Kimono festival, Ikebana, Japanese Tofu cooking & lovely thoughts ♥

 Hi there (^-^)v

On  the 29th of September the Kimono club of my 
University in which I am was invited to a festival again.
It was the "Sonnenblumen Sonntag" in Germany, in a small town
near Düsseldorf. We had a stall there and dressed
up guests of the festival in Kimono. We also had a short show
on stage where we explained general things about the different
kinds of Kimono. It was a really lovely day.
I also met Candy Kittenz there ♥ The girl on the picture above.
She looked so cute *-* I was really glad to see you again !
There were also some other Japan themed stalls.
The woman next to me on the picture below had a
Ikebana stall and I also did some Ikebana with her.
I really want to learn more in the future.
I also met the cute Maids Arina & May from the famous
German maid café "Lucky Chocolate".

Our participation in the festival also was announced in a
German newspaper :

My first very own Nagoya-Obi ♥♥♥
Got it as a gift :3
The pink silk Kimono and the one I'm wearing on the photo in
the newspaper are also mine. My Kimono are really one of my
biggest treasures ♥ Currently I'm owning 2 Kimono and 2 Yukata.
I'm looking forward to building my own Kimono
collection over the years like my Senpai. Kitsuke
"The art of wearing Kimono" really is a hobby
that makes my heart overflow with happiness ~♥

Like I said before I also did some Ikebana with a Japanese
woman at the festival. Sadly I did not have a vase that
was big enough to hold the big bouquet of flowers >.<
So I had to take it apart again. I cut the prettiest
flower much shorter so it fit into a small glass.
I'm very happy I could at least keep this. Now I'm
planning to buy a lot of vases to do some Ikebana in the future.
This is what was left of my flowers :

I think flowers and Ikebana give you so much peace it really is
relaxing and spreads so much beauty and happiness.
My friend Mona who also studies Japanese was really sweet
and brought me this magazine about Ikebana when she saw
it lying at our University. \(^-^)/
"Ikebana Sogetsu No. 249"

 ~♥~

 ~♥~

The flower bouquet on the left by Ishikawa Ryu
symbolises a still lake in the summer.
I think that is a magnificent idea ! So pretty.

 ~♥~

 ~♥~

 I really like that Ikebana gives such a delicate impression.

On the 2th of october something really cute happened to me ^-^
Well, let me tell you the story of that day :
First of all you need to know that I had really casual hair and I didn't
even straighten it ! I did almost wear no make-up,
only mascara & lenses.
I wore a new outfit which is totally my favourite in the moment,
 but I did not at all expect to look...well I really didn't put much effort in it
as I had no time and wanted to hurry to meet some friends.
At the train station in Düsseldorf a really handsome guy,
probably about 28 years old walked next to me for quite some time
(I was walking really fast) and I started wondering what's up with him as he seemed to be wanting to catch up with me,
when suddenly he politely said :
"Excuse me, but you look really pretty. I just had to say that.
Really stunning." I wished him a nice day and walked on
and I couldn't help it I had to smile so bright my whole way to the
ramen restaurant where I was supposed to meet my friends. 
It really struck me. I mean my boyfriend which I love more than
any being on this earth ♥ of course also tells me that he thinks I'm pretty.
I wasn't so happy about the compliment I got,
but for that fact that this guy was so very nice,
polite and friendly just randomly out of nowhere in this grey big city.
You don't expect such things to happen so much in daily life
and I'm always so super stunned and really shocked when I see that
in this harsh brutal world suddelny there is some kindness,
even if it's just kind words. I guess this earth isn't such a bad
place to be after all.
This really inspires me and it should inspire everyone.
. Be kind ♥ show other beings this isn't such a bad place to be after all
even if its just a little smile or word.
You're actions have impact ~ you are the universe.
Keep that in mind.
Lots of love to all of you !
 This is how I looked that day : 

On the same day I went to the Japanese Ramen
restaurant Takumi in Düsseldorf. I met Mona & Alina, who also
study Japanese there and their friend Shiba with whom
I could practise some of my Japanese ^-^
I had vegetarian Ramen soup ♥
One of the best meals I've ever eaten !

A few days ago I also visited my Senpai Becci ♥ again.
She is the leader of our Kimono club and also has
awesome cooking skills. She thaught me how to cook
Japanese curry rice - recipe here.
The next thing she thaught me is a vegetarian Tofu meal :

Fried tofu with some shimeji mushrooms etc :

A snapshot of curry rice I cooked myself:
I really eat it a lot lately :D
The black thing is black sesame.

I've also got some more cute little Japanese items my
friend and Senpai Bea gave to me. She will leave Germany
this month and work in Japan for 1 year. I already miss her ;_;
But I'm also super happy for her and very excited 
to hear about her experience.
Ichigo Ballpoint Pen :

Bento box :

A cute usagi hat ♥

~♥~

Pencil case :

Neko's music :

"You always took care
of my childish side
For listening to me I’ll always be
grateful to you, grateful to you.

♪

The me that is like you

The you that is like me

We are similar yet different

But since we’re different, we’re similar

♪

Everytime I say ‘I love you’

My affection grows

♪

Thank's for reading !
See you next time (^-^)v nyan ~♥

My Kimono club, Japanese cooking & candy ♥

Hi there (^-^)v

the last few weeks I've done an aweful lot.

I had to do very much for university but I also

spend lots of time with the Kimono Club in which I am ♥
We meet once every week and practise how to dress in
Kimono. It is not  just dressing up, the whole action

has to have a certain beauty and there are lots of rules

how to move and how to dress as the way you dress in
Kimono has a lot of meaning and you can send

lots of messages with the way you dress.

This whole art of dressing in Kimono [着物] is called

Kitsuke 着付け ♥

During my studies it really became a huge passion of mine

and I want to get a lot better in it and collect a lot more

Kimono during my life. At the moment I own 2 Kimono

and 1 Yukata. One Kimono is light pink and real silk

and the other one is white with a black pattern on it.

I will take some photos with them soon.

It's finally summer here in Düsseldorf and totally hot !

It's great and I'm doing a lot with the 着物 club

and my Senpai Bea ♥

This is a snapshot I took when we we're eating in the Japanese
restaurant Naniwa in Düsseldorf. 

At the moment I practise my Japanese with her and she

helps me a lot with my grammar etc. as she is about to

finish her Japanese studies. I really love talking to her and

I'm learning so many new things about Japan and life 

since I study. It is really extreme and impressive how

much you learn about life and people when you go to

University. You really start getting a far bigger horizon

and become a lot more versatile. This is such an important

experience in life in my eyes. I really have to say that so far
this is the time in my life about which I'm the most 

happy and pleased about. I'm excited about what still is

about to happen in the future *-*

And I just had to edit her photo a little like this, she's so cute

I thought she just has to get some Neko Mimi (ﾉﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ☆彡

Matcha latte ♥

 A snapshot in the Kimono club °ﾟ°｡｡ヾ( ~▽~)ﾂ

with a "Happy" (Fairy Tail) fan. 

Japanese cooking ♥ I've also started cooking a lot more healthy again

and I learned a lot more Japanese recipes from my
Senpai Becci. She really is awesome with cooking and has been

to Japan already for a long time. I'm totally looking forward to learn 

more Japanese dishes from her *-*

When we go to conventions or go on trips with our 着物 club

she uses to make awesome Bento and brings great meals

with her. I took some pictures when we were visiting her and

her boyfriend to spend a great day and learn some new
Japanese dishes from her.
Curry Rice ♥ My new favourite meal :

~♥~

♥ Cooking Curry Rice ♥

 Just take :

• potatoes

• carrotes

• beans

• shimeji mushrooms

Cut everyting into small pieces and roast this in a pan.

After ca. 15 minutes (I always do this by feeling)

add 250 ml water (or maybe more if needed) and

2 cubes of curry rice spice. Let everything cook until the

water is vaporized and the texture of the sauce is kinda sticky.
Like this :

 also some silk tofu with sauce ♥

 Tamagoyaki ♥ (eggs)

And this is how it looks like when I cook Curry rice

at the moment I like to eat it a lot ♥

I also added bamboo sprouts and green onion.
おいしいですね！

At our Kimono club meetings we also eat some Japanese food

and sweets when we are finished dressing up and practising new

ways to bing the Obi. There are plenty of different ribbons and

ways of binding the different types of Obi.

~♪~
I own 2 Hanhaba Obi (used for Yukata for example)
and a Nagoya Obi. I can bind these two with

different techniques. I've also worn Fukuru Obi as my

Senpai own lots of them but I can't bind that kind of Obi yet.

~♪~
You see there is really a lot you have to learn when  you

want to wear a Kimono ! 

My 2 Senpai also have been to Japan and learned there
from professional Kimono Sensei.

One Sensei has visited us and I also met her.

I wrote about Sawa Sensei in this former entry.

Kimono dresser is a profession in Japan, maybe one day

I could do this too but it is extremely complicated.
One of  my Senpai wants to do this, I hope this will

come true in the future ^-^

~♪~

There are also some easy "cheats" you can use if you don't have

Kimono dressing skills. In lots of Gyaru and Japanese fashion

online stores they sell Yukata with fake Obi and a ribbon

that is already bound and you can just stick it behind the

fake Obi on your back. This is good if you don't

want to practise or just do a cosplay.

But I personally would never ever wear such a thing because

it is just not traditional and it does not send the whole

message and meaning a real Kimono outfit with lots of thought 

to it does. Lots of Japanese girls wear these fake Obi from

time to time as well as it is not taken for granted that

a japanese girl is able to dress in Kimono.

Very often young girls can not do it anymore and

when they have their Seijin-shiki (成人式) Coming of age day

they hire porfessional Kimono dressers.

~♪~

A few weeks ago our club made Dango 団子 together : 

My boyfriend and I use to sing this cute song together a lot ^^

Dango Daikazoku 

Dango 団子

We also like to go shopping in the japanese and asian supermarkets in Düsseldorf a lot. I can really recommend the Ho's.

One day when I was shopping with my Senpai Bea ♥ she
got me this cute melon ice *o* 

Suika ♥  西瓜
(the ice above is korean though)

And one of my latest favourite japanese sweets :
Hora dekita

~♥~

Some strawberry pudding we ate at one of our club meetings :

I think it looks very cute ^^

And a snapshot of one of my regular meals,

well when I am really hungry I just have to eat a lot

but I want to keep it as healthy as possible.

The white thing is onion, I like it too much =D

My cutest trove in the japanese supermarkets here is this :
It's Febreze :D

But it costed 13,50 € ! Insane and stupid, so here I'd

rather by the German version...but I must admit I was very

close to bying it because it is just so pretty. When I'm

in Japan I guess I will love grocery shopping :D

I really love white miso soup in the mornings ~♪

My Senpai Bea also was so super kind and

gave me this 2 japanese books that are for children

so I can practise my reading skills. They are so super

cute ! I just love them. The first book she got me

really suits me :D It is called :

Watashi otetsudai neko ♥ I - the helping cat

The 2nd book Takaramono tonda :

~♪~

In watashi otetsudai neko are also Kanji :

~♪~

Takaramono tonda, all in Hiragana :

~♥~

Recently my boyfriend and I also started collecting these

cute little plushies ♥ They are called Ty ballz :

We both the the giraffe is the most awesome :D

You can get them very cheap on amazon.

And I got the CD and plushie of one of my favourite tales

when I was a child. The very hungry caterpillar ♥

Some pink sushi spice I got a few days ago, I still have to try out.

I'm very eager to find out how it will look like ^^

Ramune , at one of our Kimono club meetings :

~ ♥~

Some Sakuranbo Candy ♥

~♥~

~♥~

 blue : Soda ♥

pink : peach

yellow : lemon

green : apple

the ball : cherry

Some snapshots I took at our University when the

Japanese students had a little party :

~♥~

I hope you found all the Information interestig, I really like

sharing things I get to know about Japanese culture and daily life.

If you want to know something just ask me and I will tell you or try my

best to do some reasearch at University if I find the time ^-^

Neko's music :

• Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Fashion monster

( if you can't see it download proxtube)

Thank's for reading ! See you

next time (^-^)v ♪ nyan