San Francisco, 11/10/25
Happy holiday weekend! Tis the season for xmas shopping and supporting your favorite local small businesses. 🛍️💛
This month I spent a lot of time making memories with the people I love — celebrating birthdays, hosting potlucks, and practicing gratitude. And I'm excited for the festivities to continue into December.
Speaking of potlucks, here are two recipes I used that were huge hits: 1) fig and feta phyllo bites (I replaced the feta with goat cheese to give it a creamier oomph), and 2) pumpkin cheesecake. Send me a pic if you end up making these! 🥧📸
✍️ FROM THE BLOG
33 Lessons from 33 Years 🌱 This month I turned 33. I took a week to reflect and gather the lessons I’ve learned over the past year+ into a few bite-sized nuggets of wisdom.
→ Check out the blog here.Reflection on My Creative Sabbatical 🧠 Last year I chatted with my former colleague Courtney Kaplan on her interview series TBD: Evolution or Revolution about the creative sabbatical I took three years ago, when I left my high-paying tech job to spend a year as a full-time artist.
→ Check out the interview here.
✨ 5 THINGS INSPIRING ME
1. ARTIST: Felicia Chiao
Felicia is a Taiwanese-American artist and illustrator based in San Francisco. She often showcases her work at Giant Robot Store in LA, but this month she released a collection of hand-painted pieces on Heath Ceramics at their SF shop — which I was lucky to stumble upon during my recent trip.
Check out her work here.
2. MOVIE: Wicked for Good
The cinematography, set design, storyline, and chemistry between the cast, especially Ariana and Cynthia, is too beautiful to miss. There’s also a lot of fun BTS content floating around like this one of Ariana running on the set of Wonderful and this one of Glinda and Elphaba reflecting on the closet scene.
Check out the trailer here.
3. PODCAST: Ariana Grande with Amy Poehler
Speaking of Wicked, Ariana went on Amy Poehler’s Good Time podcast - one of my top listens this year. They talked about her experience filming Wicked, her wide-ranging career across Broadway, pop music, and acting, and how comedy shaped her childhood and her love for performing.
Check out the episode here.
4. SMALL BIZ: Highlow Giftshop
Highlow Studio is an adorable gift shop in my neighborhood Torrance, CA. The shop is owned by designer, Sonya Gallardo, who has a background in art, textile design, and jewelry. She carefully curates the shop with adorable products including pantry staples to home goods.
Check out the shop here.
5. VIDEO: Why did the world get so ugly?
I first clicked on this video because the title made me think it was going to be about society or politics. Instead, it’s about a guy walking around London pointing out the differences between modern and traditional architecture and industrial design. It really makes you think about how much our capitalist world prioritizes efficiency over craft.
Check out the video here.
