02.2024
Crazy to think that the last February 29th was just days before the world shut down and barely a day after landing in a cold, dark, wet NYC.
Fast forward four years and here we are, still in a cold, dark, wet NYC. But with a more regular routine, a numb seasonal depression, and an intimate familiarity with the damp air of the subway system.
February may be in the depths of winter but we added as much sparkle as we can manage.
NEW YEAR, AGAIN
When it’s cold and miserable outside, and after spending days holed up inside, you have to find a little bit of joy in strategic field trips that minimize the outside time and maximize the hot food. A weekday slip across the bridge to Manhattan Chinatown for some Shanghainese takeout and pork buns. An early morning trek out to Flushing to pick up some lunar new year specialties. A hot pot dinner with friends and sesame tangyuan for the 15th day.
BIRTHDAY obsessions
cocktails with winter citrus
tahini frosted cakes
chrome nails
new decade, same tradition
Dopamine in many forms, lined up and packed into a day. Back into old stomping grounds.
pastries from radio bakery
nail appointment
matcha from kijitora
popping into shops in the east village
before a khao soi lunch at soothr
some city history at the new york historical society
reflection, tea and dessert at fouet
culture fix
The short daylight hours mean a lot of dark hours spent in front of a TV. This month I really craved nostalgia. Music from the early 2000s and 2010s. An annual rewatch of the Harry Potter movies. A long overdue rewatch of The Devil Wears Prada, with very different perspective. Some delayed binge watching of Netflix and Prime blockbusters. And then the new things the streamers feed me. Mr. and Mrs. Smith was actually quite good though.
good bites
Carbs and caffeine. The precious things holding me together this month.
Rigor Hill: a new favorite office day breakfast cafe, with coffee, pastries and a surprisingly good breakfast sandwich.
Alf Bakery: Chelsea Market may be chaotic as hell on a weekend, but a quick pastry and coffee grab downstairs to accompany a long overdue outdoor catch up on an unseasonally warm day feels just right
Bakeri: the perfect amount of quaint that makes it an obligatory stop whenever I’m in the neighborhood
cacao > hot chocolate
bakery pick up
one of many many kitsune matchas of the year
oxomoco brunch bar
camera roll
winter snow
this little guy
winter light
scenic homework
is it satire?
cheery interiors