Mom and Son Day

Toby and I spent the whole day out and about, exploring! We went to the dog park, got ice cream, and drove all over the place just to see what we could find. We discovered an awesome shrine and hiking trail at the top of a nearby hill, but the parking area closes at 5pm, so I had no place to park the car while we looked around. That's totally ok though - we are going back tomorrow!! If we have time, we may explore a beach, too. If not, then that will be saved for another day of adventure! Oh, and we didn't get a car, we are borrowing one from a friend!

Was quite pleased to see this sign!

My co-pilot

Date Caramel

I had heard that dates are a great substitute for caramel, a handy bit of knowledge for vegan recipes. I was a tad skeptical, but I wanted to try it out. These do not disappoint! Jonathan loves them too! They are so sweet and gooey and decadent. Definitely worth a try! 

Vegan Caramel Truffles

1 lb of dates, seeds removed
peanut butter
coconut oil
dairy free chocolate
sea salt

Blend dates in food processor, getting them as smooth as possible - adding a bit of water helps smooth them out. Mix in a bit of sea salt. Roll into bite sized balls, place on baking sheet and freeze. Once firm, coat in a thin layer of peanut butter. Freeze again. Melt chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl and dip the balls into the chocolate. Drizzle with more chocolate or a sprinkle of sea salt if desired. Freeze again. Once firm, they are ready to eat!

Cranes

A few months ago I learned how to make origami cranes, and I got on a roll! In Japan, for special occasions it's customary to make long strands of a thousand cranes strung on top of each other. It's pretty, but I'm not going to make a thousand! Haha! Instead I made 130 of them, strung them horizontally and hung them around the house! Gives some color to these white walls.

Produce

We recently visited  a Japanese friend of ours at her home. She lives on the outskirts of town and her father is a prominent farmer in the area. We were thrilled beyond words when she gave us a bag full of large, beautiful tomatoes! She said her father had just picked them that morning, but they are too large to be sold at market. Wow! Back home, people don't want them unless they are nice and big! No problem for us - we are enjoying them immensely!

Cuteness

Another gem at 711. Look how adorable these cakes are!

Raccoon Says -

- WASH YOUR HANDS! This is some hand sanitizer I came across at 711 with a raccoon on the package showing you how to rub your hands together. Best marketing EVER.

The Amazing Midder Tobes!

Life has been a whirl wind lately! Many things happening, both good and bad, and life is keeping us on our toes! About three weeks ago my laptop died. It's 8 years old, and I knew it was coming, but I figured I could get at least 6 more months out of it. Wrong!! It killed over and I lost several documents and pictures. We are going to ship it back to the states and have the hard drive removed so I can hopefully get my stuff back (hooray for never backing things up!). On a much better note, Toby finally made it to Japan!! Our little boy arrived safe and sound and has settled in well. It feels so great having our little family back together.

I got a new laptop, so things should be heading back to normal soon (at least here on the blog). We hope all of our friends and family back in the states are doing great! Miss you all!