ZenPop October 2018, Japanese Stationery Subscription Box

ZenPop October Stationery Box 2018, Bunny Rabbit Pack

This box actually made really good time this month getting here, arriving mid-October, but I was out of Country, so I'm finally reviewing the box.  Thought it would be good to do so before the end of the month.

ZenPop Japanese Stationery Pack has 10 or more stationary items per box.  You can make a one time purchase, or select a subscription plan of 3 or 6 months.  One box per month and those who get a subscription receive a bonus item.  A single box is $29.50, 3 months is $28x3 = $84, and 6 months is $27.50x6 = $165.  Shipping is free (boxes come from Osaka Japan so this is a great deal) and plans don't automatically renew (which is fantastic).

All quotations throughout this post come from the info paper. 

October: Bunny Rabbit Pack

"Bunny rabbits might not get as much attention as kittens or puppies, but they can be just as cute.  We have a special place in our hearts for bunnies, because our Luna is a bunny rabbit.  In Japan it is said that you can see a bunny in the moon making mochi with a hammer.  Since it is our birthday this month, ZenPop is celebrating with this bunny pack, as well as a new manga on instagram called Full Moon Magic featuring Luna's adventures."

 Mini Notepad

"Mini notepad memos are great for making lists or leaving a message for someone.  They are small, cute, and they make you smile.  This one features the gorgeous Lilimary and her cute stuffed animal buddies.  Welcome to my heart."

These mini note papers are adorable.  Example pages are shown a few pictures down.  It comes with two illustrated styles, quite a few pages of each.  I'm starting to get quite the memo/notepad collection.

 Constellation Washi Tape

"In Japan, Zodiac Signs are often used for fortune telling.  One of the popular morning TV show 'Mezamashi TV' has Zodiac Signs fortune telling every day.  Many Japanese maybe saw it before they leave home to work so that they can know their fortune and lucky item."

Bunny Washi Tape

"Because this pack is 'bunny' theme, here's a cute washi tape from Japan!  Most popular rabbit in Japan is called 'Japanese white rabbit'.  It usually has white hair and red eyes.  What kind of rabbits do you like the best?"

I'm also starting to get quite the Washi tape collection.

I love the constellation tape.  Right up my alley.  I've always loved space and the stars.  The bunny tape is cute.  I'll save it for Easter.

 Pilot - Frixion Colors

"Cute pastel color Frixion color pen from PILOT.  Can write smoothly and erase it easily when you want, using the plastic nubbin on the end.  Decorate your notes with Frixion colors and make it colorful! You will get one out of 6 colors."

 It wasn't until I read the description that I realized this is an erasable marker.  It writes smooth, and erases well, though in just the right light you can read what you wrote after it was erased.  Don't use for important documents or journals, but for fun this will be nice.

 Tape Glue Stamp

"Tenori means 'fits in your hand' and Ichioshi means 'highly recommended'.  As you can guess from the name, this stamp glue is a highly recommended palm-sized stationery.  You don't have to paste the entire surface of the paper, it is enough if you stamp it on four corner.  You can stamp approx 500 times!"

You take off the lid and simply stamp the sticky glue.  It's lightly sticky, not heavy, so for temporary stickiness it will be good.  Another unique Japanese stationery item.

 Clip Notes

"Needless to say, this index bunny clip is so useful!  Write a memo inside the rabbit's mouth and clip your papers.  The bunny clip will help you file your documents and also remind you the memo.  Enjoy your study/work time with 3 cute bunnies!!"

These are fun.  This comes with 4 of each bunny type, and you write in the mouth what the note is to what's being clipped together.  One of those things I would have never thought to get, but can be useful in organization.

 Sticky Memos

"In Japan, we celebrate "Ju-go-ya", also known as Tsuki-mi or moon viewing in October.  We give thanks for the rice harvest and pray to the moon for another good harvest.  Also, it is thought that the patterns on the moon looks like a rabbit making mochi.  Can you see the rabbit in these sticky notes?"

Usagi and the moon.  I've known of this legend thanks to Sailor Moon.  These memo pads have the silhouette of a bunny making mochi.  Really fun.

 Birthday Card

"October is not just the month for 'Ju-go-ya', but it is also the month ZenPop was born!  We hut our 2nd anniversary this year and to celebrate our birthday, here's a cute pop up birthday card you can give to someone special on their day!"

 Front: When we're together ...

Inside: It's so much fun!

It's always fun to send birthday cards, and this is a really cute one.

 Kanahei Stickers

"These characters are designed by illustrator Kanahei.  The pink bunny is called 'Usagi (rabbit in Japanese)' and the white bird is called 'Pisuke'.  These two are best friends and they go everywhere together."

Really cute stickers!  I'll be placing these on postcards, though once again I'm going to wait till Easter because the the bunny theme and feeling very springy.

 Mini Letter Set

"4 kinds of rabbits, Dutch, Netherland Dwarf, Holland Lop, and Dwarf Hotot, is featured on this letter set.  Maybe some of them are friends of Luna's!!  It is nice to write a short letter or attach a message to a present to your friends with this bunny letter set."

Cute bunny mini letter set.

I do prefer full size stationery sets, but this will be cute for Easter messages.

 BONUS ITEM:

Subscription Pack, 3 or 6 month only

Luna

"To celebrate the new manga featuring the adventures of Luna, we have included an adorable plush toy for you to enjoy."

I love Luna.  So glad to get this.

It's interesting, I completely understand why this was the October box, but the funny thing is most of these items I'm going to use in Easter, several months from now.  It's a nice, cute box.

Finally Seeing the Mona Lisa in Person

(2018) I visited The Louvre last week.  Not sure when, I think it was this last Saturday.  I'm so jet-lagged that all sense of time has fled.  (Went to bad last night at 7pm, woke up at 11pm, and I've been awake since due to insomnia.)

During the rush of that day, seeing as many tourist spots as possible, we got two hours in The Louvre.  (Second time visiting; both times were only two hours).  When I visited a couple years ago I didn't seek out the Mona Lisa.  Didn't care to.  Not that She's not worth seeing, just that the painting has a reputation for being overly crowded.

 And it is overly crowded.  There are no exaggerations to the rumors.

 And it's also in front of a lot of glass, where there's a lot of reflection.  Not to mention all the people who crowded the front to take selfies.

I did push myself to the front, not to take a selfie, because it's something I'm not into, but to see it as clearly as possible.  Thoughts?  The Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, is smaller than I thought it would be.  The glass takes away the texture of the piece.  The forced roped distance makes it hard to study and analyze.  The crowds take away from the experience.  It's a little stifling.

But am I glad I saw Her?  Yes.

She's iconic.  Trend setting.  Inspirational.  Contemplative.

Suddenly this little sneaky thought in the back in my mind wondered, "But could She also be overrated?"  Nothing else in The Louvre garners such attention, though much art deserves it.  Isn't that some sort of metaphor for modern life?

 The Louvre had two other Leonardo da Vinci artworks, which no one seemed to care.

 The Mona Lisa sits in a room surrounded by more stunning art.

(I have no idea what's going on in this picture, just thought it was cool.)

Back from a Social Media Fast and a Trip to Germany and France

10 days without social media and the news was much more difficult than I realized it would be.  Yes, I was on a Germany/France travel tour during this time, but I had a good international data plan of 3 gigs, in which I only used 1.3.  When I'm on trips I tend to check Facebook and news even more, so I feel a connection back home and still know what's going on.  My Aunt was suppose to room with me, but she got sick just before the trip, so I had my own room and time to myself.  The hardest was yesterday when coming back.  From leaving the Paris hotel to getting home, my parents and I, and those on the tour, traveled 27 hours.  We had a 6 1/2 hour layover in Charlotte NC.  I wanted to break my fast so bad, but stayed strong.  (Though, admittedly, I did hit the Facebook icon on my phone twice out of habit, saw a family post, and quickly left.)

What did I learn?

I seriously have an addiction.  Pressing the FB app icon is a habit, and until these last ten days I didn't realize how bad it was.  It's something I'm going to keep working on.  Reducing my Social Media time.

I found myself living in the moment.

Cutting myself off from everything helped me take the trip in and focus on what I was experiencing.  The trip had highs and lows.  There were set backs.  Being apart of a tour has the good and the bad.  Whoever booked the flights allowed only an hour layover in Dallas to catch a plane to Frankfurt.  There were severe storms in TX that morning, setting our SLC plane back 1 1/2 hours.  When we landed and waited 30 more minutes for a gate, the Frankfurt plane was loaded and had takeoff clearance--my Dad is a pilot and knows how to look this stuff up, and we later talked to those on that previously loaded plane--then all of a sudden everyone was taken off the plane due to mechanical problems, and the terminal reassigned from D to A, where our SLC plane was cleared to come into.  So we made the flight.  Crazy, right?  And our Rhine cruise got stuck in Rudesheim Germany a couple nights, due to low water levels on the Rhine, but we had extra free time in the city because of it.  There were good highlights as well.  It was a rush, highlight trip, but it was nice being close to where my Stufflebeam (Stoppelbein) ancestors come from.

This time also allowed me to realize how much I need to cut current events out of my life, more like reduce my time studying it.  I hate feeling out of touch, but I'm taking too much in, and news cycles repeat, constantly, and I get caught up in the repeat.  Touch in/Touch out.  Focus on what I can control.  And don't let what I can't control, control me. Still, it's good being aware of what's on the horizon and what can affect me, but it's also good to focus on what's in my personal space and presence.  There's a needed balance.

And I also felt strongly that I need to start taking my music and writing more seriously.  Honestly, I haven't been as dedicated as I should be.  Important life stuff has been going on, I was needed elsewhere, but now that certain things have ended this is my season of creativity.  That's how I'm going to see it.  Season of creativity.  That sounds nice.

Anywho, this little experiment has been nice.  Glad for the challenge.

I'm Doing a 10 Day Social Media Fast

Last weekend was the Latter-Day Saint General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  This happens twice a year, the first weekend in April and October.  I love conference weekend which consist of five two hour sessions.

During the General Women's Session, President Russell M. Nelson gave a few challenges, one of which was a 10 day social media fast, which for me includes Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Many of my friends have already started, and it's been strange.  Facebook has gotten a lot quieter.  I waited for this weekend to start the challenge as I had online commitments to finish.

During this fast we are also to think of any other media that brings negativity into our lives . . . which means I will also not watch, read, listen, or seek out news.  Now THIS will be super hard.  I have a current events addiction.  Like, I'm not joking or exaggerating.  My need to keep up on the news is actually more important in my life than social media, probably because social media really took off this last decade, whereas I've been following the news intensely since the sixth grade . . . I don't want to do the math, but I'm 36, so this is a long term thing.  But the news isn't a happy thing to follow, so for 10 days I'm not even going to listen to news/talk podcasts.  This Will Be So Hard.

But it will be interesting to see how I feel when it's over, which will be the 23rd of October.  And then I will binge, which is probably not the point of it all.  Oh well.  There's a lot of stuff happening.

So, see you on the other side!

Sarah

Finally Getting the Wizarding World LootCrate Hedwig Pin

 In the September, 2018, J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World Subscription Box by LootCrate, there was an item missing.  The theme of the box was Back to Hogwarts, and the four received items were House themed.  Nice items, honestly, but it felt like something was missing, and I was relieved to find a card apologizing that the pin, the first in a creature series, would arrive separately by mid-October.

I got the main box last week, and a week to the day, yesterday, this pin came in the mail, sooner than I was expecting, and much nicer than what was seen on the item info sheet.  The pin in the picture looked small, but this pin is a pretty good size.

 A full view on the card.

The pin next to a quarter.

I like the pin and its pearl accent.  It fits well with the Back to Hogwarts theme.

Visiting Notre-Dame de Paris (2016)

(April 2016)

On a beautiful afternoon in Paris, France, my Mom, Tata Patou, and I found ourselves wandering around Paris after a bus didn't take us to our destination due to a marathon.  In my last France post I blogged abut this, going into bakeries and shops, seeing that side of Paris, before we wandered to Notre-Dame de Paris.

Ever since seeing Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" I've wanted to visit Notre Dame to see where this tale takes place. It's a beautiful Cathedral located in a wonderful part of the city.  I really enjoyed seeing this famous landmark.

 If I was Catholic Joan of Arc would be my patron saint.

Photos by Sarah and Robin Stufflebeam