Friendsgiving

First off, where has November gone? It's more than halfway over. Thanksgiving is this week. It snowed the other day. WHAT?! I feel a little jipped because we were in Japan all summer and got back and BAM it was fall (not complaining)...but we're basically in winter now. Complaining. However, I love November and December because of all the happy get-togethers, parties, ice skating, tree lightings, singing---festivities all around. And this includes the FRIENDSGIVING we had last weekend. The company was the best, the food was the best, the games were the best...it was one of those cozy nights that you want to put on repeat. We have been so fortunate to live by such good friends to make Utah feel more like home. And what's even more amazing is Alex's best friends from high school all live in the same state now (well, minus 1 :))---only for a short time, but we'll take it. It's so fun to see them all together. 

And now forgive me for a picture dump of Friendsgiving:

^^^Cutest family (minus Blakely)

^^^LOL not their child

 ^^^Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen?!

 ^^^Sorry for the awk pic, it's all about the food though

^^^best buds. The awkwardness kills me.

 ^^^Is this also not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

 ^^^Seriously...too many "cutest" things

 ^^^THE FOUR BEST FRIENDS FINALLY TOGETHER AGAIN!!! (with their hot wives)

Aaaand really sorry about these...we had a photo shoot haha:

^^^THE WHOLE GROUP!!!

THANK YOU LANDON AND MIRANDA FOR HOSTING!!! YOU GUYS ARE THE HOSTEST WE LOVE THE MOSTEST! We will miss you when you move to Boise!!!

xoxo,

kay

OCTOBER!!!!

It is officially the best month! I know everyone says that, but I totally liked October before it was cool, probably because my birthday is in October and I always had some kind of halloween-themed birthday party. But I love Halloween. I LOVE dressing up. I love the fall leaves. Seriously, it's an obsession. I've driven up the canyon 4 times already. I love fall smells. I love drinking tea when it gets cold out. I love football season. I love the cold, crisp air in the morning and perfect 60-70 degree days. I LOVE IT ALL!!!! 

Here are some of my favorite "fall items" to have/see/do:

 Bath and Body Works fall candles. Some of the best smells in the world!!! My favorites are "Sweater Weather" and "Leaves". Plus, they were just on sale so of course I stocked up.

If you have a Costco membership, BUY THIS. If you don't, I will buy it for you. Krusteaz pumpkin spice mix. I make waffles with it and they are so good! I hate pumpkin pie, but love everything else pumpkin flavored. You will not regret this.

Last year, and this year: Nebo Loop and Guardsman Pass. These two drives are some of the most beautiful places I've been in my life. Like I said, I have an obsession with fall foliage. There are not many sights more beautiful to me than these trees. We probably only have a week left with the fall colors so go take a drive down the canyon!

Okay funny story about this movie. My two friends and I were these witches for Halloween one year when we were little and I had to be Mary, because I had brown hair. Pretty sure I hated life 'cause she's the fat one. Haha. Anyways. This movie obviously is amazing and I watch it multiple times every year. If you want to have a Hocus Pocus party, I am always down.

Luckily we have a few pumpkin patches right by our house. This pumpkin pyramid is right around the corner from us, called Wilkerson Farm. The top picture is from The Red Barn down in Santaquin. So much fun! They have a hay ride, slides, a corn maze, and the pumpkin patch.

If you know me, you know that I love tea. I pretty much drink it daily, even in the summer. But in the fall and winter it means so much more! These two flavors of Yogi tea are amazing and taste like fall. If you're a tea-drinker, go get some of this! 

Fall decorations!!! This is only a snippet of what is in my house. That beautiful wreath was made by my good friend Cilka (her etsy shop is found here). You can literally tell her to make anything you want and it will turn out perfect. I have pumpkins, leaves, signs, candles, towels---fall/Halloween everything. 

October is the best month and I am already living it up. We only have a short time with fall in Utah, but while it lasts, everything is amazing!

xoxo,

kay

Vivaaaa Las Vegas!

This was a much needed trip with my BFF! I only get to see Natasha a couple times a year, so I love every chance we get together. We ate, laughed, played, shopped, and relaxed. It was the perfect weekend (minus the 110 degree weather). 

Highlights:
+Walking the strip: Shopping, Coca-Cola world, and SHAKE SHACK

+Eating breakfast at the Eiffel Tower. Go for the views of the Bellagio

+Container Park: Just a cool place to go shop and look around at all the buildings made of old trucks or trains

+Fremont street: Saddest place on earth, but soo entertaining

+Graffiti: Walk down the street from Fremont and there's TONS of cool graffiti on the building walls

+Paddle-boarding on lake Las Vegas: We were the only people there and it was super relaxing

+The Neon Museum: Super cool "junkyard" full of old signs in Vegas

+Of course our host, my aunt Julie. She is the best. Always makes us feel comfortable, provides bomb food, and lets us swim in her pool :) Thanks Julie!

Such a fun girls weekend! Vegas, I am coming back for you. Anyone up for the Britney Spears concert? ;)

xoxo,

kay

Tokyo Weirdness

This experience has been so great for me. I have learned a ton about a new culture and it has been very eye-opening. This culture, as great as it is, also comes with a lot of weirdness. Like....almost every corner I turn I stare at people/things because it is so funny/strange/nothing you would ever see in America. And I love Tokyo for this. Some of the strangest things I've seen in my life. If you can't recall some of the past things I've shared, such as all the weird characters or Mario characters I randomly saw riding go-carts, you can check it out here or here.

And I'm sorry for all of you that haven't been following me on SnapChat because I take pictures of so many gems all the time. 

Here are Japanese Quirks #4 before I share lots of photos of some of the strangest things I've seen in Japan:

1. The toilets here are amazing. NOT the squatters though. I hate squatters. But all the other "western" toilets have seat warmers, bidets, a sink on the toilet, and are clean.

2. I cannot believe I haven't shared this one, but there are vending machines everywhere. And I mean everywhere—busy streets, in the middle of nowhere, alleyways. Japanese people need their drinks.

3. You always walk on the left side of the sidewalk but sometimes Japanese people suck at this and take up the whole sidewalk or will randomly stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

4. The produce/meat/eggs are amazing here. So much fresher and tastier!

5. You can find hot dogs covered in guacamole at Tully's Coffee.

6. Everyone over-uses umbrellas here. Sun, rain, no-rain, no-reason.

7. Always stand to the left on an escalator. The right side is for people who want to walk. I truly feel like a Japanese person when someone stands on the right side and I'm trying to walk up. Idiots. 

8. Everyone takes their job seriously and does it 110% no matter what it is.

Sorry all these pictures are scattered...I have been to some places multiple times.

More characters, because there are just endless characters EVERYWHERE.

There are owl cafes, cat cafes, bunny cafes...lots of animal cafes! This was the coolest place ever though. Owls are fascinating creatures and surprisingly heavy. I took my brother and his wife here after experiencing it myself, because it was that amazing.

People are obsessed with their little dogs here. They dress them up, walk them in strollers, bring them to restaurants, you name it. There was a whole store for dog strollers/accessories/clothes in a mall.

Buildings with giant cups, sushi clocks, and a big LOL to the last picture of "cat tongs". What a brilliant idea. I also love all of the food displays here. They are extremely accurate of what you will be eating and almost every restaurant has them. This is an adoption America needs to make. It is the most helpful thing when choosing a meal.

This is Akihabara, aka nerd central. I wish I had more pictures of this place. You can find unlimited anime character stores, maid cafes, bright signs, sega stores, stores with 1,000 little vending machines with figurines in them. It's quite amazing.

Now for some true Tokyo fashion:

Most of these items have been found at my favorite place in all of Tokyo: Takeshita Street in Harajuku. It is the fashion capital for teens and young adults. Tokyo is about a year ahead in fashion and it has been funny to see Tokyo trends that are starting to pick up in America—jean skirts, platform shoes, and having two hair buns just to name a few. Hopefully the socks-with-sandals-toes-sticking-out do not make an appearance.

And here is my favorite thing in all of Japan: all the T-shirts that make no sense!

^^that last one says, "Girl it can do if it does"

So ya, not sure if Japanese people know what their shirts say or maybe just don't care, but it is hilarious and I often find myself taking pictures of these shirts. It is super common to see normal people wearing something like this. 

Also, random thought that I had to add to this post: I was walking around Roppongi Hills the other day, a very popular outdoor place that's always busy on weekends. Anyways, there was some kind of girl pop group competition (I'd say ages 14-18), and who were the people in the audience that knew all of the lyrics and dances? 30-year-old men. Shocking. But wouldn't we expect something like this in Japan? ;)

Japan is truly an interesting place and has SO many quirks. That's what makes it so unique. There is truly nowhere else in the world that has this "charm". I love it so much.

xoxo,

kay