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What I Read in August 2025
Hi, friends! Here’s everything I read in August (a few days into September because I just got back from my first trip to Chicago!!): JADE LEGACY by Fonda Lee You know I am obsessed with Jade City series, and I am happy to report that Jade Legacy, the last book of the trilogy, did not disappoint! In each Jade City book, the Kaul family faces new challenges on another magnitude. Jade Legacy spans across several decades and the world beyond Kekon. The way Fonda Lee develops the story over the three books paints the earlier struggles smaller in retrospect but it really speaks to her ambition and ability in developing…
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Beach Week, Year 2!
Hi, friends! I’m recapping our second ever beach week today (before August ends)! Last year was our inaugural beach week which we split between Beaufort and the Outer Banks. Since we did a day trip to Beaufort in June for the Old Homes Tour, this year’s beach week was all in the Outer Banks. We stayed in Manteo for the Outer Banks portion of the inaugural beach week last year but we wanted to be more central this time around. We found a tiny home called The Beach Palette in Kitty Hawk, only a few blocks from the beach (maybe a 10-minute walk?). Not only was The Beach Palette so…
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What I Read in July 2025
Happy end of July, friends! Here’s everything I read this month: BUTTERMILK GRAFFITI: A CHEF’S JOURNEY TO DISCOVER AMERICAN’S NEW MELTING-POT CUISINE by Edward Lee If you’re like me and obsessively watched Culinary Class Wars on Netflix, Edward Lee is the Korean American chef from the show. Naturally, I had to read his James Beard-winning food memoir Buttermilk Graffiti. I actually listened to the audiobook and wish I had read a physical book instead, both because the audiobook is not narrated by Edward Lee himself and I think I would’ve processed some of the essays better in a written format. Some of the chapters are based on his recent travels…
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Beaufort Old Homes Tour
Hi, friends! Almost exactly a month or so ago, we took a day trip to Beaufort, NC. Considering the distance, we would ideally stay at least a night in Beaufort, which is what we have done in the past, both the first time we visited Beaufort and during our inaugural beach week last year. The reason we forced this day trip into existence was to go to the Old Homes Tour. Rex and I recently went on the Preservation Annual Home Tour right here in Durham. It was our first time being on any sort of home tour, and we had so much fun. The last time we were in…
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A Stay at Summit Street Inns
Hi, friends! We recently went to Winston-Salem for a friend’s birthday and decided to stay at Summit Street Inns so we could walk back from the party and not worry about parking and/or driving. I couldn’t find a ton of information about Summit Street on the Internet so I thought I’d share a little bit from our very short stay. Summit Street Inns is one of the historical inns in town, managed by the same people as The Shaffner Inn (which I’m a little more familiar with since it’s much closer to the campus of my alma mater). Summit Street Inns consists of two neighboring buildings thus the plural name.…
