• BOOKS,  LIFE

    What I Read in September 2021

    THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah – 4.25 stars Elsa grew up ostracized by her own family in the pretense of protecting her fragility. Having been an oddball all her life, Elsa jumps at the attention from Rafe Martinelli, a child of Italian immigrant farmers, and finds herself pregnant with Rafe’s child. Though Martinelli family resents her at first for ruining what they had planned for their son (going to college college, marriage to another girl to whom he was engaged to), they grow to accept and love her as much as the two children Elsa eventually has. While life was mostly happy for Elsa, the Great Plains begin to…

  • REVIEWS & GUIDES,  STYLE

    How to Wear the Nap Dress in Fall/Winter

    Hi, friends! In today’s post, I am sharing how I wear the Nap Dress (or really any sleeveless dress) in the colder months. Living in North Carolina, I am a big fan of carrying your summer wardrobe into fleeting fall and mild winter that follows. Really the idea is to simply over or under the dress to make it weather appropriate, but I hope it gives you some new ideas. With a Jean Jacket Is there anything easier than a jean jacket + black dress? My jean jacket is from Old Navy, and I got it on sale for $15! I have worn this combination quite a few times recently,…

  • NORTH CAROLINA,  TRAVEL

    Pit Stop in Asheville

    Alex and I went down to Clemson this weekend for a football game (with our N-95 masks)! We stopped by Asheville on the way back for just about a day and tried quite a few new-to-us places so I thought I would share our experience. FYI, there is a county-wide mask mandate for all indoor spaces at this time. Rosetta’s Kitchen & The Buchi Bar I had Rosetta’s Kitchen bookmarked on Yelp for the longest time because we love The Buchi kombucha. So when my friend Nicole suggested Rosetta’s Kitchen for lunch, I said yes immediately! Rosetta’s has vegan soul food made with locally sourced ingredients. We started with Vegan…

  • LIFE,  PERSONAL

    Celebrating Chuseok

    If you’re new or can’t tell by my name, I am Korean! My family moved to the States back in 2006 and while it’s just the five of us (mom + four of us children), we love celebrating Korean holidays. Chuseok is one of the two major Korean holidays along with New Year’s Day. A celebration of the harvest season, Chuseok is a time of gathering and abundance. This year, Chuseok is September 21st but my family celebrated early this weekend! Since it’s just the five of us in the States, sometimes it would a bit silly to make all the traditional holiday dishes for Chuseok. We had a few…

  • BOOKS,  LIFE

    What I Read in August 2021

    Happy September, friends! This week at work, I accidentally typed 2021 for a future date before correcting it to 2022 and was hit by the reality that 2021 is flying by. Here’s everything I read in August. POPISHO by Leone Ross – 4 stars I picked up Popisho while visiting Charleston. I knew nothing about the book but the cover art design grabbed my attention. In the world of Popisho, everyone is born with cors, magical talent gifted by the gods. Though the book only spans just about a day, it covers quite a bit of story. It begins by introducing Xavier Redchoose, the macaenus of the generation which means…