I’m flying home to Beijing on Wednesday for winter break! (And then flying to Okinawa the following day and staying for a few before going back to Beijing to spend the rest of my winter break??) Just got my last thesis presentation to do tomorrow and I’m done. Is it crazy that I’m looking forward to a break from socialising rather than from academics? Everyone has been feeling the end of the semester closing in and wanting to hang out all the time. We just need to chill out.
When I headed out into the city for a coffee shop to work at for the afternoon, I was actually looking for Square One Coffee, but upon arrival, I discovered that it was closed on weekends. Probably shoulda double-checked before I left the house… But oh well, not a big deal. I pulled out my phone to Yelp (honestly, sponsor me!) a nearby coffee shop and found Peddler Coffee, which I quickly fell in love with. At the door was a little chalkboard promoting their special flavours, of which I chose the lavender london fog, but was also tempted by their apple cider and clove cardamom latte.
As if I wasn’t already sold by those fancy flavours, their interior decor… man… Obsessed! That’s all I have to say! I love it! They had cute lil pumpkins everywhere, copper gooseneck kettles filled with plants, exposed brick, huge window-walls, and cool shaped wood tables (I can’t think of a way to describe it other than “raw” lol). And they played great music! Totally my vibe. I loved the rustic, autumnal feel of the interior. I wonder how they decorate for other seasons. Definitely pop by for a visit before autumn ends though! *I say this as I publish this post weeks late and the weather is gradually transitioning to winter*
Only two more weeks of school ahhh! Here’s the rundown: I only have one class this week, which will be on Tuesday and Thursday, and those classes will just be for in-class presentations; I present with my partner on Tuesday, so that’ll pretty much be the end of my semester haha. UPenn classes have ended (although I still have a final project to work on for that class), and my other two classes are senior seminars, which don’t have class times anymore because we’re just working on finishing up the final draft of our thesis. I’ll have a lot of time this week, so I’ll need to be really good about managing my time; I’m definitely better at managing my time when I have a busier schedule, because the appointments in my schedule break up my time for me. Not that I’m complaining about having a light schedule haha. Then the following week, I’ll be taking my only final exam on Monday, I’ll be giving my final presentation/defense for my thesis on Tuesday, and then I’m flying home on Wednesday!
ONE // Mulled apple cider chai french crullers
The cooler seasons always get me in the mood for baking. Who doesn’t want to warm their house up and fill it with all the autumnal and wintry scents? I’m down for any recipe with cinnamon. Some other recipes for the oven are iced pumpkin cookies, 5-ingredient honey almond granola, streuseled sweet potatoes, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and Totoro pumpkin cheesecake bars. If these recipes are too much effort for you, you can do what I did and buy sugar cookie dough from the supermarket (I got Pillsbury’s) and sprinkle it with cinnamon. (I haven’t bought cookie dough since, like, elementary school.) (They actually tasted pretty good.) (Don’t kill me baking snobs.) To top it off, why don’t we have some boozy apple cider.
TWO // DIY terrarium coffee table
You know I love my coffee and my coffee tables. When I first moved into my apartment, I knew for sure that I wanted my room to feel more like a living room than a bedroom, and so I knew I wanted a daybed and a coffee table. Okay fine, let’s be real. I just wanted my room to feel like a coffee shop. Anyways. I love this DIY terrarium coffee table, because you get that greenery, which is pretty much a centerpiece, without crowding the surface of your coffee table. Such a statement! And while we’re talking about the home, let’s move onto the closet. I really like the idea of this 10×10 wardrobe challenge. The idea is to pick 10 items of clothing (including tops, bottoms, and shoes; not including accessories, bags, pyjamas, or gym clothes) and create 10 outfits for 10 days. I think it’d be a good way to jump into a minimal wardrobe without making any drastic commitments… and it’d be a good away of minimising my laundry hah. Another way to spruce up your wardrobe is to DIY a band tee 3 ways.
THREE // Self-belief and the hideous sundress
We hear the phrase “you do you” so often that it’s begun to lost its meaning. And maybe even worse, sometimes it’s said a bit negatively, like to simply placate you. But this little anecdote about loving the hideous sundress, despite what everyone else was saying, was a specific experience I totally identified with. When I was little, I had strong opinions about what I liked to wear and what I didn’t, how I liked to do my hair and how I didn’t, no matter how much my mother or anyone else disagreed. That sort of self-assurance has slowly been chipping away as I’ve gotten older, but I want to find those pieces of myself again. Other little moments of reflection I’ve found inspiring are these thoughts on circumstantial happiness, the story of the hug, allowing yourself to process the world, and giving yourself time.
FOUR // Wales: The Slate Cabin
I love this little cabin and how minimal it is, and yet it seems so cosy. I imagine that the minimal design declutters the mind and allows you to focus on the important things and appreciate the serene coast of Wales. It almost inspires me to get rid of all the unnecessary junk in my apartment and live a nomadic lifestyle haha. For something a little more local to me here in Pennsylvania, I’ve been enjoying keeping up with Lokal Hotel’s developments via their Instagram Stories. Y’all know I love their Old City location (on the blog), but now they’ve also got a new A-frame cabin in the woods just 50 minutes outside of Philly. And since I’ve been loving cabins so much, here’s another one called Forest Cabin, and I’m loving the autumnal breakfast scene. Am I allowed to still be talking about autumn now that it’s December?
FIVE // How to create film-like images in your digital camera
I love how film photography looks but I’ve never used a film camera before and I don’t have one either, so this tutorial is going to have to do for me for now! And since we’re talking about images, why don’t we move onto visual social media platforms? (dat segue doe) Here’s a tutorial on how to hide Pinnable images and here are 15 clever ways to use Instagram Stories. Keeping up a brand and managing all your socials can be time-consuming no doubt, so here are 24 time-saving hacks for busy entrepreneurs. And for all the influencers and entrepreneurs out there, here’s all you need to know about navigating sponsored content online.
What has been your favourite read of the week?
Nyasa hit me up after seeing Azalia’s graduation invitation photos, which I shared on Facebook, and I was so honoured that she liked the photos enough to trust me to photograph her graduation invitation photos as well!
I’m living for all these vlogmases! If it weren’t for my thesis, I would have loved to give a go at a proper blogmas. During my sophomore year of college, I gave a go at a very simplified blogmas in which I took one iPhone photo a day, starting from the first of December until Christmas day, and shared it as a roundup on my blog (see it here! but heads up, it’s nothing grand), and then I did daily blogging for the twelve days of Christmas. Anywho, watching all these vlogmases is making me feel like I need an advent calendar. At the very least, it’ll soothe the feeling of impending doom as my thesis deadlines approach and help me focus on the impending joy of Christmas. Maybe I’ll get a cheap $1 chocolate advent calendar from Trader Joe’s or CVS. The only thing is that I don’t like milk chocolate, and those seem to be the most common (dark chocolate for me please!). Not that I need more chocolate (recall the four boxes of Snickers peanut butter squared my dad sent me, and I also have some dark chocolate and coconut covered almonds from Trader Joe’s, a bag of Reese’s I got 50% off after Halloween, and a bar of chocolate from a Carreforre in Paris). But there’s something about punching it out of a cardboard box that makes it so much more satisfying, no?