Gingerbread house - the front door and walls

*Note: A Gift from Hokkaido Giveaway - details in the next entry, and a hint at end of post!

I can't even begin to count how many times I've redecorated and replanned the walls of the gingerbread house! Nothing seemed right, but I think I'm finally satisfied with this design. (more like I decided to just move on. :/)

A heart-shaped cookie dipped in sugar, pink and white marshmallows, mint balls and a chocolate door.

As for the walls, I punched out circular windows and surrounded them with chocolate balls dipped in soft white marshmallow.

Note to anyone else attempting this: do cut out windows BEFORE baking to save yourself the agony of cutting through baked clay.

{ Photos from Hokkaido }

Everyday we ate like kings, this was just a tiny section of the colourful spread prepared for us.

The Japanese put much effort into plating every item, and making sure that the colours were vibrant and the dish used was different from each other.

The beautiful flowers all around Hokkaido.

I've never seen this anywhere else - pretty flower cookies at a flower farm we visited. :)

Trying my hand at making my own cotton candy. I admit I preferred playing with the machine than eating the real thing though.

  

A huge mushroom in the middle of nowhere, it wouldn't look out of place in a storybook.

I remember how I got this photo. The tour bus was travelling to a ferry where we were supposed to take a boat trip, and on the way I spied on a cute Japanese bakery. So when the bus finally stopped (about 10minutes away from the bakery), I grabbed JY and told him there was this place I HAD to go.

And sprinted all the way to the bakery to take some photos, buy a croissant and ran all the way back before the tour-group realised we were gone. Phew.

Fields of crops.

Where there are flowers, there will be butterflies.

A random photo of me in some woods. Mainly, I'm just trying to show you my french braid (plait?).

Another beautiful lake, the mountains would all be snow-capped in winter. 

Hint: This is also the photo that inspired me to conduct A Gift from Hokkaido Giveaway!

Next up - Details of A Gift from Hokkaido Giveaway

Stay tuned, it will be open to local and international readers! :)