With the force of a thousand unforgivable suns, this heat we've been experiencing the past couple of days have felt almost unbearable. Even the mere act of sitting and breathing has me breaking out in a sheen of sweat. So, we decided to escape it all and go for a picnic at the park. We had originally planned to go during lunch time, but menial errands pushed our picnic toward early evening. It was actually better that way. It was much cooler and we enjoyed a light evening breeze. Quiet and relaxing.

 This dress from UO, which I bought on sale for only $10, was light enough to withstand the oppressive heat. And despite being a white dress, the colorful floral print covered most of it, which meant I didn't have to worry too much about keeping it an immaculate white.

I made these cold pressed sandwiches for our picnic. It's quite simple, but does require some time to set. All one needs is bread, deli meat, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, and some spinach. Whatever you want, really. Pinterest has a lot of great ideas. I made it the night before and weighed them down with two 8lb dumbells and left to refrigerate overnight. They're fun to make and look so pretty.

What I wore:

Dress: UO

Sandals: New Look

Hat: forgot (it's really old)

 And so begins another weekly installment about my adventures in Japan. It was inevitable that we would visit one of Japan's greatest landmarks: Tokyo Tower. I personally love this shot of the tower. The matrix of steels from the base appears sharp and dramatic and the top floor looks as if it is being consumed by flames. Of course, it doesn't show you what it looks like from a distance, but you'll see for yourself in a bit. A blurry photo of the view from up top can be seen below.

 I still don't know what to make of this bedazzled monument of love. It's actually kind of cute in a way. I can see why this tower might be popular with couples. It's dim and quiet inside and has a lovely view of the city all lit up in the darkness of night. Quite romantic, no? Who wouldn't want to take their date here?

 After touring the tower, our next stop was the famous Tsukiji fish market. As it was still night, and the market did not open until 4 or 5 in the morning, we had many, many, hours to kill. We resorted to silly antics to amuse ourselves. It was going to be a long night, after all. I'm not sure if we even slept at all. I think we might have gone to an internet cafe for a little while. With a couple of hours left til opening, we trudged groggily toward Tsukiji only to realize with utter devastation that there was already a long line in front of the entrance.

  And finally at long last we entered the world of Tsuji. Oh, Tsukiji! This is a fish lover's paradise. It is the largest fish market in the world and many sushi/sashimi (and seafood) restaurant owners come here to get the best pick of freshly caught fish/seafood. I absolutely love sushi (nigiri/sashimi) so this was a dream come true. Watching the auction was an unforgettable experience. Slivers of the tuna were sliced off and presented in a row for the bidders to examine. And one by one, each tuna was sold off to the highest bid.

 Real wasabi is hard to come by in the States so when I saw this, I was ecstatic. It's expensive so I can see why restaurants often use horseradish "wasabi". Anyway, we were eager to eat after the auction. It was difficult to choose which restaurant to eat at because 1) they all served really fresh fish and 2) they all had really long lines.

 I don't know what possessed us to visit a museum (I think) after Tsukiji. We'd had no sleep the night before. I remember being so tired we were saying nonsensical things and the word, delirious, often popped up in our conversations. As you can see, some of us were knocked out cold on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, I could not summon the will to capture more photos of our time there. It was very beautiful, but it was all I could do to keep walking.

  As one who rarely ventures out to the beach, I often forget how nice it can be. The day after I came back from Catalina Island, my family decided to go to Redondo Beach. We used to come here when I was younger. It's been so long I had forgotten what it looked like. Didn't realize the pier was so big with numerous restaurants lining the beach. Guess what I ate? More fish and chips! I've grown to like this dish a lot lately. There's a small restaurant near me that - in my opinion - makes the best fish and chips. So crispy and crunchy. And don't mind me holding a rapidly melting ice cream cone. We were in a hurry to leave so these outfit photos were shot rather hastily.

 We never fail to rent a paddle boat whenever we come here. I suppose it's a kind of tradition for us. So, I should have known better and worn shorts underneath. As it was, I'm fairly certain a good number of people saw my undies that day.

Oh, the beautiful city of Avalon nestled in the mountainous hills of Catalina Island. John's family took his mom here as an early birthday celebration. I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation to come along. It wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought it would be - perhaps, because it was near the end of summer and most of the little ones had already gone back to school. We rented golf carts and drove around the entire city, which was how we came upon this stunning view.

 I'd never been to Catalina Island before this day so I was pretty excited. I wanted to be comfortable because I knew we would spend all day there and it was going to be hot. I brought a denim jacket just in case. It came in handy rather early. John and I were adamant about standing outside and watching the ocean while we sailed to the island. It was so cold that my hands turned numb!

I devoured my "Fresh Catch of the Day" grilled swordfish taco before I remembered that I wanted to take a photo of it. Oh, well. The guy who took my order recommended it. I did wonder if it came from that freshly caught one pictured above. Fresh or not, it was delicious. I liked it better than the fish and chips.

 We went on the Glass Bottom tour to see the many school of fish and coral reef. It was definitely a sight to see, but I was surprised to find that I liked riding around in the golf carts much more. The main mode of transportation here are golf carts. Actual cars are a rare sight, but they do exist. I thought it was a little bizarre at first seeing so many golf carts zipping around, but I got used to it. They're rather cute in their own way. Even the trucks are adorable. And can you believe gas here is around $7/per gallon?

  And here we are with John's mom and youngest sister. Hi family is quite large compared to mine, which makes for a very lively get together. They're not all pictured here as I'm not quite sure how personal I want this blog to be. I can be a rather private person. At the moment, I don't want to delve too deeply into the personal/lifestyle aspect of blogging. 

 P.S. I apologize for the long post. I seem to have a problem with posting too many pictures. I just can't help myself! I don't want to bore anyone, but at the same time, these are like journal entries for me to look back on, too...