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How I Put Together A Beginner Needlepoint Kit for $30*
Hi, friends! As you know, I’ve been very into needlepointing over the last year. I have also been trying to recruit my friends into picking up needlepointing which brings you this blog post. I put together a beginner-friendly needlepoint kit for a friend on a budget (in the hopes to alleviate any pressure). Here’s how I did it! First things first, I decided to paint a canvas instead of purchasing a handpainted canvas since the labor is the biggest factor in relatively high cost of needlepoint canvases. I’ve been wanting to design and paint my own canvases so this part was actually quite fun for me. To take on one…
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What I Read in December 2024
Happy New Year, friends! Hope the holidays were good to you and that 2025 has been good to you so far. Today, I’m sharing the five books I read in December: LOVELY ONE by Ketanji Brown Jackson Naturally, I expected the memoir of the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court to be inspirational, which it absolutely is. My biggest takeaway from Lovely One was that the Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has lived such a full life. From having grown up as a debate kid in Florida to being a theatre kid in Harvard to successfully raising her two daughters with her college sweetheart while both continue to…
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A Year of Hobby-ing!
I’m not a huge New Year’s resolutions person but at the beginning of 2024, I did share some hopes for the year, which included picking up hobbies. I’m happy to report that I picked up and stuck with needlepointing all year! I was completely hooked after completing a couple of beginner kits/canvases as I reported at the end of Q1. Mindlessly basketweaving while listening to an audiobook is SO meditative, and I’ve spent many mornings doing so, even completing two needlepoint stockings! I find the act of stitching (and the accompanying ASMR) so soothing, and often find myself reaching for my current WIP (work-in-progress) when I’m feeling stressed or anxious.…
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What I Read in November 2024
Happy December, friends! Almost a week into the month, and I’m finally getting around to sharing my November reads on here. I’ll blame it on Thanksgiving being so late this year which did throw me off. LAST BOAT OUT OF SHANGHAI by Helen Zia Since reading Shanghai Girls years ago, I’ve wanted to learn more about Shanghai and Chinese history in general. I’m pretty sure I learned about Last Boat Out of Shanghai on TikTok, perhaps from an author interview? As the name suggests, Last Boat Out of Shanghai is about those who left China before Mao and the Communists took control of the country. They come from different worlds…
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What I Read in October of 2024
Happy November, friends! Now that we’re officially entering the holiday season (which starts November 1st in my books), everything feels exciting and cozy. I’ve been reading every morning before I start work which is probably my favorite time of the day. Here’s everything I read in October: THE PERFECTIONIST’S GUIDE TO LOSING CONTROL by Katherine Morgan Schafler At some point my in my 20s, I started identifying as a (partial?) perfectionist. It was a weird and not the healthiest way in which I coped with things. In the last couple of years, I have been getting better about expecting perfect performance from myself (and others to be quite frank!) but…
