move, learn, play, listen, make, love [Q2 25]

new yawk city babyyy

In 2025, I’m capturing each quarter through the lens of six simple anchoring principles: move, learn, play, listen, make, and love.

You can read my previous Q1 update here:

move, learn, play, listen, make, love [Q1 25]

The last three months were a time of major life milestones - starting a new job, fulfilling my longtime dream of moving to New York, and settling into a new apartment in Williamsburg. Moving came with administrative headaches, terrible spring allergies, but most ultimately - a new zest for life.

move

• … to New York: In April, I officially made the long-awaited move across the border! This was my first real move with substantial life belongings, and I can see why people hate doing this. Wrapping all my dishware was a nightmare; however, they all withstood the travel (worth it).

• … not much: I was sick for almost all of June - upper respiratory infection gone rogue to lingering tonsillitis. Quickly humbled by the U.S. healthcare system and my medical bills.

• ClassPass: When I wasn’t sick, I was hitting all the local spots on ClassPass to see what stuck - Yoga Space, Y7 Studio, Better Body Bootcamp, Alo Yoga, F45, and Creative Core. (I still haven’t been able to snatch a spot at Solidcore. I swear these pilates girlies have bots.) I can’t say I’ve found my go-to spot just yet… the Toronto fitness scene honestly has it hard to beat.

just a girl with 3 suitcases and a dream

learn

• My neighbourhood: Moving to a new place brought lots of opportunities for discovery and exploration. The past months have been spent finding my new go-to spots, learning the streets (so I stop biking in the wrong direction on one-ways), and learning how to orient myself on the subway (so I don’t have to walk the entire platform to the exit). I’m still learning.

• Why pollen was so bad this year: Immediately after touching down in New York, I proceeded to experience one of the worst allergy seasons I’ve had in a while. This brought me to do some investigation - why was it so much worse? Turns out, in the mid-20th century, they stopped planting female trees in the city, since male trees were “cleaner” (no fruits, seed pods, flowers, etc). Surprise surprise, female trees actually trap and remove pollen from the air because they need it to reproduce. Don’t cross a lady.

• From strangers: One of the greatest things about New York is the people. In my short time here, I’ve interacted with an incredibly diverse set of people, each with a fascinating story. Graphic designers, small business owners, beekeepers, recipe developers, locals, rich nepo babies - you name it.

  

  east willyB!

play

• Swimming: In my ambitious 2025 resolutions, I set out to improve my swimming (my mom still thinks I’m gonna drown anytime I’m near a body of water). In April, my two friends and I went to a local recreation center in Vaughn, where I was quickly humbled and schooled by a 15-year-old. Let’s just say, I need a lot of work.

• Mahjong: One of the local asian-owned cafes in my neighbourhood was hosting a Mahjong 101 night, which I went to with my sister. Before this, I had attempted to self-teach a couple of times from some confusing YouTube videos, but this was way clearer and way more fun. The ultimate goal is to get skilled enough to play with asian grandmas in an underground mahjong room in Chinatown.

• …Center: If you are under 25, you are eligible for a free membership to NYC Parks recreation centers! I’ve been going to the McCarren Play Center as my gym - she’s not sparkly, but gets the job done.

  

  coming to destroy some laps at your local recreation center

listen

• Kali Uchis: Kali dropped her newest album, Sincerly, in May, and it is perfection. No skips. On repeat. This was my soundtrack for my new chapter of life.

• Bb trickz: This song.

• Birds: The best feeling is hearing the first signs of Spring with birds yapping outside your window. My old apartment used to face an enclosed courtyard, so I never really got to hear any, but now with a street view, I get to listen to their chirping in the morning.

make

• At-home cafes: This quarter, I hosted two separate at-home cafes - one for my goodbye party in Toronto and one for my housewarming in New York. As a non-drinker, these felt so much more true to me than your regular evening party. I served assorted drinks (cold brew, matcha, hojicha, chai) and assorted nibbles (pastries, bagels, fruit, baked goods). They were so much fun to put together, and my guests had a good time.

• Wedding video: In June, I went to Portugal to celebrate a friend’s wedding! I bought an old camcorder from a camera store in the Lower East Side and had a lot of fun filming some candid moments. You can peep the video I made here.

• Summer bucketlist: I’ve been a bucketlist girl since I was a child (goal-driven out of the womb). I love the idea of bringing back these wholesome, outrageous lists of fun things to do. I’ve made an ambitious, but feasible list for this summer, and I’ve put it on my mirror to hold me accountable. I’ll report back on how it goes in the next update (we’ve had a slow start because of my illness and all the rain).

at-home cafe goodbye party in toronto <3

love

• Salomons: I finally got around to replacing my old, flattened pair of Salomons from 2022. It’s been so rainy in New York this Spring, so these have become my go-to shoes (trying to do the Gore-Tex gods justice by walking through city puddles).

• Baggu towels: In need of replacing my old bath towels and a desire for a pop of colour in my soulless bathroom, I stocked up on Baggu towels. They are the perfect density and size, and give you that Telka vibe without as aggressive of a price tag.

• My apartment: After a month of continuous refreshing on StreetEasy, I am so grateful to have found a great place and neighbourhood in New York that feels like home (thank you, Tanner!). It’s been fun restaging the furniture and art I brought over from Toronto, and filling in the gaps with flea market trips and Facebook Market finds. After living alone for over a year, my heart feels happy to have a roomie again. I love many things about this place, but if I could flex one, it’s our 7 windows.

living room sneak peek

Hope you all had a lovely long weekend (Canada Day or July 4th), and thank you for reading as always. Wishing you all a hot girl summer as we get into July, see you on the next one,