january

• my birthday picnic with small cakes and the husby reading the korean book i bought him for christmas to me and having birthday dinner at the gallery by witchcraft
• making a vision board
• johnny got a tent from his co-worker so we're trying it out and camping in
• the serviceberry by robin wall kimmerer
• having lunch with college friends, one visiting from japan with her new baby
• my munimuni top, always proud of this brand established by friends

february

• surprising the husby with his fave knafeh cake for his birthday
• making his fave cilantro chicken for his birthday lunch and having his birthday dinner at mangiamo
• an abundance of strawberries
• reading two trees make a forest by jessica j. lee before my trip to taipei
• husby getting sunflower stalks for me a week before v-day so it's a surprise
• got a students for reproductive freedom shirt for 20 pesos at the flea
• firefly by baba ganesh
• the onlypans pop-up at the smokehouse, so gooOod
• sandmarc lenses
• frozen probio yogurt at the food truck fest
• scored a pair of black vintage bally leather boots and white calfskin by far boots (the same ones hayley williams wore during her tour)

march

• went on a girls trip with my bestie but my alone times were my favorite: pretending to be a street photographer in dadaocheng, also getting my photo taken by a street photographer, a free tea ceremony with an ayí, meeting a friend who had to translate for a nainai manning a paper lantern store, getting book recommendations from a lady running a cafe bookstore, meeting up with a longtime taiwanese friend and having tremella almond milk desserts, etc. etc. etc.
• times with the bestie were ok too: going to the zoo, taking the gondola to maokong (a tea mountain haven), singing under the rain, seeing cherry blossoms on her birthday, going to a tea-based cocktail speakeasy and meeting a new friend, going to ichiko aoba's intimate concert and meeting another friend, etc. etc. etc.
• my qing dynasty antique teacup from dadaocheng
• songs: bouquet by ichiko aoba being our frolicking song in taipei, pet rock by tomcbumpz
• my cabbages eco bag taking all the attention
• moon juice acid potion
• bougainvillea everywhere

april

• when life gives you tangerines making me cry cry cry
• scored the melody soundtrack and cobalt hour by yumi arai on vinyl for dirt cheap
• enjoying springtime flowers with the husby
• foodrelic's substack but especially this on rhizomes
• shimon hoshino's playlists inspired by fragrance
• in the forest album by takatoshi naitoh
• cabbages, we keep eating cabbages
• getting the pilita corrales tattoo i've always wanted
• this letterboxd review by umama on when life gives you tangerines making me weep all over again
• scoring an amelie soundtrack bootleg vinyl online
• my very own gaiwan tea set from chayu teahouse
• making a friend in kyoto who sells low-smoke incense and my first purchase is one called western constellation with key notes of sandalwood, rose and musk and described as the scent of the celestial stars in kyoto’s night sky as delicate petals descending from above and evokes a cooling sensation akin to a midnight breeze softly brushing through the blossoms i love i love i love and the scent is beautiful like a kimono
• this recipe for tahini rose chocolate chip cookies
• i’m just wearing my golden brown leg warmers from plié all day
• a whisper of cardamom by eleanor ford
• got a cuisinart ice cream maker
• the magenta house on never too small inspiring me
• plant a tree in palestine

may

• rewatching rachel nguyen's yt videos
• rediscovering thursday afternoon by brian eno
• raja on monét talks
• songs: close to shiva by michael seyer, the track of doubt by newg, glamorized memories by trinity, a christmas night by the new fever, just one look by the derevolutions for kitchen dancing and lip syncing with the ladle
• ella risbridger's essay entitled cupboard love featured in in the kitchen: essays on food and life i would make her a cup of tea without asking her whether she'd like one or how she takes it, which is in and of itself a profound intimacy of a kind that is almost always taken entirely for granted. to know how someone else takes their tea -- tea or coffee; milk or sugar or lemon -- is a small and delightful privilege because it's a fact of too little consequence ferreted out except with small repeated acts of care.
• it's 7:10pm and the cricket sound as i type this and my cat sleeping next to me makes me feel all grounded and cozy
• quiet forest album by hiroshi yoshimura
• my senses are just perfectly stimulated this month, almost like an extended ovulation period
• restarted summer camp island
• botanical sunset album by miroque
• reading essays from the LARB
• foodrelic on the right to be incomprehensible
• reading the book (and the idea of a) twilight garden