Katelade

kate + lemonade

Kate

The Tokyo blues

Paul Graham says every city tells you something. In New York it’s Make more money. In Paris, it’s Enjoy life.[1]

I think Tokyo’s message is “Conform” with quotation marks 😉 . Tokyo wants you to follow the rules—or at least appear to follow them—but it tacitly makes room for digressions, under the table.

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I’m moving

Hello! So I missed my deadline last time (going more than three weeks without a post), and now I’m missing it AGAIN. Ahh.

I have a good reason, though: I *had to* get out of my previous living situation, so over the past six weeks I have been very scattered and unable to concentrate on anything other than finding somewhere to live.

And now I’ve found somewhere! Yay! I moved into my own apartment three days ago. It presently contains almost zero furniture. (I’m sleeping on a yoga mat on the floor—which isn’t that bad, really. I may never buy a mattress again.)

I hope to be properly settled and able to return to semi-regular blogging in a few weeks. Until then, please enjoy these Pinterest design inspiration photos.

This is my dream decor: some sort of Japanese-Balinese-Thai-inspired, zen-French fusion, wabi-sabi (Japanese shabby-chic), industrial/modern twist on minimalist classics. Not sure what to call that, but let me know if you have any suggestions 😛

Likes: couch, throw, carpet, drapes. Dislikes: ugly lamp, chairs look uncomfy.
Likes: Couch, coffee tables. Dislikes: Random statues cluttering up the place.
I would add watertight glass doors instead of these ineffective-looking ones.
Add screens to keep the bugs out (and curtains, and arms on the sofa and chairs).
Put this room somewhere with a better view.
Sofa needs arms; swap this coffee table for an ottoman (these edges are too harsh for putting your feet up).
Likes: Couch, rug, color palette. Dislikes: Coffee tables looking like concrete toothpaste lids.
Likes: Couch, fabrics and textures. Dislikes: Odd TV placement (or is that just a dusty painting?).
Likes: everything! Minus the candles and miscellaneous baskets—I’d probably trip over them.
Likes: muted colors, cool textures. Dislikes: creepy sculptures, slip-covered chair.
Likes: combination of glamorous and undone. Dislikes: coffee table is too pointy, and surfaces look cluttered.
Likes: everything, but I would change the gold trim to rose-gold.
Likes: abstract rug, symmetry. Dislikes: pops of orange, dark heavy drapes.
This was an Airbnb I stayed at in Bangkok. This desk chair was sooo comfy! I wish I knew where to buy one.

My room at Astaloka Hotel in Ubud, Bali.
A surprisingly comfy (wicker? rattan? bamboo?) desk chair.
My glorious Bali balcony.

A fun journaling activity: Stuff of the Month

I started keeping these Stuff of the Month lists around age 12. (Credit to my sister Gemma for coming up with the idea, which I copied.)

You know how there’s an Employee of the Month? The Stuff of the Month list is a form of bullet-journaling where you name the Food of the Month (as in your favorite food you ate recently or a food that featured prominently in your month), Movie of the Month, etc.

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Bangkok: Part I

I went to Bangkok twice during my six-month Asia trip, and had two totally different experiences. This is part one: the week of being a tacky backpacker (July 2019).

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Don’t dream, it’s over

I really like this song. I heard it several times in Bali in November, so at first I was listening to it because it reminded me of that part of my trip. Lately, however, it has become a sad song, because it has been swirling around my head during all this bad news, the background music to my dawning realization that my dream is over.

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Blueberry scones

My mom’s English scone recipe: flaky, crumbly, buttery, and bursting with berries.

(By the way, it’s pronounced “scon”—rhymes with on, not cone.)

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Email: kate [at] katelade.com | Get in touch

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