upcoming travels, the real real finds and working less

The start of this month has been a whirlwind but I’m hoping things start to slow down, especially as I head to Amsterdam and London (which I’m doing a Seen Library gathering in!!!) for summer travels. The past couple weeks have been full of celebrations and happenings — my daughter’s first birthday and planning my own that’s coming up, weddings and taking out-of-town family around LA. Below I’m sharing what’s been on my mind through it all, including the vintage finds I have my eyes on, Seen Library happenings and spots I’ve been frequenting.

1. The new David Geffen Galleries at LACMA, specifically the Do Ho Suh installation. Do Ho Suh is known for his detailed and intricate fabric architecture and one of my favorite artists. I saw his work at LACMA in 2021 and was excited to see more five years later.

2. The Lion Women of Tehran, the book I’m currently reading.

3. The James Pant (on sale now until June 14!) which recently launched in an ivory and mocha and has been a needed change from the black ones I constantly wear. A year later after giving birth, I still find myself reaching for postpartum-friendly pieces that I feel comfortable and at ease in and these pants are one of the few in that rotation.

4. Nithya Raman securing the second spot in the LA mayor race.

5. My beautiful custom journal from Mira Kurumi that I take with me everywhere I go. I keep separate mini notebooks within the leather case to jot down different things — to do lists, random thoughts and ideas, etc.

6. The Gui Hua Latte at Mandarin Coffee Stand.

7. I recently partnered with Marco Bicego, whose pieces are hand-engraved, giving each piece depth and beautiful imperfection. In a time when so much of what we do is online, I appreciate things that are made and done by hand with care and intention, which is my approach with Seen Library — handwrapping and handwriting the descriptions of the book to encourage things to be touch and felt in person.

8. How Books Became Fashion’s Favourite Flex on Business of Fashion, which mentioned a recent Seen Library event. It said: Each attendee had the opportunity to pick a book from a curated selection of female empowerment stories and discuss their choice with other attendees. Conversations acted as an “olive branch to get deeper,” …opening up conversations about everything from immigration stories to heartbreak to motherhood.

9. Speaking of Seen Library, the book giving centered around motherhood that I hosted at JULIET in Culver City. It was truly so special that I think I may have to make it into an ongoing series.

10. The Rare Beauty Brow Gel that I recently got gifted (and that you can get for free with orders of over $50 on Bahay Kubo as part of their recent collaboration). I’m impressed with how my too straight of brows actually hold in place throughout the day.

11. This vintage Dior lace-trim slip that I can’t stop wearing. I ordered it from TheRealReal and it was too big but brought it to my tailor to get it to fit. Some other summer pieces I have my eyes on: Dior sheer silk skirt, Chanel silk ivory trousers, Doen sheer slip dress, Dries Van Noten silk midi dress, Prada top handle bag

12. Seoul, South Korea!!! I recently booked a flight for a friend’s birthday and am so excited to explore this city and country I’ve never been to before. If you have any good recommendations for food, shopping and art and architecture, please send them my way!

13. My year of working less, a piece I wrote back in 2022 and needed to revisit. As I mentioned in my last monthly round up, I have been spread so thin. While I have a bit of scarcity mindset at the moment with caring for a new baby and am scared of letting go of new clients and saying no to new opportunities, I know what I need to do is take on less and reduce the noise going on in my life. Naively, I never thought the “motherhood penalty” would affect me, but I see now how hard it is to keep the same pace as I once had in work if I still want to keep my sanity and also be present with my baby.

14. It’s no secret I’m a big fan of Olivia Rodrigo. She is who I wish I was able to listen to growing up in my teenage years, through the breakups and jealousy and insecurities. I love that she seemingly is trying to go her own path with her pop career compared to other artists at the moment and is outspoken about important issues of our time. I listened to this podcast interview with Olivia Rodrigo and had so much more respect for her as an artist, but also as a person.

I actually got emotional listening to the part where the hosts asked Olivia what in her life has made her feel comfortable being so outspoken, given that other celebrities with that level of fame tend to shy away from it. She replies that growing up, her parents never made her feel like she was too much and encouraged her to speak her mind and listened to her, never making her feel stupid or small because of it.

Update: her new album just came out and I’ve been listening to it since — begged and what’s wrong with me are current favorites so far x

Thank you Marco Bicego for sponsoring a portion of this post <3

my year of working less

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November 15, 2022

“We operate in a society that rewards production and punishes rest. Worst, we think that we have to earn our rest. We feel good when we're productive, working towards something, and guilty when we aren't…” —Sheila Lam for How to be a Woman on the internet

what happens to mothers and daughters?

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Jun 9

I wrote this in my notes app when my daughter was 9 months old and it’s been sitting in there since. I didn’t know if I’d ever share this and if I did plan to share it, I told myself it would be when these thoughts were fully formed and clear. I realize now that my thoughts won’t be fully formed and clear for a while.

girlbossing, reading slumps and chic black sandals

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May 18

Since the beginning of this year, it feels like things have been nonstop. Juggling new motherhood, running Seen Library, developing my collection with ERA, working with my social media clients and doing content creation… all while trying to spend time with my loved ones, move my body and do mundane things like, I don’t know, eat and shower, has been