Of the moment // 12.4.15
One of the reasons why I blog is simply to have the space to write: getting things “on paper” helps me to process my feelings and organize my thoughts. I also love having a record of my life over the past few years: a place that holds all of my stories, my photos, the ups and downs of travel. But sometimes, I also just want to remember and share the little things that brought me day-to-day joy. Every Friday, I’ll give you a peek into the book I currently can’t put down, a great restaurant discovery, a fun new product or an inspiring quote: a few things that I think you might enjoy before we all take off into the glory that is the weekend! 
First of all: totally didn’t mean to take such a hiatus from the blog! I basically came back from South Africa, spent three days furiously catching up on things in the office, flew to Sacramento for the weekend and came down with a bad cold, came back to New York City on a red-eye–and then thoroughly enjoyed four and a half days in Brooklyn without anything to do. That said: I did finish up a video of South Africa, I wrote a piece for Afar and I ordered my New Year’s cards from Artifact Uprising. Small victories!
Reads
I’m currently working my way through The Mountain Shadow, the follow-up to Shantaram. I read Shantaram earlier this year, and absolutely loved it. The sequel isn’t quite as engaging–are they ever?–but it’s a nice long book that has been giving me something to read on the train every morning.
Looks
Seriously: nothing better than all black everything in the winter. Especially loving this chunky black sweater from Everlane!
Eats
We had our very first guests over for dinner! Kate and Austin (of wedding video fame) and Prince (of Instagram fame) came over for homemade ravioli, garlic bread and Beaujolais. Confession: although the ravioli were homemade…I didn’t make them! When I was home in Sacramento, my parents made 30 dozen beef-spinach-parmesan raviolis with Nani Ag’s recipe. They’re SO delicious–and they freeze really well, so I always try to bring a few bags back with me. Easiest dinner party ever! We even FaceTimed my parents in so that they could see how much everyone was enjoying their handiwork.
Fixed Life Envy
Our apartment is slowly but surely coming together: I splurged on this handwoven lumbar pillow from The Citizenry for a vibrant pop of color that would brighten up our all-white bedding from Parachute, as well as accent our wooden side tables. It’s so nice to come home to this!
Words
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
This weekend, we’re going to San Juan, Puerto Rico! I realized that I only needed one more flight to get a bunch of JetBlue miles for 2015–so we booked a cheap flight and used HotelTonight to get a great deal at the Condado Vanderbilt. Yay surf and sunshine!
