A week ago, I was in France; 7,364 km away and across the ocean in what seemed like a fever dream, fully dressed in CHANEL.

I thought I was prepared for parenthood. I read books, followed Instagram accounts and bought things that online reviews told me to (luckily the secondhand market is bursting at the seams with gently-used baby gear awaiting new owners). But no amount of anxiety-fueled research could really prepare me.

Some time at the end of last year, my three-hundred-and-something day streak on Duolingo was ruined (I was being lazy, I’ll admit), prompting me to delete the app from my phone out of sheer frustration. As a result, I didn’t practice any Mandarin until COVID-19 turned the world upside down and suddenly everyone who was privileged enough to stay home started competing in the Productivity Olympics. Fast forward to a few months later where I’ve once again fallen off the path leading to the future version of me that’s completely fluent in Mandarin (at least she exists in a parallel universe).

Last year in December, I lay wide awake at 4am for hours thinking about a video idea that just wouldn't leave me alone. So I got up, wrote everything down, and sent out a few e-mails to some people who I thought could help manifest my ideas into a .mp4 file. And this is that .mp4 file.

I recently discovered Moon Lists – a selection of questions designed to help you look back on a timeframe of your choice. This practice for me has been very cathartic, to say the least. As someone who enjoys setting goals and working towards the future, it’s also important to reflect and look back at what steps you’ve taken to get here.

A few weeks ago when Eric and I were in New York for New Classics‘ biannual buying trip, we had the rare opportunity to intimately preview Chanel’s latest Haute Couture and Métiers D’Art collections. It was almost overwhelming to be surrounded by thousands of hours of craftsmanship — each detail purposefully thought out and manifested into garments that you could only dream up. While I won’t ramble on too much about the collections, here’s a snippet of my experience as captured on my Contax T2. A huge thanks to Chanel for having us. And in case you missed it, you can watch our New York vlog over on Youtube.

Is blogging still relevant in 2020?” This is a thought that goes through every blogger-turn-influencer’s mind as our blogs slowly decay away on the internet and become nothing more than fodder for the Internet Archive whenever we’re feeling nostalgic in ten years. I, in particular, have been thinking about this question a lot for the past year. And although I have more or less abandoned this blog like many who have transitioned over to Instagram, I’ve been trying to think of ways I can reconnect with my internet roots and where it all really started for me— blogs.

This past weekend, I found myself in a very fancy and very private New York members only club which, I think it’s safe to say, was a first for me. I had the pleasure of attending Gucci’s launch party on Saturday for their new lipstick collection – the first debut from a new Gucci Makeup line by Alessandro Michele that celebrates unabashed authenticity, perfect imperfections, and a come-as-you-are ethos. 

There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction you feel when you’ve found that perfect white tee. I’ve searched long and hard, and at last, it’s in my closet (right where it belongs, if I might add). I know most people might find paying over $100 for a t-shirt quite ridiculous, but there is a very noticeable difference in both quality, fit and comfort when you invest in basics like this. And an added bonus? You won’t have to buy a new one in a few weeks because this t-shirt isn’t built to fall apart.

If you’re wondering, yes, this title’s post is a Motion City Soundtrack song. It’s also relevant to what I want to talk about in this post – the freaking future (and how I survived my own after I graduated).