nykeiko shops: Kit and Ace holiday promo!

Around this time of the year (well, more the time right before Christmas), there are good holiday shopping promotions floating around where the usual suspects offer mild discounts to get people to buy. That is the time most people shop for others but if you want to shop for yourself, you would want to wait until after Christmas to get the best deals.

This year Kit and Ace shared something pretty good that you didn't want to pass on. Over the holdiays, Kit and Ace offered a special $40 promotion via their newsletter and Instagram Stories to spend in stores only. All you needed to say was the secret word "Mistletoe" to get the offer.

nykeiko buys: Post Christmas shopping at Anthropologie

I took advantage of Anthropologie's post Christmas Tag sale (happening right now!) where you can take an additional 40% off sale items. I think the sales section is the only place I ever shop at Anthropologie and always when there are additional markdowns too.

nykeiko eats: Curry Ya in Harlem

Harlem has been sprouting new Japanese restaurants since we last moved here a couple of years ago and we love it. I used to make Japanese curry at home all the time. I stock up on a variety of curry flavors (from milk to spicy) when I visit H Mart or Mitsuwa. It's really simple to make. Just mix it in in water with pieces of chicken, potatoes, onions and carrots to make a quick delicious comfort meal.

We visited Curry Ya in Harlem (there's one in the East village) this past Summer and I finally found time to put up a couple of pictures of our meal. Curry Ya is right beside Rai Rai Ken which opened earlier and the original outpost is also in the East Village.

The restaurant is small and charming and we went on a quiet afternoon. Actually, it was quite empty and we were the only ones there. We admired all the little decor details and the ability to see the whole kitchen through a large glass pane.

I found the curry to be quite good and it really hit the spot for something hardy.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

This year, I felt like I needed some intense Christmas spirits to make up for last year's lack of. I thought the best way to achieve that was to get a Christmas tree. I don't normally care for this stuff but now that there is a child involved, I needed to find more excuses to take more pictures. Baby and tree = cuteness!

nykeiko eats: Lots of udon options at TsuruTonTan Udon

Dave has taken a particular liking to udon lately. Sometimes, it is all he seeks to eat. A few weeks ago, when we were walking around Union Square and walked by TsuruTonTan, He read about this place opening a few months ago and was eager to try their their daily made in-house udon. Dave got all excited when he saw there was no line to eat. We got a table right away and marveled at the large selection of udon dishes. You can get your udon with or without soup. You can get curry udon or topped with fancy toppings like caviar or uni. They also offer appetizers and donburi if you're not here for their homemade udons. On the menu, it says you can supersize your udon serving to large at no charge. The waiter warned that we cannot bring leftovers home but wouldn't get charged for not finishing the noodles. We skipped the appetizers and got the large. We were pretty confident we would finish it all. I got a sizzling sukiyaki udon because I read that was pretty decent. Dave got the tempura one. The udon was very good but we don't know if it is worth the price. It was good to try and definitely hit the spot for udon craving.  I admit it was a struggle to finish the large bowl but had help from a third little mouth to feed but next time, maybe we won't both get large. We don't like to waste food!

nykeiko shops: Gift guide for HER *Winter 2016 edition*

Here's my gift guide but more like my own personal shopping list. Some things I have bought and some I will leave for others to enjoy.

Baby it's cold outside.

I tried these Kit and Ace mittens in the store and my hands were instantly warmed and even got sweaty. They are a bit big but they would be perfect in this subfreezing temperature and excellent for pushing strollers. It's unisex. I am waiting for it to go on sale.