Hello! How’s it going?
Is it me or January felt like a really realllly long month? Maybe because it’s been an overall strange month. With everything that’s happening (the virus), let’s just say 2020 is not off to a great start. Hopefully, it only goes up from here, but alas, there were still some highlights of the month that I want to talk about today.
Shall we?
THINGS I PICKED UP
Embroidery
Okay, I know this is kind of a weird thing to start with BUT embroidery has genuinely become my favorite thing to do.
Earlier in January, one of my friends asked my friend group if we want to join her and have an embroidery day. Apparently it’s something she’s been doing for a couple of months by that point. Confused, we agreed to try it out and guess what, we all got hooked on it super fast!
So now we went from wtf is embroidery to hanging out every week at random cafes around town to embroider together. To me, embroidery has been a really good outlet to be creative without feeling limited or really judged since it has a low entry barrier for noobs like us to pick up. I can’t draw to save my life so painting just becomes really stressful and frustrating to me, but embroidery hits that sweet spot between creativity and limited skill – and it’s been a great way to relax!
One of my 2020 goals is to pick up new hobbies or activities that get me into a lasered focused mode. This is mostly because I realized (again) that I spend too much time on the phone and my default answer to boredom is to just watch random stuff on my phone/laptop and turn into a potato. Which is nice sometimes.
But now with embroidery, I can focus on it for hours without any desire to stop or distract myself with other stuff. It’s a good way to pass time while still feeling productive since you really get to see results pretty much instantly.
I’m by no means a professional (honestly my success rate is currently at 50% only aka half the stuff I make turn out v badly LOL) but I can see this being something I’d enjoy doing for a long period of time. I’m having a grand time right now so we’ll see how long this will be my thing.
Here are a few things that I made and actually liked 🙂
Oh and side note, I finally hopped on the Pinterest train, a few years too late because honestly still not a huge fan of its UI, but it’s been a very useful place to find inspiration!
Cooking Obsession
On a similar surprisingly homebody note, I’ve also gotten really into cooking these past few months, thanks to my new apartment that FINALLy has a proper kitchen. No joke I thought I’d try cooking a few times and give up soon, but now it’s been like 3+ months and I’m still pretty into it!
I think just like embroidery, cooking has become a place for me to experiment and I like how I can see the result immediately. Plus, as you know, I’ve always been into food so I’m always craving for something anyway. Instead of going out to buy it (and spend lots of $$), I now try to replicate it at home first! Again, due to my amateur skills, it’s not ALWAYS a success – but overall it’s been great!
Here’s a few of my fav (recipes linked!):
- Kimchi soft tofu stew: Maangchi for OG but mostly Jenn Im‘s easier take (on her Insta story)
- Dak Galbi Wrap (Spicy chicken wrap): From this What I Eat in a Day video.
- Breakfast Chia Pudding/ Overnight Oats: Inspired by Honeysuckle’s video.
- Gyudon (Japanese Beef on Rice): This recipe + Kewpie mayo (a huge plus!)
- 15mins Garlic Shrimp Udon: Marion’s Kitchen
FOOD I FOUND
I haven’t tried too many new food places recently, partially because of cooking and also because virus uhm, but I did really like the wagyu beef bowl (pictured) at Mashi No Mashi, delicious hotpot at Haidilao (it was my first time and the service was seriously so extra I got confused?? I highly recommend the tomato and pork bone broth btw), and an old favorite, Twelve Flavors dry hotpot and sour fish soup (?).
We recently found out Twelve Flavors are on Eatigo, a food discount app, so if you want to try it out, check to see if you can snatch their deals there. We scored a 50% off on a Sunday 5.30 pm and it made it THAT much more worth it to go!
THINGS I WATCHED
Not sure if I really didn’t watch much this month or none were that memorable? But I did finish The Good Place and…
MAN. It was so good.
So feelsy, so complete, and so well made.
I won’t spoil it any further, but it’s definitely one of the most satisfying of a series I’ve ever watched. I walked away feeling very content and happy that I joined them throughout the show’s journey. Now taking new shows recommendations!
MUSIC I LOVED
BROCKHAMPTON – I got hooked on Sugar and now I’m in love with their whole album. I had no idea they are a “Rap Collective” until I saw them on Ellen because the songs feel like it only has two people in it (lol) BUT I do like their overall vibe and I find myself going back to them pretty often on my commute! ALSO, I LOVE this cover of Sugar! Never knew it could sound so pretty on acoustic too.
JP Saxe – An old find revisited, I first heard of JP Saxe from the Anybody Else song a few years ago and then again from time to time, but it was not until recently that he blew up and finally got recognized. I dig his song with Julia Michaels and his new album Hold It Together is pretty good! A bit sappy, but I like it overall.
Bruno Major – Last but certainly not least, I got REALLY into Bruno Major lately and now I LOVE him. His voice is sweet like butter and his songs have that warm fuzzy feeling that makes life feel a bit more romantic and fairytale-like. A few of my current favorites include Nothing, Places We Won’t Walk, and Tapestry.
Also, I found out that he was coming to HK in March and I got a ticket immediately without even thinking about it. I’m usually very calculated (and kind of cheap) on concert decisions so that’s when you know how much I love him. I’m crossing my fingers the concert will still be on though – it may or may not get canceled with all these virus things. But we’ll see!
January’s been a hell of a month – but hey, we survived. Here’s to a hopefully better February!
