Grocery Shopping!

So...I got new kimono!

This year is supposed to be all about the "Healthy Aesthetic," which means I need to look nice and healthy (and get rid of some of the clutter and organize my space, 'cause that's healthy, too!). To that end, I decided that for every 5lbs I lose, I get to reward myself with a new kimono!

I've hit two of those milestones so far, and creeping up on the 15 lb reward, so I ordered a few kimono from Shinei a few days ago, and they came today! I picked out two that I can wear now, and decided to do some kitsuke practice. Just after I finished getting dressed, my BFF decided that he was taking me out to do our grocery shopping today--in kimono! Haha!

 Yep, it's Wal-Mart. We do most of our shopping at Costco, but for a few things, we hit up Voldymart. I just can't use bulk sizes of salsa and buttermilk fast enough, y'know?





The little cutie up there is my four year old. She's a dear and reaaaaaaaally wants Mommy to make her a kimono so we can go out wearing them together, haha!

When we got home, it was time for the bedtime ritual, which includes the before-bed story (the really funny part was where she found a rubber duck in a tree...HILARIOUS to 4 yo, let me tell you!):

 And then we snapped a few shots of my by-then very rumply kitsuke. My otaiko is doing all kinds of weird things, and my sarashi was creeping downward, so I felt kind of lumpy and bumpy...I also wasn't wearing makeup and took pictures in my study with its horrible lighting, so...Excuses!

 I did my obiage Lyuba-chan style, and I chose the green obi so I could toss this up on the Yipes!Stripes challenge. Otherwise, I would have chosen a different obi. Possibly the one I'll wear NEXT TIME!

How often do you wear your kimono out of the house for mundane outings? Things like going grocery shopping or to the library, or just out for an ice cream cone?

Third time's a charm?

Soooo...Today was the big day. The first time I actually went out in public in kimono! I was so nervous that I completely forgot my camera, so we had to make due with Greg's iphone camera.

We went out to eat at a Japanese restaurant and had some yummy noms, then drove over to the all-seasons garden, and let me tell you...I do not like riding in cars in kimono. I have got to figure out a better way to sit, because leaning forward the whole time is kind of killer on the back, especially when we have to go after being stopped at a stop sign or light. >_<;;

Anyway, I think I did pretty well on my kitsuke. There were a few wrinkles that I had to live with, or we wouldn't have made it to the restaurant before it closed, and my collars started slipping a little by the time we got into the garden, but overall it was pretty good!

I accessorized with my lime cashmere pashmina scarf and my hot pink cabled fingerless mitts that I knit for myself, so I'm a little all-over-the-place with color, but it was better than being cold!

My otaiko musubi was not quite as neat as it was last time. I made myself some sarashi and I haven't quite figured out the way to wrap them perfectly just yet, so I was a little bigger around the midsection than last time. My front camellia sits a little off-center because of that, but I didn't stress about it. A lot of things in the Japanese aesthetic aren't quite centered or symmetrical.

Quick addition

So, I whipped up a little han'eri today, preparing for my first ever public trip out in kimono! BFF is taking me out to lunch at a local Japanese restaurant, so I want to make sure I look super-nice!

It's just made of some quilting cotton that I picked up at  JoAnn's, but I like it and how it's almost peacock-y.