Hi! I’m back. Things got busy and I didn’t get a chance to post last week (sorry!). Now it’s time to play catch up. I have some wardrobe and apartment updates to share with you all.

For the past two months, I had been wearing my cotton flannel blouses from Muji nearly every other day to work. I already own three of them. They are so comfortable and warm, while still looking put together. I like that they hang away from the body, but still look feminine, not frumpy. And I don’t have to bother wearing a real bra with these tops. They feel so easy and end up being the first thing I gravitate to when getting dressed. I decided I better get another one, and found one in this beautiful aubergine color. They look great front tucked like this, but also look great untucked too.

For pictures, tucked probably looks better. But in real life, I like to wear it untucked most of the time.

I love the comfort and ease of flannel. Flannel doesn’t have to be traditional plaid shirts and pajama pants. Almost anything can be made of flannel. I’d like a tank top in flannel, a dress in flannel, trousers in flannel, everything flannel! lol.

Anyway, without further adieu, here’s my living room! It took us a long time to find the right furniture, but I think it’s finally done. I wouldn’t want to add or subtract anything major at this point. I went for a light and airy style, that still felt casual and lived in.

What really brought everything together was the oil painting above the couch. It’s a hand-me-down from the BF’s mom, painted by an artist in Montana, where they own a cabin. At first I wasn’t sure if it would work in the space, but to my surprise, all the natural colors in the landscape were colors already found in our living room furniture, and it just gave the room a nice pop of color without going over the top.

This sectional is nice because it is actually reversible, meaning the extension can either be positioned on the left or right side. Originally, I had the extension on the other side, but changed it after I noticed how our guests never sat on the couch. I realized that, on the other side, the extension cut off the flow of the room. After I moved it to where it is now, I noticed we and our guests sat on the couch much more. Feng Shui is real folks! lol. I decided on a round coffee table because our space is small and I like that it allows one to maneuver around the table without worrying about bumping into corners. I chose one with a lower shelf for additional storage. The only other thing I might add to this area are more throw pillows, but it’s probably fine without it. I won’t rush into it.

I absolutely love this chair that we found at Target. It’s all over the Emily Henderson blog if it looks familiar to you. It’s a great chair for guests, ie. it’s nice to sit in for 1-2 hours, but not a chair that you can sink into to read a book for 3-4 hours. I got over my fear of wood tones with this living room. I went all in but in order to avoid a heavy aesthetic I went for wood tones that were medium in lightness and with a slightly ashy tone. We kept decorative items to a minimum here to avoid overwhelming the already small space. There’s a small potted plant in the corner, which is dying btw. It used to have 10x more leaves! Sad. I can’t seem to keep plants alive, but I will keep trying. We have a couple candles out and a bowl of asian fruits that my mom gave me for Lunar New Year.

If you’re wondering what’s on the TV, I was watching the Netflix docuseries “Wild Wild Country”, about the Indian guru Osho. I’m on the third episode so far. It’s really interesting. Anyone else watch it? Last night, we watched the Mr. Rogers documentary on HBO. Also very good and made me cry (a lot!). We need Mr. Rogers more than ever!

Long time readers here also probably know that I tend to subscribe to weird stuff on youtube. I recently discovered a youtube channel by a Chinese woman who makes high quality videos about making things from scratch. She originally worked as a DJ in the big city but then decided to go back home to the countryside to live with her grandmother. If you’re looking for something slow and relaxing to watch, I highly recommend. I’ve also really enjoyed these silent vegan cooking videos from a Japanese chef at peaceful cuisine. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.