A friend and I stopped into Shinjuku Gyoen for lunch yesterday. We found a perfect spot under a tree with big draping branches, so it felt like we were inside a sakura-lined fort. Every so often, someone would duck in, say hello, wander by. We ate sakura mochi and drank tea like two civilized ladies. [husband editor’s note: she tried out her hanami placemat – coincidentally on sale now at Etsy – for the first time, while her doting husband dined at home on two-day-old sushi.]

This is probably the cutest thing I have ever made. I am both ashamed and proud.

Hopefully we’ll get to hanami again. It’s fleeting!