Small Pleasures of June

It’s a rare late-night send! I’ve been going to bed late lately because I’ve been watching all the matches. June is over. It’s World Cup season. My summer reading queue is great. I’m still watching edits of the Knicks game. A heat wave is coming.

Here’s everything that brought me joy this month. As always, please tell me about your month, too.

• Going to Soft Hours Tea House: Beautiful tea house on Hester St. They were kind enough to invite me to enjoy some tea before they opened to the public. The space itself is beautiful and the tea was outstanding!! It was a hot morning, so she suggested an iced Anxi Iron Goddess. It was an oolong tea with notes of lychee, toasted grain, and plum blossom. Every tea is paired with a confectionary, so she paired it with red bean chestnut yokan.

• Date Night at The Met: And followed by a burger at JG Melon. In all the years I’ve been here, I’ve never been to The Met on a Friday night. The Raphael exhibition was magical. Going to museums makes me hungry, so we went to JG Melon after. It was my first time going.

• Reading East of Eden: Omg! I’m so glad I’m reading it. When I first met Aaron almost 9 years ago, he told me to read it and I am just now getting to it. I’m not even halfway done yet, but I am savoring it and reading a little bit of it every day. I’m also reading this month’s World of Interiors issue, Élisabeth by Éric Rohmer, and Always Have Enough by Maria Melchor.

• Waking up to an ocean view: This did wonders for me on vacation. Turns out, a panoramic view of the ocean can HEAL YOU. I need another trip to look forward to now.

• Trying a new sunscreen for the summer: I’ve been using Supergoop! for years, but I decided to give Innisfree a try this month and I’m glad I did. It’s everything I could want in a sunscreen. But I also still have Shishiedo on my wish list..

• Making deliciously silky perfect smoothies: I can’t stop!! I’ve had my Vitamix for a long time, but it’s like I’m finally using it the way it’s intended! The other month, I was complaining about how there’s no good smoothie/juice shop in my neighborhood and how they never taste the same when I make them at home, but I’ve finally cracked it. Simple is better.

• Testing fancy pillowcases: This has been a fun experiment all month. I’ve been trying Verlee’s Pillowcase Sampler and I’ve finally made my decision on which one I want: the percale! Love the idea of testing bedding via pillowcase samples.

• Doing a reading for the first time: I read a short essay at my friend Grace Ann Leadbeater’s event for her chapbook, Spools of Thread, which she published with Choo Choo Press! I talked about the boxes we hold our special things in, love letters exchange between my parents in 1994, and baby teeth. I was so nervous to do it but I’m so so so happy I did it.

• Wearing my Plasticana Sandana Jelly Sandals: These are getting me through summer, alongside my trusty Camper Sandals. <3

• Watching Widow’s Bay: Obsessed with the way horror and comedy come together in this show. Go watch it!!!

P.S. Congrats to this month’s giveaway winner <3 Shipping out the book Metropolitan Places, as well as some stationery. <3

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