ladies who brunch

I went over to my friend's apartment today and had a scrumptious brunch with some wonderful company. She -- a fabulous cook with a diverse set of skills! -- had set out a beautiful array of breakfast-y and lunch-y foods, including banana-chocolate muffins, an omelet with roasted garlic, an avocado salad, fresh fruit, fried onigiri, and more.


Her stark but very accommodating apartment arrangement almost makes me wish I didn't have a bed, kotatsu, and a sofa cramping the center of mine. Almost.

Nibbling while chit-chatting and languishing about is really the perfect way to stretch out a Sunday morning that is typically far too short Hopefully we will do this more often -- perhaps with us moochers pulling our weight in the kitchen more. :)

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So, the other day, I was shopping at an "America-style" mall that opened up here a few months back. Fully-indoor malls are pretty rare here, as most people seem to prefer the walking arcades conveniently attached to subway or train stations. Anyway, like any American mall, this mall had it's share of garishly-decorated stores filled with only knick-knacks and questionable (tongue-in-cheek?) novelty items.

Of all the crazy "import" goods, this Conguitos (what does this mean?) candy was definitely my favorite:



(The heads bobble!)