Current state of the Union

Welcome to the pickle-verse

Inspired by my childhood girl crush, Massie Block, from “The Clique” series, I’m taking a page out of her lip gloss locked diary and decided to make my own State of the Union, in an attempt to put pen to paper on the things I am simultaneously releasing and inviting in to my life.

Nothing says a woman with good taste than a pug named Bean, a subscription to Glossip Girl, and a purple streak in her hair (did anyone else read these books?)

Inspired by a transformative three weeks away from Berlin, I gained clarity on some things bearing me down, while also unearthing sparks of joy that I wish to carry with my as the next chapter of the year unfolds.

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Here goes nothing:

SAVOURY BREAKFASTS (the all caps is fun, no?)

As an avid appreciator of fruit, I’ve always played for the yogurt and granola team. To me, there is no better way to break the fast than with a seasonal slice of fruit paired with nuts and seeds then wrapped together in something creamy.

However, the tides have taken a turn for two reasons: the first being my acupuncturist’s advise against yogurt consumption given it’s cold nature (not good for someone with a cold constitution) if only two colds made a warm :(

The second being a boyfriend who makes the most incredibly delicious soft scrambled eggs. The switch to a savoury breakfast was a diplomatic one, as things in our relationship could have become dicey if I continued on stealing bites of his breakfast.

Fruit is still invited to the party, but I’ve been treating the nibbles as a stomach opener, before the main act takes stage.

TTEOKBOKKI

TTEBOKKI is the most pleasurable food I have ever encountered. The experience of eating these ooey gooey rice cakes is so good, it should be banned for children under the age of eighteen. Eating TTEBOKKI (this one deserves all caps) and watching an R rated movie are on the same playing field. The level of pleasure (from the former, duh), should be something for pre-teens to yearn after they are welcomed into adulthood. TTEBOKKI will serve to soften the blow of the realities of adulthood. 

Once cooked, the texture is a goldilocks state of softness and firmness — ooey and gooey yet still tight and composed. I also don’t think it’s possible to overcook TTEBOKKI, which unhinges the cooking process away from the leash of al dente pasta.

The first bite makes my eyes roll to the back of my head — not out of habit, but from pure pleasure. A and I have subsequently been in a stir fry phase, and we’ve unintentially fallen into a pattern of alternating between pairing the dish with rice and TTEBOKKI (added directly into the mixture). The former is like a waltz: proper and modest, pleasing to the eye and exemplifying all that is right in the world. The latter is a salsa, a choreography that dances on the backs of the best things in life: the things we don’t expect, the unplanned, the blurred lines that seem impossible in our own minds.  Life has a beautiful way of unfolding a narrative beyond our wildest dreams, to get a taste, let life do it’s thing or eat a bowl of TTEBOKKI.

MOUTHTAPE

I have successfully Pavlov’ed myself into falling asleep the moment I seal my lips shut with mouth tape (hello humble brag). I’ve been using mouth tape for the past two years or so, and my sleep has never been the same. Why tape your mouth shut before going to bed? The answer is the same as the question of why one craves ice cream on a sunny day. It’s human nature — one that we’ve strayed away from as our society has taken a turn down the mouth breather road. Mouth breathing turns on the fight or flight nervous system (imagine yourself running away from a tiger, how would you breathe?) whereas nose breathing turns signals to our bodies that we are safe to rest and digest. There are a whole host of other health and cosmetic conditions associated with mouth breathing as well, if you’re interested, this video is a fun one.

Even if you think you don’t mouth breathe (I thought I didn’t), mouth tape is worth a shot. Health benefits aside, it’s the deepest sleep I’ve ever gotten. Consider it a one way ticket to dreamland — and who can resist that?

** my favourite tape (trust me, I’ve done the legwork).

COMPLAINING ABOUT THE WEATHER

A and I just came back from Hawaii, a place — when compared to Berlin — that is so close to the equator, one can taste it. So one can imagine that after weeks of sun and azure blue skies, landing at BER and seeing teardrops lazily fall from the blanket of grey overhead, was a bit disheartening. It looked like it could have been November.

If complaining about the weather was an olympic sport, I would be a shoe in for the gold. There is nothing my tongue likes to do more than criticise the state of the sky (lets just say I had to shorten the previous paragraph quite a bit). I can’t help it, it is too easy to point an unsatisfied finger up towards the Berlin-heavens. Giddy and naive with my bachelors degree in hand, I moved to Berlin from Los Angeles in August, without knowing that winters here are all year round…… (ok, that was harsh).

Alas, I’ll save my weather rant for when it really is November because I’m turning a new leaf. As much as I like to report, I am not the weather woman. Even if I was, the state of the sky is in no ones control. So it’s time I take a new road and leave the sky alone for a change. Let’s see how that goes.

TRADITIONAL CLOTHING SIZES

I’m in the process of creating a line of yoga pants, and something that’s been on my mind is how I want to size everything. I’m not happy with the current state of sizing (xs, s, m, L / 0, 00, 4, 6 / 34, 36, 38) because I find the notion of defining a body to a number to be quite degrading. Perhaps I’ve just been burned a bit too hard by double zero skinny jeans rhetoric, but there must be another way to find a pair of pants that fits. One that fits the pants to the person rather than the person fitting the pants.

Initially, I wanted to do a one size fits all pant, but the risk of being Brandy Melville’d is high. I don’t want to be size-ist, but at the same time, I do believe that the pants I am designing have enough elasticity to truly fit every body.

In my research, I did find a swimwear brand that only has one size, which is the last industry I’d expect to play with this, yet I took it as a green light to my thinking.

At the moment I am thinking to make two sizes, one with more legroom and wiggle room compared to the other (they are like sweatpants, so either option will come with plenty of both). In terms of naming, I like the idea of Piccolo and Grande, Italian makes everything sound chic. All Levels and Yin are two other ideas that I’ve had — inspired by commonly sighted yoga class names. The former being a nod to the fact that the size is one for everyone, the latter giving a nod towards something with more fabric to get extra cozy in.

If you have any thoughts or ideas, pleas drop me a message either below or in my inbox. Together we can create a world far far away from the double zero pant.

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Till next time!

xoxo

P