What I love about wicker baskets is that they’re somehow both down-to-earth and fanciful. On the one hand, they have a humble texture that reveals its age with time. But on the other hand, doesn’t it feel kind of whimsical and romantic to use a woven basket when you could simply toss your stuff into ... Read more

I remember the good old days when I’d buy a plant and just let it sit in its garish, shiny plastic nursery pot on a cheap plastic saucer. After collecting plants for 5 years, I’ve been more keen on treating plant pots as an integral part of my home decor. Of course, with me being ... Read more

One of my biggest barriers to ever becoming a true minimalist is my love for hoarding physical media. I’m incurably obsessed with secondhand shopping for CDs and DVDs. Holding a tangible CD or DVD case in my hands makes me feel like an archivist of a waning culture. (And when I’m collecting cassette tapes, a ... Read more

It’s that time of year again, when I experience cabin fever from endless rainy days spent inside and begin decluttering with reckless abandon. I’m too attached to my trinkets and tchotchkes to part ways with them right now, but my clothes have been fair game for purging these past few weeks.  Lately, I’ve become fond ... Read more

With the bitter chill in the air and the steady downpour of rain, it certainly doesn’t feel like spring is coming anytime soon to my nook of the Central Valley. But every now and then, I get a glimpse of sunshine that reminds me that the subtle warmth of early spring isn’t too far away. ... Read more

Since moving to the Central Valley, I haven’t observed Tet or Lunar New Year with vibrant community celebrations. Growing up with a huge extended Vietnamese family, I have to admit that I miss the New Year brouhaha — the sound of older relatives cackling as they gamble, the feel of thick red envelopes padded with ... Read more

Flashback to what seems like an entire lifetime ago, I worked as a junior marketer at a stationery e-commerce in my early 20s. While I eventually left that post after a year, it was there where I developed a lifelong appreciation for stationery, especially fancy luxury stationery. There is, admittedly, a lot of frivolity and ... Read more

I’m in a season of my life where I take immense pleasure in — perhaps even love — cooking. Just last week, I scoured my local Indian supermarkets for spices and whipped together a hearty potato chickpea spinach curry and chicken tikka masala. (Thank you, Food with Chetna!) Similar to gardening, preparing ingredients helps me ... Read more

I approach thrifting like a treasure hunt, staying open to all of the wondrous possibilities that the thrift store holds. That said, I do find it useful to go into the store with some kind of mental framework for picking out pieces. It helps me avoid the all-too-common pitfall of hoarding stuff just because it’s ... Read more

At the end of South and West, Joan Didion writes, “The particular flat expanse of the Central Valley comforts my eye…I am easy here in a way that I am not easy in other places.”  The Central Valley is known for being somewhat flat and beige — some might even say dull and bland. But ... Read more

In the early days of the pandemic, I found a knockoff Prada(?) faux leather bag at Goodwill for $4. After a few solid years of use (and many compliments, I might add), a handle ripped off, and I was forced to search for a new neutral-colored leather bag. Cute as it may be, my giant ... Read more