional. The powerful magnet placed on the main body and on the tape holder keeps the tape in place while making the tape replacement quick and easy. (see the 3rd pic) The black metal cutter is especially designed for this tape dispenser to create a visual accent while keeping the material transition between the wood and metal clean and crisp. Its playful name "CHOCO" came from the simple aesthetic inspired by a block of dark chocolate. (yum:)

It will age beautifully and will be a fantastic companion for mt masking tapes as well as other standard sized tape. When you order CHOCO tape dispenser from our baum-kuchen shop, one small roll of mt masking tape will be included.

cheers!

cafe de leche

this was a lovely treat on thursday... a little family outing to Cafe de Leche, a local coffee shop we recently discovered.

i am always on the look out for neighborhood corners... imagining my future baum-kuchen shop being next to these eclectic shops.

I would love to be next to Cafe de Leche where they have yummy pastry, a friendly kid's corner and outside tables.

wouldn't you??

inspiration from another city

I am really loving this idea of sending/receiving bits and pieces of goodies from another city. My friend in NY shared this little package with me and I loved every piece!

It's like receiving a guided tour of the city!

more SIWA(s) are here!

When we came back from Europe, I was welcomed by a new package of SIWA items waiting for me at the door step!

I am absolutely in love with them. The way it feels in hands, the simple yet "just right" aesthetics designed by Naoto Fukasawa...

One of the customer who purchased the large SIWA cushioned case described the collection as "beautifully designed objects I can use everyday..." I think that's a perfect description for these lovely bags and container made of a paper-like material that is strong and highly water resilient yet soft and flexible.

Also meet the new large SIWA cushioned case in an additional color of charcoal brown! You can see more black and charcoal brown large SIWA cushioned case on last three photos.

Hope you enjoy them:)

black (back) and charcoal brown (front) large SIWA cushioned case
black (bottom) and charcoal brown (top) large SIWA cushioned case

my sweet habits...

I am drooling over these photos everytime I see them.
THE pastry shop that was recommended by multiple friends while we were staying in the lovely town of Fontainebleau. I couldn't figure out their opening hours so roo and I walked to this shop 5 times or so before we FINALLY caught them opened on our last day.

I wanted to buy the whole shop!

p.s. I told hubby that I would move to France just for the food...

we're HOME!

Happily and safely... our family of three has come home a few days ago. We calculated that our travel duration was almost 24 hours with morning traffic in Paris, a connection at Munich airport, 12 hours flight from Munich-LAX and the last leg of drive back to my parents' house.

Somehow..., we survived it all with a great sense of humor and uplifting attitudes. I would have to say that traveling with a baby did get easier and easier. Now we're home, we are dealing with a baby jet lag which seems away harder than actual travel. But I know time will pass and everything will be all right again.

We spent a night at my parents' house before we finally drove to our home... and here is a pic from our breakfast. "Ozoni"a traditional Japanese dish for New Year. My mom has been waiting to make this dish for us... Yes. We're so spoiled.

Well... now we're home in warm, sunny and bright Los Angeles, baum-kuchen shop is opened with a full throttle and I will be following up with a few shop updates as well as the last round of stories from our Euro travel in a next few days.

Stay tuned!!!

Bits and pieces of inspiration {Paris}

We're starting to count down our days in Europe. Little sad? Yes. I am totally spoiled by the walkable city... visit to a gorgeous chateau, yummy bakery and cute kids store all in one walk.

It has been such an interesting experience to travel with our little roo. Without saying, our travel itinerary with her is definitely less crowded than the way it used to be... especially last few days when Hubby was out working. I tried to help her get as much "hotel-room-nap" as possible instead of the nap on the go.

Good thing is that "slower pace = more time to reflect". With everything we have experienced in last three weeks, I am so charged to get started with the new/old adventures at home!
I think that's the best kind of vacation... the one that inspires you so much that you can't wait to get back to your desk and start working!

the Message Bag with Eiffle Tower!

Our Message Bag is trotting the world... now getting cozy with the world famous Eiffel Tower! Can you (sort of) see the Eiffel tower shape made by the bag??

We didn't have enough time to be on top of the tower..., but I very much enjoyed driving underneath this massive structure as well as seeing it from far. Can you imagine how it was like when the tower was first built?

We are having so much fun with this Message Bag around the world series. Looking forward to continuing our adventure even after this trip!

Packaging inspiration

Attention and care which goes into French packaging reminds me of the ones in Japan. You know... an individually wrapped banana at Japanese fruit stand?

I noticed when I buy my daily tart from the nearby pastry, they put my little tart in a triangle wrap made of a single paper... so that my dessert doesn't get all squashed.

... and of course I saw more inspiring paper packaging while we were window shopping.

Merci, Paris

Ever since I saw this shop online, I have been dying to visit!

MERCI in Paris.

They carry a mix of old/new in a perfectly curated manner. Three story space is full of beautiful products, theatrical displays and inspiring vibe (did you see the red car with Christmas trees in the courtyard? Oh my...). I also really appreciated their original collection. Attention to details and use of unexpected materials for packaging (check out the pic of light bulb packaging!)

I definitely got full dose of inspiration for baum-kuchen Brick and Mortar shop (in the future)