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The Beginner Gardener Series: The 3 essential tools for gardening
When I was a beginner gardener, I made the rookie mistake of buying multiple gardening tools that one would use in a traditional garden, including a trowel, transplanter, cultivator, weeding fork, and weeder. Over the last three years, I found that I could replace them all with 3 tools: a trowel, a weeder, and a Korean traditional garden ho called “a homi”. If I...
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Airline Review: Air France Business Class Paris to NY
*I had written this post before Covid-19 upended the travel and airline industry. I hope we can go back to our wanderlust days safely soon. It is unclear how Air France’s offerings will be impacted by the pandemic. On my recent flight from Paris to NY, I was able to try out Air France’s business class on an Airbus A380-800. This model will eventually...
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The Beginner Gardener Series: Mistakes that I made in Year 1-3 of gardening
As I reflect on my last 3 years of gardening, I realize that I made a fair amount of beginner mistakes. Here are some takeaways that I learned to help you prevent the novice pitfalls. Putting seeds into the ground too late. I decided to save money by germinating seeds instead of purchasing nursery plants in my second and third year of gardening. However,...
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The Beginner Gardener Series: How I develop a passion for growing my own food and gardening.
I have been meaning to write about my journey from being a city slicker to a nature lover. I moved to Boston from NYC when I got married several years ago. After a few years of city living in tight quarters, my husband and I decided to move to a suburb north of Boston to start our family. We could finally have a backyard...
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Review: Japan Airlines Sky Suite 787 Business Class from New York to Tokyo
Over the years, I have faithfully flown Japan Airlines whenever I traveled to Japan or any destination in Southeast Asia. JAL has one of the best services of any airline and the cleanest bathroom even after a 14-hour flight. I had opportunities to fly on their business class a few times and have finally sat down to write this review. Value: Above Average Japan...
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A Gastronomic Weekend in Lyon, France
On my quick trip to France, I was enticed to come to Lyon by its gastronomic reputation even among my non-foodie friends. The best way to explore this charming city is with a local guide, and I just happen to have one in the family. My cousin, NT, planned our never-ending walk around town to explore Lyon in 1.5 days, which turned out to...
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Journey to the Bucolic Japanese Alps – Shirakawa-go and the Gifu Prefecture (Part 2)
Waking up to birds chirping in the garden from my Japanese futon somehow felt surreal. This was a strong contrast from the night before, where I slept in a small modern hotel room in the center of Tokyo. As I watched the sun streams in through the paper windows, a sense of serenity enveloped me. It was mostly due to the time difference that...
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Journey to the Bucolic Japanese Alps – Shirakawa-go and the Gifu Prefecture (Part 1)
Over the past year, I have been lusting for Ogimachi Village in Shirakawa-go, a Unesco village nestled in the Japanese Alps and where time has seemingly left the region untouched. This mountainous area is known for its historic A-frame houses, also known as gassho-zukuri, which were made with a traditional building method without utilizing any nails. These gassho houses have withstood the test of time...
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Best Souvenirs in Tokyo for Foodies and Chefs
Buying quality souvenirs can be a hit or miss experience. Tokyo has an amazing assortment of interesting trinkets to buy for loved ones. If you are sick of T-shirts and generic tchotchkes, I would recommend the following stores where I buy my souvenirs. A. Kappabashi-dori – For chefs and home cooking fanatics Kappabashi-dori is a 800-metre-long street lined with more than 170 shops that sell...
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A Short Visit to Tokyo
Tokyo is a dizzying hub of sights and sounds and was also the first destination on this 2.5 week trip to Japan for my mom’s special birthday. While I have been exploring this city over the past 10 years, it was her first time in Tokyo, I created this truncated itinerary to give her the best flavors of Tokyo in a relatively short duration...
