it's too hot and humid to go out

but i met up with purpleman for lunch at cafe nid.
i had cold tomato and basil pasta while purpleman had curry d'agneau. i think they've become really serious about food over the past few years. if i remember correctly, nid used to be more dessert-focused. the desserts are still great, of course... i can't wait til it cools down, so i can drink their chocolat chaud!

after lunch i tried to do some picture-taking (with my recently-fixed minolta XE) and some shopping, but i got so hot and sweaty i gave up and went home. but i did buy a dress --a brown silk embroidered tocca for a wedding in september. i think i already have shoes and a handbag to go with it, but i should check the accessories at enokiworld just in case. i'm not a big internet shopper, but on days like this, it's funner to be shopping indoors.

melinda and melinda

went to watch melinda and melinda at ebisu after work yesterday. it was one of the best woody allen films i've seen recently. i thought chloe sevigny was very good as the sexy but sexually-frustrated park avenue princess, and that will ferrell was a pretty good stand-in as woody allen.

after the movie, we ate at elio's cafe downstairs from the cinema. the squid pasta and seafood risotto tasted so authentically italian. and it felt so nice to eat outside --you rarely get to do that in tokyo, unfortunately.

yay!

the best news this week has been that purpleman will be going to london for six weeks from late september to do some training. congratulations!!!

it will be a great opportunity for him work-wise... but of course i'm also thinking it will be a chance for us to do a little bit of europe. maybe a weekend+ in paris?

parisby.com is one of my favorite sites. the italian version of it is pretty good too.

hakone

a weekend trip with friends was cancelled at the last moment, but purpleman and i decided we need a break from the city. hakone's only about two hours from tokyo by the regular express train --perfect for lazy bums like us in need of a quick onsen fix.

the taiseikan hotel is nothing fancy, but the views are great, especially from the outdoor baths. its location near the bottom of a steep valley makes you feel far-removed from the rest of the world. well worth the scary cable-car ride down to the hotel.

we returned on sunday and met up with claudia and taka for some soup curry at shin--an increasingly popular chain that originated in hokkaido. the vegetable curry-soup is pretty good, but maybe i'll be adventurous and try the natto-okura next time. claudia seems a bit worried about the move. it must be a bit scary to be moving to a new city where you have to make new friends and start life from scratch. but i'm sure it will be a great year for the two of them. i've never heard of anyone not having fun in barcelona!

it's a three-day weekend

purpleman didn't even know tomorrow was a holiday until i told him, so he's particularly pleased. it's so funny, i sometimes forget about holidays too and it can be a treat to be surprised like that. once when i was little i turned up at school to find it empty --it must've been either labor day or columbus day.

one other thing we have in common is that we have firm beliefs in how ice cream should be eaten. my rules are:
- make sure it doesn't drip. you should always start by licking the melty bits, especially if it's gelato.
- lick, don't bite. try to form a round dome by turning the cone as you lick. as the ice cream gets smaller, start pushing the ice cream gently into its cone. if you do this right, the cone should eventually be about half-filled and flat at the top with ice cream.
- bite into the cone. turn the cone while you do this, and keep licking/pushing the ice cream. if you do this right, you can enjoy both the cone and ice cream until the very end!

l'artemis

to celebrate our one year of dating, purpleman and i tried a new french place today: l'artemis in harajuku.

everything, from our bottle of alsace riesling to the chocoloate mousse with wine sorbet, was excellent. the chef seemed to incorporate a lot of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and mix together spices in an interesting but not-too-complicated fashion. clever, but not cocky. i have to go back for the rabbit with cinammon and cream risotto. i also felt a pang of envy for purpleman's foie gras with truffles and fig (even though i was very happy with my white liver mousse with berries).

the restaurant is not that formal, so i think i could come here again just for a casual dinner with friends. but the food is definitely worthy of special occasions. happy anniversary, sheesergirl-purpleman!