Category: weekends

Weekend Stories: Bike rides in Brooklyn | 18

Posted on by Hanna

After several days of grey and gloomy days in a row, the sun was out on the weekend with temperatures reaching 23 degrees celsius!

After some quiet time in the morning, we decided to take our bikes out and cycled to Japan Village, which took us around half an hour one way.
We had our sunnies on and didn’t need to wear a face mask whilst cycling since we were moving and maintaining a six feet distance from people. I think I will definitely start cycling more. It feels much better than walking around with a face mask on.

I didn’t get to take many photos during the bike ride unfortunately. I was too busy soaking up the sun and taking in the Brooklyn scenery I haven’t seen in for so long!
Above is a photo of the goodies we bought – mostly snacks!

On Sunday I stayed home all day. We had breakfast and finished cleaning the apartment. It’s always better to get chores out of the way, get it over and done with, so that you can fully enjoy the rest of the day. We finished watching several TV series such as ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ and ‘Normal People’ on Hulu. I read both the books early last year, in months apart I think. Interesting how they also released it in a similar time frame.’Normal People’ was definitely the better T.V adaption.
The chemistry between the actors made you assume they were dating in real life (sadly they are not according to Google) and overall it was filmed intricately and intimately, both visually and emotionally. Towards the end, I felt like I just went on this tumultuous journey of a relationship with them and ended up thinking/feeling about it/them for the next few days.
I’m OK now though 🙂

Weekend Stories: Lazy and Productive | 17

Posted on by Hanna

Seems like Saturdays are designated as the guilt-free lazing and napping day. I woke up at 6.30am without the alarm clock, made my coffee and dozed off again after reading. After lazing around, I had another nap in the evening for three hours. It’s weird because I was able to sleep again fine the same night.
Although, on Friday I was in this groggy and down mood. I logged off work an hour early and had a nap. I’m still not sure whether I needed to catch up on sleep or I was just escaping reality (sorry, just being dramatic over here). Either way, I feel better now.

N also refrained from sitting in front of the computer screen on Saturday morning so we both lazed around on the sofa in the sun, read our books and relaxed. We had lamacun that he made the day before for lunch and dinner. I am dedicating a separate post for my ultimate favourite Turkish comfort food.

When I have these lazy days, I always feel better the day after.
On Sunday I worked through my to-do list of chores, studies and planning during the day. For dinner I made beef udon noodle soup. Dessert was a slice of the banana bread that I made during the week with hazelnut spread. No regrets.

Weekend Stories: The usual |16

Posted on by Hanna

It’s funny how I started this ‘Weekend Stories’ series here with the plan to make the most of my weekends living in New York City. Now that I’m close to my fourth year living in this country, nothing really felt novel, nothing felt like it was worth trekking outside of the house for because I’d knew what to expect.
I wanted to change that and, instead, appreciate what the City had to offer or to simply find novelty by paying attention to the seemingly mundane with a different perspective.

Yet, alas, here we all are. There is a saying in Korean that says “피할수없으면 즐겨라” (loosely translated: if it cannot be avoided, then try to enjoy it).
And to that, I did. I tried. I established a wholesome morning routine which I am proud to say I am being consistent with. I have a workout app that I am following. I have this blog/”online journal” to take photos and write.

We are now entering the seventh week of quarantine and I can’t help but feel the days and weeks are feeling monotonous. I’m sure we are all feeling this way. But to combine the two aforementioned approaches, I will try to enjoy what cannot be avoided by being fully present when I am reading an interesting book, when I listen to the music from the piano keys I am playing or when N creates an upgraded pancake recipe that we get to have for breakfast on Saturday. It might even be the morning light I see cascading across the coffee table, the smell of the home-made cinnamon bun roll with a cup of coffee, the sound of birds chirping to indicate the start of Spring on my short walks or the feeling of my mind and body feeling refreshed after a 10-minute yoga session in the morning sunlight.

So although my Weekend Stories may not be about the latest restaurant or event I went to in NYC, or the overseas trip I went on over the long weekend, I’ll use this space to capture the simple joys in these unprecedented times and also enjoy the process of writing my self-indulgent musings on this blog.

To end, here are some photos I took on our walk around DUMBO (with our face masks on) on a warm Sunday afternoon.

Weekend Stories: Easter long weekend |15

Posted on by Hanna

It was the Easter long weekend.
I woke up at 8am on Friday and began the day with my usual morning routine.

Back by popular demand, made an easy egg sandwich for lunch.

Rolling around on a sunny Saturday morning after some chores.

Walks to the park with our masks on.

N made Turkish bread and we had a minced beef doner kebab spread! Delicious.

I was craving carrot cake during the day so I made it for dessert. We were so full.

We also had this for breakfast with tea and coffee. Very nutritious.

I need to step up my Japanese study plan. I go through Anki cards and read my manga book every morning but I will need to do more. Specifically, I need to receive more feedback on my progress. Dusted off some textbooks and signed up with iTalki.

This was Sunday dinner that I made. I am definitely gaining weight.

Weekend Stories: Beginning of April|14

Posted on by Hanna

With bleaker news each day, our days continue indoors, in quarantine.
The lockdown measures have been extended until the end of April. This means the next four Weekend Stories posts will, more or less, look the same.

After a nice sleep in, N made us French Toast for breakfast. I kept telling him I felt like I was eating this at some swanky cafe for brunch but better.

The rest of the day was assigned as a much needed lazy-do-nothing-rest-and-nap day.
It was a busy week at work and, whilst trialing a new morning routine, I did not sleep in time at night, thus the missed hours of sleep really caught up. We flicked through Netflix and Hulu, I had a few naps, lounged around reading and eating.

With my batteries some what recharged, I woke up on Sunday with more energy.
What made it even better was N’s breakfast menu: Pancakes!

Finished a book and watered the green onion bulbs (I will provide weekly progress photos of the shoots growing).

Cleaned the apartment, worked out and then ate some fruits while I edited my next YouTube video (watch it here).

Felt so productive and good. To top it all off, N made homemade pizza for Sunday dinner, made from scratch with the dough he had set overnight. Absolute bliss. ‘Tis simple joys in life.

Weekend Stories: Walks in Fort Greene Park|13

Posted on by Hanna

Comfort food on Saturday morning – boiled nurungji with a small splash of sesame oil and seaweed topping.

The new normal in our apartment elevator.
On our way to Fort Greene Park to take a walk. This week I’ve been taking more photos with my Ricoh GR II which I am enjoying! Here are some photos I took around the park.


On Sunday we made a quick dash to our local grocery store. Here we are in line, keeping our 6 ft distance.

A lazy and carb-filled Sunday dinner. I made kimbap with spam and some with tuna-mayo filling, accompanied by shin ramyun. Warm and comforting.

Weekend Stories: NYC in lockdown|12

Posted on by Hanna

Week 2 of working from home and the city is officially in lock down.

This was the first full five-day week of working from home.
My friends are tagging me on memes that say: ‘When you find out your daily lifestyle is actually in “quarantine”‘. Pretty accurate. No significant change for me ^^;;

It was nice working in silence in the comfort of my own home, preparing meals, going on (solitary) walks and continuing my homebody hobbies. I did notice Parkinson’s Law in effect and ended up working longer hours. This made me realize the importance of setting up a routine and creating structure, instead of feeling sluggish at the end of the day. I am writing this on a Tuesday and the past two days felt more balanced as I am more intentional with my daily routine.

In saying all this, I am grateful and very fortunate to have a job where I can work from home. I can’t imagine the level of anxiety people are going through with job losses, especially in a city like New York. It’s eerily empty and quiet here.

Saturday solitary walks over Brooklyn Bridge. We wanted to enjoy the sun and kept our distance from others. It was weird seeing the bridge empty midday on a sunny Saturday. Solitary recreational activities are allowed such as hiking, walking and cycling, with daily limits obviously. The one good thing about this is that we are entering warmer months. Maybe it’s time to take my bike out.

Sunday was a trip to Wegman’s again but this time we stocked up on groceries that should last us for a month. N made pizza from scratch and it was, of course, delicious.

Weekend Stories: In the time of Covid-19 in NYC|11

Posted on by Hanna

March 14-15 2020

So began the weekend after our first week of working from home due to the coronavirus outbreak in NYC.

Saturday breakfast recipe that can never go wrong.
After eating and lazing around watching some rabbit movie N had on Netflix,
I decided to go on a walk to DUMBO by myself whilst listening to Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday podcast with Eckhart Tolle as the guest.

Here are some photos I took during my walk.
It was exciting to see hints of Spring!

You know you’ve been living in the city for too long when you get nostalgic and giddy standing and smelling the fresh cut grass in a park.
I walked a good 8.5km for three hours on a beautiful sunny day.
It was much needed exercise after days sitting and working from home.

N made french toast for breakfast on Sunday morning. It was so good.
The hint of cinnamon with maple syrup and cream was heavenly.

He also baked fresh bread in the morning. How did I get so lucky?

These three photos from Sunday are from my Ricoh GRII without any edits. My past blogs are from my iPhone 11, all edited. I might start using photos my Ricoh more on this blog.

After a decadent breakfast, N and I walked to Wegman’s where I popped by yesterday during my loner walk. I told him about this expansive supermarket near us and he wanted to check it out too. We bought groceries (and found toilet paper!) for the week as we were both going to be working from home.

The numerous tags we saw on the shelves at Wegman’s. Crazy times.

Afterwards, we sat outside the food market eating pizza and soaked up some sun. People, including ourselves, were religiously sanitizing their hands and some with industry-strength masks on.

It was announced that on Tuesday all restaurants and bars would be closed in NYC.
Sh*t is escalating here in this city.

Weekend Stories|10

Posted on by Hanna

Saturday was spent all day at home – yet again.
This has become a pattern where I stay home all day
on one day of the weekend and go out on the other.
N made the perfect crepes on Sunday morning.

Few hours after breakfast, I went out to get some life admin done.
N wanted to join and we ended up going to White Noise Coffee.
They have most reliable wifi. It was productive, except
I deferred doing my taxes to another weekend.

We walked through the Dekalb shops and came across a
pleasant surprise – McNally Jackson bookstore opened!
I refrained from buying any books or stationery.
The bookstore is a lot more expansive than it look from the outside.
There is a reading nook with a large table upstairs.
I made myself comfortable and finished “A New Earth”
I have been reading for past few weeks.

It was ten years ago when I read Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now”.
During that time I was going through some typical twenties crises
and this book helped me to manage my thoughts and emotions,
to separate the situation and my thoughts. It was so powerful I
purchased copies to give out to my friends.
Fast forward ten years, having experienced much more of life’s lessens,
this book enlightened me to a whole new perspective of how to, in essence,
live day-by-day and navigate this life with my consciousness and
with humans that I will interact with in various situations.
I loved it. I don’t think I’ve highlighted so furiously on my kindle before.

Life becomes stressful and anxious when my mind is dwelling on the past,
or trying to live in the future when that obviously cannot happen.
Being frustrated, offended or feeling any negative emotions towards a person
no longer needs to linger internally. All I have to do is identify the ego that is talking,
observe why it’s reacting in such manner (most likely because it’s in reaction to the
other person’s ego) and to just be aware and conscious of it and let it go.
If you no longer identify yourself as the ego, that is when you are in complete
consciousness.
Growing up at church I remember the sermons about being humble,
that “the last shall be first and the first last” and how we should follow in Jesus’
steps. It’s one of those things that you know it’s “good” to be humble, but you don’t truly no why. In the Bible it says “Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth”. In the older version the word was “meek” instead of “humble”.
So who are the meek or humble? It is those who are ego-less.
When you let go of the ego and the form, stop behaving from the conditioned mind, I can instead live a life of peace that’s true to myself.

There is a chapter on life’s purpose and that was transformative for me.
By living in consciousness, i.e., ego-less, it will begin to flow into what you do,
and in the modalities of awakened doing – acceptance, enjoyment, enthusiasm.
That’s it. That’s the purpose of being. It’s a new earth of freedom and peace.

So yes, that was the book I finished over the weekend.
You know what else I finished over the weekend?

A K-drama called “Crash Landing on You” that’s on Netflix.
It’s so cheesy but cute.
It works because of Hyunbin.

Weekend Stories | 9

Posted on by Hanna

Saturday trip to King Spa in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The most relaxing place, especially on a cold winter’s day.

We had spare tickets to Celine Dion who was performing at Barclays. She sounds exactly the same live. Amazing.

It was funny because we looked around and you can tell the crowd was definitely not from Brooklyn.

Lazy Sunday mornings and then dinner at K-Town.

Drinking game called the ‘Titanic’.
Should have played our video of Celine Dion singing ‘My Heart Will Go On’.