Food Cart Days

Casual day grabbing lunch at the food carts with my family. I dressed up a very casual summer outfit with my white Mansur Gavriel bucket bag and some shades. 

Shirt: thrifted

Pants and top: Uniqlo

Bag: Mansur Gavriel

Cafes of Dublin, Ireland

 In 2022 I went on a business trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland. I spent most of my time up north and most of my time working, but I had a few opportunities to sample Dublin's speciality coffee shops on my arrival and departure days, as well as in-between a few meetings. 

Coffee Angel

Coffee Angel was the first cafe I visited, a mere 2 hours after I landed. It was so good that I went again right before I left. Even after trying all the other cafes in the city, Coffee Angel remained my favorite. The only downside is that this busy outpost had almost no seating, so I had to take to-go. 

Kaph

Kaph seemed like one of those small, super hip places where the baristas knew all the customer's names. I was in love with one tiny corner of the cafe that seemed like a cozy place to drink coffee and read a magazine. Unfortunately I was between meeting so I had to get my coffee to-go and run back to work. 

Ebb & Flow

Ebb & Flow was a busy brunch/breakfast place a short walk from my hotel. I woke up early enough to arrive when it opened and was able to drink my coffee at the restaurant before heading to work 15 minutes later. The staff were so gracious and hospitable. I wish I could go back.

Bodega 

Bodega is a cafe near the bustling Howth pier that lines the Irish Sea. I was able to get a quick coffee because taking a ferry ride which I slept all the way through. 

3fe 

3fe was probably the best coffee I had in Dublin (but Coffee Angel was so much closer and that is why I ended up returning there). I also really like the vive of the cafe and wish I could have had a chance to work from there. 

Republica Outfit

Wore this outfit at a family lunch outing at Republica - very difficult to take outfit photos with the kid, she just has to get into the picture! Here is the progression of what the photoshoot looked like:

Top: Uniqlo

Pants: Uniqlo

Bag: Mansur Gavriel

Seaside Aquarium

All these years I have lived in Oregon and I never visited our local aquariums. I traversed the world to see the aquariums in Japan and Dubai, but couldn't drive 1.5 hours away to see the ones here. Until now...

Having a kids gets you out in new places, but even though this aquarium was kid-friendly, I was definitely much more into it than she was. First, a seal splashed her because she didn't feed it, and that upset her. Then she was afraid to touch the starfish and sea anemones. And then she got it into her head that she wanted to see a narwhal, but they don't survive in captivity and to my knowledge no aquarium has a narwhal, and certainly not a tiny aquarium in Seaside, Oregon. So the kid was rather unhappy, but I thought this was a wonderfully fun and quirky place. 

The entrance where you feed the seals

What the seals eat

Places to pet starfish and sea cucumbers - my kid was too scared

Deadshot Outfit

Very proud of this outfit I put together to meet my friend for drinks at Deadshot. Finally I got to wear the Niko And skirt I bought in Taipei in 2018 when I was pregnant, and swore I would be able to wear it just as soon as I gave birth. Well, that was four years ago. Paired it with a chocolate-colored Cuyana blouse and Mansur Gavriel bag. 

Top: Cuyana

Skirt: Nika and...

Bag: Mansur Gavriel

Leather gloves: thrifted

Shoes: Target

Sunglasses: Alice + Olivia