#because with the og one? i’m scared of what i’ll see from the first row in progresja

[dnptheinfinity]

do we think the sister daniel outfit that we will see on stage is the original one or did dan get a new, better fitting one so that he can actually move and not accidentally flash us

[silvermeww]

The other day I had to go out shopping with my family, and while I usually hated shopping for once, I have found some pretty funny Pokémon merch (or rather, bootlegs).

(Under a read more because it is very picture heavy)

I mean, nice try but I know that’s a Mimikyu lol /j

Wait… Lego Brock? What’s next to him? What is happening—

Literally the first thing I see after DP Brock is OG Gary. Nice.

JAMES??? Are you okay?? Please speak to me!! Also is that supposed to be a rose? I actually thought it was a sceptre right until I started posting this lol.

IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE DAISY?? SHE ISNT EVEN IN THE ANIME??? HELP???

Anyways, after this fun run I realised that there was the back of the box that shows all of the characters available and I’m just here to say that I wish I never saw it.

Ash: My brother called him bold and yeah, I’ve got to agree

Pikachu: Not his Pokédex number but I’ll let it slide.

Misty: #notmymisty (Why is her hair like that???)

Bulbasaur: Could’ve put this guy first. Also okay, this seems to be an OG thing here…

Brock: Still stuck in Hisui I see. It happens to the best of us.

Daisy(?): Had to get some girl rep I guess

Squirtle: #notmysquirtle Get the sunglasses if you’re going to be bootleg

Eevee: It’s crying out in pain, I can just hear it. How did they massacre your design that badly???

(Me: Okay, who is this rando??? …Wait, it couldn’t be…)

It’s Leon. Yeah. He lost his cap and ended up in this strange dimension with the rest of everyone. Also his hair may be cut down to shoulder length, I can’t tell.

Professor Oak: Yeah his hair went disco, he’s still in the 1970s having the time of his life or something. My sister thought he was a girl lol.

Charmander and Pichu aren’t bad ig, but the latter is a bit unexpected at this point.

James and Gary are There. Gary at least got the canon family so I can’t be too mad. James, however, is stuck with the last two of the pack imo, Gengar and Snorlax (Gen 1 who get GMax and a Mega/Z Crystal respectively… also just very well known mons) and now I’m scared if it’s an allegory for Meowth as a big cat and Jessie being dead or something. Or maybe I’m just reaching.

ALSO. Each part they have works into making a Dialga and Palkia, so there’s that. Maybe that’s the reason why they are all badly made and have been summoned to the White Space. Someone make a fanfic about it.

Further on my quest to find a small gift token for some people in a class I teach, I came upon this curious thing.

Me: Oh boy, I can’t wait to see what stickers they would make out of the XY series! Hopefully there would be some good ones out here.

(My sister: That keyhole is for the Master Class)

The stickers:

Wow, I totally remember May being there! Also I’m pretty sure it was DP that had the 10th anniversary but idk (Advanceshipping real?). Anyways I love how there is so much AG and then we get Togepi and Piplup coming in. And OG Ash. And Cyndaquil. And Phione. And my personal favourite Pokémon Rumble Charmander.

But

But perhaps the next page will give me what I want, right?

Wrong! Deoxys movie sticker be upon you!!! No, seriously, how did they get that as a sticker? I love the rep though, just wished we had all of the other characters too ngl to complete the pic. My brother loved the second Ash on the bottom pic, said it looked very smug, and honestly imagine using that sticker. For what occasion would it be most useful?? Also miscoloured OG Ash on the third row from the bottom my beloved, more 3D pics, Skitty in a Contest stage, DP Ash?? And Birch merchandise (we need that around here). Now there is one more sticker page left (it repeats the same pages afterwards), and I honestly gave up hope. And I was right to, but still, look at this lol:

The only Lucario you will ever get. That Croagunk one with Chimchar at the back. That one Ranger from that one Ranger’s special (I think the Deoxys one???). And of course, we can’t forget Shedinja.

So yeah, it was definitely a pretty eventful shopping day. I couldn’t get a picture of it, but there was this holographic picture in a frame that had Pikachu changing into different Kanto Starters, and another frame from another shop that flashed with Ash and the gang from multiple series (got jumpscared by XY help). Idk but that existed lol.

[unabasheddinosaurkitten]

Rise Of Orthros

Chapter 2

Hunter had given Phillip and Stephen the task of watching the cave, Phillip was hoping that the villages wouldn't get attacked, he knew that sometimes dragons just attack and he also saw how peaceful they were being with them, allowing them to stay in their village while they worked.

Stephen managed to get a few sheep into the cave for the dragons to eat. Amelia was seated on a log in front of a bonfire they had going, she was cooking some fish for them.

Hunter had given the dragons about 3 massive piles of fish which they devoured within seconds, Amelia was slowly French braiding Hanna's pink hair.

"Why did you become a dragon rider, Amelia?" She asked Amelia.

Amelia finished the French braid letting it go before looking at Hanna, "Well I always wanted to mean something to people, growing up I was out casted by everyone I knew because of who I was. I've always had a connection to Ethrinria since I saved her. I also wanted to prove to everyone that not all mages are evil."

Hanna bit her lip; she shouldn't have asked that, "I'm so sorry... My parents are very hard on me; they want me to be just like them. Be the perfect dragon rider and become one with my ability but it's so hard. My father has never given me a smile since primary school, it's always been a frown and I'm worried I will let them down."

Amelia shook her head, "You can only do what you can do. Don't let your parents decide what is best for you, they aren't you. Allowing them to tell you how to be and how to act makes you become more distant from them. It's not easy but I'm sure they are proud of you. You are a member of the dragon riders which only a few can become in a few years."

Hanna has always liked Amelia's wisdom, she adored it when they first met, and it's one of the many reasons why Hanna looks up to Amelia. Even though Amelia is a mage and isn't liked by many people she still gives others hope. There are children out there who see Amelia and just see a hero and someone who can protect them. It's what Hanna hopes to get.

Amelia pulled out the fish from the fire handing it to everyone, she slowly bit into the fish closing her eyes at the taste of the fish, she added some herbs and spices to give it a little kick for flavour.

"What if the villagers attack the dragon?" Sam asked as he swallowed a bit of the fish.

"We will stop them from harming the dragons, I don't trust Blann, not after what we discovered today," Hunter replied.

Sam nodded taking a quick glance at the mountains before he stood up from his spot, "Well I'm heading to bed. I'll catch you guys in the morning. Goodnight," with that Sam was the first to enter the house.

Hanna yawned as she finished her piece of fish before standing up as well, "Me too, I'm going to hit the sack. See you in the morning. Thanks for French braiding my hair again Amelia."

Amelia sent Hanna a small smile, "No worries, goodnight."

Hunter and Amelia watched Hanna enter the house next while the two of them stayed by the fire. Hunter scooted closer towards Amelia closing the gap between them before he looked up at the stars twinkling in the night sky. Noticing most of the constellations from Orion's belt to the little dipper and big dipper.

Amelia watched as a few villagers passed them heading towards their houses turning in for the night, she was trying to suss them all out. Witnessing what they saw today, conflicting her judgements in all of them.

"Do you ever want to go back home Amelia?" Hunter asked out of the blue.

Amelia turned her attention to Hunter, "No... It was never home and never will be. I will be glad that I won't ever have to go back there."

Hunter never understood why she hated her parents so, he knew that you only got one set of parents. He never asked her about her family, he didn't want to push boundaries between them. The two of them have so much trust for each other he doesn't want to ruin it.

"Will you ever tell us what happened?" Hunter asked.

Amelia was quiet for a few seconds biting the bottom of her lip before answering, "One day."

That was good enough for Hunter, the two of them yawned before standing up from the longs and splashing cold water onto the fire before some dry dirt over the top. Hunter headed inside the house taking his bed he assigned himself too after shown the house. Amelia stayed outside, she sat down by Ethrinria's head wrapping her arm around her head.

Ethrinria whined a little before bringing up her wing to cover Amelia with, Amelia rubbed her eyes gently before falling asleep with her head next to Ethrinria's.

|||||

Amelia jolted awake as she heard a screeching roar coming from the mountains, she cursed to herself before jumping up and running inside kicking Hunter's shoe alerting him.

"What?" He slurred out as he opened his eyes.

"The dragons are being attacked. We need to go now!" Amelia hissed before running out, Ethrinria was awake and standing tall waiting for Amelia to climb onto her.

Hunter was quick as he ran out, trying to out his shoes on as well while he climbed onto Hillverion. The two dragons looked at each other before they both lifted off the ground and towards the mountains; Amelia's heart was thumbing through her chest as she was scared. She cursed herself for falling asleep.

Ethrinria let out a roar as they got closer landing in front of the villagers who were trying to enter while Stephen and Phillip tried getting those who stuck inside.

"Get back!" Amelia shouted as Ethrinria growled at the villagers. "I told Blann to tell you to leave the dragons alone. They only wanted food for god sakes!"

Ethrinria growled once more at the villagers making them whimper, even more, she couldn't believe them after Blann had given them his word.

"Bjarter af ljósi, bjarter af eldi. Ég bið þig að sýna mér dreka ela," Amelia chanted again watching as the crystals in the cave began to light up.

They were beautiful, nothing like before when they explored the first time. The purple and pink crystals mixed together making a beautiful outline of the cave, Amelia slowly climbed off of Ethrinria's saddle and headed inside.

She made her way to the centre taking everything in once again, the centre of the cave was much bigger. Beautiful green trees were growing inside, she was a nature dragon creating a semi-safe haven for her children. She could hear birds chirping in the cave making her smile.

This was absolutely breathing, Amelia wanted to stay and live inside this cave. She halted her footsteps as she saw the mother dragon stand up and growl towards her. She finally got the chance to see the dragon's appearance up close. Tranquil cerulean eyes sit delicately within the creature's horned, horned skull, which gives the creature a very ominous looking appearance.

Two enormous horns sit atop its head, just above its narrow, angular ears. Several rows of crystal growths runs down the sides of each of its jaw lines. Its nose is wide and has two thick, angular nostrils and there's a small crystal growth on its chin. Several rows of large teeth poke out from the side of its mouth and give a preview of the terror hiding inside.

A lean neck runs down from its head and into a muscular body. The top is covered in reptilian skin and a row of spikes runs down its spine.

Its bottom is covered in thick scales and is coloured slightly lighter than the rest of its body. Two powerful limbs carry its body and allow the creature to stand illustrious and tall. Each limb has 4 digits, each of which end in thorny claws seemingly made of crystal.

Magnificent wings grow starting from its shoulders and end at the lower end of its back. The wings are almost angel-like, the insides of the wing seem to be made of thin crystals and small, sharp tips grow from each ending like massive spears.

Its narrow tail ends in a seemingly fluffy tip and is covered in the same reptilian skin as its body. Amelia gently raised her hands allowing the mother dragon slowly step forward giving her a sniff. She watched as the young stayed behind their mother; they were also trying to suss Amelia out.

The mother dragon perked up before letting out a whine letting Amelia know she was trusted, a warm smile washed over her face. She was glad she was trusted a little, it made her heart warm.

"I'm a friend; I'm not here to hurt you. I want to hurt you" she said before allowing her eyes to close. She needed to show them, "Koma frá langt og nær, sumar kindur fyrir vini mína að éta."

Amelia slowly opened her eyes once again, peering over to the corner where some livestock had appeared, the spell worked. A massive smile appeared on her face as she looked at the livestock before meeting her eyes with the mother dragon.

"Go ahead," Amelia whispered gently.

The mother dragon walked over to the life stock, her young following behind her. One by one the dragons devoured the livestock. The mother dragon stepped back allowing her children to eat more before her eyes peered up at Amelia's again.

Amelia stepped closer towards the mother dragon, no growl was heard and no worry was on the mother dragons face, Amelia slowly lifted her hand and gently rubbed her scales, "Please... This place isn't safe for you anymore or your dragons. We can find you a new uninhabited island filled with animals and trees so you can be free."

Amelia took her chance and hugged the dragon, a few tears fell from her cheeks as she didn't want the dragons to be killed or even think of them getting hurt any more. The mother dragon gently bent her wing around Amelia cupping her close to her body.

The mother dragon let out a growl towards her young making them snap up, Amelia stepped back from the dragons. The mother dragon nodded her head towards Amelia allowing her to take them someplace new. Amelia turned her head as she heard footsteps; she noticed Hunter walking in with a torch.

The mother dragon let out a growl of dominance letting Hunter know to not mess with her. Amelia stepped closer towards Hunter touching his hand so the mother dragon could see they were friends. Instantly the mother dragon quietened her growls.

"I can't believe you actually made a connection. You amaze me everytime Amelia" Hunter smiled, he knew how close Ethrinria and her were but never knew she could connect like that to another dragon.

"It wasn't easy... But I'm glad I've got her trust... We must head off and find them a new island," Amelia replied.

"Sam will be good at them, we should start heading out," Hunter replied. Amelia nodded before the mother dragon and her young followed Hunter and her out of the cave where Hanna, Sam, Phillip and Stephen were waiting for them.

"Sam do you know of a inhabited island nearby?" Amelia asked. Sam brought out a map from his satchel that was on mirozus's back as he began to read it, "Here, an island not far from here."

Amelia took a quick glance at the map before getting a picture of where the island was, she's flown past it a few times, "Alright, I'll fly a head. If you want to just follow after I've gotten a head start."

Phillip rolled his eyes, he couldn't believe this. Why should he wait? "Why can't we just leave when you do?"

"Because the dragon is skittish and I don't want to risk her or her young getting hurt. Just for once Phillip doesn't fight me," she was over him and over him always fighting her.

Amelia slowly climbed onto Ethrinria grabbing the leather strap before looking back at the mother dragon and her young before Ethrinria began to slowly lift off. Amelia wished the dragon would burn the village down but they can't allow that to happen.

Amelia let go of the straps looking to her right to see the mother dragon flying next to her, she couldn't help but smile. She felt lucky to finally feel like this is what she needed to do, this hasn't happened before with a dragon apart from her own. Ethrinria arrived at the nature island known as Bexbonear Chain.

Amelia got off of Ethrinria and had a quick look around, the island; lush green grass, with a beautiful mountain far up the back that has snow on the top. Beautiful canopy trees that cover 90% of the island making it great for the dragon and her young ones. A swamp filled with crocodiles, the swamp is brown and green giving off a little nasty smell.

The air felt tropical, the warmth stuck to Amelia's skin. Further down the island was a large pool of water with a beautiful waterfall the flowed peacefully through the stream, gold and white fish swam in the stream. A lot of wildlife lived on the island from bears to cougars a good chase for the dragons.

Amelia headed back to the first shore where the dragons we're waiting for her, "Your new home awaits. You won't be bothered here. We will make sure we check on you and we will have a new team of dragon riders to protect you."

The mother dragon bowed her head at Amelia before it finally spoke to her telepathically, "Thank you young dragon rider. My name is Seviphal (sev-i-pal). We own you one, please take this as a token of my appreciation," Seviphal bent her head down to reveal a red crystal.

"Thank you, it was my pleasure. Thank you for trusting me," Amelia replied placing the crystal in the satchel that Ethrinria was carrying, "I must get going, I will see you soon."

Translations

Bjarter af ljósi, bjarter af eldi. Ég bið þig að sýna mér dreka ela - Fire of breath, fire of light. I ask you to show me the way Koma frá langt og nær, sumar kindur fyrir vini mína að éta - Bring from far and near, some sheep for my friends to eat

[survivor-kalymnos]

Ep. 9 - “im running on borrowed time”- Franco

Michele

I would love to see a full list of who everyone voted for. Its VERY fishy and a complete blindside. Makes me feel worse about disadvantage next round

lenny

Right when cranjes becomes my ally, they get kicked off. lol. what is happening in this tribe rn? I want to get to the bottom of it.

michele

ive never felt more alone in this game. people clearly lied to me.

lenny

according to dusty, Franco and Eliza flipped for the split vote. yuck! what to do now? I don't know. I think if I have any chance of getting Eliza or Michele out, I have to make a new alliance. 

lenny

Dusty just said that her franco rain and worm were the ones to flip and that makes me very anxious and I don't know if I can trust rain fully :/ that makes me sad. I really hope I can. 

lenny

so michele and I are talking which is v heartwarming. I apologized for being cold towards her. I hope we can work together. 

Dusty

Well that was messed up LMAO That’s the second time Eliza has flipped on me and taken out my closest ally...anyway I will not be working with her anymore. But I’m gonna make her believe it. And thank you to my amazing acting skills she gave me her half of the super idol..........ma’am. I’m so sorry. She expects me to give it back to her after this round but Idk if I can do that if she isn’t in the game anymore! She also told me that it was her and Franco that flipped with rain and worm. So now I’m trying to work with Lenny and Michele who seem to be on board, and it seems like I’ll also have to working with frank and Sasha. And with this blind round there’s a fear of voting for someone that won immunity buuut at least I have a 10% advantage to help me out :) Wish me luck!

michele

kinda blew up a little so gonna lay low for strategy. i also sometimes take things too personally which is why i only do like 1 org a year so that last tribal got to me a lot. franco messaged me saying he doesnt trust me and even tho his instincts are completely correct idk it just feels weird. i think i just hate general confrontation 

Frank

So I’m shocked Cranjes left but I’m quite happy about it. He was leading a lot of things so to have him go is wonderful. After tribal, Michele approached me about getting out Eliza or Franco, so we stan that. Once one of them is gone though the other needs to be taken out as well since they’re both strong and we don’t need one of the having a story of, oh my partner got out but I still made it through so much. After that get rid of Dusty and then Lenny at some point bc who. I’m fairly quiet but Lenny is practically a ghost. Right now the only person I actually trust though is Sasha, which is not something I thought I would say but here we are.

Franco

Blind rounds are so SCARY. Mainly the part about no one knowing who wins immunity. Like, we got out 2 idols last round by blindsiding Cranjes and flushing Frank's, but theres still more out there. And no one is going to know how tribal is going to play out Michele was kinda pissed at us for leaving her out of the vote. But? Sis left us out of her alliance with og Plati, and didnt give us ANY information last round despite knowing I was a target. Eliza is also.... Kinda not smart. She gave her half of the idol to Dusty because she wanted to reconcile. Which is nice and all! But thats a direct chance for him to get back at us and take a shot at us. Keeping the idol separate was best for everyone. So I just gotta pray Eliza knows Dusty as well as she says she does!! I dont expect to win this challenge. Im gonna chat around, but I think Im going to have to play my idol this round to save my skin. My name has been thrown around 2 rounds in a row, im running on borrowed time. We'll see how today goes!

Frank

So Franco messaged me about if I’m gonna vote him this round and that he doesn’t understand why I’m going after him. So I did the kind thing and explained it and said that I don’t want to work with him because he’s working with everyone and that I don’t see that as being beneficial to my game. So Franco is my target again and michele messaged me last night to get rid of him so we stan. I’m probably gonna get votes but who could be shocked by that.

Franco

surprise!! my name is going around AGAIN!! i'm so. not shocked. Frank has it out for my for some reason?? I confronted him this morning, let him know his """allies""" are throwing him under the bus and offered to exchange information or work together in some capacity but he literally turned it down. first rule of survivor is never shut down lines of communication like that!! he is denying any chance of game relationship we could have and thats such bad gameplay. I bombed the challenge because I'm dumb. And now that I know my name is circulating I'm going to have to play my idol. I just have to hope that whatever happens is good for my game. It's so hard to orchestrate votes during an invisible round, everyone is playing strictly for themselves because there's no reason not to. I really really finally want Frank gone. This is the THIRD ROUND in a row I've said that. but seriously I'm over him. he's gotta GO.

Eliza

Dear diary... Literally can’t believe we pulled that blindside off! I had to do some damage control with dusty and because I know what kind of player he is I gave him my half of the super idol. I told him I’d give it to him for this round to prove that the cranjes vote had nothing to do with him and that he is still someone I want to work with. He seemed shocked but obviously took the security and I think I have at least some of his trust back, I mean this IS the second time I blindsided him and voted out his closest ally. Now I know you’re probably thinking, ellie you’re a dumbass, and that I am but I know how dusty works at this point in the game and it’s gonna take a bold move like that one to get ANY of his trust back. Franco didn’t think it was the best move but I can’t just play according to Franco’s standards. The invisible round is absolutely terrifying, everyone agrees that it’s frank but we all know that he could 100% win this challenge. Obviously everyone with a brain wants to split but some of these people won’t wanna split again after they got out smarted, Franco might be playing his idol because we all know frank wants him out but frank has also said I need to go and I have absolutely no security rn so yeah, I’m fucking scared. Let’s see what happens!

Rain

So... I haven’t been around much today. I abstained from immunity. My depression is kicking in and even tho I’m doing well in the game, I can’t be bothered to get into it, as much as I want to. So I’ll ride Franco and Eliza’s coattails until either I pull out of this funk or I get voted out. The move tonight is to try to get frank. Except he’s kinda good at challenges (although, tbh, hasn’t been that great since returning - maybe the idol was holding him back?) so we think he may get immunity. I think voting Sasha would be better - like come on, I don’t even think he’s trying (is that hypocritical to say?) and he only talks to his allies. The other side (oh is it just dusty, Sasha, and frank now? Fuckin sweet) doesn’t even attempt to socialize with me. Dusty to some extent, but talking to Sasha and frank is like talking to a fucking wall. I’ll be happy if either of them go. But tbh at this point I’m ready to join the jury. I’m going to keep playing and keep trying because that’s what jay and the people I’ve voted out deserve to see, but whenever I go home, I know I played a good game for my first game in over a year. 

lenny

not feeling confident about this challenge or good in general. Rain is most likely working with franco and eliza. I hope I can trust dusty. oof

Worm

So last round seemed to have back fired. I think I have alienated myself even more but I'm not sure if saying people not talking to me is showing that. They weren't talking to me before anyway so I guess nothing really changed then lol They goal this round is to target Frank which is okay with me cause I think people will start going after bigger targets next round like Eliza and Franco. Michele seems really mad at me which i can't fault her for so my goal if I survive this round is to talk to her and get her back on my side. Maybe reuniting the alliance of dusty, her, and I could make a huge impact. This challenge is really difficult so I don't think I had any chance of winning. I kinda hope I do for just in case reasons. If I being told the truth and everyone is targeting Frank then it should happen pretty easily. His idol got flushed last round so it should be simple to get rid of him. But until those votes are read I do believe that I will be the one going home.

Frank

Watch Franco have an idol and I go home. That would be funny, tbh I guess it just would be. But oh boy I am gonna get myself a nice snack if Franco goes...although let's be real I'm gonna have a nice snack no matter what. But I just want to stay and have Franco or Eliza leave since that would benefit my game to an extreme since they KEEP TRYING TO VOTE ME OUT. Or at least saying my name which is enough for me. Like if you say my name, get out!

rain

Tribal is in a few minutes, and I’ve just had an emotional chat with Franco He is truly an incredible ally and I really look forward to being in the reunion w him and finding out who he is irl (although I have a guess) Anyway, I just wanted to give him some positive edit, because I’m sure he’s very N as the villain of the game :P 

Dusty

This is crazy idek if I won immunity or what’s happening I changed my vote like 3 times LMAO i voted for Eliza I don’t know what’s happening i think I’m freaking out for no reason. My only fear is michele being very quiet. 

michele

being quiet worked i guess. wasnt really a game move but i didnt get voted out so yay

Sasha

I really just gave up on trying to have my own strategy/game and just voted how people told me to huh

Eliza

Dear diary... It was a tie between me and frank, this might be the last time I write in confessions but hopefully I was able to make some sort of impact in the game. Wow this sucks

Dusty

jflkdsaiof okay a tie well michele being quiet all day meant that she didnt get the chance to know the vote was for eliza... which just made me think someone decided to not flip against eliza/franco so in the revote i reached out to worm and rain to try and get them to flip which they both denied. ugh im so stupid, they would know regardless that i flipped, but now it seems like i was soooo adamant about her going... oh well. Franco is going to be pissed anyway

[dazzledbybooks]

Author: Tara September Narrator: Verla Bond Length: 4 hours and 15 minutes Publisher: Plus it Up Released: Dec. 11, 2019 Genre: Contemporary Romance     2018 Contemporary Romance Writers’ Stiletto Finalist 2018 Tampa Area Romance Writers’ TARA Finalist 2018 Maine Romance Writers’ Strut Your Stuff Finalist - Second Place Contemporary Winner 2017 Cleveland Rocks Romance Contest - Second Place Winner ’Tis the season for an office romance! Working beyond nine to five and barely getting by, Melanie Thomas is eager to celebrate the impending holiday season and to toast the start of her dream marketing job over drinks with her boyfriend. Unfortunately, he has different plans - like seeing other women. Indulging in a pity party with tequila, Melanie confides in a sexy stranger at the bar. It’s almost Christmas. One night of letting go won’t hurt anything, right? Turns out, it just might, when the stranger is her new boss. Determined to succeed at her job, Melanie won’t be scared away. This is her chance, even if her hot boss has her feeling all merry and bright and wishing for a less-than-professional relationship. Matthew Ryans is burned out and on thin ice at the company he helped build, unless he gets his head back in the game. Yet, his head, both upper and lower, are quickly becoming obsessed with his new assistant. Still, he can’t seem to fully begrudge Melanie’s distracting presence and the Christmas joy she brings with it. Especially considering that her enthusiasm has him reenergized. For once, he is longing for Mondays, but with his heart and job on the line, he can’t risk blurring the lines no matter how strong the lure of holiday mistletoe is. Will their holiday passion be able to fuel mutual career success, or will it only get in their way in the New Year? Tara September is an award-winning... and losing contemporary romance writer living in Southwest Florida. Tara is proud to be the world's most okayest mom to clones (identical twin boys). When not writing out her daydreams, she blogs over at When Tara Met Blog @tarametblog, a lifestyle and parenting blog of 14 years. Holding a master's degree in journalism from NYU, she previously was the Corporate Communications Manager at WWE and PR Manager for The Walt Disney Company, Consumer Products. Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Instagram Verla Bond is an American actor, improvisor, and storyteller, who makes her home in Los Angeles, California. She enjoys performing on the stage and screen, but especially loves recording audiobooks, where she gets the privilege of playing all kinds of diverse characters, such as British vampires, Irish leprechauns, and Southern gentlemen. Twitter⎮Facebook   Mine to Five by Tara September was such a good audio book. I really enjoyed the characters and the story. I felt like it was all very realistic as well. When Melanie finds out that her boyfriend of two years has been cheating on her, she decided to drown her sorrows in tequila. Then she wakes up in someone else's bed the next morning. To top that off, she is also running late for her first day of work at her new job. Then low and behold her drunken mistake is one of her new bosses.  I really loved the chemistry that Melanie and Matthew have. I thought they worked well together and they were good together. I found myself wanting to know more about them. I of course wanted them to be together. I do like that they both had to grow up a bit in order to figure out the other one. I though this was a super cute rom-com book. Definitely worth reading. I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Tara September. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. with Author Tara September Waffle fries or curly fries? - Neither. I like crispy steak frites … or McDonald’s fries, I know, but they are sooo good. GIF with a hard g or soft g? - Hard, like my men, lol. Fantasy or science-fiction? Hmm both, but if pressed I’d say Sci-Fi. Love me some Star Wars. Superman or Batman? - Superman! He’s super, it’s in his name after all. This is actually a debate the hero and heroine have in my holiday office romance, Mine to Five. Text message or call? - TXT! I have a phobia about having to sort out issues over the phone with strangers. Contest a bill or having to call customer service? Ugh the worst. So if I can just send a strongly worded email instead, even better! Even my besties have accepted that I’m not the friend that will chat on the phone for hours. Rather do that in-person or on my blog. Pancakes or waffles? - Waffles. It comes with built-in grooves to hold my syrup, whip cream and other toppings. Doctor Who or the Walking Dead? I haven’t seen either *ducks for cover* TV Shows or movies? Movies. I saw every film on the AFI 100 list before I graduated high school. My favorite actress is Katharine Hepburn. Facebook or Twitter? Twitter for fun, Facebook for business. Alice in Wonderland or Robinson Crusoe? Meh to both. But since Robinson Crusoe is technically considered the first novel ever, much is owed to Defoe for paving the way for today’s literature. Being too warm or too cold? I live in Florida for a reason. Netflix or Hulu? Netflix. I’m OG like that. I used to have their DVD rental service, lol. Work Hard or Play Hard? Play on player! Passenger or Driver? Driver, because in our family that means I have control of the radio and can play an audiobook or Yacht Rock Radio. Plus, I can never sleep in the car anyway, so I might as well drive. Amusement Park or Day at the Beach? In Florida we can do both ;) I’m a huge Disney addict. Used to work for Disney corporate out in LA. Honesty or Other’s Feelings? Other’s feelings! Movie at Home or Movie at the Theater? Theater. About two-thirds of the way back, in the center of the row. If not, I’ll wait in the lobby eating nachos and sour patch kids until the next showing. My husband meanwhile will likely have given up and will see something else solo. Oh, and I LOVE previews. If we arrive after the previews, I’ll wait for the next showing, lol. Feb. 4th:    Bookmark and Fork  Viviana MacKade  The Book Junkie Reads . . .  Feb. 5th:    What Is That Book About  Saturday Nite Reader  AC Squared Book Blog    Feb. 6th:    WonderlandiansBooks  Chapters Through Life T's Stuff  Feb. 7th:    Sometimes Leelynn Reads  Nesie's Place  Feb. 8th:    Lilly's Book World  Jazzy Book Reviews  Dazzled by Books  Feb. 9th:    What's Beyond Forks    Carla Loves To Read  Feb. 10th:    Twirling Book Princess    Teatime and Books    From the TBR Pile  Ree Cee's Books    Plugging you into the audio community since 2016. Sign up as a tour host here.

http://www.dazzledbybooks.com/2020/02/mine-to-five-audiobook-blog-tour.html

[survivornavarino]

Episode #5: WE LANA DEL REY TONIGHT FAM -Rebecka

Back from exile so here's the happenings ~Immediately cried to Beckka about Tim leaving and being slaughtered in my arms. ~Messaged Trixie, well she messaged me about what happened our other tribal. ~Messaged all the favs cuz idc if Im at the bottom, im obviously bottom of fans or favs so WHATEVER. ~Talked a lot to Julia cuz we have a lot in common (Witchcraft, being 16 y/o babies, getting lit) ~Told all the favs I have no one in this game which is true. FAVS IF YOU LISTENING TAKE ME IN. PLEASE AND THANKS. ~Messaged Vi cuz at least she was with me.

Honestly what were they thinking with voting out Tee? I guess that's a challenge threat out of the way, so I won't complain.

https://youtu.be/HepZnpuimhM ________________________________________________________________ https://youtu.be/IJWWj23olkA

HAHAHAHAHAHA I LOVE LANA DEL REY SO MUCH NICE TRY AMIRADOR GET READY PUT ON UR ACRYLIC NAILS AND WINGED EYELINER WE LANA DEL REY TONIGHT FAM 

So the bad news is I found out Drew has been hardcore dropping my name since the game started and I thought we were cool but it's fine snakes will be snakes. I think he's a little shook about my at bat (me having won 1/3 games I've played) cause he's hinted at how crazy that is. And that would explain why he's pulling out fake receipts and conspiracies to get me out. Whew game recognize game https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ryans-reality-network/images/6/61/Awright_alyssa_edwards.gif/revision/latest?cb=20150724035546 The good news is Eddie is a real one, we really are Joe and Desi from HvHvH, and he spilled all the tea. And honestly we have a similar playing style so we're really about to go the distance, especially if I never get reunited with Julia or Rebecka. SO we need to slay this lip sync so we both live but on the off chance we lose, things are gonna kick into high gear. I've only seen one season of Survivor (HvHvH) but Tyler convinced me to watch Kaoh Rong and let me just say that has shed some light on things. Voting Jacob? Will always be there. Sending another fan out? No problem. Voting long-term? Now that's not a bad idea. So when I said, "What if we got Drew out?" Eddie was all ears. Obviously this is super early and under wraps BUT between the two of us we can make it happen. The key is Tyler and Jake so if we can get them we have a guaranteed majority. It all comes down to timing and the pitch. This is our best chance to clock Drew and whoever fails the vetting process will be left out. If Eddie says that whenever someone takes a shot at Drew they can't afford to miss and that has to be a blindside, then this plan has to be airtight. I wonder who could pull something like that off https://media.giphy.com/media/QmeB1Hr5fz7a0/giphy.gif

I volunteered to do the music video since I was a film major and have professional editing software. It puts a good deal of pressure on me because if we lose it looks like I really dropped the ball. However, I’m hoping that my attempts to organize us and edit the entire thing will earn me some respect and points from my tribe. It’s a bit frustrating getting ideas out of everyone. Nobody seems to want to volunteer thoughts or contribute to the brainstorming and we don’t have much time at all to get this done.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CdgOebQNYEE ________________________________________________________________ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cdsZyoPZe5Q

First challenge on a new tribe and we lost. WHOOP DE DOO. Im going to try and find an in with the favs and hopefully stick with them. Saying how I have no allegience in this game. Also I keep forgetting that I can idol hunt so Im just casually at level 4 still I think. Ill probably look in the morning. But what were we thinking with Great Balls of Fire. That song is iconic and now that Tyler won he has chances of getting an in with people, but I want him gone Obviously no can do since I am not on his tribe anymore. Might as well dwindle down his numbers from this side then.

So we lost the lip sync. I had to apply lipstick for the first time so that was fun. Sadly one of us has to go home and my guess is it's either Heather, Trixie or Vi unless me or another favorite is getting targeted secretly. I need Heather and Trixie in the game if i'm being honest, mainly due to Trixie having rumors spread about her on the OG Admirador tribe and I wanna see if I can mess around with that. Then Heather was saying that people on the OG Admirador tribe were being fake to her, and she also told me Tyler got paranoid due to Heather not responding to Tyler's messages. So I hope Tyler makes it past merge, because I can work with paranoia. For those who don't know I'm trying a villainy thing and it's probably gonna fail miserably and I'm gonna look like a dumb fuck but I was the hero on my season and I wanted to try villainy out. I'm not good at long confessionals I apologize I feel like i'm the kid in the class presentation who speaks in a monotone voice and makes everyone fall asleep.

Me to the other tribe if/when i reach merge and we get to talk: https://desmadrechic.tumblr.com/post/171063789210/oh-god Ignore the caption that came with the video ajsjsjdkjd

So the other tribe voted out Tee and I'm a n g e r y The challenge was a music video. Still a n g e r y We won. Still a n g e r y!

So like this is bad for the fans, I feel like the faves will just band together and take the easy vote route, I need to socialise today. I need to just make strong social bonds and make sure people want to keep me around. I wanna act dumb and want them to think I am a free number for them. I like Drew and feel like he will be loyal to me, I am no 100% sure what Mitch and Autumn will do but I feel like they will keep me over Jake and Tyler if we end up going to tribal.

Well look at that I got added to a new alliance chat...! Autumn added me, Tyler, and Eddie to an alliance and we named it "Keyboard Smashers" and um I like everyone in it but I also like Drew...so I'm gonna protec him! If we lose and we're still on the same tribe I think I'd want to vote out Mitch since he hasn't made any efforts to talk to me individually. It's a shame bc I think we'd have a lot in common, but oh well! Tbh I have a feeling that we're gonna swap into 3 tribes of 5 next round...my psyche is telling me this...and I'm always right! But I hope I'm wrong because I feel like I'm in a really good position on this tribe and I'm scared to swap on a tribe with people from the other tribe because I think Heather and Vi wouldn't work with me, neither would the faves on the other side. Anyways...I'm a bad bitch.

We just did THAT and I'm happy for it. I've not gotten the chance to be as much if a social butterfly as I would like because my work situation is still adjusting, so if I can keep staying safe until merge that would be highly appreciated. HeatherAs of right now he vote is Vi. I dont agree with it since she is the only one who has been truthful to me in this game so far. But I dont see any way of saving her right now. My only choice I feel in this game is to team up with the favs and get out the fans, which I don't mind as long as that fan isn't me. Plus the fans (minus my loves Vi and Tim) all left me out of the vote. If they think I am going to crawl right back to them come another swap or merge, they have something coming. HOPEFULLY THIS VOTE ISNT ME OR ILL CRY.

So I'm just like really sad because I love vi and I never wanted to vote her out of this game but I have to and that's really sad.  I don't really have much else to say I just feel super guilty.

du du du..... another fan bites the dust and another fan gone, another fan gone another fan bites the dust

Why is it that each tribal gets messier than the last? Well maybe I should back up. We lost... again. Wow what curse have we brought to this tribe. I call bs since we were nice enough to give an upbeat song. The judges are bias smh. Anyways literally no one talked. What vote who? I dunno. It’s super silent which brings bad news. Probably gonna have to expect to be voted out tonight. Oh well. Hopefully heather doesn’t get voted out but I feel like it’ll be another fan that’s gone. The favs know each other and so they’re banding together I believe. Such sadness. I’ll just have to wait until tribal to know tho

Oh, right, this is a thing I need to do. Anyway, same boring shit as always, I'd put "Drew won an immunity challenge" as my mood message but it could be about anything, really. I think there are only like two tribal challenges I've ever lost in Athena. Bonus points because it was the music video challenge so you know my ass floated by and gave it all of ten minutes of thought, but we had a damn savant on the tribe! I love it when tribe swaps work out well for me. People were expressing all this sadness for Trixie and Vi going to their fifth tribal in a row and I'm just sitting here like listen, any goddamn time someone wants to take my seat at tribal and give me the night off, they're welcome to it. Denise Stapley is a cute look on some people, I guess. I'm just fine over here with my Cirie Fields kickback realness, I don't need tribal council, y'all can wait until FTC to give me a torch as far as I'm concerned.

What's the haps? Stress, angina, and crippling anxiety. Anyway. We won immunity which I'm real happy about because I can nOT go to tribal council. I absolutely refuse to lose and I'm really hoping I just make it to merge without attending a tribal council. For some reason I feel like I will I will either go to like the tribal before merge and leave at the first tribal I attend or I will make it to merge without losing and I will be merge boot. I really am happy because I feel like if we went to tribal council Drew would have targeted Autumn which is something I am SOOOO against. I literally sold my soul to that girl and that's who I'm riding with for the rest of the game. So because I love ha so much I kind spilled the beans to her about Drew targeting her. I feel like really bad about it though cause I do consider Drew a close friend but for some reason I'm really having a hard time trusting him. I just feel like he's only with me until he doesn't need me anymore and then he'll totally see me for the threat that I am and take me out. I feel so bad about it but I just feel like it's what I needed to do to show Autumn that I trust her and have her back. Because of that I think Autumn would've gone after Drew and I feel like I would've had to pick a side and I really just can't vote Drew out yet njvjsdfkdnsjk. I would literally feel terrible about it cause I usually don't turn on my close allies pre-merge but if he goes after Autumn then I have no other choice. As I'm typing this I'm beginning to wonder why I didn't just tell Drew that I didn't want to vote Autumn out. Maybe he would've said ok we can target somebody else. Why don't I trust him enough to say that? Hmm idk I'm just so on edge. So a 4 person alliance was created and I'm soooooo happy. MY first alliance in this game! I finally feel have something I can maybe rely on and trust for a bit. It includes Autumn, Jake, and Tyler all of which I LOVEEEEE. Like omg this is my dream alliance I'm screaming. If we stick together we at least have enough to tie it. But who knows what will happen. I'm watching you JAKE >.>

[barstoolkate]

Travel Guide: Tokyo

Tokyo: MIND BLOWN...

EATS//

TAKE-CHAN 武ちゃん

Our first night we were indoctrinated to the drill of finding restaurants in Tokyo.  Stand on the sidewalk in the dark.  Stare at Google maps and confirm you’re within 20 feet of the mapped location.  And then walk into every vestibule trying to make heads or tails of the Japanese characters and the confusing address system.  Repeat each night of your Tokyo trip.  We ended up confirming that we had found Take-Chan by matching the waitresses head scarves with a photo from Tripadvisor.

This place is OG yakitori shiz.  We arrived about 30 minutes before they closed so the menu was limited but we got our fill of skewered meats.  Chicken meatballs, chicken tail, liver, thigh, wing and miso duck all charred to perfection and washed down with cold Asahi.  A 90 year old man sits in the back of the room next to an equally old icebox and counts your bare skewers and the tokens they hand out with each beer to tally your check at the end of your meal.  This spot is the perfect way to ease into eating your way through Tokyo.

SUSHI IWA

You’re spending a week in Japan and you have to sift through HOW many sushi restaurants to pick the one you’re going to drop $500 at for (no pressure) the most memorable sushi experience of your life??  No simple task.  I trusted the Sushi Geek to guide me and I’m glad I did.  He calls Sushi Iwa the “perfect introduction to Tokyo high end sushi” and after our experience that feels pretty spot on.  

Had I not read after the fact that our chef that evening wasn’t Iwa-san I would not have known.  I loved the hospitality of his sous chef Shigeyuki Tsunoda.  His english was excellent, he made us feel comfortable in an environment that could easily be intimidating (6 seats = super quiet) and he answered all of my questions as he guided us through each course.

Anticipating my first omakase experience in Japan I wondered what weird shit might be in store for me.  And then about 4 courses in I wished that I had brought a bigger purse.  Tiny whole squids and hot squid rings oozing with something white stared me in the face - a sampler of sorts that I wasn’t sure I could tackle.  I put on my big girl pants and dived in to be surprised that hot squid stuffed with its own roe is actually rich, creamy goodness and not as fishy as I had expected.  And those tiny firefly squids won me over...especially when I learned that they’re luminescent!  

Our 2 hour meal was like the Neverending Story...but one I want to see one night a week.  The fish fest started with hairy crab, bonito sashimi, a cooked fish (I forget what exactly) and moved on to sushi of hen clam, toro, ebi, squid, o-toro, hotate, anago, the sweetest uni from Hokkaido (which will change my mind about uni forever), a giant prawn barely cooked, a maki roll, a seaweed salad, and finally custardy tamago that stood in for dessert.  If you have any doubt about whether a single sushi dinner in Tokyo could be worth $500 (for 2) ...throw caution to the wind and book a seat here.  

SHIMA

There are several restaurants in Tokyo known for waygu beef.  But when Dominique Ansel and David Chang both raved about the same place I felt pretty good about following their lead and booking a table at Shima.  Unfortunately the night we dined there I had horrific jet lag and couldn’t fully appreciate the meal, but I was well enough to comprehend that this was the best beef to ever have touched my lips.  

The starters are huge - order one to split.  We had a giant plate of cured salmon and I spied a sashimi starter that looked insane.  The steak comes in two options: filet or sirloin in 5 ounce portions.  We both had the sirloin.  Upon inspection we discovered that the steaks were both skewered through and after peering into the open kitchen confirmed that they’re cooked via rotisserie.  The starter, 2 steaks and a bottle of wine set us back $480 and was well worth every penny.

2 notes:

Everyone lusts after the steak sandwiches and after reading a lot of reviews it seems that you either have to order an extra steak and request it be made into sandwiches to take away with you or perhaps (?) if you book a table late enough you might be the lucky recipient of a sammich gift.  Don’t quote me on that!  

Next time we go I’ll request a seat at the bar/open kitchen.  We were seated at a table in the back of the restaurant and had to suffer through neighboring tables of obnoxious Americans (ordering well done steaks, asking for bordeaux glasses for their ginger ale, fist bumping the wait staff - no joke).  Spare yourself the pain unless you’re one of them and then please stay at home.

TSUKIJI MARKET

Holy hell - this place is worth the 12 hour flight in and of itself.  I was completely blown away by the scale of the market (reading afterwards that it employees over 40,000 people).  Endless stalls of beautiful species and the characters who sell them make it a chaotic and colorful photographer’s delight.  I’m so glad that we made the trip before the impending relocation of the market (which will be a blow to Tokyo that I can’t believe will actually happen...kind of like Trump winning the election).  

Everyone recommends going to the market shortly after your arrival in Tokyo so that you’re conveniently awake at 3 am to queue up for the tuna auction, and after the first few nights I understood why that makes sense (oy vey).  What people don’t really talk about is that if you don’t go to the auction you won’t see the giant whole tunas.  We went to the market around 10 am and saw tunas broken down in their “coffins” or on tables, but no whole tuna were still around.   

Other details you need to know:

INNER MARKET - I’ve read that some people miss out entirely on the wholesale market experience, which would be a huge loss.  It’s not difficult to find if you’re seeking it out, but make this your top priority/first stop as the selection is going to be better earlier in the day.  Also don’t wear precious shoes - you will get wet.  We visited Tsukiji after our phenomenal dinner at Sushi Iwa so it was fun to identify some of the treats we’d tried there.  Firefly sushi, ark shell clams (aka bloody clams) and uni for miles.

OUTER MARKET - Endless rows of varieties of vendors including dried fishes and seaweed, japanese pottery, tchotchkes, produce, more fish, food stalls, sweets, pickles, kitchen shops, etc.  I’ve traveled to France and Italy and always seek out farmers markets, expecting to be impressed, but I’ve never been more wowed by fresh produce than in Japan.  They offer the most pristine varieties of everything - no bruises, perfectly ripe, instagram-worthy fruits and vegetables.

SUSHI! - We didn’t worry too much about finding the perfect place for lunch given that we had our splurge sushi dinner already.  I knew that the longest lines would be at Sushi Dai and Daiwa and that we were too hungry to sign up for those waits.  We jumped in line at Sushi Zanmai and I immediately got nervous at the cheeseball exterior of the restaurant (giant plastic tuna and life size photos of Chef Zanmai).  Don’t let that scare you off - request a seat at the sushi bar (duh) and saddle up for a delicious meal for $40/person.

As everyone says, the sushi ANYWHERE in Japan is better than almost any sushi you’ve had in the states and it’s certainly true here.  Zanmai is open 24/7 to service the Tsukiji workers and I felt reassured that I was sitting next to what appeared to be a local woman having lunch alone.  Make sure to order the torched toro - the highlight of my tuna “flight”.

TONKATSU SUZUKI

I’m going to curse again because: fried pork.  FUCK is that good!

I was a tonkatsu virgin (how this is possible I really have no idea) and I’m confident that I picked the right spot for my first experience.  I’m also confident that I’ll never find tonkatsu this good in New York.  This recommendation came from Lucky Peach (RIP) and according to them should be “your first stop when you arrive at the train station in Tokyo”.  I’ll add that it should also be your last stop because you’ll want it again.  

If you want your pork fattier order the rosu or lean hire.  The fattier the better, right?  This meal was probably the singular best composed and most satisfying meal we had in Japan.  That juicy pork cutlet topped with tonkatsu sauce ladled on to your liking, shredded cabbage dressed with zingy ponzu (again, you dress it) and THE MOST PERFECT bowl of rice I had the entire trip.   All washed down with a crisp Asahi.  Ahhhhh.

Back to that rice.  I couldn’t stop thinking about it after that meal and upon returning home I conducted Google searches to see if I could uncover some secret technique or rice variety.  My “Tonkatsu Suzuki rice” search failed me...but going to the Japanese food store and buying the most expensive bag of rice did not.  THIS would be that rice and it’s changed my Japanese cooking world at home.  

CAFE ARLES

Visiting an owl cafe was on our list... a cat cafe was not.  You know when you’re traveling and your feet hurt, you’re cranky and you’ve already stopped for one glass of champagne in the middle of the day and it’s too early to just keep on drinking???  Well Ryan stumbled upon this place on Foursquare when I was in a particularly cranky mood and it turned my frown rightside up.

Cafe Arles is totally weird but definitely better than the other themed cafes because it feels like a neighborhood cafe with a few pet cats to add some charm.  Local teenagers lingering over their laptops and drinks tip you off that you’re not in one of the cat cafes catering to tourists.  Order a coffee (their iced coffee was actually really good) and it arrives with a half of a banana, a tiny bowl of giant corn nuts and a delicious vanilla creme filled packaged wafer cookie (that I also sought out when I got home).

Ryan desperately trying to woo one of the cats.

DRINKS//

MORI BAR

Mori was our first cocktail stop in Tokyo, so we didn’t quite know what to expect from a city so famous for high end mixology.  Thus my list of “things to note” about cocktail bars in Tokyo:  

The glassware: is beautiful.  And not just the cocktail glasses.  At more than one establishment we noted the thin-as-a-lightbulb tall glasses used for water and decided right away that we needed this kind of luxury at home.  

The snacks: are an adventure unto themselves.  At Mori we were greeted with a small shot of beef consomeé, some popcorn, seaweed snacks and some deliciously refreshing iced jasmine tea.  Don’t mind if I do.  

They know that the a barstool is the best seat in the house.  Here we were initially seated at a table across from the bar but they moved us without asking as soon as seats at the bar were available.  Cheers from barstoolkate...

Ignore the cheesy plastic table tents promoting their signature drink and go ahead and order the Mori Martini.  It’s unlike any martini you’ve ever had and I don’t even understand how it takes the way it does - smooth, full bodied...it would convince me to drink martinis again if one like this could be found anywhere else.  The drinks at Mori are super boozy so don’t count on having too many unless you need to induce sleep (which was actually effective given our jet lag).  

BAR BENFIDDICH

This was the highlight of my Tokyo cocktail experience.  Bar Benfiddich is certainly hard to find but worth the effort.  Photos online don’t do the space justice.  Enter this bar on one of the upper levels of a nondescript building in Shinjuku and you’re transported into a dark, dungeon-y lair.  Think Henry the Eighth’s private bar updated with hip Brooklyn live edge wood accents.  The atmosphere sets the right tone because you’re in for something dope.

Bartender Hiroyasu Kayama has a commanding presence and mixed every cocktail we saw served himself with the help of 3 assistants.  This being one of those “tell me what you like and I’ll craft you a cocktail” joints - you do need to be prepared to provide direction.  Since I’m yuzu obsessed I ordered a yuzu pisco sour and saddled up to enjoy the 10 minute preparation from my comfy lounge chair.  No bar stools here - primetime seats at the bar are in fact THE most comfortable seats at any bar ever.  

You’ll notice that Kayama stations himself centered in the middle of the bar beneath a dim spotlight, showcasing his hands and drawing your eye toward his mixology wizardry.  You’re entranced as you watch his assistants gather bottles, herbs and the gear he needs to craft your potion.  My yuzu pisco sour involved muddling, blending, shaking and straining and did not let me down - it was exactly what I had hoped for.  The second we tasted our first cocktails we knew we would order another.  Make sure you carve out enough time to wait for a bar seat (if you sit at a table you’ll miss the show) and to have more than one drink here because Bar Benfiddich can easily sway you to linger.

BAR HIGH FIVE

High Five was my least favorite of the cocktail bars we visited.  I read that they relocated to the ground level of the same building and noticed the new interior felt like it was trying to recreate another space.  It seemed like everyone drinking there was a tourist and several of the bar staff were interns visiting from other countries.  The cocktails were delicious but the atmosphere didn’t sit quite right with me so I wouldn’t go out of my way to return here again.

STAY//

PALACE HOTEL

We stayed at the Park Hotel for the first 4 nights of our Tokyo trip (comfortable enough, conveniently located, great city views) and after traveling to Kyoto and back splurged on a night at the Palace.  On my next trip I aspire to stay at there the entire time.  The luxury of this hotel room (get a Deluxe King room with balcony) was perfect for our last night when we were tired of travel and ready for some R&R.  We checked in and immediately after the bellman left our room I decided that I needed a glass of champagne to enjoy in the beautiful bathtub that was open to the room and faced the terrace and view of the Emperor’s Palace.  Avoid the $14 coffee in the lobby and venture down into the subterranean mall to fetch coffee and pastries and bring them back to your balcony for breakfast.  If I lived in Tokyo (which I decided I could) I would want to live in this room.

Photo: The Palace Hotel