12.2024
As soon as Thanksgiving rolls around, the year is over in my mind. The days feel like minutes running down and December is a throwaway month. That is not to say it is a month worth putting in a bin. Quite the opposite. December is a month worth treasuring. Where the days are short but surreal. Where the final days of “real life” pass by in a blur of holiday greetings and out of office notifications. And where shopping turns into a chore, a running list of tasks that will eventually be packed up into a large checked bag (or two) and loaded onto a plane.
Twas a heavily programmed year. Celebrated a lot of people I love. Felt the hug of a community. Looked at a lot of art, nourished with culture and education and discourse. Ate well. Really well, and all over the world. Remarkably few restaurant meals in New York. Spent a silly amount of time sweating on the 1 train, whether in coats in the winter, or in the no-AC cars in the summer. Revisited some of my favorite cities with cherished memories. And experienced new places with new people, making new memories.
30 flights, 20 airports, 10 countries. And made it back to my anchor to finish one year, and to begin the next.
This month came in three parts. Wrapping up New York, a gleeful week in Korea, and the finally, the home that heals.
The month started off with final emails sent and a detailed coverage document prepped for an extended leave. A few days spent running around the city, final errands and final meet ups and, well actual finals, to wrap up my time in this hemisphere for the year, and then off to the airport.
THE FINAL DAYS
December days may be short, but when the skies are clear and the sun is out, that 3pm golden hour hits hard. And as the uptown population dwindled like the leaves on the trees, a certain peace blankets Morningside Heights.
It’s enough to inspire a detour, to sit down for coffee and a treat at Hungarian Pastry Shop, and to peruse the upstairs stacks at Book Culture. Cosplaying as a student.
Holiday shopping this year was frenetic. Popping in and out of gift shops. Brief admiration for spirited decor. Eyeballing the sizes and weights of things to stuff into a suitcase.
Still made some time to enjoy the city though. A day in Brooklyn. Lunch at Rucola. Stopped by Renegade Craft in Gowanus. Wandered the pop ups and galleries and shops in DUMBO. Said goodbye to the city, until next year.
As soon as I take that first step into JFK, time no longer exists. I am existing in the minutes outside of days. Wandering terminals, eating questionable bites in lounges as I make my way around the world.
This time, a stopover in one of my least favorite airports, CDG, but all could be forgiven with the weeks of leisurely travel ahead. A week in Seoul, followed by three weeks in Taipei for a well rounded month in Asia.
finally, back in asia
Korea was perfect. Unstable government aside, the weather was beautiful. The Christmas decorations were up. The cafes were cafe-ing. The salons were salon-ing. The credit cards got a lot use. The arm muscles got a lot of exercise too, carrying bags upon bags accumulated throughout the day. A girls trip if there ever was one.
Shopping in Korea is elite. The dopamine rush that is so addicting any budget is so easily, so quickly forgotten.
Some new obsessions: fragrance shopping. Pesade offered some unique perfumes and home fragrances, layered with depth in the bottom notes. Tamburins is popular for a reason, and I gave into the packaging. Hetras was alarmingly affordable and had a breadth of home fragrances. And then Nonfiction, great products, yes. Lots of light, floral scents with good longevity. But where they really won was the gifting. Dear god. Bought 2 things and was gifted 10. Packaged up quite literally with a bow and card. Happy very early birthday to me, I guess.
Most memorable stop: Haus Dosan. Started at the top and collected our prizes on each level. Two perfumes from Tamburins. A new pair of sunnies from Gentle Monster. And then the most entertaining cafe stop with teeny croissants and a jiggly jello heirloom tomato with heavy main character energy. It’s art.
the final haul
Pesade // Hetras // Tamburins // Gentle Monster // Nonfiction // ALAND // Blossom H // Matin Kim // Lotte Duty Free
10 pieces of clothing / 4 perfumes / 3 home fragrances / 1 pair of sunglasses / 16 skincare products / surprisingly, no bag
Incheon Airport is way too big. The duty free pick up station operated like a well-oiled machine. Truly, Korea just eliminates any and all barriers to shopping. The lounges had lines that looked like Vegas buffets. But the food was definitely good. As for Korean Airlines default meals? Let’s just say the highlight was the gochujang mini toothpaste.
current obsessions
KOREAN STYLE MANICURES
The 3D gel really does deplete my nail beds but they are too pretty. Pretty enough to change my perspective on manicures (no need for symmetry, nor painting in the lines). I fear this may be a long term obsession.
TAIWAN EXCLUSIVE MUJI PRODUCTS
It always hits but damn this season it is hitting a little extra. Guava tea. Red oolong biscuits. Guava beer. Ruby black tea chocolate gelato. I mean.
MILLE-FEUILLE EGG TARTS
The latest pastry craze in Taipei. More custardy and creamy than the typical ones you’d find here. These skew a little more Portuguese than Hong Kong, and the added crunch of the layers (which feel more crispy like phyllo than the buttery lamination of a croissant). And, like all good things in East Asia, comes in many flavors.
culture fix
Long haul flights mean a lot of time for airplane movies. Catching up on all the movies I didn’t get to this year. And leaning into old comforts. But this month, for once, I actually made it to a theater. For Wicked, because, I mean, it’s this year’s global cultural tentpole.
ART //
Went out of my way to go up to the Met to see Tong Yang-Tze’s Dialogue. A magnificent calligraphy work.
And then in Korea, with all that shopping, only had time for one museum so made it the Leeum for the beautiful ceramics.
NEW FIND
EAST FORK // A surprise addition to the lovely block of Atlantic Ave with beautiful homeware. It is so special to be able to admire the chef-loved products in a dedicated space.
TSUTAYA NEIHU // A new mall added to the complex by Miramar in Neihu, which is long over it’s early year buzz. This mall, like the others, was a bit sleepy on a weekday. But the crown jewel of Tsutaya upstairs, with a beautiful lounge and reading space with ample natural light made for a beautiful sanctuary on a rainy day.
good bites
I mean, any month spent in Asia means the average quality of meals goes way up.
KOREA //
CU hauls. Obligatory pouch poured iced coffees.
Hotel breakfast at Hotel28: they do a beautiful traditional Korean and Western style spread. But perhaps the best part was the self serve grapes and cherries in the fruit station. Luxurious.
Comfort meals: department store katsu lunch. Steak rice at Solsot (worth the hype). Kimchijiggae before the snow.
Treats: salt bread from jayeondo (worth the line), a final aesthetic cafe stop at EERO.
TAIWAN //
Top Row: walk in dumpling fix at King Ping Tea Restaurant, comforting bing at Zhong Fu Yuan, brunch at Shaori Cafe, neighborhood dinner at 麵匡匡 Ramen,
Middle Row: fancy bbq dinner at Kanpai Classic Yakiniku, a traditional meal at Chi Chia Chuang (a chicken restaurant that goes all in on the theme, complete with complementary flan)
Bottom Row: basement hot pot with fresh cut noodles at 荖子鍋plus, easy lunch at Kura, a very traditional post lunch sweet treat at 綠豆蒜製研所
Sofreh Cafe is sure to be a new neighborhood favorite back in Brooklyn.
Taiwan cafes are way more homey after my time in Korea but honestly, they still kinda slap. Heavy on the fun drinks, lighter on the breadth of pastries and ambience. And of course, many more calories consumed in the form of boba.
FINISHING THE YEAR at home
There’s nothing quite like the comfort of returning to a familiar place after a long year. Shedding off layers of stress and anxiety and the walls built up so strong you almost forgot they were there until suddenly the weight you’d gotten so used to was suddenly lifted.
A spontaneous surprise half day trip up to Keelung. It’s been a minute since I’ve danced around this Miaokou night market. Itch, scratched.
I’ve been coming to Songshan and Raohe Night Market my whole life. Passing this temple every time. Often stopping by for a “drive by” prayer. But never once had I stepped in. Who knew it would be this stunning at night.
The final day of the year started at a mountaintop tea shop. Well, not really. It started at a bus stop in Ximen that took us over the mountains and up to Jiufen. Over the hazy view, we walked through the not yet opened “old streets” and followed hazy muscle memory built up over a dozen trips over the decades to actually go to A Mei Teahouse for the very first time. Touristy, but it serves its purpose.
Back in the city, a long way through the underground malls over for a lovely last lunch in Taipei Main at a tried and true favorite. Then ran back home home. A final dinner with family in the old neighborhood. Then to sit in a living room with more family. And then snuck out to sit with some cool kids at a weirdly homey bar on its last night, counting down the last moments of 2024.
camera roll
nbhd lunch
the cutest diarama
fruit shop nostalgia
obligatory butterfield ues
takeaway coffee vibe
nostalgic beer branding
cutie library castle
final landing
home sweet home