Insta-lately: Summer

Is it really August already?! Summer, come back to me please! But I have to say, it's been so good to me. I think this has been one of the most fulfilling ones in the recent years, not to mention different. It's been one of the whole family together (which is rare these days), detachment, learning... 

Kind of like a little inspiriting retreat of a summer to myself to gear up for a very long school year ahead. My last year in college. Oh, man. 

These couple of weeks, I've felt the most liberated. I've accomplished my job for the summer, which has been nothing short of hectic and fun. You know have a great job when 15 little 6 year-olds sing happy birthday to you and write little cards that say "I love you Miss May." The 6:30am mornings were an enjoyable ritual for me... the first cup of coffee, the view out the window, the quiet world. I ripped through Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn in about 5 days. Read it! I could not put it down - I turned page after page, my heart racing the entire time. It's a thriller, to say the least - wife goes missing, husband is the suspect. Enjoying yummy food is always a must around here, as well as those 3-hour tennis mornings and occasional afternoon workout. 

Next stop, Taipei. I'm so so so excited because I haven't been back in a year! Summer, you're not over yet!

xo.

Spaces.

I was recently skyping with a friend halfway across the world. Halfway through our conversation, as I was probably rambling on about something, he interrupted me and commented on how bare the walls of my room are. How it was just blank and white. This is coming from a guy who surprisingly has an interesting space. He has an impressive display of beer bottles of all brands and sizes that frame his TV in the living room. A poster of the Beatles, Bob Marley, the Scottish flag, and even a ticket for illegal drinking on the street from the police decorate the walls of his home (the ticket belongs to the roommate). A small but soft sofa sits next to the balcony. Other strange and interesting things hang on the walls whose owners have no particular explanation for. A painting of a newborn baby in a palm of a hand hangs adjacent to an anime-looking bloody vampire bride poster. It's unique.

My walls? Nothing. Just some old but pretty wilted roses hanging off a hook by the window. I shrugged at his observation, unable to give an explanation. "I don't live here anymore, I guess," was my answer.

The fact is I've never thought myself as particularly creative when it came to decorating my room. The only time when I remember having a really cool room was in my tween years, when I actually lived in an apartment for more than 3 years. I had the typical "Girls ROCK!" poster, celebrity posters, and a bulletin crammed with personal photos and cut-out words from magazines.

That's the thing, having always lived on the move, it doesn't leave much thought for a thoroughly decked out room. I've never really felt permanent. So a few favorite photos, a couple posters on a mostly-bare wall cuts it for me I guess. Maybe throw a white-board in there.

I definitely admire other people's spaces though - they amaze me. The detail, the craftiness, and personalization. Maybe one day when I truly settle down somewhere, even if it is for less than 3 years, I'll really put my heart into creating a space of my own. Until then - these are some ideas I would definitely consider...

^^Christmas lights, all year round? Yes please!^^

^^A big and comfortable sofa that will withstand just about anything^^

^^I will actually try to recreate this space in the future because books as decoration? Swoon.^^

^^Love the photo wall^^

^^Polaroids=love love love^^

^^I'd grab a book and fall asleep with it between the covers...^^

Now I'm feeling inspired. 

xo

Four quotes.

I love quotes. I will spend hours browsing them and save ones I love and return to them again and again. Here are four inspirational ones I'd like to share for this week...

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Sometimes a quote will just ring so true, especially at a certain moment. One of my favorite quotes will always be this one - I chose it for my senior page in high school. 

Happy mid-week! xo.

12 baskets later...

Naturally our favorite dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong is this very small, very local and age-old one on the second floor of a little street in Wan Chai. It is very local in that on most occasions it's hard to hear yourself speak over the extravagant clink and clank of plates and spoons and the boisterous chatter of Cantonese. Nevertheless, they never fail to serve their dim sum steaming hot and it hits the spot every weekend. 

It is an unspoken tradition every weekend for dim sum to be had. I don't mind it at all. In fact, if I one day in the far-away future have the ability to "yam-cha" ("drink tea") on Sundays, I will be a happy girl. 

^^To the left, yes, it's chicken feet^^

^^To the right, best. spring rolls. ever.^^

And to always end it on a sweet note, Hong Kong steamed sponge cake. My fave.

I'm 21!

It doesn't feel any different. But I'm so excited for what's ahead this year. I'm guessing it will be an important year of growth. So, true to our family style, birthdays are always very food-centric. Tucked away in a classy old hotel in Happy Valley, we celebrated my 21st with the traditional Sichuan spicy hotpot. Sense were blown. 

I only almost numbed my mouth off to the point of no return but I chugged some jasmine tea, just in time. Above pictured is literally translated to English as "Spit chicken", it's delicious (don't worry, there's no actual spit involved! :)

I don't know why but at one point at dinner I got all nostalgic of our time living in Shanghai which seems like lifetimes ago (it was only 5 years ago - I was 16!). Time, will you slow down? Here's to relishing every moment of being 21 and up. It's going to be a good one. 

Cadiz, city of sunshine

We took a little trip to Cadiz. It was one of those care-free and blissfully happy trips that you wished would never end. The beautiful thing was not just the city itself, but how the hours seemed gloriously long and we savored each moment of the sunshine. We wandered the quietly bustling downtown, had a simple light lunch, and hit the beach, where the sun and sand caressed our skin. The water was warm and refreshing. Then, in just our swimsuits, we found a little bar that served delicious mojitos and talked. We left Cadiz, and with radio on music playing 90's American music, we sang along and watched the sun set in the horizon.

Four months.

Four months of taking a leap of faith.

Four months of my mind and tongue take on a third language.

Four months of self-examination.

Four months of learning at least fifty new Spanish words everyday. 

Four months of eating bread at every meal.

Four months of expressing myself in ways I never imagined I could.

Four months of falling in love with culture, diversity and the soft yellow glow of the street lamps by the river.

Four months of the familiar and comforting cup of café con leche. 

Four months of discovering love and a place in a family worlds away from my own. 

Four months of adventure at every turn of the street.

Four months of the beautiful combination of Arab and Christian art. 

Four months of being alone, yet never lonely.

Four months of feeling most at home with those communication between us was a miracle of sorts.

Four months of sitting by the river and sharing life stories.

Four months of good food, always ordered by someone else (because learning to read menus in another language should be a class all on its own). 

Four months of being 20 years old, in Seville, for the first and last time. 

And it all went by in a fleeting moment. 

Top photo taken on my last full day in Spain. Of course it rained. Walking through Sevilla for my "last" time, I said a goodbye to all the places that was my life in those four months. As the sun finally came out in the late afternoon, we stopped by for a cup of coffee in the very first café I went to during my first few days.