Brooklyn apartment updates and Youtube announcement
OOTD + 10 black FASHION things I'm adding to my wardrobe this year
I’m officially coming back to YOUTUBE!!!
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For YouTube, I enjoy slow-living at-home cooking, cleaning, and home decorating type of vlogs, so I’m giving ‘life in NYC’ vlogging a try. Many people say vlogging is dead, and everyone in NYC vlogs about their life in NYC. But I disagree. I have family and friends watching and following along with my stuff, so I’ve got tons of requests to vlog about my life in NYC. So I do it for them, and I think I have something to offer. We’ll experiment with different life and style content, so I hope you’re just as excited as I am. This time, I hope to be more consistent on YouTube because it is the most stable platform in the long term.
Subscribe to this newsletter, An’s List, if you haven’t already, as you will be the first one to hear from me with updates and any future announcements.
Brooklyn apartment updates
I signed a 2-year lease for this apartment, and it’s been everything I have hoped for. I love living here, and I think I will be very sad if I have to move somewhere else. It’s quiet, and the neighborhood is nice and clean. It’s just perfect for me and where I am at in life.
If you’re new to my page, check out my NYC Apartment-hunting Journey - a post that I shared last year that’s all about apartment-hunting in NYC. I also have a post about Small Space Living - Organization & Storage Tips, so check it out if you want to learn about how to live with less.
I live in a brownstone on the first ground or garden level, and my landlords live upstairs. We have half of the backyard and a corner in the basement for storage. My apartment unit is more like a studio because our bed and the living area are in one space. If I have guests over, I usually take out this futon from storage, and they would, of course, sleep in the living space aka the same space as ours. So far, it’s been working great! There’s a sliding door that separates the living space from the kitchen, but we rarely close it.
Earlier this week, I decided to move the Muji oak bench from the dining to the living area and use it as a coffee table. We’re still on the lookout for a large dresser or hope to install some sort of modular and renter-friendly shelving system right where the Muji bench used to be.
The Muji bench used to serve as extra seating when we had guests over, and most of the time, it would always end up being our clothes-dumping area. I bought it at a pretty good discount from the Muji store in Williamsburg because it was a store display. I also bought 3 of the quilted off-white cushions, and unfortunately, I couldn’t find links for them anymore. I also have this Snow Peak cushion that I love to sit on when I do my makeup on the ground.
Home wishlist
Now, with this new living room set-up, it gives me some ideas to redecorate.
First off, I want to add some art books, so I’ll browse art bookstores and museum gift shops. I also collect plants, shared my plant wishlist here, so right now, I feel strongly about bringing a tree into this space.
A Dracaena or a Pleomele tree — something low maintenance, tall, branchy with a curvy & arching top, in a nice planter, of course!
This will be in the corner right next to the front window where my CB2 mirror (32”x76”, white) is. It will add a sculptural element and some colors to the space.
My current all-white linen bed setup:
I love my SIJO linen sheets just as much as my percale sheets from Brooklinen. However, if I were to pick, I’d choose cotton over linen any day just because you cannot beat good quality cotton! My Floyd bed (purchased secondhand) can be extended into a king, so in the future, I’d love to swap out my queen Avocado mattress for a king. Even though my bedding is a queen, my comforter and duvet cover are in size king. It gives a draping effect that I think looks nice with this space. Hence, I’m shopping for a cotton king/cal king duvet cover and a cotton flat sheet to replace my current linen ones, specifically after those from Tekla. Some new pillows and pillow covers to go with it would be nice as well!
TIP: I did splurge on a Tekla linen flat sheet back in the summer of 2022. It is massive, and I love that it gets softer and softer after every wash. It is worth the investment!
I love my Tekla bathrobe!
These striped bath towels are next on my list!
TIP: Knowing how expensive Tekla stuff is, I’d recommend waiting for a sale from Tekla’s retail partners such as Ssense, Nordstrom, and Matches. Otherwise, if you can buy directly from the Tekla Copenhagen store, do it!
Vintage or antique vessels such as flower vases, water jugs, pitchers, bowls, and plates
I pull a lot of inspiration for these kinds of objects from Athena Calderone and her blog/website ‘Eyeswoon’ as well as Lucy Williams’ home and what she shares on her IG and Substack ‘Remotely’.
TIPS: If you search ‘vintage clay vessel’ on Etsy, you’ll be amazed at the selections (if you prefer to shop for these things from the comfort of your own home).
Hoping that I’ll get to make it to LA this summer… If I do, Olive Atelier is on my list!
Do not miss out on the Banana Republic and Zara Home section!
Imagine those objects plus some fresh seasonal flowers, branches, and stems.
Favorite OOTD this week
WEARING - DISSH tank top | ACNE STUDIOS blazer | CELINE sunglasses | MARYAM NASSIR ZADETH belt | CITIZENS OF HUMANITY jeans in Serene | HERMES loafers - vintage from The RealReal | REFORMATION bag | MANGO earrings
This blazer helps put things in perspective because I’ve realized I don’t have many strong black-colored key pieces in my wardrobe. It’s structured, oversized, and so perfect for my style and what I have been looking for. I feel really good and confident in it, and it does make me realize I need to upgrade or add a few more black things to my wardrobe. Here’s my plan…
10 black items I’m (actually) adding to my wardrobe…
trousers - currently waiting for another discount code. I ordered but returned size 6 because they were massive. I’d stay true to size with these!
belt - so dainty and elegant! Can’t wait to get my hands on it!
blazer - my blazer (shared above), size 6/38
90s bag - currently sold out in black, but I’m hopeful it will come back in stock soon. I’ll stop by their flagship store in the UES and report back soon!
day bag - currently on pre-order, but I just got a shipping notification today. Wooh! I used the 15% new email sign-up. Can’t wait!
t-shirt - Love the black logo in the back. I’d go for size S! Similar but thicker fabric, $45.
heels - also love the flat version!
Have a great week, everyone!
An