Portland Japanese Garden and Hipster Tour

My brother, sis-in-law and I celebrated July 4 by taking in the Isamu Noguchi sculpture exhibit at the Portland Japanese Garden. The weather was perfect, and enhanced by the shady beauty of the garden.

The exhibit was housed in the Japanese Pavilion building, a traditionally-built Japanese building in the beautiful Japanese Garden grounds. Alas, no photography of the sculpture was allowed.

You could however, take pictures of the sculptures situated outdoors. The Japanese Pavilion grounds have a spectacular view of downtown Portland in the distance.

There was a traditionally-constructed Japanese Tea House in the Garden.

There are many quiet places to sit and contemplate the lovely surroundings.

This is the entrance to the Zen Garden.

The Zen Garden, a traditional Japanese gravel garden.

Water Lillies at the Iris Garden.

It was a bit late in the season for Iris, but they were still there.

The entire garden, including the extensive water features, is meticulously maintained.

My brother bought a garden ornament for the new house.

The Washington Park International Rose Test Garden is right next to the Japanese Garden, and has hundreds of showy, fragrant roses.

The Rose Garden was very busy on the 4th of July, and the weather was perfect.

The garden also had an area that showcased their prize-winning specimens.

After touring the gardens, we set off to the Alphabet (Northwest) District for some lunch. We disposed of our Peets coffee cups in the Solar Compactor, above.

We decided to have lunch at Cheryls' on 12th. Cheryl's serves really good all-day breakfasts and brunch. It does attract it's share of hipster clientele, above. (I later saw the shorts on sale at Urban Outfitters!).

I had scrambled eggs and homemade corned beef hash, made with deli-fresh corned beef.

The Alphabet district is centered on NW 23rd Ave. Also called Trendy-third, this street is lined with lots of shops, mixed with cafes and restaurants. Above, a beautiful apartment building.

We stopped by the Urban Outfitters store, and I picked up a few things like a pair of shoes for $9.99!

We had some wonder coffee and chocolate at Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe.

We're off to dinner somewhere in Salem - I'll let you know where!

Jamilla

My Mascara Wonderland

Mascara is definitely my desert island product. If I were to have only one cosmetic for the rest of my life, it would be mascara. Not only do I have sparse, droopy Asian lashes, they are very short too. I definitely got the worst eyelash genes, no doubt about it.

As a result, I am very fond of fiber and "volume" mascaras. Unfortunately, very wet or heavy formulations make my lashes droop, so the formulation has to be just right. I curl my lashes with a Shu Uemura eyelash curler before mascara application, and with a heated eyelash curler afterwards.

I must admit that my top mascaras are all Japanese, but I also have some European brands (and Tom Ford) that I'm quite fond of. More on those later.

My personal favorites, from left to right:

1. RMK Separate Curl Mascara: It does everything, and holds a curl like it claims. My No. 1 Japanese department store mascara which is available from Amazon for $24.99. Waterproof.
2. Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Fatal Blacks WP: This lengthens my lashes dramatically, but you must follow up with a heated eyelash curler. Available on Amazon for $33.04. Amazon is actually cheaper than a Japanese department store, where this mascara retails for over $50.
3. Dolly Wink Volume Mascara: Another fiber -based Japanese Mascara, which does a brilliant job of thickening your lashes. Sometimes I layer this on top of another mascara. $22.74 at Amazon.
4. Majolica Majorca Gorgeous Wing: Another classic, with a brush applicator rather than a comb. Gives you long, swoopy lashes. $18.99 at Amazon.
5. Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus: This is probably the best known Majo Majo mascara. This comes with the comb applicator which is a bit fiddly, but delivers definition and length. $24.00 at Amazon.

Two more excellent, fiber-based Japanese Mascaras: Majolica Majorca Lash King and Fiberwig Extra Long Mascara. I bought these in Tokyo, but you can purchase them at Amazon. Lash King is $22.99 at Amazon and Fiberwig Extra Long is $19.88, also at Amazon. There will be differences between the Japanese and U.S. packaging, but it's the same product.

My favorite drug store mascaras are all by L'Oreal. I love the Volume (called Voluminous in the US) Million Lashes in regular, waterproof and extra black; and Lash Architect 4D (a European product) which is a fiber type mascara. All do the job, at an excellent price.

Three more favorites: Tom Ford - great for length and precise definition; Make Up Forever Smoky Lash, for that sooty-eyed look; and YSL Shocking Mascara in No. 3, an eye-popping violet.

As far as European department store brands go, I like Lancome mascaras. I have Hypnose drama, a volume-type mascara, in a purple shade that was only offered in Europe. I recently picked up the Alber Elbaz limited edition versions of Hypnose Star and Hypnose Doll Lashes. Star is a volumizing mascara, and Doll Lashes give you spidery, defined lashes.

I hope you enjoyed my little mascara tour.

Jamilla

Two Evenings in Chicago

 

Last week,  I took a business trip to Chicago. My client is situated right in the middle of downtown Chicago, in the old Sears Tower. It's a short hop on the "L" to the Magnificent Mile, otherwise know as Michigan Avenue, above.

On the way to Michigan Avenue from the "L" station, there's a rather large Nordstrom Rack.

Water Tower Place is a large and popular shopping center on the Mag Mile, anchored by Macy's.

Water Tower Place gets it's name from the historic Water Tower, right in it's shadow.

Water Tower Place is gorgeous after dark.

Water Tower Place shopping center has an open, futuristic layout.

I loved this gigantic Clinique Chubby Stick at Macy's!

I had dinner at Wow Bao, a fast food place specializing in Bao and all kinds of rice and noodles.

I had the spicy peanut noodles, a Kung Pao Chicken Bao and a BBQ Pork Bao. Delish!

Hershey's Chocolate World is around the corner from Water Tower Place - YUMMY.

 I had to stay in a hotel out by O'Hare because all the downtown hotels were full, but it was not a bad ride on the "L".

My second evening, I headed out to Nordstrom at the Shops at North Bridge. I had an appointment at the Spa Nordstrom for a massage and eyebrow wax.

While I was waiting for my appointment, I perused the Chanel counter and picked up a Mysterious Nail Polish.

I salivated over the delicious coral-colored Fit Flops in the shoe department.

Although I don't have the lifestyle for it, I still love to gaze at the lovely Louboutins!

I loved this "Stegosaurus" clutch.

I had a fantastic massage at the Spa Nordstrom - the eyebrow wax was not so good - I was missing a strip of skin!

On the airport shuttle, you could tell I was from California - shorts and Fit Flops in a sea of suits.

I loved this tunnel at O'Hare - very artistic.

I was supposed to fly to Houston this week, but mercifully, the meeting was moved to San Francisco!

Jamilla

Grand Century Shopping Mall - Little Saigon, San Jose

San Jose, California has the most Vietnamese Americans in the United States and outside of Vietnam - 10.6% of the population as of 2010! As a result, there are fabulous places to shop and eat, Vietnamese style. I visited the new Grand Century Mall in East San Jose one weekend, which is in the middle of an even larger shopping development that's still filling up with tenants.

All the shops were Vietnamese, ranging from restaurants, food shops, optometrists, beauty stores, and all kinds of service businesses.

There is a fabulous bakery, the Century Bakery, which serves Pandan Waffles!

This jewelry store had the cutest snake I've seen so far - adorable!

There are two snack shops next to each other in the mall - I bought two kinds of Vietnamese beef jerky.

There is an incredible selection of Vietnamese sweets, snacks, and food.

The food court is excellent - too bad it wasn't lunch time yet!

 I was happy to see that the Face Shop has a local branch here. There are also locations in Santa Clara and Milpitas, too.

I went to the Vietnamese grocery store next to the mall to pick up some food - and of course, there was an amazing sea food department.

If you didn't feel like preparing your own fish, the fish counter provides a free fish frying service.

There was a dazzling selection of fresh Manju for sale.

I got an industrial-sized Sambal Olek, since I use so much of it!

I bought some frozen dumplings (no MSG!) and picked up some delicious Taiwanese dumpling sauce too.

If you visit San Jose, you must visit both Story Road and Tully Road for excellent Vietnamese shopping and eating - you won't leave hungry!

Jamilla