january
2022
Another beginning. With a clink of champagne glasses and bubbly too expensive for my taste, we rang in another year. I came home a little after midnight. Walking through the brisk night air, admiring the city streets, quieter than I’d expected. I took the train home. Walked up my walk up, closed the door, and didn’t venture back outside for a full week.
January is a harsh reality. Back to work, back to reality. The sun sets well before dinner time. The temperatures drop below freezing. And so, logically, I decided to remove myself from the situation. And skip town to my sunny happy haven. LA. I barely went out in the weeks spent in New York, but it was made up in the many outings in LA. I spent a lot of time at home, relishing the short hours where little patch of sun forms on my couch. Baking (half for warmth), lighting all the candles in the house, counting down the days til I could fly away.
current obsessions
winter light:
it just hits different; especially obsessed with how it lights up my little corner of perfume perfectly in the afternoon
winter ice cream:
eating ice cream in the winter, also a vibe
winter salads:
they had me at winter citrus
winter fridays:
new tradition where i treat myself to the end of a week by walking to a coffee shop instead of making coffee at home
snacks as meals:
wfh means grazing on charcuterie from lunch through dinner
culture fix
a long overdue rewatch:
mozart in the jungle – still probably one of the most underrated / underwatched show and still so entertaining
a long overdue hype watch:
finally got around to watching encanto and annoyed that the songs are indeed as catchy as they seemed to be
new finds
new neighborhood fave:
land to sea, an asian-owned cafe and community space featuring breads and pastries from Chinatown
spotted in noho:
wanpo tea shop, fresh from taiwan and unexpectedly fast for an chain import
new shop in atwater:
wine & eggs, a very cute wine shop and general store on a growing strip of cute shops and restaurants in atwater
what's cooking
spent most meals at home, but was pretty lazy when it came to cooking
first bake of the year: black sesame morning buns
when life gives you meyer lemons, make a cake
liang ban like it’s summer
hojicha white and dark chocolate chip cookies
nothing like blood oranges to make me make breakfast
lettuce wraps because i can
felt cute, made lunch on a weekend
pretending it’s summer with tomato herb flatbread
prosciutto, arugula, fettuccine & a lot of red pepper flakes
camera roll
started off my LA existence with banchan
trekked out to sgv for a lunar new year haul
s/o to philz for opening early enough to fuel my east coast work hours
first meal @ sun nong dan
ofc got obligatory boba for the ride back; also lol it’s still wushiland
not me picnicking in LA while a winter storm hits NYC
i missed you palm trees
making the parents proud with this spread feat. red envelopes from them
had to visit my favorites, ily maru
winter “hikes” in LA hit different after winters in nyc
ok but it was pretty much all take out + packaged goods
note to self: find persian ice cream in nyc