Thanksgiving is not a traditional holiday for the Japanese, but they are aware that we Americans celebrate it. Many of us during our stay experienced bouts of homesickness as the holiday season drew near. We began to miss our family and friends back home and the special foods that are cooked and served during that time. My Japanese language sensei invited us over to her house to bring a piece of home to us. I thought that was such a nice gesture. As you can see, there was even an oven roasted turkey!

 When I think of the holidays coming up, I immediately think of lush velvet dresses or skirts. I scored this beauty at my local thrift store a couple of years ago. It's the most beautiful velvet, wintry green skirt I've ever laid eyes on. Oh, a most beloved treasure. And it was only about $6! It was in lovely condition - barely worn at all. Those front pockets are real and it's got two tiny slits at back of the skirt, which I thought were quite charming. I've worn it every holiday season since I've had it and I love it more and more each time. The blazer I wore with the outfit was also purchased at the same time for $4, which I thought was a rather amazing. I adore anything with elbow patches. It's supposed to be a little boy's tweed blazer but I think it fit me pretty well. You can be the judge of that...!

 We had a birthday celebration last Sunday for my mother, baby niece, and baby nephew. We managed to find time before the party to snap a few quick photos - we were supposed to be picking up the cakes and heading straight back to the house. I always thought the print of this dress reminded me of the prints on Japanese traditional kimonos. Something about all those multi-colored foliage printed repeatedly all over the dress, I suppose. I don't know if I'm right, but until someone tells me otherwise, I'm convinced I'm not entirely wrong either. Anyhow, one of the best things about it is that it's got pockets. You know how I feel about pockets!

 These mary janes from LaRedoute are the sweetest heels I ever laid eyes on. They're only about 2 inches high so they're super comfortable. I can run around all day in them. I love that they've got glitter all over the heel itself. And right now, they're on sale. There's also a promotion going on where you can get 10% off your entire order with promo code 1651. In case you're wondering, I'm not getting paid for this endorsement. Just thought I'd share from one fellow style blogger to another.

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What I wore:

Dress: Ross

Heels: LaRedoute

 Last week's #tbt post featured Miyajima Island, which we all dubbed the "deer island". This week, I'll be talking about our visit to Okunoshima, which we accordingly dubbed the "bunny island". It houses a large population of bunny rabbits, who also do not shy away from people and will approach you. We toured the island in the midst of a sweltering summer day. It was quite grueling to listen for long periods of time with the sun shining ruthlessly down on us. We learned that during WWII, poison gas was produced in a factory built on the island, which had been chosen because it was so isolated and was not even on the map. The poison gas were tested on the bunnies that populated the island. So sad!

 We were given the choice of attending a baseball game and I, along with a majority of our study abroad group, opted to attend. I had always heard the Japanese were very enthusiastic about it. I never cared too much for baseball (and I still don't), but I wanted to experience it anyway. Unfortunately, I did not understand the game itself. The crowd, however, was what made it really enjoyable. The Japanese were so coordinated in their chanting and dancing that I couldn't help but get carried along with the fever of their excitement. And in the end, everyone threw up these pink balloons. This was probably the best part. I had to wonder where they got them because I had not seen a stand that sold balloons.

John and I celebrated our 8th year anniversary last Saturday. We didn't do anything spectacular. No bouquet of brilliant roses. No romantic movies or candle-lit dinner. No frills, no drama. It was a day like any other. Almost. We dined at our favorite AYCE sushi restaurant. We're huge fans of nigiri sushi (sashimi too) but don't always feel like shelling out big bucks for the really good stuff. This restaurant is better than all the AYCE sushi buffets we've ever been to. It's not high quality but it's better than decent. Anyway, we've kept it pretty simple over the years. We've had plenty of fanciful things in the first few years and that was plenty enough.

 As touristy as we could be decked out with cameras of all types, here we were on our walk to the ferry boat that would take us to Miyajima Island, renown for the deer populating the island. This was part of our trip to Hiroshima, which I had somehow forgotten to include. Oops!

-Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)

 On our last day at the ryokan in Hakone, we hauled ourselves up early out of bed to enjoy one last bath in the onsen. The first time we went into the onsen, we giggled like little girls out of nervousness because as you already know, one must go in butt-naked! I remember it being unbearably hot at first. It's so relaxing. It's too bad that we're not supposed to stay in longer than 10-15 minutes at a time or else we'd faint. But it feels so nice that you don't want to leave. I'd bathe in one every day if I could. Anyway, we strolled through this beautiful garden. The maple trees had already shed their lustrous green and blessed us with their vibrant crimson leaves. I think maple trees are so beautiful and elegant.

I never thought much of daisies until I met John. They were simple and unobtrusive. They didn't stand out the way sunflowers did with their sheer size and brilliant yellow petals opening up towards the sun (can you tell I like sunflowers?). But he liked them because they were simple and unobtrusive. They're the kind of flowers that are real easy-going and put a small, affectionate smile on your face. They're adoringly cute. They don't make you gasp the way roses do, but I like that. And they remind me of tiny sunflowers except they come in all sorts of colors!