Japan II

When my best friend Steph and I decided to book this trip, we were like “Hey do you wanna go to Japan? Yeah sure thing.” And the rest was history. To be honest we didn’t really have much planned for the holiday. But we were met with wonderful mix of neon lights and beautiful temples, and a hustle and bustle of a city that was  unlike any other. Here are some of my recommendations if you ever find yourself planning your own trip:

DO: Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea

The Japanese absolutely love Disney, both children AND their parents were decked out in Minnie and Mickey ears and the awesome printed t-shirts they sell. There are no expenses spared here, with the amazing street parades and night time light shows. They have some pretty awesome rides and nothing is more magical then seeing your favourite Disney characters in the flesh. I lost count of the times I fan-girled over them.

If you have time, please do both the theme parks, you won’t be disappointed. You simply can’t miss out on the Arabian Coast and the Mermaid Lagoon in DisneySea. And if you have the money stay one night at one of the resorts, that way the magic never ends.

STAY: Airbnb

Before this trip, I had a vague idea of what Airbnb was, but now I swear by it.  We booked all our accommodation through it and we stayed in some really cute apartments. It gave the whole trip a more homely feel, rather then just staying your standard hotels or hostels.

EAT: Genki Sushi

Each region in Japan is full of their own traditional meals and street food, so you will not be disappointed. But we found Genki Sushi, on a whim while looking for another place to eat one night in Shibuya. And after that night, we were hooked. We pretty much went there everyday during our stay in Tokyo. In was so easy and convenient; we ordered our sushi on a little touch screen and it came out to us on a little conveyor belt. It took the stress out of trying to order food or feeling rude by simply pointing to the menu, and it was such delicious food of course.

SHOP: Everywhere

When it comes to shopping, Japan has everything. From Daiso to Alexander McQueen and everything else in between. And man do they love their department stores.

Omotesando is were the high rollers come out to play. The streets are lined with every luxury brand you could think of. If you are planning on splurging on one item, this is the place to do so. Harajuku is also the next suburb over which made it super convenient to have a big shopping day.

Shimokitazawa is the Brunswick of Tokyo. The streets are filled with dozens of second hand and vintage stores, as well as cute little artsy boutiques

HANDY TIP: Google Maps will be your best friend. Without this nifty little app we would definitely have not been able to navigate our way through the streets of Japan. It even told us what trains to get on and what platforms they were on (which was half the journey itself).

- Sarah  

Entrance building of Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Kyoto

Dotonbori, Osaka

Mermaid Lagoon - Tokyo DisneySea

Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo - Courtesy of the Starbucks lookout

National Bookshop Day: Nicole's Top Picks.

Happy National Bookshop Day! As a big reader, I found it incredibly hard to cut down to just five recommendations. I tried to do so by recommending five books that are very different from one another. I hope that there's something that interests you in my picks. Happy reading! 

1. The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell 

Last year I discovered the brilliant works of The New Yorker journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell looks at sociology and epidemiology, and breaks down how one small but significant occurrence can set off a monumental effect. The Tipping Point looks at the concept that "ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do", and Gladwell so poignantly gives examples from all different areas; from the fashion industry, to the AIDS outbreak, to links between graffiti and violent crime statistics. I love this book because it intelligently ties together areas of the community that you would believe to have absolutely no influence on one another. A very well-constructed book that is forever stimulating the curious mind. 

Favourite quote: “If you want to bring a fundamental change in people's belief and behaviour...you need to create a community around them, where those new beliefs can be practiced and expressed and nurtured.”

2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

I studied The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in year 10, and it has stuck with me ever since. It's such an easy read, but it gives incredible insight into the mind of people with Aspergers. Of course, no case of Asperger syndrome is the same, but it perfectly captures the social impact that come with the autism spectrum disorder, such as the difficulty to think abstractly and to read emotions. Written in first-person, the story follows fifteen-year-old Christopher who decides to investigate the death of one of the neighbourhood dogs, Wellington. This story is more than just a recollection of Christopher's detective work - it is a story about being an outsider, and about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way. 

Favourite Quote: “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”

3. A Walk To Remember - Nicholas Sparks

A Walk To Remember is my go-to romance novel. And I'm incredibly judgement when it comes to romance novels - it can't be typical and formulaic... it needs something extra to grab my attention. A Walk To Remember provides is threaded with a penchant of profound messages.  Jamie's faith guides much of the story, though the story is told through Landon's recollections. The focus on how purity of character and goodness can change a person, teamed with how faith can bring out the miracle to the surface out of the deepest pit makes A Walk to Remember such a meaningful and beautiful read.The film is, hands-down, my favourite film, but the book is even better. 

Favourite Quote: “Without suffering, there'd be no compassion.”

4. The Boy who was Raised as a Dog - Bruce D. Perry

One of my friends, Jess, recommended this book after I returned from Connect Camp in July this year. And I have gone on to recommend this book to a lot of the aides I work with at school. The Boy who was Raised as a Dog focuses on a number of cases of traumatised children, and how Dr. Bruce Perry worked to understand what was happening and, more so, how to aid in the recovery towards living a better life. The book is heavily focused on the psychological impacts of trauma throughout childhood and youth, and the healing process. His focus on the importance of love and restoring shattered human connections is what makes The Boy who was Raised as a Dog an enlightening and heartening book, despite the very heavy cases. The neurological underpinnings of the trauma theory are presented in a way that people who don't have a psychology background can still create understanding. This book is for everyone, but I'd particularly recommend it to teachers and social workers. I guarantee you will be inspired. 

Favourite Quote: “Fire can warm or consume, water can quench or drown, wind can caress or cut. And so it is with human relationships: we can both create and destroy, nurture and terrorize, traumatize and heal each other.” 

5. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

I feel I've mentioned this book in every second post I've written for Mosaik, but it is honestly my faovourite book. I've read it eight times in the past two years, and I get something different out of it every time. It's a reflection of Randy Pausch's life, as he highlights the moments in his life that shape the person he has become. It is such an inspirational read, and Pausch’s journey allows you to take notice of how many opportunities you can involve yourself in during your life, and provides so many wonderful life lessons. I think I’ve read The Last Lecture over five times in the past two years. It’s so great.

Favourite Quote: “Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.” 

The Abyssinian

Having spent time in Africa, I would like to think I've had my fair share of vibrantly flavoured African stews and dry fried meats, but my recent meal at The Abyssinian in Kensington was a unique delight. The whole experience was fun with a warm welcome from staff who directed me to my seat next to carved African wood and wicker baskets, bowls and paintings hung on all over the walls. The food was equally as fun as you are made to eat with your hands, an exciting novelty for those of us bound to cutlery in Western culture. 

This Ethiopian tradition is maintained within the restaurant as it is believed "people who eat from the same plate do not betray each-other" and that the "sincerity created between diners is truly unique, and must be experienced by a group to be understood". This very much rang true for my experience and I would recommend the intimacy of the Chef's choice mixed platter for couples and small groups of close friends who are seeking an interesting and intensely flavoured meal that is pleasantly inexpensive.

My meal recommendation: The Chef's choice mixed meat and veggie platter (featuring, amongst various other stews and meats, a delicious slow cooked lamb and spiced lentils piled on homemade "injera" bread - a spongy sourdough flat bread).

Honourable mention: The "Melanzany" - grilled garlic and chilli infused egglant with injera bread.

The Abyssinian is at 277 Racecourse Road Kengsinton and is open Monday to Saturday from 5.30pm - 10pm. Bookings can be made on (03) 9376 8754.

-Beth

*Mosaik does not take credit for any of the images used in this article

The Sickness. The Addiction. The Bachelor.

My mum often says "the converted are the extremists." 
She says this to me when I fall victim to yet another cult, and when I say "cult" I mean TV show and when I say "fall victim" I mean watch like it's my new religion. I only get this obsessed with shows that I previously refused to watch.

This obsessiveness first happened when I started to watch Game of Thrones. For about a year everyone in my life was trying to get me to watch GoT and after watching an episode that featured incest and the attempted murder of a child I decided this wasn't the show for me, so despite everyone's promise that the show got better I refused to watch it and judged anyone who did. 

Then this autumn, bored and slightly intoxicated by cold and flu tablets I sat down and put on the first season. From that day on my addiction to the show could be compared to that of a drug addict's as I got my next hit with the opening credits of each episode. I pretended I was sick a week longer than I actually was to finish all four seasons (I guess in some ways that does make me sick.)

When I finished I thought I was finally sober but oh no. how wrong I was. 
I want to start off by saying I have never judged a group of people more then the people who admit to watching The Bachelor (except for maybe the people who go on The Bachelor.) So this show was going to hit me hard.

Here I am every night at 7:29 waiting for those red rose petals to fill my screen, waiting for Sam to tell me how much he wants to find "true love," waiting for those pretty, smiling and hopeful faces of the girls who have  suspiciously exotic names, that when pronounced correctly sound like you're having an orgasm. These girls (as my cousin once stated) have fake boobs, hair, eyelashes and nails but are looking for real love. 

Season 3 is the first season I have committed myself to watching, and after only a couple of episodes I am already way too invested. I hate some of them, I love some of them and I love to hate some of them. The constant shots of roses and side glances between the girls are making me nervous. I am starting to understand why my Nonna takes her phone off the hook for the whole hour that The Bachelor is on television. This shit is intense. 

- Alessandra 

*Mosaik does not take credit for any of the images used in this article 

People Profile: Claire Stollery

Perfecting a make-up collection can be one tricky business, it's incredibly easy to get swept up in all of the pretty packaging and BIG promises; but it doesn't have to be.

Experimenting with different looks and products has been a passion of Claire’s for quite some time and I consider her my personal make-up guru and guiding light, someone to tell me whether it's really worth forking out $40 on that new mascara, or if there's a dupe that will create the same effect for a fraction of the price.

In this people profile, we find out more about the creative mind behind clairelouisaloves ! Her road tests, reviews and hauls are always honest, super informative and every week she highlights a make-up artist of the week for you to discover, what more could you want?

- Miriam

Social media is forever changing the way we connect and communicate. Why did you decide to take your love for make-up online?

I've always loved to write, but it would feel strange just reviewing products in a diary! Blogging is free and simple - in the past, I'd have to get a job at a magazine or distribute flyers to make myself heard. Now, I can link friends to my posts in an instant. Having used the tumblr platform for personal and 'fandom' blogging in the past, it seemed like a natural choice. 

As a full time university student, has the blog been a creative release of sorts for you? How else do you embrace your creative side?

It's definitely a creative release! I'm studying Arts/Law and so I'm constantly having to conform to strict formal writing styles. On my blog, it's my rules! I still keep a structure to my posts but I can write as if I'm chatting to friends (and on subject matter that's always interesting!). I'm not particularly artistic, so I guess my other creative releases would be in the way I present myself. I'm no makeup artist, but you don't have to be one to enjoy playing with colour and texture! I also love fashion - my ASOS receipts would attest to that!

Wearing make-up allows us to present ourselves in certain ways, but do you believe you can judge a book by its cover?

No, definitely not. In my previous life as a One Direction blogger, I befriended some incredible people who would've scared me in the real world! Like makeup, piercings and tattoos can be used to present an image to the world, but that image is just one part of the story. We're all more complex than the face we put on on any particular day. 

I think it's also really important not to judge people by the way they do their makeup. You see memes all the time mocking women for the way they style their eyebrows or contour their face. In reality, we're all learning, and we all have personal tastes. Supporting others is so much more fulfilling than tearing them down.

Describe an 'epiphany' moment you've had

Does discovering winged eyeliner count?? In all seriousness, I think one was towards the end of Year 8. Before then, I'd been really stuck on this narrative of non-conformity, especially when it came to dress and appearance. I judged other girls for what they wore and the uniformity of that, but the day I started rolling my school skirt up (no joke) was the day I realised that being 'like other girls' wasn't a negative thing. Girls are my best friends and biggest supporters, from my days at a girls' school to the makeup community. I still have an individual style but I have no shame about following trends; why wouldn't I want to follow in the footsteps of my mentors and friends?

What is your most prized possession in your make-up kit?

This is such a hard question! I think I'm going to have to nominate two: from a practical standpoint, Benefit Stay Flawless primer, because it holds my makeup in place impeccably all throughout the day. From a fun point of view, I'm in love with my Benefit High Beam highlighter. A dab on the cheekbones gives an effortless glow and allows you to shape your face without a full contour.

One cult beauty product that really isn't worth all the hype.

Mac Penultimate Eyeliner, a felt tip liquid liner, was a real disappointment for me. It's just not black enough! I also know Kat Von D products are lusted over, but her Lock-It foundation stinks to high heaven. Good coverage, but I personally don't like having a face that smells like chemicals! 

And finally, what's your secret to the perfect 'selfie'?

Two things: lighting and practice! No filter can compare to natural light; find the best window in your room and practice, practice, practice! It takes a bit of time to find your best angles and expressions, but it's a fun journey!

Blog: clairelouisaloves.tumblr.com