#4 November highlights

A little gratitude during a turbulent month

I realized the past few posts have been somewhat gloomy or over analytical. I’d love to remark on some recent highlights (if you know me, you’ll know these will be heavily food-skewed), and take a page from Hannah Jane Parkinson’s “The Joy of Small Things,” a delightful book I recently picked up.

i. We kicked off the month in London where we were able to catch a friend’s gallery show opening party, lunch and dine with dear friends, browse the incredibly crowded but extraordinary Van Gogh exhibit at the National Gallery, and spend our mornings running to bakeries and coffee shops (er, a hybrid running store/coffee shop). We covered at least 30k steps a day, and I love London more with each visit.

ii. After London, we took the train to Paris (the only natural progression), and spent a few days revisiting old haunts, meeting with friends, and sampling a few new places which turned out to be huge highlights. Add Tarántula and Klover coffee to your starred places, stat.

I’ll readily admit that Rimowa are not 'perfect’ in terms of function, but damn do they still make sexy looking suitcases. I picked up the hybrid check-in in Paris and the color alone makes me happy to use. We’ve had the white carry-on for years and it is a mainstay in my travel. My Margaux 17 from The Row fits a shit ton but the weight is commensurate with that!

iii. Fast forward a flurry of shoots, some in NYC some in Philly (coincidentally, my first Philly client is a hotel just a few blocks from my apartment!), we found ourselves in flight again, this time to the west coast for a quick family birthday dinner. During the extremely short time we were there, I had excellent coffee from Play and the sauciest perfect snack-sized burritos from Burritos La Palma.

iv. I finished The Vegetarian by Han Kang, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. Wow was that an intense ride. Stunning and violent and transgressive. For me, it’s deserving of a re-read in the future.

One thing I love about shopping for books abroad — the covers are almost always more interesting than the ones made for the US market!

v. We spent a few days at Amangiri, one of the most unique and architecturally striking hotel properties in the US, doing some content work for the Aman brand. (I know I know, we’re extremely spoiled! I swear, we’re working! 😅) But the surprising personal highlight was running into an old friend/client upon check-in. Catching up that evening was such a treat.

vi. Home is coming along! I’ve been slowly buying vintage or special pieces for home, and they have been slowly arriving over the past few months. I’ll consider it another accomplishment when all the art can get hung.

IYKYK — so stoked about my newest art acquisition from one of my favorite artists.

vii. It gives me such pleasure to finish every last drop of a product. Ever since I visited an Aesop store for the very first time (2013, in Sydney!) where the sales associate demo-ed this on my hand, I’ve been a committed fan of this duo — you mix the Exfoliant Paste with the Cleansing Masque to form a new mask. I always feel squeaky clean after this combo, which I use about once a week.

I squeezed these tubes until they cracked.

viii. Philly food! I think this is a daily highlight, but three noteworthy new-for-us things we tried: The viral Kale Caesar Cutlet sandwich from Liberty Kitchen (must add Cooper Sharp!). 100000% worth the hype. Words cannot encapsulate the satisfaction and happiness I derived from eating this sandwich. Trenton-style pizza pies from CJ&D’s. We waited about 80 minutes for these pies and they were also worth the wait, especially when the waiting room is actually a brewery with delicious beers. Royal Tavern — we kinda stumbled into this place with no expectations and were thoroughly chuffed with the warm hospitality and food.

L to R. Liberty Kitchen, CJ & D's, Royal Tavern

ix. We’ve been watching The Sopranos for the very first time (it feels like a gift) and just finished Season 4 last night. There’s truly nothing better than changing into soft pants and watching an episode to end the night. Now I better understand how iconic this series was.

x. I posted this eat-at-the-kitchen-counter snack on my IG stories, but several people asked me about the recipe so I wanted to give it some more screen time here. It’s about as simple as it can get. I emptied a can of water-packed tuna (drained) into a bowl, mixed in a heaping of kewpie mayonnaise, fried chili oil, little bit of rice vinegar, and Cabi umami dashi soy sauce. You can easily tailor the amounts to your own taste level. (I like shit spicy so I don’t shy away from more chili oil.) Then I made it into a little hand wrap in a nori sheet with some kimchi. If I had leftover rice, I’d definitely add that to the roll. And maybe a little bit of toasted sesame oil next time.

Honestly there were even more highlights than what I touched upon here — there really is joy in a lot of small things! And this was a fun post for me to write, so thank you for indulging me.

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