Goodbye to the old

I had cleaned out my closet about 5 months ago and was shocked to find a pile of clothes that I wanted to throw away. Some still had price tags on it, which made me feel so ashamed and embarrassed that I had wasted so much money on clothes that were impulse purchases than well-thought-out purchases. I had let money flow out of my purse like water.

I just really hope I can control my shopping urges from now on.

Anyway, Shelby and I had quite a bit of clothes we didn't want anymore, and so we sold some pieces to a second hand shop. I ended up making about $4 by selling 14 pieces. It was really sad, since I had spent about $100~200 for the same 14 pieces. 

I think I'll just donate the rest, since it really isn't worth selling the bunch just to make a few dollars. 

I took these pictures on our way to the second hand shop and took the last 3 pictures on our way to Shinjuku to watch a movie. I don't know why my legs look ridiculously huge in the second to last picture, it looks so out of proportion! 

Sure ain't easy

Shelby came over to my dorm for a sleepover the other day. We ate and talked and snacked and talked and then decided to go out on a midnight stroll just to help out our poor stomachs (yep, this is our definition of a midnight stroll).

On our way back to my dorm, we wanted to do something slightly crazier, and thought it would be pretty fun dressing up this time. I think we were inspired to do so because we had watched Sex and the City (the movie) earlier. We somehow ended up trying to put together clothes that would look horrible as an outfit. 

And it was actually unbelievably hard to make an outfit look bad. Who knew? We subconsciously kept on grabbing things that would go well together!

This was the best we could do so far, but we plan on getting super bright and crazy 70's outfits and go all out!

Midnight snack

I had a little midnight snack tonight :)
It's called taiyaki, and inside the fish shaped bread, there were different fillings such as custard, banana cream, coffee, and azuki (sweet red beans). It was absolutely scrumptious, that I finished everything in one sitting! It was a gift from my close friend Jihyun, since she visited Japan for a few days and is going back to Korea tomorrow :( She got it from Ginza, a shopping district where they also have delicious waffles and other bakery.

Azabujuban

Azabujuban is a beautiful residential area next to Roppongi. It's actually known to be Tokyo's most affluent residential district, so a lot of artists, celebrities and foreigners live in this area.
Having lived in Japan for 8 years, I sometimes get tired of seeing only apartments and buildings and miss seeing American houses with actual roofs and garages, so I like going to Azabu occasionally and appreciate the upscale houses there.
The real reason why I went to Azabu though was because my favorite Mexican restaurant Frijoles is there, and since my friend works there, I was hoping to bump into her. (I did by the way. Yay! :D) In case you're wondering, Frijoles is exactly like the American chain restaurant Chipotle.

I tried to go for a vintage look, and I think I did pretty well considering I don't actually own any vintage pieces. I'm trying to go on a shopping-diet right now since I just bought a new camera, so I am just mixing and matching what I have in my closet right now. I love the look though, it's very earth/nature-pastel, and simple. I just bought those platform shoes with a strap around the ankle (so long to my shopping-diet), so I was in a very happy mood, walking around in them for the first time. I realize I should have buckled the strap more towards the side though, since it looks kind of awkward, just sort of hanging at the front.

Anyway, I had a great time just walking around and taking pictures :)  

Yasukuni Shrine

It's humid, it's hot, and it's definitely not the best time to be back in Japan, but here I am! I'm finally back in Japan! 

And I thought it would be appropriate to do a very Japanese-y post as to celebrate my return. 

I went to Yasukuni Shrine (for the first time, actually) to admire some traditional Japanese architecture. Despite the animosity this shrine creates between Korea and Japan, I pushed aside my national identity for a moment and really appreciated this shrine aesthetically. I thought the entrance was beautiful because it seemed like a whole new world behind those wooden doors.  

I think my outfit is pretty classy, with my clutch and slightly pointy toe pumps. I also wanted to play around with colors, since it was such a hot and sunny day. I downplayed the colors a little though by wearing a beige cardigan.  

Last shots in Korea

After what was literally the longest Spring break of my life (3 whole months!), I finally came back to Japan. I was looking forward to coming back for so long despite the earthquake, aftershocks, radiations and whatnot because all my friends are here and there's just so much more to do and see in Tokyo than in Seoul. But of course, being the sentimental person I am, I already feel a little homesick.
School starts tomorrow, so hopefully I'll forget about my homesickness with the help of my friends!
These are my last pictures taken in Korea at a traditional Korean restaurant I really like. I regret not taking pictures before I ate because I was too full and therefore too lazy to pose or walk around. Haha but I don't think the results are too bad! :)

Old fashioned

Seongnam Moran market is the biggest market in the vicinity of Seoul and opens every 5 days. I visit once every year just to look around and appreciate this traditional and passé form of market. It's quite rare to see a market this size in such an urban area, as it's more common in the rural areas down south. There's really nothing much for people like me to buy, but I'm not there to buy anything- I just really enjoy finding some ridiculous stuff they sell or watching other people buy stuff. It's mostly the oldies you find shopping at the market, and I think they visit the market for the sake of old memories.