First trip to Napa

Today my friends and I took a road trip to Napa for some wine tasting! This was my first trip to Napa, we decided to go t a few wineries to get variety of samplings.

I learned a lot about why Napa is so famous for wine. Apparently the soil and climate in Napa is one of the most sustainable for growing the grapes needed for the wine. Thank you Matt & the man at the Rutherford Hill Winery for the learning moment!

Here are the wineries we went to:

Rutherford Hill Winery

Family owned winery off the beaten path with what is known to be best picnic spot in Napa

This was my first wine tasting and I was very happy with the selection - the wines here had nice fruity notes and were quite tasty. The outdoor setting was really relaxing and a perfect way to end the work week!

V. Sattui Winery

Voted 2020 Winery of the Year by San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge & Monterey International Wine Competition

We came here for a lunch picnic, the food did not disappoint! I ordered some Shrimp and Chicken Salad, which was delicious!

Priest Ranch Winery

A small tasting room for a much larger conglomerate owned by the family

The tasting room here was very cute and modern, however the wines were a bit more dry than what I like.

This trip, we went to 2 wine tastings - one at Rutherford Hill Winery and one at Priest Ranch Winery. Of the two, wineries Rutherford Hill was the clear favorite all around from the wine & hospitality to the gorgeous property and views.

Photoshoot at Seabright Beach

A few days ago I shot with Paul of EyeOn Photography at Seabright Beach. This beach was great for some not so typical beach photo shoot.

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Check out some of my favorite shots from the day! We did a few beach shots and a few in the “vegetation” as he called it.

Santa Cruzing - Week 1

Wow, what a week! This is my first time to Santa Cruz and Josh did not disappoint, he gave my friend Diana and I quite the tour of Santa Cruz this past week! Let me share a recap all the fun things we did our first week in Santa Cruz!

August 13 - Arrive in Santa Cruz

  • 1st stop… In -N-Out
    I ordered a Double Double & strawberry milkshake, what more do you need? 😋

August 14

  • Downtown Santa Cruz
    The downtown is a few blocks long, with few local shops, no big names and lots of restaurants and local performers playing on the sidewalks

  • Lighthouse State Park
    This is such a cute local dog park, perfect for Josh’s dog Ivy!

  • Hiking at the Land of Medicine Buddha - Soquel, CA
    We visited the Land of the Medicine Buddha and hiked the 5.6 mile trail in the Redwood Forest! The trail was a lot of fun, we went throughout the Redwood Forest and came upon some Buddhist relics along the way.
    The day before Josh had kept talking about signs and how they manifest themselves. Earlier that day, Diana had wanted to buy Pokémon socks, but dropped them along the way and sadly did not. If you look at shrine photo, there is a pokeball… if that is not a sign, I don’t know what is!!

  • Dinner at in the West End at West End Tavern
    I met Josh’s sister for the first time, after knowing him for 6 years!


August 15

  • Santa Cruz Farmer’s Market - local farmers and artisans selling their produce and goods with some live local music

  • Tamales & Pan Dulce at El Rosal Bakery
    This bakery had a HUGE variety of different types of pan (spanish for bread), they were all so pretty and tasty! They rate themselves for having the #1 tamale in town, they were not my #1 but pretty tasty!

  • Santa Cruz Wharf

    • Drinks at Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery
      This cute Hawaiian restaurant is super cute with fun decor and drinks! While sitting at the bar, my friends & I thought we were going crazy, but the entire back room rotates! If you go, I recommend getting a fun drink and sitting at the bar in that room!

  • Santa Cruz Boardwalk - boardwalk rides, games and boardwalk food!

  • Capitola - cute part of town with cute shops and restaurants

August 16

  • Dinner at The Crow’s Nest - cute little spot for Happy Hour at Twin Lakes State Beach overlooking the beach

  • Drinks (and open mic nite) at MeloMelo Kava Bar
    We downtown with the intention of getting cookies and ended up at this Kava bar, not realizing that it was not an alcohol bar but a kava bar. For those of you who don't know what kava is, it is a psychedelic root that literally means “intoxicating pepper.” According to WebMD, “kava contains substances called kavapyrones. They act much like alcohol on your brain, making you feel calm, relaxed, and happy. The plant is also thought to relieve pain, prevent seizures, and relax muscles.”

  • Cookies from Pacific Cookie Company
    The sweet aroma of cookies fills the store as soon as you walk in, there is a fun variety of cookies, my favorite was the “Almond Joe” - a twist of your classic chocolate chip cookie with nuts and coconut shreds, yummy! This reminded me of Diddy Reese cookies in Westwood, CA, however more flavors and the option of ice cream from local ice cream company, Marianne’s!

August 18

  • Hiking at Fall Creek State Park at Henry Cowell Redwoods Park in Felton, CA

August 19

  • Bonfire at Black Point Beach in Twin Lakes State Beach
    This was my first bon fire at the beach, it was COLD, but so much fun!

  • Matt & Lisa Arrive from NJ
    We had a few more friends arrive

August 20

That’s it for week 1 in Santa Cruz! Stay tuned for what we do in week 2 and please share any recs you may have on things to do and places to see!

Santa Cruz, here I come!

I’m headed off to Santa Cruz for some R&R, self reflection, destress and detox from my recent breakup and most importantly FUN!

Santa Cruz

I realized I have not really taken a real vacation since the pandemic started. My last trip this past April was a bit of a staycation, my friends who I was with were working most of the time, as was I, so did not have a full vacation. This trip will be similar in regards to working while I am there, but I am planning to take off on Friday and with a different mindset and goal in mind to relax.

It should be an interesting trip, my friend Diana and I will be going and staying with old co-worker Josh, who graciously offered to let us stay with him. A friend from my recent past and friend from my current day. Josh has taken a more spiritual path since he moved back to Santa Cruz from NYC a few years ago, I am hoping he can share some of his insights with me.

After my break up, I was in a bit of shambles to say the least, but it has been over a month since the initial conversation we had, and while I am not 100% better, I am in a better place with where I am in regards to everything. All of my friends have told me, to focus on myself during this time, so I am hoping this trip will also give me more insights into myself and what I want and need.

Please feel free to share your stories and journeys, I would love to hear them!

What a Night!

Today was an interesting night… but an adventure to say the least.

Last night I saw my now ex-boyfriend (long sad story and not used to using this term “ex”) for the first time in person after we ended things. It has been really sad, but I will get through it. As a result, I was anticipating tonight to be a quiet night to reflect on yesterday’s events, however this was not the case.

My producer / videographer from Style Music TV reached out to me with a fashion & beauty press event at the Crosby Street Hotel in Soho. I figured why not get dressed up and go out, it beats staying at home and being sad!

I went to the event, and it was definitely not what I had anticipated, it was a soiree of very cliquey unwelcoming fashion types. I was ready to turn around as soon as I saw the event, but figured why not - I was already there and was at a cute hotel with free drinks! I got some champagne and walked around. I ended up meeting this awesome gay couple - one of which works for Interview, which was founded by Andy Warhol and a modeling agent. We chatted a bit and I shared the news of my break up. Mitchell was very interested to learn more about the dating apps and how my ex and I had met. Its interesting how the dating game has changed so much in such a short time frame. We chatted for a bit and actually exchanged #’s - why not make new friends?!

On my way to the subway I passed the set of the new Sex & the City reboot, where I also made some new friends AND even caught a glimpse of none other than SJP, Sarah Jessica Parker! I made friends with a fellow fan and one of the lighting guys. I ended up switching #’s with both of them, however I was actually asked to get drinks by the fellow SJP fan who had shared her video of SJP with me! What a funny turn of events!

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Ending the night on a high note, made my way home - the train was quick, not too packed and I felt very safe, the city is back! But that was not quite the end of my night… On the way home - I passed Krispy Kreme and got a delicious doughnut! I felt like I deserved it after the day I had yesterday! If you have not had a Krispy Kreme doughnut, you definitely need to try one. They are like clouds that melt in your mouth!

In an interesting turn of events, what I thought was going to be a terrible week and bust of a night ended up being full of fun surprises!

Don’t life get you down, always try to find your silver lining!

Recipe Secret Santa

I participated in Reddit’s Recipe Secret Santa.

For my Secret Santa, she was from the Midwest ad wanted more ethnic recipes, in particular Chinese recipes, she also mentioned she like chocolate and breads.

Recipes for my giftee

Recipes for my giftee

I sent her recipes for:

  • Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Banana Bread

  • French Crepes

  • Beef Chow Fun

  • Crab Rangoon

My Secret Santa did an amazing job, she sent me Betty Crocker’s The Big Book of Cupcakes, 2 recipes and some personalized stickers, notebook tea!

Thank you so much for such a thoughtful present!

Recipes, stickers &tea from my Secret Santa

Recipes, stickers &tea from my Secret Santa

Betty Crocker’s Big Book of Cupcakes

Betty Crocker’s Big Book of Cupcakes

Second Shot Done

Received my second COVID-19 vaccine shot today & ready to take on the world! ✔️✔️

If you haven’t gotten your vaccine shot yet, I recommend making your appointment on the Walgreens or CVS app.

Happy Birthday Daniel!

Happy Birthday to my amazing boyfriend Daniel!

Today he turned 5 years old, we had Pokemon themed birthday decorations and went to the zoo! He even saw his favorite animal, the snow leopard, who came out just for him!

I hope you have the most amazing birthday, I LOVE YOU!!!

Happy May!

April showers brings MAY FLOWERS!!! 🌸🌼🌺

May also marks Asian American Heritage month! This month we celebrate all the accomplishments the AAPI community has made.

I am 100% Chinese and proud of it!

1 Shot Down, 1 More to Go!

Today I received my first dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine! I was pleasantly surprised how seamless and painless the process was, literally!

1 shot down, 1 more to go!

I had made an appointment to get my shot at my local pharmacy, Walgreens. I arrived 15 mins early (as directed) and I had checked in, completed all my paperwork and received my shot before my appointment time! Walgreens was super organized when it came into the check in process and did not have a backlog of patients, so no long waits.

I was a bit fearful of the pain from the shot, but it was not even a prick - I did not even feel it. I know people say “you barely feel it” about the finger prick test, but you can definitely feel the initial penetration of the needle; this was not even close - I did not even feel it happening.

Needless to say, I was very impressed at how quick and painless the whole process was!

For those of you who still need to get the vaccine, it is not as daunting as it seems. I would suggest booking your appointment through the Walgreens or CVS website or app, I personally found the app super easy to use. Walgreens usually releases their appointments around midnight EST and CVS sometime in the morning (9 AM or earlier). Walgreens will make both appointments for the 1st & 2nd shot for you at once, which is super helpful and convenient.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions or need help booking an appointment!

Thank you to the amazing crew at Walgreens for a wonderful experience, see you in 3 weeks for my second shot!

Happy Earth Day from Escondido Falls!

Happy Earth Day from Escondido Falls in Malibu, CA!

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Daniel, Ian & I went for a hike in Malibu at Escondido Falls. It was a fun hike, however the end of the hike was a bit anti-climatic so would suggest other hikes if you have more time. The waterfall sadly had dried up and all we were left with was the little droplets in this photo. This hike was good exercise and a good moderate hike for the summer heat for about 1.5 hours, including the walk to/from the parking lot.

International Pageant Day

Throwback to my days as Miss New York! 👑

Happy International Pageant Day to all my pageant sisters! ❤️

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I was and am still so honored and humbled to represent such a miraculous state as New York!

This title was my first big title win and a life changing one at that. I learned so much and felt like I was really able to make a difference in my community during my reign. This title opened many doors for me to help me achieve my platform of empowering youth through education and led me to found the young professionals council of the non profit New York Edge and eventually become their president!

Never be afraid to shoot for your dreams! 💫

Happy Easter

What a wonderful day for an egg hunt and to celebrate Easter!

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I celebrated Easter this year with my boyfriend and his family in Minnesota. They hosted a fun Easter egg hunt for me! Check out some of the photos!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!