Luxurious night at Swarovski

September 6th was the birthday of one of my good friends.
She invited me to go to a fancy event that evening to make the day very special.

Are you familiar with Shourouk, a famous French jewelry designer? (her webite)
At a/w collection 2013 she collaborates with Swarovski. The fashion magazine ELLE threw a party at Swarovski shop in Ginza to show limited customers her new collection which is inspired by a journey on the Silk Road through China, Himalaya, India and Venice.

Before she gave her a talk, we enjoyed the collection and welcome drinks including Champagne!

Her sketches were also displayed with brilliant and gorgeous jewelry.

I tried on one of them. How does it look on me?

At the end of the event, we waited in a line to have our picture taken with her and get her autograph. What a nice treat! To my surprise I found out later that she was wearing the exact same necklace which I was trying on! It looked much nicer on her!

Emi 

A company trip to Nagano and Yamanashi

Everyone in CRIB QUILT family went to Nagano and Yamanashi for a company trip the 26th and 27th of August.

We visited an old street called Nawate street and Matsumoto City Museum to see an exhibition by Mary Blair, a famous Disney animator. (wesbite)

After enjoying her artwork, we visited VICTORIAN CRAFT where we discovered a nice selection of antique and vintage furniture, doors, lamp shades and stained glass. (website)

After shopping we quenched our thirsty on the terrace of this cafe.

It was so relaxing to sit outside over tea overlooking a river. 

In the evening we headed over to Kiyosato which is a town in Yamanashi prefecture.

We had an incredible dinner at Le Mariage (wesbite), a French restaurant in an aberge called Cote de Vert.

They specializes on gibier cuisine which is hard to find in Tokyo. It was definitely a wonderful treat!

The restaurant has their private garden where they grow organic vegetables so it's clear to see how fresh they are.

The seasonal vegetables were amazing and we realized more fully that summer is the best season for vegetables.

It had been so long since I had the freshwater fish last time.
The trout tasted really nice!

Have you ever had gibier cuisine before?

We enjoyed venison and wild boar.  You might think they would be gamey and a little smelly but they weren't at all.

The executive chef explained that trapping them instead of shooting them makes a big difference in terms of taste.

A handsome chef!

It was so much cooler than Tokyo so it was a perfect getaway!

Emi