Daily Life New York

When every leaf is a flower

Following a whirlwind summer of traveling up and down the Vietnamese coast, I imagined moving to New York to ground myself, or at least, not traveling nearly as much. I can hardly believe I’ve already booked two flights out of New York for this year. Soon after Taurin moved out to the San Francisco bay area, my parents coincidentally moved to Southern California. So my loved ones are newly located along the west coast, and I am slowly feeling very bicoastal.

Talk of California, I am flying out to San Francisco next weekend for a reunion with Taurin (pending good weather, frankenstorm!). One of the most surprising things about San Francisco was the neighborhoods built along sharp hills and people fearlessly riding their fixed gears up and down them. Otherwise, I have vague memories of eating delicious oysters and ordering martinis. I’m hoping to find some good Mexican food, too — monster tortas and soft corn tacos.

And of course, I expect to spend many holidays in sunny Orange County with my family. My parents seem to already love being out there, describing the oddly warm weather and constant sunshine. Taking a peek at photos ofΒ AshleyΒ of Milkteeth’sΒ vintage treasures and weekend trips along the coast, I find myself looking forward to thrifting, road trips, and good food along the way.

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Until then, I keep reminding myself to live in the present. It helps that New York is absolutely beautiful this time of the year. And I love living right by the Central Park, a stretch of nature and quiet in the middle of Manhattan. Even on a rushed Monday morning, I step out of my apartment to a forest of looming trees with dangling golden leaves.

Talk of road trips and autumn, last weekend my friend Stefanie rented a zipcar for a day-trip out to the farms. We drank hot apple cider, ate corn on the cobb smothered in butter, petted little baby piglets, and went on a hayride yelling “Ee-haw!” It was such a treat for our group of city girls with big Virginia hearts.

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“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” – Albert Camus

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An enthusiastic goat friend!

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**Please let me know if you have any recommendations for my visit to the San Francisco bay area!

13 Comments

  • Reply
    Ceri
    October 28, 2012 at 10:18 am

    San Francisco! My favourite city in the world. <3 <3

    I know you're going to be in the bay area but if you get chance to go into the city, go to the Castro. What a fabulous, unbelievably friendly place. I'd definitely recommend checking out the Castro Theatre and the GLBT History Museum. πŸ™‚

    • Reply
      Sewon
      November 2, 2012 at 10:23 pm

      Yay! Thanks for the recommendations, Ceri. Castro Theater looks fabulous and I do recall reading about the GLBT Museum from one of your blog posts. πŸ™‚

  • Reply
    Veronica Fish
    October 28, 2012 at 10:51 am

    Have fun! I’ve never been to CA, wish I could recommend something πŸ™‚

    • Reply
      Sewon
      November 2, 2012 at 10:27 pm

      Thanks, Veronica! πŸ˜›

  • Reply
    winnie
    October 28, 2012 at 1:30 pm

    I can just about imagine how beautiful NY is in the Autumn, Central Park must be so pretty at this time of the year! Sounds like you have the best of both words with loved ones now living in Sunny California! I look forward to seeing your photos from those trips πŸ™‚

    • Reply
      Sewon
      November 2, 2012 at 10:28 pm

      It really is beautiful here, but it looks like Central Park is closed because of the storm. πŸ™ I can’t wait for the city to recover!

  • Reply
    kelly
    October 28, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    I would recommend going to Muir Woods outside of SF. It’s a breathtaking place to see the Redwoods. SF, Japantown is a big favorite. I love Kinokuniya! Just walking the streets there makes me happy! If you go to Berkeley, Telegraph, Shattuck and 4th streets are fun to walk around.

    A drive down (or up!) the coast is amazing. It’s one of my most favorite things to do!

    • Reply
      Sewon
      November 2, 2012 at 10:39 pm

      Muir Woods looks beautiful. Those are some ginormous trees! πŸ™‚ We have a Kinokuniya here in New York, too. But I’ve heard so much about the SF Japantown and would love to explore the area, too. Thanks, Kelly!

  • Reply
    kelly zarb
    October 29, 2012 at 4:06 am

    Wow looks like your road trip was heaps of fun Sewon. I would love to go to San Francisco one day I hope you will share photos from the trip too.

    • Reply
      Sewon
      November 2, 2012 at 10:40 pm

      I’ll definitely share some photos, Kelly! Thanks. πŸ™‚

  • Reply
    jessica
    October 30, 2012 at 9:56 pm

    oh wow, you’re so lucky to be living in new york and visiting san fran (provided the weather is okay..!) they’re two of my favourite places in the world! also your trip to the farm looks like such a fun day out, all the animals are so cute! πŸ™‚

    littlehenrylee

    • Reply
      Sewon
      November 2, 2012 at 10:43 pm

      Ah yeah, the weather is delaying my trip but that’s okay. P.S. Happy Birthday! πŸ™‚

  • Reply
    Ramona
    November 4, 2012 at 8:47 pm

    I love how sunny your photos are

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