Spring is here in full force with multiple types of flowers that are in bloom and warmer weather that’s reaching 80 degrees this week.

I’ve been staying in and working at home most of this week, but I look forward to spending a lot of time outside this weekend. Funny how I got to watch our magnolia tree in the backyard as it went from near-peak, peak, to past-peak within 36 hours, like such a dramatic sight to see. The tree is huge, so imagine each bloom is as big as my hand. The entire backyard is filled with the magnolia scent, and I wish I could package and send it to you all.

Last night, we finished all 8 episodes of Beef Season 2 in one sitting, and I felt like I was watching Parasite 2.0. It was a chaotic journey, but I thought the ending was so bad. The Gen-Z couple though? So annoying and hilarious! The Testaments’s first few newly released episodes are pretty good so far. After watching Euphoria’s first episode of season 3, I’m really hoping they’d put an end end to the show. All I’d ask for is a good ending for Rue, played by Zendaya!

Outfits I’m planning to wear in Spain

I’ve been feeling incredibly inspired by prints and colors lately. With my upcoming trip to Spain, it’s an even better excuse to shop for things that I wouldn’t normally go for. And of course, I had to bring my warmer clothes out from storage and started planning for some outfits.

Toteme scarf (worn as headpiece & tied at waist), COS knit hat (M/L), COS dress (sold out, browse similar. Love this!), Mango nylon 90s bag, Tony Bianco flip flops

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For this week’s newsletter, I want to share with you a travel recap of everything I’ve done over the past two weeks, including my recent Minnesota trip and this Las Vegas trip which I had just returned from. I also did some hiking out in Zion and Bryce in Utah, so be sure to subscribe to read everything!

Minnesota (11/14 - 11/19)

Whenever I come back to the Twin Cities, I always make it a priority to spend quality time with my family and friends while revisiting old favorite spots. I did have some solo time this time but ended up spending it at the cafes to catch-up with some deadlines and last-minute holiday brand projects.

watch Minnesota travel vlog!

Here’s a list of some of my old favorite spots in the Twin Cities:

• ST. PAUL: Cathedral of Saint Paul, MN State capital, & The Landmark Center (architecture), Grand Ave & Summit Street (lots of businesses and historic houses), University Ave area, Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, Minnesota State Fair, Saint Paul Farmers’ Market, Tay Ho (Bun Bo Hue), Ha Tien Super Market, Hmong Village, Bangkok Thai Deli, Punch Pizza, Marc Heu Patisserie Paris (new bakery Hmong owned!)

• MINNEAPOLIS: North Loop & Northeast area, American Swedish Institute (ASI), The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), Weisman Art Museum, Walker Art Center, Orpheum Theatre (shows & concerts), Guthrie Theater (plays), Witch’s Hat Water Tower, Nicolette Mall, The Minneapolis
  Skyway System, Victor’s 1959 Cafe, Matt’s & The Nook (Juicy Lucy), Saint Genevieve, Eat Street (Pho 79/Caravelle Restaurant, Pho Hoa, Lu Sandwiches, Eat Street Crossing), Spoon & Stable, Bar La Grassa

• COFFEE: Dogwood, Spyhouse (Northeast), Five Watt, Backstory Coffee, Nina’s Coffee, Phê Coffee Lowertown, Stone Pho, Càphin Minneapolis, Northern Coffeeworks, Walden Coffee

• SHOPPING (no tax on clothing or shoes): Mall of America, The Opitz Outlet (St. Louis & Minnetonka), MartinPatrick 3 (aka the Bergdorf of Minneapolis), Parc Shop, Mother Co., Plants (cacti & large plants)

• THRIFT SHOPS & ANTIQUES: Anthony Scornavacco Antiques, Hunt & Gather, Olio Vintage, Wild Vintage Collective

• NATURE: Superior Hiking Trail, Duluth, Minnehaha Falls - Minnehaha Park, Hidden Falls Trail near St. Thomas

• ON MY LIST TO GO: Myriel, NOLO’s Kitchen & Bar

If you’re in the Twin Cities and need some clothes altered, Tom’s Tailors (St. Paul & Woodbury) are my family businesses, owned by my aunts. One of them is opening a restaurant in St. Paul, Pho Oanh (follow on Facebook and Instagram to stay tuned on opening date in early 2026!).

NYC (11/20 - 11/22)

Utah & Nevada (11/23 - 11/27)

• DAY 1 - SUNDAY 11/23 • drive from Las Vegas to Kanab for The Wave Lottery, drive through Zion National Park tunnel, shopping in Springdale, and hotel check-in in La Verkin

• DAY 2 - MONDAY 11/24 • hike the Canyon Overlook in Zion, drive to Bryce and hike the Navajo Loop, Inspiration Point, dinner at Bit and Spur in Springdale

• DAY 3 - TUESDAY 11/25 • originally was reserved to hike The Wave, but we did plan B - hike the Observation Point via East Mesa Trail (7 mi!), get In-n-Out & drive back to Las Vegas, Carbone for dinner

Plan A: Entering The Wave Lottery

We flew into Las Vegas, Nevada, last Sunday and spent 3 days (11/23 - 11/25) hiking in Utah before meeting everyone back in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. In order to enter The Wave Permit Lottery, we had to drive 3 hours to be within the permitted area (due to the geofence) so that we could submit the online form (costed $6) on Sunday for Tuesday hike date, and unfortunately, it was unsuccessful. In case you’re wondering, The Wave has a daily maximum of 64 people, 48 are awarded through the online advanced lottery system and 16 through the Daily Lottery, a 3-day process if you win. We knew our chances were slim, but at least, we tried!

Plan B: hiking in Zion and Bryce National Park

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Monday, September 1 - travel to Copenhagen: JFK - CPH (red eye flight with SAS - Scandinavian Airlines, about 7 hours)

Tuesday, September 2 - Day 1 in CPH: hotel check-in, Hart Bakery, local walks (Vestebro & U of Copenhagen area), dinner at Cleo in Nørrebro

TRANSPORTATION IN CPH

• From CPH airport to city center or your hotel: Best option is to use the Metro M2 (yellow)/M3 (red) train. Look for the red letter M sign for the entrance after baggage claim. When you’re in the city, take the elevator down (-2) if you don’t want to walk up or down 2 flights of stairs every time. To pay: download the DOT tickets app (Din Offentlige Transport, which translates to ‘Your Public Transport’) or purchase at the airport's station.

• There are also S-trains, so you can pay on the DSB app (Danish State Railways) or at ticket booths, also located after the baggage claim and at the train stations. It is a network of commuter rail lines within the city and surrounding areas, so depending on your hotel, it might be faster to take this train instead of the Metro. To go to Louisiana Museum, you’d need to take this train (see day 3), and tickets are more expensive since it’s further out from the city.

• Buses: We did take the buses twice!

• Ride-sharing: Uber and/or taxis - my friend took the taxi from the airport to our hotel.

• Biking: Biking in CPH is a must, so safe and fun! Donkey Republic (orange bikes) is the bike service that we use. Make sure to return the bikes at designated stations and lock them before ending the rental.

• Walking: It’s truly the best way to see everything if you’re in a new city, so wear comfortable sneakers!

HOTEL WE STAYED AT: Saga Hotel - I do and don’t recommend it.

• PROS: It’s centrally located, and our room has great views. It’s 20-minute walking distance to the Meatpacking District (Kødbyen), known for good nightlife, and indeed, it’s buzzing on the weekends.

• CONS: Our room is on the 4th floor, but we actually have to walk up 5 sets of stairs. There’s no elevator, no AC in our unit, with one fan and a sink. The bathrooms and showers are outside and shared by the floor. They have rooms with AC and an in-unit shower, but they cost extra. Another thing you should know is the bed setup at most old hotels in Europe — a full or queen bed is made up of two single mattress, meaning each fits only one person. This hotel has strict rules of who’s coming in and out, and they charge for lockers to hold luggage, water, and umbrellas.

We typically don’t use Airbnb due to privacy concerns.

Our check-in time at Saga Hotel wasn’t until 2 pm, so we rented some lockers at the hotel and headed out for the day. We walked to Hart in the Meatpacking District, browsed the shops in Frederiksberg, and wandered the streets near Tivoli and University of Copenhagen. I’d recommend RAINS, Reform CPH, Studio Arhoj, Villa Copenhagen, and Rug Bakery.

Immediately, I was mesmerized with the sight of people in their bikes. Everyone looks so stylish, confident with perfect posture even with babies in their front bike seats. There’s something incredibly cool about how biking is seamlessly woven into the lifestyle here. It is is not just for sport or leisure but as the main mode of transport.

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My daily average step count is between 18,000 - 25,000. Insane, I know! I packed along a pair of flip-flops, ballet flats, suede mules, and loafers, all of which are flat shoes that I know are comfortab…

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In case you don’t know, I have a series on TikTok, here, so feel free to…

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Summer is just around the corner, and I hope you’re going places. Comment your summer plans, I’d love to know!

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The Trip: 6-day trip from LAX, California to Kauai, Hawaii

Dates: June 2 - 8, 2025

Weather forecast: comfortable tropical weather, mid-70s, rain showers, strong trade winds on the west side of the island

What I packed, HERE, and how I wore/styled everything, HERE

Where we stayed: at my friend’s residence in Lihue, just less than 10 minutes away from the airport (LIH) and most major food spots.

How to get around the island: by car (My friends lent us their second car for the week! So grateful!)

HIGHLIGHTS

For me, the highlights of this trip are the quality time spent alone with my partner and catching up with my friend (and her family) while learning the local ways of living on the small island like Kauai aka the slow Hawaiian lifestyle where everyone is living as one with nature. So many aspects of it reminds me of my home country, Vietnam, and makes me miss my family so much. I loved the 1 Hotel visit and the epic story of my friend’s husband who went diving and caught us a huge fish. The Napali Coast boat tour was so fun, and the views were like straight out of Jurassic Park. I got to try a good variety of food and fruits, and seeing the local produce at the farmer’s markets somehow made me so happy. The beaches were, of course, incredible, and the weather was perfect! Everyday was different, and I enjoyed every second of it.

It is easily one of my favorite trips I’ve done in a very long time!

This travel guide is long and detailed, for paid subscribers only. Don’t worry! I’ve got a free version coming on my blog once I’ve got all of the photos edited. And of course, the vlogs! If you’re able, please consider upgrading to paid as your subscription helps me continue this work as a content creator. Thank you!

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In case you’ve missed it, I’m currently in Kauai, Hawaii. I’m here to visit a very close friend of mine whom I haven’t met in almost a decade (but we’ve kept in close contact over the years). She’s recently given birth to a beautiful baby, named Lilikoi, and I get to be her cool aunty.

And this is my view as I’m writing this newsletter to…

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How are you all? I just got back from Seattle-Vancouver, and by the time this newsletter gets to you, I’m already in New Hampshire. My two close friends are here along with my cousin, and I’m taking them on a New England fall foliage road trip. It’s always been my dream to take my family and friends along on these types of trips, so I’m beyond excited that they could join us this year. We will be in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, doing a mix of nature and city exploring. My cousin wants to go to Salem, the famous witch town, so that will be a new, fun, and interesting thing to do, especially around this time in October!

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If you’re new here, I used to live in Seattle for almost four years before moving to NYC. I am feeling a lot of gratitude for having once lived in such a beautiful place. Nature in the Pacific Northwest is truly amazing, and I’ve got to say I do miss that part a lot. It was where I made a lot of important life decisions and transitions, and the friends I’ve made (even though it’s just a handful) are some that will last a lifetime.

The Seattle and Vancouver trip last weekend (October 3 - 8) was fun and fulfilling. My partner and I got to hang with family and friends, celebrated his birthday and his niece’s birthday, revisited a few familiar places, and explored new ones (and this time, it’s Vancouver for me!). More in this week’s vlog 25!

I’m working on a paid Washington and Canada (ft. the cities that I’ve visited - Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal) guide on Thatch for those who are interested in knowing my list of favorite places in things, so stay tuned.

Check out my official NYC travel guide here!

Seattle - Vancouver travel highlights

Seattle

We landed in Seattle on Thursday, October 3, rented a car, and headed straight to Hue Ky Mi Gia for some noodle soups at the Great Wall Shopping Mall in Kent. This type of noodle soup has a Chinese influence, and the soups are seasoned with soy sauce, not fish sauce or shrimp paste like you often see at most Vietnamese restaurants. Mia & More was right next door, so we had to grab our favorite sugarcane drinks.

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After a week of trying to fight off the jet lag, I finally feel ready to get back to the swing of things. I started cooking, did some plant chores, vacuumed, and cleaned every corner and surface of my apartment, and it felt so good. But I have some sad news to deliver, though… My biggest cactus that I got from Tucson, AZ, got root rot…

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• Day 1 : Da Nang arrival - Dragon Bridge

• Day 2 : Chợ Cồn (Con Market) - Hội An (Hoi An)

• Day 3 : Ba Na Hills: Golden Bridge, Fantasy Park - seafood night

• Day 4 : Ngũ Hành Sơn (Marble Mountain) - Chùa Linh Ứng (Linh Ung Pagoda) - My Khe Beach

• Day 5: coffee shops, relaxing, spa & pool day - Da Nang departure

TRANSPORTATION

From our house in Ho Nai, Bien Hoa, we have to book a Xe Du Lịch, a 12-seater commercial vehicle or passenger van as it’s the only form of airport transportation for large groups. We have 10 adults, a baby, a stroller, and all of our suitcases and luggages. The closest airport is Ho Chi Minh City airport (SGN). Our area is on the outer edge of Bien Hoa city, and we don’t have any other options that go that far on Grab (a ride-sharing app like Uber and Lyft in the US). From SGN, however, there are plenty of taxis and cars available at the airport pick-up zone or on Grab. With this option, we have to split the group into 2 cars. Each ride takes about 50 minutes to an hour, and it costs about 500K VND/one-way ride.

E-SIM & TRAVEL APPS

Get yourself an e-sim here, not at the airport, and use the Vietnam number (+84) to sign up for apps such as Grab, Xanh SM (Vinfast/electric cars), and Shopee.vn (it’s similar to Amazon in the US, except return is not accepted.) There’s also Shopee Food. Grab is fast and more convenient way to get around the city or anywhere in Vietnam, and I love that you can pay in-app or by cash. Zalo, Facebook, and Whatsapp are common social media apps people use to communicate, so you might as well activate them all, just in case. For hotels, booking.com and Agoda are the most common apps.

BOOKING FLIGHTS

My sister in-law helped booked these flights for us through a local travel agent, hence, the prices below are in VND. For the best rate, try to book your flights about a month in advance! With the conversion, I think you’re paying about the same price in USD vs. VND.

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TIP 1 - check if you need a visa: HERE

TIP 2 - booking flights: If you're traveling to London from anywhere in North America, I’d recommend booking an overnight flight/red eye flight to arrive in London later in the morning and booking a flight home leaving London at the end of the day. That way, you’d have full days to explore.

TIP 3 - to fight jet lag: Chances are you’d be pretty tired (with the time difference), so I’d suggest to not pack too many activities in your first day. Take a nap for an hour or so (set an alarm!), change out to a new outfit and and a new fresh pair of socks, touch-up your makeup, wash your face (if you need to!), shower, find something to eat or get a good cup of coffee to help wake you up! Avoid napping for too long the day you arrive because you’ll end up staying awake at night.

TIP 4 - searching for a place to eat: Eater London has some great lists, so I’d suggest to start there! Yelp London is not helpful, so for food, I have to cross check reviews on Google and everywhere else. It’s London (the same goes for NYC), be picky and don’t settle because there are so many good options to choose from. If there’s a line and you’ve got to walk-in, just pack along a snack, stay hydrated, and you’ll be fine waiting in line for a little bit!

TIP 5 - try getting to know the vibe of the place or area that you’re in: I picked this tip up after living in NYC for awhile after doing a lot of city exploring. I compare a lot of the things in London to nYC — the train system and experience, different neighborhoods, US vs British people’s manners and vocabulary/common expressions, food taste, and ways of living. Know that you can always leave if the vibe doesn’t feel right to you.

TIP 6 - cash & internet: Although it’s nice to support small businesses by paying cash, you really don’t have to bother cashing our local currency because everyone takes cards these days. For internet, my 5G/LTE situation is kinda slow and annoying when I need to look up something at the spot, but most of the time, I’m able to log in using wifi inside the cafes and restaurants.

Transportation from Heathrow Airport

Taxi from the airport is EXPENSIVE, so I’d recommend taking the Tube or an express train using Apple Pay/Google Pay (aka Contactless or pay-as-you-go, and must tap in and tap out) from Heathrow airport into Central London (if you’re here less than a week like me.)

Most of the places you’d want to visit in your first London trip is in Central London, zone 1 and 2.

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Let me suggest heading east, hopping on a ferry to an island (specifically Martha’s Vineyard — an island off Cape Cod in Massachusetts), and going on a road trip exploring Cape Cod. It’s a 5-hour + drive from Brooklyn for me, but if you don’t live nearby, I’d always suggest booking a flight into Boston and renting a car. Boston is a great start to any New England road trip! So feel free to reach out to me in DM if you ever need help planning.

BEST TIME TO GO

The best time to go to Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod (or Nantucket and Block Island), in my opinion, is August and September. Atlantic Ocean water is very cold, but by August, the water is actually warm enough for you to take a dip or swim. At Martha’s Vineyard, the coastline is pristine, and the beach I’ve been to here is easily one of the best beaches on the East Coast so far!

These islands and coastal towns make great family vacation spots, and I do understand the hype. I’ve seen families with little kids and elders, girls’ groups of all ages as well as teenagers casually island hopping and going to the beach there for the day. And apparently, there aren’t a lot of the young loud party groups (I’ve heard Nantucket has more of those crowds?). So if you’re looking for something more chill and inclusive yet still giving the New England coastal vibe (very much my kinda vibe these days!), definitely do Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod! And you know what the best part is? You don’t need a car! We did the entire island of Martha’s Vineyard by BUS!

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June is a month full of brand events, and I’m actually headed to the Hamptons for the first time this summer for a networking event/party on Saturday (6/10). So excited to share more with you since it’s at a pretty cool venue. It’s one of the cool perks of being a content creator living in NYC. You’d get invited to parties and events, and I think it’s a neat way to network and make friends as an adult.

If you missed my (unofficial) apartment reveal video, watch it here. I also shared briefly about my trip to Montreal over Memorial Day weekend in last week’s An’s List, so I’m sharing my favorite spots in Montreal. If you’ve never been to Canada, definitely start in Toronto.

TORONTO TRAVEL GUIDE BLOG POST

An’s Guide to Montreal

I have never flown into Canadian cities nor do I have pets or children, so please note that I can only share my road trip/driving tips traveling with another adult.

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS TO BRING

• Your valid passport (must not be expired! I’m unsure about the 6-month expiry rule when crossing the border from the US this way, but just to be sure, make sure yours doesn’t expire within 6 months.)

• Green card, valid visa, or any paperwork that proves your legal entrance to the US when coming back.

CROSSING THE BORDER + TIPS

• Plan ahead and check border wait times as well as closure to avoid delays in your travel.

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