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Showing posts with label my sister. Show all posts

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Carlsbad Premium Outlets Haul - Banana Republic, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, and Van Husen

Yesterday, my husband and I went to Carlsbad Premium Outlets because I wanted to get a new pair of skinny jeans. My old navy blue skinny jeans, which I bought at Banana Republic years ago, had been worn out already. At Carlsbad Premium Outlets, I got some clothing with great deals there because of Fourth of July sales. I'm going to share what I got there with you.

I went to Banana Republic first. They were having 50% off for entire items. I looked at their jeans, but they didn't have my size. :( That's why I decided to purchase my new jeans at other stores. At Banana Republic, some clothing was marked as more than 70% off. I couldn't resist buying new clothing there.

I purchased two tees for my sister and myself. These have many cute elephant prints on. I tried it on and was stylish than I expected, so I decided to purchase it for my sister too. This tee was originally $29.99 but was marked as 70% off. It ended up $7.65 plus tax with 15% off coupon, which I printed out at home in advance.

Banana Republic

This dress was marked as $12.99. It was originally $39.99, and it ended up being $11.04 plus tax with my 15% off coupon. This cotton dress is perfect for summer, and I think that I can wear it during fall and winter with leggings and boots here in Southern California. :)

Banana Republic

Then, I went to Tommy Hilfiger to look at my new jeans. These skinny jeans were originally $59.50 but was $29.75 with 50% off sale. I ended up paying $25.29 plus tax with my 15% off coupon. I tried these on at the store, and these were perfectly fit my size! :)

Tommy Hilfiger

Then, I went to Gap. These tank tops were part of their big Fourth of July sales. These were originally $16.99 each but were on sale for $2.99 plus tax. My sister in Japan told me that she wanted more tanks, so I bought three tank tops for her.

Gap

At Van Heusen, they were having 70% off for entire items excluding ties. My husband bought three t-shirts for $10.80 (originally $36) and a long sleeve button-down shirts for $15 (originally $50).

Van Heusen

My entries related to Premium Outlets Hauls can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Premium%20Outlets%20Hauls

My entries related to my shopping can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/shopping

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Toys for My Niece and Nephews

I have a six-year-old niece, a four-year-old nephew, and a 16-month-old nephew in Japan. When I meet my sister, who is their mother, I will be able to meet my niece and nephews for the first time in a long time. That's why I bought some toys for them last week. I'm going to share what I got for them with you.

I bought this Barbie doll for my niece. She is going to enter elementary school in April. Considering her age and her development stage, I think she will become a liking for playing with a doll more and more from now on.

I bought these Hot Wheels toys for my nephews.

Hot Wheels Car

This Hot Wheels City Loop & Launch box also includes a green Hot Wheel Car, so they can play with orange and green Hot Wheel cars.

Hot Wheels City Loop & Launch

I hope they will like these. I can't wait seeing how big they grew up. :)

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Coach Factory Haul

I'm going to Japan and see my sister end of this month. That's why my sister and her husband asked me to get Coach bags because Coach products in Japan are more than two times expensive than U.S. I ordered two bags for them last week and received the package yesterday. :) I'm going to share what I got for them with you.

My sister requested me to purchase this bright purple leather handbag, which is Peyton Jordan Double Zip Carryall in Leather. This was originally $428 but was on sale for $181.30. She told me that this bag would be perfect for spring, and she would like to wear beige Coach Signature scarf, which I had given her before, with it.

Peyton Jordan Double Zip Carryall in Leather

My brother-in-law chose this Heritage Signature Foldover Tote. This was originally $398 but was on sale for $211.40. He really likes Coach products more than my sister does.

Heritage Signature Foldover Tote

These were $392.70 plus tax in total and ended up being $339.29 with a 20% discount. These came out about 60% off! I hope they will like these.

Here is my entries related to Coach.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Coach

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Trader Joe's Insulated Bag

When my husband and I go to supermarkets on weekends, we take the Trader Joe's insulated bag. It's because we always want to stop by some grocery stores, so it's necessary for us to have something keep the grocery cool. We used to use Whole Foods insulated bag, but I often found it too small. This Trader Joe's bag is big enough, and I am very satisfied with it. That's why I decided to purchase it for my sister in Japan. She sometimes goes to Costco which is located far away from her home. When we went to Costco in Japan, she took her insulated bag there to purchase meat and fish. However, it is not big enough to put in high-volume items. I think this bag will be perfect for her shopping. :) In addition, Trader Joe's bag is pretty popular for women in Japan. Well, there are no branches in Japan at all. However, U.S. products are always popular there, and I heard that some Trader Joe's reusable bags are sold in small number of the fancy department stores with four times the original price. It's no wonder that those are pretty popular because their bags always have pretty prints and look cute and stylish. Even though it's four times expensive, it's still affordable price.

Trader Joe's Insulated Bag

My entries related to Trader Joe's can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Trader%20Joe%27s

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Dry Up Beautyblender As Quickly As Possible

My sister in Japan asked me to purchase two pieces of beautyblender. I was looking at Amazon price for several weeks in a row and finally decided to purchase when it became $20.05 including tax. I think it's not too shabby. Because I didn't have an extra one, I also purchased the two-piece package for myself just in case.

Beautyblender

Since she started using the beautyblender a year ago, it has been an essential item for her makeup. She got two sponges a year ago, but one of them started molding last month. :(( Because Japan is pretty humid compared to the U.S., it needs to be used with extra care. I advised her that she should keep it in the driest room in order to dry it up as soon as possible, especially during winter and rainy season.

I usually wrap it in a towel and squeeze out excess water after washing it thoroughly. Then I place it in my room to air dry. It takes 24 hours to dry up completely.

My entries related to beauty can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/beauty

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Carlsbad Premium Outlets Haul - G.H. Bass, Banana Republic, and Van Heusen

My sister had asked me to purchase some belts for her in the U.S. because I am going to see her in Japan this month. That's why my husband and I decided to go to Carlsbad Premium Outlets today. I'm going to share with you what I got there.

I bought a cardigan and two belts for my sister.

I purchased these reversible leather belts at G.H. Bass.

These versatile leather belts reverse from brown to black to match her outfit. The woven belt was originally $46, and the leather belt was originally $44. However, these ended up being $36.72 after discounts. It came out 59% off.

I purchased this cardigan at Banana Republics. Its front is simple black, and the back of cardigan has black and white stripe. After trying it on, I decided to purchase the two cardigans for her and myself. This was originally $59.99 but was on sale for $18. :) It came out 70% off.

My husband bought this white dress shirt at Van Heusen. He wanted to get a dress shirt prior to the next business trip. This was originally $45 but was on sale for $9.99. It came out 77% off.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Macchan Mitsuse Farmer's Market in Saga, Japan - The Best Tofu Ever

The day before leaving from Japan, my brother took me to Saga prefecture with my mother and sister. He told us that Macchan Mitsuse farmer's market in Saga serves the best tofu he has ever had, so he sometimes goes there with my parents. My sister had already known about their farmer's market and had been there before. In addition, their farmer's market has been on TV. Somehow the famers' market is pretty popular in Southern Japan. It took us about an hour to go there from my parents' home. It was drizzle that day, and we went there at 5 p.m. on Thursday. At that time, some stores were preparing to close already, so there were only a few customers. I heard that it is always very crowded on weekends. Their food court had a high ceiling, and wooden long tables and stump tree chairs made cozy impression.

He treated us to their tofu meals. The handmade tofu fast food restaurant is the most popular place there.

They serve some tofu menus and all of them are incredibly affordable. My brother recommended me to eat their deep fried tofu, which was 250 yen.

We sit in chairs and were ready to eat.

My mother chose dashi tofu, which was 350 yen. It was bigger than I was expecting. The tofu was very soft and silken.

Dashi Tofu 350 yen

My deep fried tofu was also bigger than I was expecting. I was surprised that it was only 250 yen. They added red chili on top. It was gently spicy and very good.

Deep Fried Tofu 250 yen

After I ate fried tofu, my brother asked me if I'd like to try their tofu croquette. The tofu croquette, which was 100 yen, tasted like potato croquette but softer. I loved it too. It was much bigger than a normal croquette, and it was the best and biggest croquette I have ever had.

Tofu Croquette

The farmer's market was selling many fresh vegetable, fruit, sweets and so on. My sister bought some prepared foods for my father.

On the way home, we stopped by a roadside station in Saga. My sister and I walked in the store and purchased some souvenir. She bought Ogi yokan, a famous Japanese sweets in Saga, for my husband. There was also a food court.

Roadside Station Yoshinogari

My brother was putting some drinking water in his water pots. Because the roadside station is located on a fresh clean air mountain, water there is very tasty and popular. You can use their water when you brew coffee, or tea, and it makes it taste much better. Many people stopped by this roadside station to get some water and enjoy shopping there.

If he hadn't taken me there, I wouldn't have known these places since I live in the U.S. We enjoyed a short family trip that day. Thanks, my brother. :)

Macchan Mitsuse Farmer's Market
246-1 Mitsusemurayuzuriha
Saga, Saga
842-0303 Japan

Roadside Station Yoshinogari
1710-11 Matsuguma
Kanzakigun Yoshinogaricho, Saga
842-0101 Japan

This is also my entry you might like.
Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

Monday, November 4, 2013

Japanese Foods from My Sister

When I visited to Japan, my sister gave me a lot of Japanese food. In the U.S., Japanese food is pretty expensive, and some are not available here. She knows which are good in Japan more than I do. I really appreciated her kindness. I'm going to share with you what she gave me in Japan.

Before going to Japan, I requested her to buy instant ramen as many as she could because I love Japanese ramen. Then, she found these ramen which have good tastes and were inexpensive. These were less than 100yen each, which is equivalent to under a dollar. I was going to pay for them, but she told me that these were gifts for me because we can only meet once in a blue moon.

When my sister and I ate out, my sister bought some other Japanese food for me.

These are Japanese sweets, Yokan, which is made of red beans and sugar. When we went to Saga prefecture, I was going to buy Ogi Yokan, which is a famous type of yokan there. It's because my husband really likes them and these are not available in the U.S. My sister bought them for me again.

Ogi Yokan

Then, when we went to a ramen restaurant, she recommended me this Japanese pickles, which the restaurant sells. Her family loves the pickles, and whenever they eat out at the restaurant, they always buy one. My sister bought two packs of pickles as usual, and bought one for me again. The pickles are only available to purchase at the restaurant in Japan. Since I came back to the U.S., I have been eating them and these were great with rice!

Japanese Pickles, Harihari-zuke

Whenever I visit to my hometown, my sister treats me very well. I left from my parents' home when I was 18. Since then, we have met only once in a blue moon. That's why our meeting has been always special. While I was staying in Japan, my sister stopped by my parents' home to see me on the way home from her work every day. She was busy as a mother of three children, so she spent her precious time for 30 minutes to talk to me every day. We were able to talk a lot as if we had lived together like we did long time ago.

This is my entry you might like.
■Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

Monday, September 16, 2013

Souvenir Idea for My Families - Starbucks You Are Here Collection Mugs

I was thinking about what is the best souvenir for my parents-in-law, and I came up with an idea that Starbucks You Are Here Collection mugs would be perfect because the mugs are only released locally. I thought that whenever they use the mugs, they would remember us and imagine where we are living. A You Are Here Collection mug is $10.95 at my local Starbucks, but the mug is selling at $20 to $35 on U.S. amazon and $50 to $65 in Japan! I told my sister that I bought Starbucks mugs for my parents-in-law, and she requested me to buy one for her if I still have space in my carry-on bag. I didn't expect that she would request me again. Therefore, I decided to share the mugs with her and you through my blog.