I’m currently in that state between transitioning out of work life and into my vacation which always seems to be the most challenging. After the most distracting work day of my career, my brain was jelly in the evening. As I was mindlessly scrolling through YouTube though I came across this video which was exactly what I needed. These kids met with members of NCT to have brief conversations about their former lives (pre K-pop) and about their dreams. It’s not only the most wholesome watch, but a video that just puts you at ease no matter what state you may be in. Enjoy!
When I first imagined what Vietnamese representation would look like on mainstream television, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind. The show highlights a wealthy Vietnamese American family out of Houston. It’s sort of a cross between My Super Sweet Sixteen and A Real Housewives series. However, the quality level looks like it could be on the Bravo network so they’ve got that going for them! House of Ho is purely for entertainment. It’s not educational or inspiring, but it’s clearly tailored for an audience that is more modern and young. I don’t have a similar upbringing like the Ho family, but there were some similarities that I recognized about my own childhood. There are seven episodes today and we finished the series in two days.
What We’re Listening To: KATIE – Our Time Is Blue
This album actually came out the same weekend as “Evermore,” so it was a bit distracting trying to do both. I was able to dedicate more time to KATIE’s this week though and I loved it so much I added all six songs to my current playlist. KATIE was a new artist for me as I only discovered her through another person’s Instagram account that I follow. Her sound reminds me so much of the kind of old school R&B that I used to listen to like pre-Jhene Aiko or even present day Summer Walker. Also, we will never get tired of hyping up Asian American artists.
You could say that this shirt is a bit out of character for me, but there’s a story behind this. As some of you know, we’ve spent a significant amount of time with BTS in the last few months. Naturally their sense of style has peeked my interested a bit. You might even say that I ripped this look directly off of Jungkook from this year’s MAMA performance of “Dynamite.” It’s fun though, right?
What We’re Eating: Trader Joe’s Hearts of Palm Pasta
I’ve decided that I think I don’t understand vegetable substitutes of pasta after tonight. There’s a chance that I could’ve butchered this in the cooking, but I think that probability is low. Tonight, I threw this in with garlic, green beans, olive oil and a sauce from my local market, but finished it feeling unsatisfied and hungry afterwards. I know that there are people who swear by vegetable pasta, but the real thing is so much better! I’m not convinced by these.
I’ve forgotten how long putting this list together takes, but to no surprise, we’ve consumed quite an amount of music this year. With more time inside and working from home, I had my playlists on a cycle from the time I started getting ready for the day until I was preparing for bed. One change that we’re introducing is that we’re bringing this countdown to 100 (finally!) After going through this process for 11 years, it felt time. Even with a year like 2020, there was enough music released to also get to 100 favorites easily.
We utilized the Wrapped playlist that Spotify created, but I don’t always find it is 100% accurate. I went through a huge K-pop phase over the summer, which may have also skewed that playlist heavily. Yesterday, we took a few hours to run through the playlists I made for seasons this year and I was able to pick out some that I personally know I had on repeat, but didn’t make Wrapped. There’s also songs from the fall/winter season that have become my favorites that would never have a chance of making the Wrapped playlist because they haven’t had as much time to be played.
Let’s start! (in no particular order by the way)
1. BTS – On 2. H.E.R. – Comfortable 3. Selena Gomez, 6LACK – Crowded Room 4. Halsey – You should be sad 5. Autograf, Jared Lee, Bonsai Mammal – Ain’t Deep Enough – Bonsai Mammal Chill Mix 6. Gryffin, Katie Pearlman – Nobody Compares to You 7. Vince Villafan – Don’t Remind Me 8. Junia-T, Jessie Reyez – Sad Face Emojis 9. San Holo, Sofie Winterson – lift me from the ground 10. EXO-SC, MOON – 1 Billion Views
11. Snoh Aalegra – Find Someone Like You 12. Bea Miller, Jessie Reyez – FEELS LIKE HOME 13. Hyolyn, GRAY – Dally 14. BLACKPINK – How You Like That 15. Justin Bieber – All Around Me 16. Kygo, Valerie Broussard – The Truth 17. Galantis, Ship Wrek, Pink Sweat$ – Only A Fool 18. Dua Lipa – Break My Heart 19. BRONSON, ODESZA, Golden Features, lau.ra – Heart Attack 20. Jordan Fisher – Contact
21. Jay Park – All The Way Up 22. JoJo – Think About You 23. GRAY – DINGO X GRAY – Moon Blue 24. PARTYNEXTDOOR, Drake – LOYAL 25. BTS – Dynamite 26. Lennon Stella, Charlie Puth – Summer Feelings 27. Trey Songz, Summer Walker – Back Home 28. Louis the Child, Wrabel – Too Close 29. Obed Padilla – Through Tha Night 30. Kygo, Rhys Lewis – Hurting
31. Tycho – Alright 32. ARTY, Audien, Ellee Duke – Craving 33. Khalid, Summer Walker – Eleven 34. VÉRITÉ – good for it – acoustic 35. Petit Biscuit – Memories 36. Eves Karydas, Holmsey – Further Than The Planes Fly – Holmsey Remix 37. Kito, AlunaGeorge – Alone With You 38. Conch, Downtowndan – Slow Dance 39. Q – Your Special 40. Flume, Toro y Moi – The Difference
41. Teyana Taylor – Made It 42. Kehlani, Keyshia Cole, King Henry – All Me 43. Rationale, TS Graye – Whiskey Regrets 44. BENEE, Gus Dapperton – Supalonely 45. The Weeknd – In Your Eyes 46. Mac Miller – Right 47. Tom Misch, Yussef Dayes – Kyiv 48. Tom Aspaul – W.M. 49. Kim Kyoung Hee – Sigriswil – ‘Crash Landing On You’ Title Full Version 50. Stacy Clark – Maybe
51. Tyler, The Creator – BEST INTEREST 52. SG Lewis – Chemicals 53. Hayden James, Icona Pop – Right Time 54. Gryffin, Seven Lions, Noah Kahan, Nurko – Need Your Love – Nurko Remix 55. TOKiMONSTA, Bibi Bourelly, Jean Deaux – One Day 56. Col3trane, Kiana Ledé – Clutch 57. Kehlani, Masego – Hate The Club 58. Ella Isaacson, Gallant – Expectations 59. MisterWives – SUPERBLOOM 60. Tep No – Heavy On My Heart
61. V – Sweet Night 62. John Splithoff – Past Times 63. Diplo, Morgan Wallen – Heartless 64. Emerson Leif – Next2 65. James Vickery, Sinead Harnett, SG Lewis – Pressure, Pt. II 66. Tep No, SEPPIE, waitwhat – Sippin’ On Feelings 67. Satin Jackets – Hundred Fifty Up 68. rum.gold, Jamila Woods – Waiting For 69. Henry Green – Realign 70. Jacquees, Chris Brown – Put In Work
71. SOMI – What You Waiting For 72. Thundercat – Funny Thing 73. Eric Nam – Paradise 74. Murda Beatz, Polo G, Ty Dolla $ign – DOORS UNLOCKED 75. Izzy Bizu – Tough Pill 76. Adventure Club, Squired, Dia Frampton – High Like This 67. Sasha Sloan – Lie 78. Dan DeCristofaro, Bianca Sings – Give Me Your Love 79. Smino, Monte Booker, The Drums – Backstage Pass 70. Jordan Rakei – Borderline
81. Chloe x Halle – Ungodly Hour 82. Ta-ku, Panama – Cruel 83. Calvin Harris, The Weeknd – Over Now 84. Disclosure, Kehlani, Syd – Birthday 85. IU, SUGA – eight 86. JUNNY – By My Side 87. Jackson Wang – Pretty Please 88. Omar Apollo – Kamikaze 89. Smoke DZA, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T., Girl Talk – Santos Party House 90. John K – Best of Me
91. TOMORROW X TOGETHER – Blue Hour 92. Monsta X – MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT 93. Michael Joon – One of a Kind 94. KALLITECHNIS, J. Robb – I don’t (J. Robb Remix) 95. Seori – Fairy Tale 96. fromis_9 – Feel Good (SECRET CODE) 97. Zedd, Griff – Inside Out 98. RAC, Robotaki, Danny Dwyer – MIA – Robotaki Remix 99. DPR IAN – So Beautiful 100. Agust D – Moonlight
The pandemic has left many SF and Bay Area restaurants struggling to make ends meet at this time. It may also be considered one of the riskiest times to kick off a new establishment, but some are still doing it and taking their chances with takeout or outdoor dining when it returns. Junya Watanabe isn’t a new chef by any means, but you may have known about him from his past life (at least we do!) Before taking on the restaurant industry and being the owner of the San Diego chain, RakiRaki Ramen and Tsukemen, Watanabe was famous for his designs in fashion.
His new shop “RakiRaki Ramen by Junya Watanabe” should have opened this past November 25th and will be the first Bay Area spot to serve mochi ramen noodles. What makes mochi ramen noodles so special? They’re extra chewy because of the mochi powder added to the dough!
Even though I’ve been leaning on some of my favorite locals during the quarantine, I’m also trying my fair share of new restaurants and places I never got around to. Whether it’s takeout or when regular dining opens up, we can’t wait to try it.
We were first [introduced] to Lucy Sparrow’s work a couple years ago when she created an entirely felt made supermarket. Since that time, I wondered if I’d ever come across her work again and here we are. Her latest creation takes us to The Bourdon Street Chemist, a fully stocked woolen pharmacy. In addition to being a drugstore, we also get a glimpse for a surgical unit that has been built out.
To be honest, it gives me some creepy vibes, but the attention to detail here is astounding. Every single piece that has been included was hand stitched by Sparrow herself.
What We’re Watching: Shawn Mendes Live in Concert (Netflix)
We’re starting our weekend a little early today because we’re feeling under the weather. As I wrap up my work day, instead of just having a Shawn Mendes playlist going on in the background, I’ve got his concert special instead! Some of you may know that I decided last minute to attend his tour stop in the Bay Area last year and it was incredible. It’s funny; I always go into concerts thinking that I’m going to have an okay time, but once it starts I am very much invested into my time there. Since his latest album came out, I’ve been feeling lukewarm about it. In fact, if you’ve read the Pitchfork review on it, I share similar sentiments. Watching this live show of his last album has reminded me of some better times.
What We’re Listening To: Taylor Swift – Evermore
What did we do to deserve two Taylor Swift albums in one year? Like everyone else this weekend, I’m also tuning into the sister album of Folklore and looking forward to it. I tend to consider myself a moderate Taylor Swift fan. I listen to the tracks, have some favorites, even attended two concerts of hers, but I’m not the fan that waits at midnight to watch the release go down. That’s reserved for BTS. She’s debuting a bit of a different sound with these last two, but at the same time, I’m intrigued. The pandemic is really sparking this interesting wave of creativity in people and it’s amazing what we can accomplish when we’ve slowed down.
Don’t ask me when I’m going to stop buying lounge wear because I honestly do not know. You would have thought we’d gotten this all out of our systems after month three of the pandemic, but obviously not. In my defense, I don’t own navy joggers yet and this is a great price!
Since the forecast is showing us a cold weekend, I really wanted to make the most of my time indoors. I haven’t actually ever made a soup before so this will be a new venture for me, but look at how beautiful this looks? It’s also so nice to have something as simple as this, but hearty enough with tortellinis mixed in.
I know this isn’t the post you thought you’d be seeing. Quite frankly, it would be irresponsible to host a holiday party in 2020. Like many of you, I too, am disappointed. Our company holiday parties have typically been the event that we looked forward to the most. It was also the best opportunity to get dressed up and celebrate a hard working year. Now with the pandemic year, it’s hard to know if we’ll ever have another holiday party again. Though you may not have one to attend this year (I sincerely hope you don’t) that doesn’t mean that you can’t celebrate in your own way. Get dressed up. Buy that new dress if you want. Use it this year to make yourself feel good or save it for your next party when the world is safer. Despite the circumstances, retailers are still putting out pieces and we’re still going to share our favorites.
Around the holidays, I’m generally not someone who has the Christmas music blasting around the house. For some reason, this was never my family’s style so over the years, I would say I listen to a moderate amount. I gravitate towards Ariana Grande’s Christmas themed songs rather than dabble in the classics. When I watched BTS perform at ABC’s singalong special, I was disappointed that their rendition of “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” was cut short. It wasn’t even the length of a full song! In some ways, I was disappointed that their time on their beautiful holiday set was used so briefly.
Last night, the guys surprised us with a holiday remix of “Dynamite!” Not only was the song an official release, but BTS also sang along with the song on the same holiday set as they shot on before.
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