*♥* Le Téa Et Crêpes *♥*

I'm currently not listening to any music right now, but I wanted to make this quick post before I go to bed - I did promise a post, did I not? ;) I literally just got back home after spending a wonderful day with Taylor :) I also got to see a couple of friends of mine whom I'll introduce in a bit. (^-^)

I wanted to share with you all something that I've been meaning to post all week:

I have a newfound adoration for tea and crepes! :)

Tonight I want to quickly talk about a little cozy hole-in-the-wall place called Le Téa Et Crêpes. (In French, meaning "tea and crepes").

Now, if you hang out with me and Taylor a lot, you'd know that we are very adventurous eaters and both of us try to be on the lookout for new places to eat. (Tay is better at this than I am, though, heh heh) I go down the road where the cafe is located everyday when I drive to and from work. For a while, I've wanted to go there, especially since there was a display board inviting customers to try their fruit and savory crepes. I realized that this was the place where my high school friend Brandon works - actually, he's one of the chefs! I contacted him letting him know we were going there and we made our first visit last Saturday. :)

I did a little research about Le Téa Et Crêpe and learned that Brandon's mom, the proud owner, opened the cafe in 2008. The website (click here) has the menu and information about their teas too. :) The crepes are cooked to order and made with the freshest ingredients.They've received a lot of wonderful reviews, mostly highlighting the food, tea, and comfortable environment. One reviewer said that they were very impressed by the extensive knowledge and recommendations provided from the server about the various teas they offered. They've even received a Best at the Beach award in 2009 for Best Tea Rooms.



...the pictures above was not taken by me, but anyway... It's a calm cozy place to be! I adore the lighting - the green and orange ball lighting design simply rocks! For a more romantic atmosphere they have these cute little candles on the tables; I think it was a very nice thing that Tay and I came in for dinner. :)
I apologize in advance if I make you hungry, but here's the food that we had while we were there that night - and I know I made all my Tweeps jealous when I posted these on Twitter!:

Taylor's Crêpe de Saucisse - Beef or Sausage sautéed with mix Peppers and Onion, topped with white wine sauce. I tried a little bit of it and it was very delicious :)
My Crêpe de Fruit (since I wanted something fresh and light after my heavy late lunch that day) - Filled with seasonal fruit and topped with mango guava sauce. I love the fresh fruit and the mango guava sauce was just out of this world... Wow. Simply wow!
We tried 2 teas: Oolong with Goji Berry and Tieh Kuan Yin (or "Iron Buddha") with osmanthus and honeysuckle. Very yummy! (You will find information about each of the tea ingredients provided in the link above). Enjoying some tea here and being with Taylor just made the meal experience very relaxing and romantic xoxo
And for dessert: Caramel Apple Blossom - it was so warm and cinnamon-y and a great way to end the meal :)

We promised another visit soon, and that's where we went for lunch today :) This time for our tea we had white tea with rose bud and honeysuckle - it was sweet, light and floral... I think that's my favorite tea combination thus far! Tay had the Crêpe de Saucisse again while I had...

OMG, CHICKEN YAKISOBA! Light flavors, yet very delicious :) I really adore the cute carrot flower, by the way. I couldn't eat it. ...yes, it was that cute. (^-^;)
Brandon, along with his older brother Josh who also runs the cafe, suggested that we try a new dessert: panna cotta. I really liked this, especially the creaminess of the Italian cream. The texture reminded me of flan, so the best way for me to describe it is that it's like an Italian flan! I want to get this next time :)
I wasn't going to leave without getting a crepe, of course, so I had the Crêpe de Liqueur - Filled with nutella, strawberry and banana, topped with Berries and Crème de Cassis, Orange Curacao or Crème de Banana. Considering that there is alcoholic ingredients, you must be 21 to order this. I like the flavored liquers of banana and orange, but I thought Crème de Cassis would be an appropriate choice to tie in all of the ingredients together. ...and oh my it was :) Another favorite to add to my food list!

Well, there you have it you everyone! If you're in the Virginia Beach area, or are planning to be in the area sometime soon, please give this place a visit!

...or Brandon will come after you in your sleep. XD

Time for bed, so until next time (and by that, I mean tomorrow) - good night!

Sweet fishie kissies,

~Reiko (^o^) zzzzz xoxo ♥

*♥* It's Fall!! *♥*

[Currently listening to おかえり by the lovely ayaka :) ]

Happy October everyone! :) I know it's been long overdue, but I am back!

I've missed you all ('-^)v ~♥

It has been a roller-coaster ride this past month, mainly because I've been so busy working, working, WORKING! For those who have just started reading my blog or just to remind my current followers, I work as a bartender/waitress at a retirement home. :) There are a lot of changes going around at work, mainly construction in the dining room, which meant that we had to push ourselves extra hard to make food service for the residents as pleasant as possible. I will tell you all right now that it really hasn't been easy trying to adjust around the construction site, but somehow in the last 3 weeks of construction, we made it! The Bistro area has been re-arranged and updated, and will open again on Wednesday. We're very excited for this and hoping that with the changes made, operation for making and delivering food to the residents will run more smoothly than before. :)

After working a very busy long week, I finally have tomorrow for a day off! I've been looking forward to this since Monday, my last day off... (^-^;;) I've been running around so much that yesterday (our busiest day) I felt as though I walked a marathon! I've never worked myself so hard until this day, but tomorrow, I will be having some well-deserved rest! Yay!!

The weather here at Virginia Beach has been super crazy with all the RAIN!! Lately the weather's been lacking forecasts of rain, and in the last 3-4 days, we've received... well, RAIN! Lots of it! The day before yesterday there were delays and even cancellations for schools and other places because the rain just kept going! Sure, we've been long overdue for some rain, but... I didn't think we'd be getting this much... (-__-);; The good news is now we've had rain, and... Well, tomorrow will be a good break - it's supposed to be a beautiful day. (^-^)

There will be more rain on the way this coming week though... (O_o);;

In other news... @SleeplessFish, a.k.a. my boyfriend Taylor and I have been together for 2 years and 2 months this past Wednesday :) I've said it before and I'll say it again: it doesn't feel as though we've been together that long... But nothing better than to be in love with your best friend! (^-^)♥ We are able to see each other only once a week now that he's back in school - he is in his last semester at University of Mary Washington studying Political Science. I've given him plenty of space so that he can concentrate on his school work - from what I understand they are writing-intensive classes, and those take up a LOT of time and effort to do. It hasn't been easy waiting on my part, but I always look forward to the day when I do get to see him, even if it will only be for a few hours. I'm very proud of him though, and I'm going to cheer him on until he gets the diploma in his hands :) Let's all cheer for him too, okay??

So, it's October! That means Halloween is right around the corner! What is everyone doing for Halloween this year?? Last year I dressed up as a black cat for work, but this year I want to dress up in something that I know I want to put some effort in. It's been a long while since I last cosplayed so my costume this year will be from the anime "Kaichou wa Maid-sama" - Ayuzawa Misaki!

I actually finished watching "Kaichou wa Maid-sama" last night and this is, by far, my favorite shoujo anime. Long story short: Student Body President of her school by day, Maid Latte cafe's maid at work! It's really cute, so ladies, and guys too - go watch it now! :)

I'm also going to Nekocon this year! I told myself 2 years ago that I wouldn't be able to go to anime conventions anymore, but... Well, I miss seeing my friends, and I would love to go meet new friends too - so I'm making a comeback! The convention is November 5-7 this year, and I've already pre-registered! I plan to wear my completed cosplay at this convention, and I'm not sure if I will have time to make another one by then... We will see, won't we? :) I might be able to buy my materials tomorrow and get started soon!

Before I go, I want to share with you all something that I'm going to do soon: making videos for YouTube! I finally decided that I want to give video-editing and such a try! A few weeks ago, I experimented and made a video. I have it posted below - I hope you all will like it :)

By the way, if you have tips and pointers to fixing this problem with the video, let me know because I'm willing to try and learn!

Enjoy and I'll check back with you all tomorrow!

Much love to you all,
~Reiko ('-^) xoxo ♥

★☆ Typing this as fast as possible! ☆★

[Currently watching "Dead Like Me" Season 1 Episode 3 - thank you Taylor (@SleeplessFish) for introducing this show to me :) xoxo ]

Hello and good morning everyone! It's been a couple of weeks since I updated, huh? Well, I have been extremely busy - celebrating my birthday all week with wonderful people, worrying about my case for my car accident (which will be written about in a separate post later on today), and spending some time with my wonderful @SleeplessFish :) I hope you all have been well and still enjoying your weekend :)

I'm going to be typing this as fast as possible since I woke up a little bit later than I hoped... Then again, it was good that I was able to sleep in a little bit; I guess I really needed the rest! :)

The main stuff I want to talk about will have to wait until a later post this evening, but for right now I wanted to share with you guys the following:

I bought more jewelry from DSK Jewelry as another birthday present to myself :) Well, what can I say? I'm a fan of Stephanie and her wonderful and creative works! Next month I will be launching filmings for my YouTube channel and this is going to be one of the first videos that I will do. I can't wait to show you guys my DSK hoard! I don't have the picture of the jewelry that I bought, but the day that the jewelry comes in the mail, I'll be filming as soon as possible :)

Speaking of wonderful and creative stuff, I want to share with you guys a really cute store that I discovered in the last week: ekiLove!

I've provided the link to the lovely Eki's online store - just click on the icon above :)

What is ekiLove? Eki, the creator of this kawaii store, makes purses, jewelry, and hair accessories that when worn, it turns a girl into a hime (Japanese word for princess!) ^_^ Just like Stephanie's work for her DSK Jewelry line, Eki's art is handmade - meaning made by her own two hands and with NO assistance from anyone else. What I admire about these girls' works is that they are one of a kind; you cannot find the same jewelry anywhere else - any other jewelry, purse, etc. that is not made by them is simply not DSK or ekiLove because these girls pour their heart, love and soul into each piece. That's what makes them so special and I've become a fan!

Here are some examples of stuff from Eki's store:

I absolutely love this Vintage Hime pouch! But right now I have to save my money, so I hope this purse will still be available by the time I'm able to get this ^-^

This is Eki, the creator of ekiLove - isn't she lovely with her handmade Hime hair bow? :)

This is my favorite necklace from her accessories collection - the Royal Love necklace. Again, I'd love to get this but right now I have to conserve my money :( Isn't it pretty though? And the crystal heart is a Swarovski crystal!

Eki is currently holding a contest at her online store until 9/18 - check out her store at the ekiLove love icon provided above and show her your love! :) For you lovely himes out there, it's worth a few minutes of your time to visit - I promise ^_^

Before I go, I wanted to share with you guys a show that I mentioned that I'm watching while typing this. It's called "Dead Like Me" :)

For a quick simple synopsis: 18-year old Georgia Lass was scheduled to die, and from that moment on, she became an "undead" - or rather, a grim reaper. As in, taking the souls of people, just like what happened to her during the time of her death. The series speaks for itself: A series of life after life. Taylor showed me the first episode from his collection last night and I've gotta say that I really enjoyed it! I'm currently watching the episodes on hulu.com - maybe I'll get my own collection of episodes myself, lol! :)

What really tickles me is that it took me a while to really realize that one of the characters in the series is Mandy Patinkin, the guy who is also in CBS's "Criminal Minds" as Gideon! Awesome!

For exciting news, I will finally be getting my own phone and phone line tomorrow morning: I'm getting the new iPhone 4! I've been using an old Nokia phone that my mom, dad, and I got in 2006 as a back-up phone since my Sony Ericsson phone broke into pieces last summer, so I'm very excited that my phone will be cool and updated! I will also be paying for my own phone bill, so Responsibility +1 for me; just a step at a time to independence :)

Oh so very excited! :)

All right guys and girls, it's time for me to get ready for a good day at work. I will be back tonight to share the rest of my news, especially the court report for my car accident back in March. I can't wait to share with you all :)

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone! xoxo

With love,

~Reiko xoxo

★☆ A Nice Day Off with Reiko :) ☆★

[Listening to 恋愛♥ライダー (Renai Rider) by J-pop band Buono! - if you like the anime Shugo Chara, you'd know this song! :) ]

Hello again everyone :) I hope you're doing well - I know I certainly am :)

Before I begin, just wanted to update you guys about the DSKJewelry contest:

As you guys know, 44 girls, including myself, entered to be the new model for the DSK Jewelry line. It's very impressive how Steph's work has reached many girls all over the place, and I'm very proud to have been one of the 44 :) I didn't make it, but a shoutout and a big congratulations to Kayleigh! You go, girl! :D

This was one of the best experiences of my life and I'll definitely be doing this again next year :Dv I'll always be supporting DSK Jewelry! Steph's website is here if you want to take a visit:

http://dskjewelry.blogspot.com

So, I had my day off today, and I decided it would be fun to take my camera with me and show you guys my favorite places to go and things to do :) I haven't made many videos since getting my new Samsung digital camera, so I decided try out something new and have fun with it :) I'll be editing later when I get home from work tomorrow, but I can't wait to try it out and share my day with you!

I was able to take some pictures along the way too, and they'll be posted here :)

Here's a few pics I took of me before I headed out the door :) I love the Beauty function on my camera!

I wear my DSK Jewelry proudly :)

I added one of the small crystals from the Strawberry Lemonade necklace for a fun and sweet look :)

My Earth crystal earrings - they're so beautiful and iridescent in the light :)

My Dainty Moonlight Heart bracelet - I love the tiny heart chain :)

I even straightened my hair a bit - I almost never do, but I was feeling good today. :)

The first place I had to stop by before anyplace else was the post office again to drop off the rest of my textbooks. I had two big boxes and one nicely sealed padded envelope. After a 10-minute wait, I was able to drop them off, but there was a problem with one of the boxes: The label was completely different from the ones that I delivered last week and didn't have a label for postage. This was how the label came after I processed the books online, which really sucked because I had to pay $6 extra for postage... Well, you get some and you lose some. =/ What matters now is that the textbooks are well on their way and I should be hearing back soon from the websites about payments for my books. The money will go toward me getting my new phone - I've decided to finally get an iPhone :) Whee!

I love going to libraries; I love being around books and I always find something new each time. It has been a while since I've checked something out so I decided to pay the Central Library a visit for a book inquiry and looking for new music CDs. It turns out that so long as my books are fairly recent (by a couple of years), I can donate them there. On Thursday morning, I'll pay them a visit again so that they can take a look at my books - they might be able to have good use of them :)

It didn't take me very long to find some new CDs to listen to. By the time I came downstairs, I already had 11 albums in my arms!

Jessie James - Jessie James

Ryan Cabrera - Take It All Away

Vanessa Hudgins - Identified

The Phantom of the Opera Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Josh Groban - Josh Groban Live at the Greek


Josh Groban - Josh Groban Awake Live

I stumbled upon a few albums by Japanese artist, Kitaro - apparently he's a Grammy Award-winning artist!

Kitaro - Thinking of You

Kitaro - Mandala

Kitaro - Best of Kitaro

Step Up 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Enrique Iglesias - Escape

I wished I was able to take pictures inside the library, but I didn't want to take the risk of getting yelled at...

I got hungry, so I went across the street to one my favorite places: Tropical Smoohtie Cafe :) I worked here a couple of years ago and I come back to visit when I can :)


This a really cool cookie bouquet! This was made by Cookies by Design - The Original Cookie Bouquet Company, just a couple of stores down from Tropical Smoothie Cafe :)

My late lunch! :) A Get Up and Goji smoothie and a Sesame Chicken salad - yummers!

After eating I headed off to my favorite hangout spot: Barnes and Noble! As I said, I love being around books! If I could, I would spend an entire day either at the library or at B&N :) My favorite sections to read are the cookbooks, manga, and New Age. :)


I posted on Twitter that I love being in the New Age section, looking at the Astrology books because I think it's really interesting and mysterious how it weaves into our lives. It's interesting to read about, but really, I think that we are the ones who have control of what we do in our lives - just got to have strength to believe in yourself! :)

Apparently I spent about 2 1/2 hours at B&N! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun and enjoying yourself!

I gave Sephora a visit since I'm running out of my concealer... I usually use Make Up Forever brand, but as much as I love it, I was looking for something that was still of great quality and easy on my budget. I was referred to the Sephora collection and got the concealer stick. I also got a couple of products from Philosophy that I'm going to try out later on tonight. I guess it's going to be another entry of "Does it Work?" for these products! They'll be shown in the pictures below.

...I got hungry again, so went to a really cute and yummy frozen yogurt shop called Swirls! They opened at the beginning of the summer in Lynnhaven Mall. Taylor and I have been here before and they have neat flavors for the yogurts; our current favorite was green tea :) They didn't have green tea today though, but I picked out the pineapple coconut and cookies and cream yogurts.

You can even top off your yogurt with fruit, cookie dough, candy, cookies, sprinkles and cereal!

I stayed on the healthy side and added my favorite fruit :)
Did I forget to mention that I'm really liking this over gelato?? It's healthier for you and I got 10oz of this for about $4! Healthy for my body and my budget, lol!

From here I gave @SleeplessFish aka Taylor a visit; it was a very short visit, so no pictures >_< onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09C3NMpFr5kjMtP4FntGlRvF7KVSF5Zr4qDQ79UdsV5mNNn8ixAT0_IIFakcFw5eaPJk58ynfmhBAVYiI-G09NFY-6M0keAFAlivXgjEydxjr6zu19fi2_ZYXMb_01CzuCFTkeHDed04/s1600/SAM_0745.JPG">

Philosophy's Purity One-Step Facial Cleanser - I've heard many good things about this and I can't wait to try it out :)

Philosophy's Hope in a Jar moisturizer

I've never owned anything by Dior before, so this is exciting! This is a sample of Dior's Multiperfection Cream; it's supposed to help lighten darkened complexions and wrinkles on your face.

The concealer stick from the Sephora Collection in Medium :)

It pays off to be a member! I got a free birthday gift!

Included was mascara, white eyeshadow and eye pencil :)

I can't wait to use them soon!

All right, time to rest my tired hands... Again ^-^ I hope you had fun reading :) I'll come back tomorrow with another fun entry for you~! I'll also be editing my videos so you can come along with me on this fun day :)

Until then, sweet beautiful dreams xoxo

~Reiko xoxo