Mana Michelle: Inspirations

, by Mana

February Favorites

It's never to late to reflect on some favorite things from the month before!! Here are some things that I really loved from February:

1. Agete white small purse from SPRiNG Magazine's February magazine.

I really like the bags that come in Japanese magazines. The bonus presents are called Omake !! Sometimes the bags come with not so god quality things, but sometimes (with the right magazines) you can find some pretty great items!! I enjoy using this purse when I'm going out on a date and don't need to bring too many things.

Japan Travel Tip: If you want to buy a magazine with an omake and are worried about what it really looks like, go to a bookstore like Kinokuniya or Tsutaya and they usually have the items out of the magazine for you to see what it is!!

2. Windsor & Newton Ink: Nut Brown and 0/3 Watercolor brush

I am in LOVE with using this color ink lately. It's thanks to Frannerd that I started trying to use ink and brush rather than a pen and it has changed my perspective of inking. I'm looking to buy different colors in the future to expand my inking colors and working with variety!!

3. Erasable Muji Pen & Frixion Ball Pens

I cannot express enough how much I LOVE using these pens now for journaling and planning. I love using colored pens when I journal or plan, but when I make a mistake I hate using white out to fix the mistake. Maybe it's my passion for aesthetic, but I really dislike the way white out looks in the middle of a page I am really proud of. I know many people don't like them for the fact that they react to heat, but I haven't had any problems with that yet!

4. Windsor & Newton Travel Watercolor Set

I did it. I caved and I followed Frannerd and other watercolor illustrators and invested in a new set of watercolors. I have been using the Sakura Koi Watercolor Set for about 4 years and I really liked it for my level of watercolor skill. Recently I have been really enjoying illustrating with watercolor and realized the watercolor set I had before uses a lot of water to get the pigment I want. I figured it's time to invest in better quality watercolors. Result: I love them. The colors are so RICH. I intend to switch out some colors for other colors I usually use.

5. Plum Blossom Festival

About two weeks ago I had the pleasure of going to my local Ume Matsuri or Plum Blossom Festival in Mito City (Ibaraki Prefecture). The flowers were so beautiful as they were beginning to bloom! I got to taste some Plum Sake or Umeshuu, take pictures with the town mascot and staff in kimonos, and take LOTS of pictures of flowers. Spring is my favorite season here in Japan along with summer because there are so many festivals and everyone gathers together and really enjoys the moment while it lasts.

Japan Travel Tip: If you want to go to a flower watching or hanami festival, or other festivals and want a space to sit and enjoy, make sure you get to the destination EARLY. Or pick a day where people would not normally go (example: a week day or early in the morning on weekends). If there's one thing this country loves its picnicking at festivals so places will be PACKED.

6. The Harry Potter Series

I'm going to be honest and say I have never read the Harry Potter series. I have watched all the movies but when I was younger I was never interested in reading the books for some reason. Now I'm starting to read it (via the library at my job.) It's been a great experience and I'm getting really into the series more than I have before!

7. SPRiNG Magazine

I've been really inspired by this magazine. I could talk about it more but I have said a bunch in my post about Japanese magazines here!

8. Hacienda Del Cielo - Daikanyama, Tokyo

For valentines day my boyfriend Kiyo and I went to a Mexican restaurant in Daikanyama, Tokyo Japan. We got this amazing view of the city up in the lounge and the day was BEAUTIFUL. The food was delicious and we had a really good time there together.

9. Shimokitazawa, Tokyo

Kiyo wanted to show me a sub-cultured part of Tokyo near Shibuya called Shimokitazawa. The area is full of street art, stores with handmade items, and clothing stores with unique fashion styles! I really enjoyed walking around the area with Kiyo and I even got to see the place where his art exhibition will be!!!

10. The saskrit word: SANTOSHA

I learned about this word from an episode of The Lively Show with author Brene Brown. In a nut-shell it means to use the word "and" instead of "but." Example of using "but:" "I like what you said but I disagree." Using "and:" "I like what you said and I disagree." There are other examples of this and I realized it takes a lot of practice. Using but creates a space for negativity. The feeling of what your saying changes! Using and doesn't only create a space for positivity, I find that it also forces you to really be HONEST. It's really difficult to beat around the bush when using and (from my experience in practicing santosha).

Really long post with lot's of info about my February AND I hope you liked it!

If you have any questions about anything I mentioned above don't hesitate to ask!!!

❤ With Love, Mana ❤