This month was emotionally challenging for me. Every day, I felt bombarded with articles about hate crimes against elderly Asian people. In my culture, we don’t call adults Mr. and Mrs. when we are young, we call them uncle or auntie, or the Chinese words for granduncle/grandauntie if they look hella old. Complete strangers are still uncles and aunties. Even when you are an adult, anyone who is obviously older than you is your auntie or uncle. So, when we see our elderly getting bullied—in some cases even being pushed to their deaths—because of anti-Asian xenophobia, it’s heartbreaking; it feels like the victim is a part of our collective family. It definitely put a dark cloud over Lunar New Year, which is normally our most festive time.

I’ve decided to use these monthly favorites posts as a time to also reflect on the month that has passed, and I couldn’t do that this month without touching upon the subject that was in my thoughts so much. I am grateful my parents are safe (they even got their first dose of the vaccine this month!) and that I am safe. But I know others who look like us haven’t been so lucky.

On a more optimistic note, I have started planting in my garden. For several years now, I have been planting tomatoes and veggies right before spring starts. I am starting early this year because I have nothing else to do and because SF has had a crazy mild winter—which feels all the more insane in contrast with the winter storms in the rest of the country. I am not an expert about when to plant so please don’t ask me questions. But I’ll probably share more about this topic next month.

Random Product Favorites

Vinyl Backdrop from Club Backdrops in Sandstone

I found myself reaching for this Club Backdrops Sandstone backdrop a lot this past month. It looks tan/sand colored on their site but with my edits it often ends up subtly peachy-pink. I try not to spend a lot on my backdrops; my earlier photos were shot with either a cheap-ass foamboard from the craft store or some abandoned wooden crates I salvaged from a parking lot. I just started investing in “nicer” props as of Black Friday last year but I am still really frugal about my backdrops. Club Backdrops has a great 3 for 2 deal so I bought three and this is the one I love the most. They are definitely not the most ideal; the material is stiff so it doesn’t lie flat without the corners being weighted down but they do wipe clean pretty nicely and the printing is nicer than vinyl backdrops I have purchased elsewhere.

Stoneware Planter by Opalhouse for Target

Bought this little planter from Target and I just love how it is the same color as my skin—something that is Very rare to find as a tan Asian. They come in other different sizes and shades too! Mine is the 4-inch in “light brown”. There is a kind soul in my neighborhood who puts out a box of cuttings and seedlings outside of his house on Fridays, so I picked up this little bb pothos seedling from him. I hope I don’t kill it.

Oolong’s Lunar New Year Lion Dance Costume

The dog costume I never knew I needed until I saw it! I am not really into dressing up my dogs but Lunar New Year felt different this year and I decided to indulge. Seeing my dog Oolong bop around erratically while running around in this (because the hood went over her eyes and she couldn’t see where she was going!) really did remind me of the playfully jerky movements of a lion dance and it was just too funny. The costume was surprisingly detailed and durable feeling. You can get one for your dog or cat here**! Oolong is a shih tzu-yorkie-generic terrier mutt mix of about 13 pounds and I got her a size 16, which fits her length and torso perfectly. I found that reading the reviews was very helpful for determining what size to buy.

Favorite Rejects

This section is dedicated to memorializing the photos that won’t be making it to my feed.

I snapped this as a really quick photo for my Insta stories but I ended up really liking it so I want to hold onto it here, too. Mandarin oranges/satsumas/tangerines are a really big part of Chinese New Year. Their name in Cantonese sounds the same as the word for gold, and plus they kind of resemble gold coins in appearance, so these are usually exchanged among friends as wishes for luck and prosperity.

I might still post this on Instagram. I’m on the fence. Please share your opinion in the comments! I was inspired by Ethiopian and Eritrean family style meals, and how there is a giant piece of injeria at the bottom of the platter with all the stews on top. I wanted to apply that concept to a fluffier flatbread (I used a naan recipe here) with other delicious toppings and dips piled on top for a really hands-on meal, but I think it ended up being too much chaos the way I styled it. I love how the colors and textures turned out though, so maybe this will be rescued from its reject status someday.

Another one that I am still very on the fence about. A while back my friend Sandy challenged me to make a pie that looked like the fish pie from the movie Kiki’s Delivery Service. I decided to make a mini salmon pot pie version, but I have never made an individual pot pie before and forgot to account for the major shrinkage of the crust dough after baking. I also underestimated how long this simple and cute fish design would take me relative to more elaborate pastry art I have done in the past so I was really stressing about losing the light from the sun and had to take it out for photos before it was the right shade of golden brown. I think my fish is pretty accurate to the movie, but I wish the photo was sharper and that the overall pie looked a little more polished. Let me know what you think in the comments—is it still insta-worthy?

other Random Favorites

Favorite Netflix Binge: American Horror Story: 1984. Definitely not my favorite season of AHS but in general I adore this show (if it is possible to adore something filled with truck-tons of gore) so much so this was still my favorite thing that I watched this month. The progression was similar to the prior season, Apocalypse, in that there are two very distinct acts. I didn’t find the characters as lovable or compelling this season and it was weird to have an AHS without Evan Peters. But the ‘80s fashion and music throwbacks were pretty rad. If you are an AHS fan, please let me know below! My favorite seasons are Murder House, Coven, and Hotel.

Favorite Video: This footage of an adorable Chinese baby and their makeshift dim sum cart.

Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments what were the highlights of your February 2021!