american authors

We express our experiences as a shared unit, through music and an agreement of sound. With lows come highs and fighting always has an end. We accept struggle and are passionate about the lives we lead. We create the music that comes naturally to us and we're not afraid of change. We are thrilled about the present. We all have a story to tell, whether it's audible, visual, silence or motion. We are constantly creating new moments to share. We are American Authors from Brooklyn, New York. 

I've fallen in love with a band called American Authors after listening to Best Day of My Life on Songza. Now I'm even more head over heels in love with them after reading their About section. I just love it when musicians have so much to say and just say it or rather sing it so beautifully. I admire people who can create beauty and happiness through notes, sounds, melody and words. I think ultimately you need to be happy to create, even though you may want to evoke sadness or anger or any kind of negative energy, but you must be happy to create it or else existence would be such a daunting experience.

I feel happiest when I can cry and feel sadness. I think I am and was most sad when I felt nothing. I need to constantly feel and feel the ability to express myself through any kind of emotion. Music helps me get to a place where I can be in touch with my emotions and my soul. It just makes me happy to discover bands that are passionate about their craft and love what they do! Or else why do we struggle if we're not excited or passionate?! Have a very happy day!

samba de verão

It's gloomy and raining outside, so I'm listening to Samba de Verão (Summer Samba), the quintessential 1964 bossa nova song by Marcos Valle, this version is by Japanese-Brazilian bossa nova singer Lisa Ono. Daydreaming about being in a foreign land.

Admittedly, I always loved the idea of being a musician (not as a career), but I never truly had the heart or determination to learn how to play an instrument. As a child, I had the opportunity to learn the piano - wasn't interested. At boarding school, I learned to play the harp for two years. I loved the idea that I was one out of three people who was taking harp lessons, but eventually, the novelty wore off. The sad truth is I'm just not musically inclined as much as I would want to be. I'm not the type of person who "sees" colors when listening or playing music. Well, when I listen to music, it's a visual experience for me in a sense that I create stories in my head. 

I've been compiling a list of songs for my first feature length screenplay. I think my mind is better at finding or creating complementary visuals for songs and music. But I'm not going to let it stop me from learning an instrument. I also learned to play the bass guitar and I was super into it at the beginning and then I lost all motivation. Now, I am feeling super inspired to pick up the classical guitar. Although, I've always fantasized about playing the drums, but maybe I'm just not the percussion type. I'll keep dreaming and hopefully someday I won't make excuses and just take lessons and then I'll be able to make an informed decision about my percussion playing abilities. 

I just need to do and stop making excuses, that's just the bottom line. If I want to learn something or do something, I should just do them, so I won't have to regret anything in the future. I'm going to pick up a used classical guitar at Guitar Center. Looking forward to my musical journey.

honey

The art of perfumery is a wonderful thing. The first ever perfume scent I ever fell in love with was Daisy Marc Jacobs, which launched in 2007. It was love at first smell. The combination of strawberry, violet leaf, spicy grapefruit and gardenia instantly won me over. It was the first time I ever cared for a perfume scent, before then I never had much interest in perfumes. I never had the money to spare on a bottle of Daisy. So any time I walked through a department store or the airport duty free, I would spray some Daisy and I would instantly feel happy. I swear perfumes induce happiness. There must be some study on this! I finally bought the Daisy roller ball last summer - it was a very glorious day indeed. It was my scent for summer 2012.

I've been loving Marc Jacobs perfumes from Daisy to Lola and the different editions every year to Dot and the newly announced Honey, which is due in July/August. Honey is described as a vibrant, sunny, enchanting floral fragrance. Its golden shimmering scent is making me so ready for the summer. The fragrance opens with green pear, fruit punch and juicy mandarin. Orange blossom, honeysuckle, peach nectar in the heart. The base hosts accords of honey, golden vanilla and smooth woods. This combination sounds so warm, fresh and happy! Looking forward to seeing the advertising shots by Juergen Teller.

I've always loved honey. I love the word honey, it always conjures up images of Winnie the Pooh and his beloved honey pot. I love honey as a term of endearment. I love how honey is extracted from the flower's nectar. I love truffle honey - it is delicious. In the spring of 2011, I found the lovely Honey Nectar scent by Love and Toast. It was a happy discovery at a cute boutique on Kearny Street in San Francisco. I wore that scent during the spring and summer months of 2011, so it makes me yearn for that time period of my life. It's amazing how a scent can trigger memories or certain time periods of your life. It's called olfactory memory. Beautiful, huh?

I really love the idea of creating a film or story behind a perfume scent. I've always loved flowers, it just makes sense that I appreciate the art of perfumery. I think it takes a true storyteller, scientist, artist and dreamer to create a beautiful scent and bottle design. It's a very psychological, emotional, historical and literary experience that comes with perfume making. And there is an astrological association with flowers and perfume making, which is just so fascinating. I think it's about creating a girl in mind and then the scent becomes the embodiment of the girl's personality and charm. Who knows maybe someday in the future, I'll be able to create a scent along with each film that I hope to make. I would love to combine my love of storytelling and perfumery and create magic!

For perfume aficionadas, Fragrantica is a great Perfume Encyclopedia. 

paradise

At one point of my life, I thought I wanted a career in the music industry. Not as a musician, but as a writer or producer or scout or something. Music was such a huge part of my life and it saved me basically. But around 2008, I became lazy and was content with the same old bands. You can call it loyalty or laziness. I just know I need to be more active! With Spotify and Songza, I really should be thrilled to discover new music. I recently discovered Paradise by Wild Nothing, starring Michelle Williams and her super adorable platinum blonde pixie. I love that the band falls under the genre of dream pop. That just sounds so wonderful. And I love their new album Nocturne and the dreamy album cover. I need to listen to new music and watch more music videos in general. I want to go to more shows - I feel so alive when I listen to live music. I love the experience of being a part of something beautiful, but it only lasts thirty minutes to an hour. You're there in that moment, you know it's going to end soon, but you just want it to last. That's why I love live music. It makes me feel infinite.

march

March just flew by and I totally forgot to do one of these posts last week. We're one week into April already, it's freaking me out a little. But that means the weather should start warming up! I'm just really looking forward to cherry blossom season. I got back to New York on the 12th and I couldn't believe how cold it still was - it even snowed a few times. I'm really glad I got to do so much when I was in Hong Kong. I think I only spent a total of three days at home in the five weeks I was in Hong Kong. I got to eat really well, so I've completely spoiled my palette. I refuse to eat Chinese food in New York now. Sorry, but if you're from Hong Kong, you'd understand. Got to celebrate a few birthdays - lots of March babies: Diana, Skye, Sasha, Vicky! Lots of love! I'm looking forward to blog more and post Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China photos this week. Hello spring!

1. agnès b. FLEURISTE !! at IFC, Hong Kong. I love flowers. I could spend all day at a flower shop if I could!
2. I was heartbroken when I missed the Regarding Warhol exhibit at the Met last winter (I had a somewhat valid reason). So I was so happy when I found out there was a Warhol Exhibit in Hong Kong.
3. COS is my new favorite brand; sadly it's not yet available in the U.S. Soon though! Soon!
4. Violet and Rose flavored macarons from Mio Miko.
5. Really glad I made it back to New York in time to see the Matisse: In Search of True Painting exhibit. Although, I was slightly unimpressed with the way they curated the exhibit. But I love Matisse with all my heart.
6. Stanley Kubrick Film Festival at IFC Center (New York) from March 20th-28th. I got to see A Clockwork Orange and The Shining (again, but first time at the cinema)!
7. Still snowing in March.
8. Brunch meet up and catch up at Lokal with Inez.
9. Easter brunch at Jones Wood Foundry with Sasha. Good olde English food.
10. Latte art at Variety Cafe.
11. New glasses 2013. People really seem to like this pair! I just wanted grey frames.
12. Goodbye Hong Kong, mom and dad and friends, thanks for everything! See you next time.