Stacey Nguyen 
When I worked in downtown Oakland in college, I’d occasionally return to my quaint Berkeley studio with a huge plastic bag of jujubes from Chinatown. I never really ate jujubes growing up (we were really more of a longan family), but I decided to pick some up while buying banh cuốn rice roll sheets during … Read more
I am fond of the idea of being a chic rose girl, but unfortunately, I’m seldom a rose girl in practice, especially when it comes to fragrance. In my mind, a rose girl effortlessly spritzes on a rose perfume and a rosewater facial spray before she slips into a crisp poplin wrap dress to grace … Read more
Now that I’m 29, one hard truth that I’ve come to accept about myself is that I’m a fairweather outdoor gardener. Unless I’m cleaning up our already established rose bushes, I water and attend to my outdoor plants based on whim. And when you live in the sweltering and bone-dry heat of the Central Valley, … Read more
I spent most of July pummeled by feelings of anxiety and dread, so I swiftly fell down a cozy culinary mysteries and Is It Cake? rabbit hole when in search of some much-needed comfort. (Translation: I pretty much scrapped my plans to read all of Jane Austen this summer.) These days, when I’m not watching … Read more
I am a neurotically detail-oriented Virgo daughter of a must-have-things-visually-orderly Libra mother, so, of course, against the advice of every proper rose planting guide out there, I spent a few hours pruning our unwieldy and crispy rose bushes this past warm June weekend. While most of my effort went towards deadheading spent blooms, I also … Read more
In proper Swiftie fashion, I have been in a lavender haze lately. That’s to say, the English lavender I’ve been harvesting from the garden has had quite the soporific effect on me as a tea. Or maybe the trials and tribulations of adulthood have just left me in a perpetual state of drowsiness over the … Read more
I think I have sufficiently established that I possess very little skill when it comes to the culinary arts. That said, I do enjoy infusing whatever rudimentary meals I cook with a generous amount of flavor. One lovely flavor trifecta that always hits the spot for me is chili peppers, fish sauce, and Thai basil … Read more
I took the day off today, and my boss was none too pleased. (And, for the record, I’m my own boss.) But given the beautiful weather, I decided that it was worth catching up with work over the weekend if need be. The temperatures have been tepid, if not somewhat cool, in the Central Valley … Read more
It’s been a while since I’ve done book reviews here, but I’m proud to say that I’ve been keeping up with reading this past year! I post most of my mini reviews on Instagram (@howdyfronds – cheugy, I know), but I wanted to share a few of my favorite recent reads on this blog. Without … Read more
On slow workday afternoons when I crave some semblance of human interaction, I wander around The Home Depot. A few years ago, you’d probably find me sauntering about in the indoor plant section, but my interest in houseplants has dramatically waned, as I’ve collected (and utterly destroyed) every big-box indoor plant I possibly could over … Read more
