Baby Product: Safe Fit Snack Pod

We have always wanted a good snack and drink cups attachment for the stroller.
It is useful because baby and parents need to carry drinks and snacks but don't have places to put them.

With this snack pod, parents can put two cups of drinks and/or snacks on the handle of the strollers.
People don't have to hold a cup on one hand and push stroller on the other hand.

I used it this weekend, and it is very easy to set up and use!
I would recommend it to new parents.

Cherry Blossom (sakura) in Burnaby / Vancouver Area

It is finally getting warmer in end of March and cherry trees (sakura) are finally blossoming.
We took this picture near by our place around North Burnaby.
I am assuming that mass blossoming will occur in Vancouver soon.

When it is really warm, they can blossom in early February just like in 2010 during the Olympics.

Usually, they blossom in early or mid-March during the Spring Break in British Columbia.
Cherry tree fields are beautiful.

In Japan, you will see mountains of sakura in the suburbs or along the river banks.

In big cities, you will see acres and acres of sakura blossoms in the parks.
For example, Ueno park in Tokyo.

Here is a picture of sakura in Nagano Prefecture:

Spring Is Here!

The weather in BC is warmer and sunnier this week.
My cute chihuahua got to bathe in the sun this week, and he truly loved it!
Spring is here!  I hope.

Sun tan chihuahua loves sunshine

My dog loves sunshine and warm weather.

Fresh Slice Pizza: Garlic Chicken Pizza

Fresh Slice is a BC Pizza chain that sells cheap, affordable pizzas.
With 11 dollars, you can order this Garlic Chicken Pizza baked fresh and delicious.
I tried it last week and it was great.

I know this chain started setting up shops in Ontario as well.
You can get 3 slices with drink for less than 6 dollars, so it is very affordable compare to competitors.

A new store opened in Burnaby and we even got a souvenir dish.

Barbie Collection: Samurai and Geisha Barbie

I went to Toys' R US recently to walk around to look for deals and came across these Barbie sets.

They had the 80's singer collections and other movie collections but the Samurai collections caught my eyes:
Geisha and Samurai:

 I like this idea for collections.
They should have more cultural themed dolls like this.

Beard Papa: Paris-Brest (French Doughnut)

Beard Papa is a popular Japanese Patisserie (Doughnut and sweets shop) that also opened stores in BC, Canada.  They sell good eclair and cream puffs and other french sweets.

Recently, new menu items had come out:  Paris-Brest.
It is a kind of French doughnut if I want to describe it but it is more sophisticated than that.
It has a layer of cream inside and should be served cold just like e'clair.

Paris-Brest and Eclair

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris%E2%80%93Brest

I tried it and I loved it!!  It is not too sweet like the North American sweet donuts.
The combination of the chocolate layer outside with the cream inside is perfect.
It is supposed to be an cold dessert, so it was just so good and chilly.
I would buy them anytime!  The eclair and puffs are of course top notch as well.

Why don`t they have these in Tim Horton's??????
Maybe it is too hard to mass produce.

Please Lend A Hand to Japan

For the people who read this blog, if possible, please lend a hand and donate to Japanese disaster relief.

It would be great if you can donate to the local Red Cross Organization of your country.
It would be very helpful to the people because they don't have enough water, fuel, food, blankets, electricity, etc.


http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/index.html

Everything will be great help!
Thank you so much!!

McDonald's Canada: Shamrock Shake (Limited Time)

It is very rare for McDonald's Canada to release seasonal products.
However, for St. Patrick's Day, they have released "Shamrock Shake".

Today, I tried it with the new Chocolate Banana Pie, and it was good!

The color is light green with a milky texture. 

The taste is mint and fits in with milk shake pretty well.

I am looking forward to try another one coming up, "Cadbury Creme Egg McFlurry".

We Received Starbucks Japan's Sakura Tumblers!!

Remembered that I mentioned about Starbucks Japan's Sakura Tumblers?

We were very lucky and grateful that my wife's visiting friend had brought them for us from Tokyo!!
Here it is:

It looks very unique, pretty and well designed.
I like it when they have so many seasonal merchandise and varieties of goods.
 (Canadian retailers should learn lessons from them.)

I have always like things designed in Sakura.
I think the cherry blossoms are cute, pink, subtle with hidden beauty.
They reflect the beautiful seasonal nature of Japan.

(I also enjoy Sakura ice cream and mochi.  They taste very good for me!)

New York Fries: Butter Chicken Poutine and Braised Beef Poutine

New York Fries has released two different new products:  Butter Chicken Poutine and Braised Beef Poutine.

(Finally!!! Product variation with New York Fries.)

Now, the concept itself has impressed me already.  However, after I tried the butter chicken today, I really liked the taste of butter chicken.

(I am not Indian, so I am not sure if it is the "real" butter chicken, but it taste good to me. haha)

yummy!!  I will try the Angus Beef Poutine next time!
Good Job! New York Fries.

Restaurant: Sushi Mart on Robson in Vancouver, BC

Sushi Mart is a new restaurant opened by the same owner as Fuji Sushi in Coquitlam, BC.

They have a good concept to lure customers in that you can order and eat in but it is self serve.
Which mean:
1) The server brings the food for you but that is it.
2) You pour your own tea but I find that super easy.

Therefore, you don't need to tip, saving you 10 to 15 percent!

 Here I ordered standard lunch sushi rolls with salmon, tuna and sushi (well, standard north american stuff).
Also, I ordered the Uni Nigiri Sushi.  Now, this was good but cost 2.75.
The taste over all is great and the cost for the lunch set is around 6 dollars....very reasonable in downtown.

 I think I prefer the original store in Coquitlam, BC though.  It is just too good with great value.

 

Sephora's New Line: Hello Kitty Cosmetics

Sephora has introduced a new line of cosmetics:  Hello Kitty.

The store front will feature two brilliantly designed cute posters, picturing a cute model posing in a Hello Kitty themed outfit:

The advertising and the design of the products certainly made this line very enticing.
Great marketing...gotta give it to Sephora.
(Actually, MAC had a Hello Kitty Line 4 years ago as well with great poster and products but did not continue the line for very long.)

I am sure this attracted people, making them stepping into the Sephora stores.

picture of Sephora Hello Kitty shelf

It features eyeliners, lipsticks, lip gloss, brushes, brush set in a Hello Kitty, mirrors, decorated mirrors, etc.
The brush set is cute but a little overpriced considering the silver Hello Kitty is plastic.
The mirrors are good but also expensive.
They also have pouches, shower cap, nail polish....you name it.
It was more comprehensive than the MAC line and I was surprised.
They also had a Tokidoki cosmetic line!  Great collaboration selections!

The US pricing is still a lot lower than the Canadian pricing in Sephora, which is unfair and surprised me.

I certainly hope that they play fair and drop the prices in the future.

I did decide to buy my wife several items, including a Sephora brush set and Hello Kitty products (and they gave us some small gifts and samples).

News Flash: Earthquake in Northern Japan Scale 9.0

Around 20 minutes ago, in Miyagi Prefecture, Northern part of Japan had a big 7.0 earthquake.
Flights and trains are grounded.  I hope things are alright but this might be a big one.

After note:  This was a huge disaster of magnitude 9.0.

For people want to see live news streaming, there is a good website:

Ustream.  Search this website and you can find new channels for Japanese TV News.

Bath & Body Works in Vancouver, BC

We have always liked and shopped in the States for the Body & Bath Works' product lines.
We like their fragrances, product choices and most importantly, prices.

It is true that Body Shop might have more "organic" things, but the price and profit margins for their product is really high.  (Just like other cosmetic products.)

Bath & Body Works, on the other hand, offers cheaper products than Crabtree and Evelyn and the Body Shop.

It is an US chain, and they came to set up branches in Canada over the last two years.
We have always wanted to go to the one in downtown Vancouver, but did not get the chance.

Finally, we had a chance a weekend ago, so we dropped by to get some deals.

Safety 1st Car Seats: Air

Couple of years ago, Safety 1st introduced a new type of car seat for infants called, "Air".

It encompasses the side impact technology and has side cushions for car seats and booster seat.

I guess during the winter season, the retailers want to clear out the older models, so they are having sales.
We have always wanted them, so we bought two stages of car seats for my kids.

We have always wanted the new type of car seat.
Toys R Us and Zellers had sales in the past few weekends, so the chance was perfect to scoop them up.
We bought 1 for Stage 2 (9 to 18 kg) and 1 for Stage 3 (18kg to 9 year old).

It is more likely that I might need one more for my younger son when he gets older...

Bento Lunch Box: Garlic Mayonnaise Shrimp

Here is one lunch box I did not upload for a while.

In the picture:  Japanese fried rice with dried seaweed, garlic mayonnaise shrimps, broccoli, egg and chicken.
Excellent taste!

Our First Blog Book in Print Has Arrived!

This blog to us is like a diary with pictures and words stored digitally online.

However, just like digital pictures, I would like to print things out.
Tangible things, to me, are easier to read and are great memorabilia.

Last month, I ordered a book from Sharebook.  (Once you upload your blog content, they make it and arrange it into a book for you.)

It took a month to ship it to Canada and it is not cheap depending on how you value your "diary".

You can customize the front cover and back cover and side messages.
You can also decide on the content layout and the size and thickness of the book.

My came with just less than 300 pages because last year I blogged the most in the first months.
(When the Olympics were here)
Because we got very busy with family matters later on in 2010, my blog number went down.

Regardless, I liked the end product, the quality and the layout of the whole book.
It preserves memories that we don't want to forget.

My Cute Chihuahua's Sixth Birthday!

It has been 6 years since we got our first chihuahua.
Where did the time go?!

As usual, we gave our big boy some birthday presents.
My wife also prepared some gourmet "super lean sirloin burger patty" for him.

This little chihuahua loves taking photos and will take pose at any time.  haha!
I could not believe that he could hold off eating the burger in front of him.

Pose for another model shot...

My son kept bringing cold viruses home, so I caught another cold.
Cough cough.  Gotta go rest now.

TJ Maxx Discovery: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Book, Mat and Figures

We usually find small treasures inside TJ Maxx whenever we go shopping.
This time, we found a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book for 7.99 plus tax.

It is a good quality board book with story.
I would not be surprised if they sell it outside for 20 dollars.
It comes with small figures of all main characters of Mickey Mouse.

Amazingly, it even comes with a play mat for kids to play with the figures.

This is definitely a great find in TJ Maxx.