I went to Little Tree in Royal Oak for sushi today. I wanted to go somewhere other than my usual Asahi in Clinton Township and the other usual spots were closed till dinner. I figured perhaps I should venture outside of my comfort zone.  I was the only customer.

My order:
1 Thai iced tea
1 seaweed salad
1 miso soup
2 salmon nigiri (nigiri should always be in pairs)
1 Wow Roll (tempura shrimp, chili tuna, avocado inside out maki with roe topping)
Total $29.84

The seaweed salad was served slightly cooler than room temperature. Larger serving size than expected. It was unnaturally bright green. Served with a fork, which I found off putting. It was decent and nondescript.
Miso soup was okay. A nice ratio of green onions to broth, however the seaweed had no spring to it when bit. I assume dried and rehydrated.
Visually the nigiri were not the best cuts. The contrast of fat to fish could have been better, though the taste itself was quality. Slightly sweet and very fresh. The wasabi adhering fish to sushi rice was mysteriously absent.
The Wow Roll was eight pieces. The individual rolls themselves were large and inconsistently sized. I dislike large rolls because I find masticating that much food in one bite distracts from flavor and texture appreciation. There was just the right amount of chili spice to the tuna. Avocado was not consistently distributed throughout, and in my opinion they could have been a bit more heavy handed on the roe on the outside. It was delicious though.
The chopsticks were lighter and thinner than I expected. They broke apart at an awkward angle which proved to make use seem clumsy and annoying.
I am aware that most wasabi found in America is in reality green dyed horseradish paste, but this version was truly disappointing. It had a slightly glossy transparent sheen.
The ginger came in very long strips. Much more than needed for a simple palette cleansing.
Thai iced tea is Thai iced tea, difficult to mess up.
Service was swift. A little too swift. My seaweed and miso arrived together and immediately after my sushi came. The server was polite and made sure I had what I needed. He got a nice tip for doing his job.

Despite all my complaints, it wasn't that bad. I've become a bit of a sushi snob. Little Tree although fresh (I assume they buy from Noble Fish. Doesn't everyone?) just didn't hold to enough of the traditional sushi standards I appreciate in this particular art form. I don't know what I was expecting from a place with twentysomething white boys as the sushi chefs, instead of a legitimate itamae. It's just not a place I'd recommend or elect to visit alone again. Upon dinner invitation from a friend I would return. I'd stick to simple salmon rolls or try out some of their Nu-Asian fusion dishes.

Another Personal Letter to Sarah

I wrote an email to Sarah today. Sent it to her email address. I know it will never get to her. I know she's dead. Somehow I feel like I'd rather send it to her email and post her here for me. Instead of putting it on her memorialized facebook page for the world to see.

Of course I got an error message after I sent it. Part of me hoped her email had been left alone and it could just sit there in her inbox, unopened for the rest of eternity.

I think tomorrow is going to be really sad. I had plans to do some major cleaning and packing on my day off, but given the date, I'm not sure it will be a good idea for me to be alone digging through memories.

Foray into Lacquer

So I've gotten really into painting my nails. It's always been an activity that I enjoy, but it has gone from a downtime boredom reliever, to a full blown obsession.  I'm going to start posting my favorite manicures and trial and errors on here as a way to keep track of my favorites. Let's start with the earliest.

Sorry this first picture below is so small. I took them with my phone, then hosted to imgur, deleted from phone, then had to download from imgur to put them on here. All that transitioning really pixelated the image. In the future I'm going to stick with better quality photos from my Canon.

Here we have my first attempt at, well a whole lot. Stamping tools, free hand dotting with a toothpick, applying pearls, and water marbling. I really got carried away. After finding r/RedditLaqueristas I wanted to immediately try out all the cool techniques the ladies over there were showing tutorials for. I was happiest with the matte polka dotted pink pinky nail. Simple is sometimes best.

Purple "Jelly" Daisies

Here I mixed a creme lavender shade with a cheap clear coat to create a jelly polish. Jellies can be layered and layered. Translucent enough to let a design underneath show through. I was really happy with the color and impressed at how long my nails were getting since I started paying attention to them.

 Neon Studs

Probably one of my favorites. Did this one for a fashion show where my outfits were really bright. The studs complemented the "street" vibe of the show. Three coats of Seche Vite to hold the gold studs and dots in place made for a super high shine finish. I kept these on for quite a while. 

 Rainbow Clouds and Flowers

It's hard to tell from the picture, but I did jelly clouds for these so it looks like some of the clouds are far off in the distance. I really liked the effect. The middle nail has grass with tiny flowers and a sun shining. The rainbow on the thumb was fun and not that bad for freehanding with a toothpick instead of a brush.

 Rainbow Leopard Print and Center Strip

These are my favorite manicure thus far. I first made a rainbow gradient on every nail. Then using electrical tape, cut thin stripes placed down the center and painted over with black. The tape was removed immediately and set to dry while I worked on the leopard print using a toothpick. Few coats of Seche Vite and BAM! hot ass nails. I got crazy compliments on these, which always makes me happy.

I just cut my nails down all the way to the quick over the weekend. I was going disc golfing and had a hang nail. I knew if I went and just "dealt with it" I would have wound up breaking it in a painful way, so I just snipped them all down. To be honest it was a good idea since they weren't all even anyway and trying to file down nails that long beyond mere shaping, is quite a chore. I ordered a bunch of supplies online and they've just come in, so it's like a fresh start with a clean canvas and the right tools for the job!