HK

Took a last minute trip home for a week to see family. During this trip, I mostly worked from home and hung out with my family. It was pretty rough going out anyway - once you stepped outside, you were immediately sweating and suffocated by the humidity. On top of that, it was about 100 degrees. My mom and I did go out to check out a few new spots that I haven't seen - the Innovation Tower at PolyU, and the HK Walls in Sham Shui Po. The inside of the Innovation Tower is like the futuristic Men In Black office - all white and sleek with black floors. My kind of color palette! There was a white staircase in the middle of the building that went all the way up the 13 floors and towered over you. My uni definitely wasn't this cool!

The HK Walls was another fun (but sweaty) adventure. We printed the map from the website, and walked around the area to find all the artists' work in the alleyways and on the buildings of an old residential area. 

Photos by Me & Mom
frayed top -  | sunglasses - nannini | blue top - c/meo collective

A Trip to the Desert

We took a road trip to Joshua Tree this weekend. Though it's only the beginning of February it was close to 80F during the day and as you can see from my super blue photos there was not a cloud in the sky. We went with our friends Christie and Derek and stayed at an awesome geo-dome, which you've probably seen on Instagram. We spent the morning driving through the park, then headed down to check out Salvation Mountain and watched the sunset by the Salton Sea. Will be posting some photos inside the Dome soon! :)

photo by Feng

Serenity in the City

During my time in Hong Kong, my friend Jenn (@thatworkinglife) and I decided to catch up over a visit to the Chi Lin Nunnery, which supposedly we visited together during our 5th grade field trip (I don't remember that at all). It was nice to come back and appreciate how beautiful and calm this place is. My favorite part was how you can see the high rises hovering over the temple, but couldn't hear the bustling city (see the last photo). One of my hopes for this year is to save money and travel more. We have a few trips planned during the beginning of this year and I am super excited for it! Do you have any goals for this year?

photos by Jenn Ong of That Working Life and Courtney Yeh

Sweater - TopShop | Backpack - Everlane | Bracelet - Gift from Mom (similar here)

HONEYMOON

About five months after our wedding, Tim and I finally went on our honeymoon. In hindsight I wouldn't recommend this, go on your honeymoon right after your wedding! I'm telling you, returning to work the weekend after is nothing short of anticlimactic (which is what we both did). Although the honeymoon was the last thing on my mind with everything that had to be planned, I can't deny that I was a little bit concerned if we would even go on one. Once you get back into your daily grind it's too easy to push aside, our honeymoon should have been put on a higher priority. We decided to go to Italy and visit four places including Rome, Venice, Florence and Vernazza.  They were all magnificent; pasta, gelato and market food overload, rough life I know. 

Rome - rainbow appearance on our first evening

Rome - view from the Vatican

Rome - Vatican columns

Stones of Rome

Rome - Pantheon (Tim's favorite)

Venice - seagulls vs. pigeons at St. Mark's Square

Venice - water alleyways

Venice - vacant gondolas

Venice - seagull enjoying view beside the Rialto Bridge

Venice - St. Mark's Square

Venice - red roofs and pastels

Venice - Grand Canal on a dreary afternoon

Florence - Fiume Arno

Florence - Easter crowds enjoying sunset at Ponte Vecchio

Florence - the magnificent Duomo

Vernazza - a favorite of the five Cinque Terre villages, a 

remote chunk of the Italian Riviera

 Vernazza - Cave

 Vernazza - View from our hike to the next village Manarola

Vernazza - Tourists warming up under the April sun - View from the Castello Doria watch tower

- E

Flower Fields

If you've been following my Instagram, you've probably seen photos of our weekend in San Diego. One of the mornings, my dad and I decided to visit the flower fields in Carlsbad. Although not even comparable to the Tulip Gardens in Amsterdam, it was close enough. :) There was about 50 acres of colorful petunia flowers, but unfortunately we caught them at the end of their bloom, so many of the flowers were already starting to wilt. It was still fun and beautiful to see! I believe yesterday was their last day of visits, but definitely check it out if you're in the area next time!

photo by dad

photo by dad