I didn’t see them sink beneath the waves
those little beads I held so close
from a temple a world away
I visited once, but my prayers transcended
time and miles of hope and sea
Tears mixed with waves, salt on salt,
and in the loss I found
What was gone slipped through my fingers
long before that desperate searching
taught me how to yearn.
Cranes have always carried cultural significance for the Japanese, and over the past six months, they’ve come to represent something special for my family as well. Revered in Japan as symbols of longevity and luck, cranes are thought to be “well-behaved like gentlemen, incorruptible and naturally clean and honest.” This could not more aptly describe my father’s personality. Continue reading
I took this photo at the 2014 wedding of my dear friends (and adoptive aunts), Suzanne and Marcia. It was an occasion that gave me a sense of belonging in a place that was, at the time, new and foreign to me. This quote encapsulated my dizzying hunger for experience and beauty that would eclipse anything I’d been able to find before. Continue reading
The past few months have flown by in a whirlwind of shifting landscapes, which I guess is a fitting culmination to a year comprised of new experiences. Last May I was settling into something unfamiliar, surprising myself with the ease I felt in leaving things behind and going it alone. I waited for the moment when that realization would hit me, when I would truly feel it, like jumping into the deep end and letting the water envelop me in cold. It didn’t happen that way, though. Continue reading
Since moving to the West Coast, I’ve made a wealth of new connections for whom I’m truly grateful. I’ve even been lucky enough to acquire some brand new family out here: my self-appointed adoptive aunts, Marcia and Suzanne. After three months, I feel like I’ve known them forever– and I hope to.
On Suzanne: Calypso tunic. On Marcia: Anthropologie top and pants.
Suzanne and Marcia have been together for nearly 25 years, and after the long-awaited repeal of DOMA they decided to make their union official. Surprisingly, their decision to marry wasn’t a given. Continue reading
I’ve been slacking here, and I feel terrible about it. But I swear, I have an actual reason, and hopefully this will be the last big lapse in posting. (Dare to dream.)
About a month ago I moved to San Francisco for a new job, which was a big and exciting decision for me. I spent a couple of weeks using Airbnb before finding an apartment in the city, buying a car (after not having driven, really, for years), and basically starting from scratch with three suitcases full of clothes. Well, one of them was full of shoes. (Still, it was a completely insufficient selection; I may as well have been camping, honestly.)
View from my office window.
There are some things you can prepare for, and other things that you can’t. A cross-country move is something that you can wrap your mind around logistically with a bit of effort. There’s finding a job, a place to live, a car, and the means of transporting yourself 3,500 miles. Sometime soon I’ll be able to speak to my success or failure in these areas– as of yet, I’ve done what I could to prepare, but some details always manage to slip through your fingers.
One aspect of my move that I have been able to prepare for is in creating a feeling of emotional groundedness that transcends locations and time zones. I’ve been able to do this with the help of my friends. It sounds so simple, but shit, it really isn’t. Anyone who’s been alive for a little bit knows that feeling understood and accepted is a phenomenon not to be taken lightly. One of the greatest successes of my life thus far has been finding amazingly warm people to reassure me that the world is an innately kind place. Their existence proves that to me every day. The bonds I’ve had the luxury of forming have proven so much more essential than anything tangible in life. So while I chase my dreams of working with beautiful things, you’ll always have my heart. You know who you are.
Thanks for supporting me through everything– I won’t forget it.
On Sunday, a few friends and I headed out to the Northern Virginia Brewfest at Bull Run Regional Park. This was our first weekend of real, quintessential fall weather, so I got to break out a hat for the occasion. Monumental. But honestly, I’ve been excited to start layering again. I think we can all agree that fall outfits are way more fun to put together… You just keep piling on stuff until it works.
Hat: Anthropologie, Scarf: Moschino, Top: Riller & Fount (ideeli), Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Jeans: Rachel by Rachel Roy, Boots: Indigo by Clarks, Bag: Charles Jourdan (ideeli), Jacket: Blank NYC.
So, I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing here.
I guess the impetus to create this blog was borne of my frustration with the limited perspective offered by so many others (as well as the encouragement of a couple of friends). Lifestyle blogs are popping up everywhere, and I’ve gotten great recommendations and useful ideas from many of them. But something about this post-GOOP girl-blog era we’re in doesn’t always sit right with me, and I’m attempting to understand what it is.
There’s obviously no right way to be female. But for whatever reason, this surplus of blogs featuring recipes for vegan flourless ricotta truffles and glossy photos of women with perfectly coiffed hair and Louboutins giving their dogs bubble baths in claw-footed tubs… makes me feel like I’m failing in some way. Am I supposed to want these things? What if I don’t even DIY that much?
Don’t get me wrong—I am, by most standards, pretty feminine. I’m incredibly good at slathering products all over my face, finding bargains at consignment stores and on ebay and virtually anywhere else. I love putting together “eclectic” [read: man repellant] outfits that my boyfriend hates. But, you won’t see me staging a photo shoot in a field of wildflowers and acting like, hey guys, this is just my life.
I’m not exactly sure what this project will turn into, but I’m thinking of just letting it develop organically. I’ll tell you honestly what I’m into and why, with no other basis for my authority on beauty or fashion than the fact that I spend a lot of time and money on both. Hope you enjoy.
KATE NISHIMURA 