What I Enjoyed In June
Bits and pieces of music, movie, and other things I liked
I’m starting a semi-regular, bite-sized update on the ritualistic pleasures that I’ve been indulging in. This includes, music, home goods, fashion, food, shows, books, etc. I’m sharing these things to hopefully share joy with you 💞
Music: Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain (2024)
For years, I took 3-hour long baths with Raveena on repeat. Raveena like a musical haven during my healing era. Her music made me feel safe, romantic, and juicy. When the new album came out, I immediately tuned in. For reasons unrelated to being pregnant (but probably related to being pregnant unconsciously), Baby Mama is one of my favorite tracks. I daydreamed about bringing my baby (or just hiring a babysitter) to catch Raveena live and meditate with the audience one day.
Movie: Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Romcom is my fav genre of movies. But none of my favorite movies is a romcom. I just like the quotidian nature and the easiness of the genre itself. Romcom never really challenges me, which makes it the perfect source of relaxation and contentment. The plot is usually predictable, therefore, satisfying: A meets B. A and B get a little awkward (I giggle). A and B fall in love. A and B argue and might never see each other again (during which I’d play an armchair psychologists and diagnose the characters). A and B make up and the world is beautiful and good again.
I saw Always Be My Maybe when it came out in 2019. But my partner hasn’t seen it, and so we took up Netflix’s suggestion to watch this on a weeknight. Watching it for the second time while sitting next to my partner, who is Chinese, I realized this movie meant more to me than what the plot conveyed. School-aged friends that turn to adult romance is a plot that I have only seen portrayed by beautiful blonde-hair blue-eyed people on the big screen. Ali Wong and Randall Park aren’t the stereotypical Asians who are model minorities who’d do your math homework: they’re flawed, funny, creative, sexual, and more. This movie felt like a validation of my humanity in America.
TV Show: One Day (2024)
Continuing my love for romcom, I binge watched One Day a couple of weeks ago. It’s not a romcom but that’s what Netflix categorized it as so I spent the first few episodes waiting for something funny to happen. It wasn’t funny. It was cute tho. This show features an unlikely pair: Everyone crushed on Dexter’s good looks while Emma is a bookish aspiring writer who hangs out with a few close friends. I didn’t understand their attraction in the first episode. But maybe college party attractions didn’t need to make sense; hormones, alcohol, and existential questions drove most of the romantic interests I had in my early 20s. Anyway, One Day got me so good. I went from “i’m giving up on this bullshit” to “how dare the writers end the show”. Watch it.
Fashion: Bags bags bags bags
Because nothing fits me anymore, I’ve been rotating between an olive version and a grey version of this jumpsuit. I haven’t really given into pregnancy fashion because I fooled myself into believing that 9-10 months aren’t long enough to warrant a wardrobe update. At month 7, I was itching to look cute. I didn’t want to look like a beige clown no more. So I started looking at bags. I thought a bedazzled bag would rescue even the flattest fit. But I wasn’t necessarily looking for a vintage look:
I poked around the internet more, mainly searching on The Real Real hoping to score a vintage bag. I found a Fendi ponyhair shoulder bag that looked available but was actually sold. Do you ever feel a little proud when you find a bug on a website? I did when I found this bug on TRR. I like the Fendi so much that I started searching for it on other second hand sites like Poshmark and eBay. No luck. I switched gears and was reminded that Staud had cute bags (like the Moreau and this one). And then I spotted the Tommy Beaded bag, which is totally the vibe I was looking for - beaded bag with designs that don’t scream 70’s prom:
I ended up getting the black and silver zebra beaded one from Saks 5th Avenue because they had a promotion. Even with the new bling, I am sad to confirm that I still look like a beige ass clown. But it doesn’t matter because I feel different~ I like having a little purse. The impracticality of a small beaded bag with feels a indulgent especially because of my imminent status as a parent. I’ll savor this moment for as long as I can.
But things took a turn quickly. A week after using the Tommy, I realized that this shoulder bag actually was not gonna stay on my shoulders. The firm structure of the bag requires you to squeeze onto it with your inner arm for it to stay up. Every time I challenge the gravity of this bag, it gives in and falls onto the ground. But I wasn’t going to give up on the bedazzled pouch. To remedy this, I convinced myself that I just needed another bag. Ideally, a comfy crossbody bag that will hold a mini fan, a couple of protein bars, keys, lotion, hand sanitizer, and a few more things for me.
I was going to get the pouch from Uniqlo when I was in Japan last year. But because everyone and their parents have it, I thought I’d save some money and get a knock off from Temu. But then I remembered that Temu stole people’s information. Between saving money and honoring my privacy, I felt tired. Not pregnancy kind of tired, but like a kind of capitalism induced tired. Why does shopping have to be so complicated?
Anyway, I read that Viv Chen was wearing a BAGGU crescent bag, so I got influenced and went to their website. Look! A new collab! It’s weird! It’s cyber~~~ It’s cute! It’s Collina Strada! It gave me an option to not sell my data! Finally. An exhale. The search is over. I bought the crescent bag in Cream Chrysanthemum, subtly hoping the bag would give me the same healing vibes that a pot of hot chrysanthemum tea gives me.
