Mid - Year Favorites 2022
We are already halfway into the year! I don’t think I’ve ever had a year go by as fast as this one. Everything that has happened in 2022 simultaneously feels like it happened yesterday but also five years ago.
I started the year in Switzerland on the tail-end of a holiday ski trip. Five days after touching back down in Chicago, I went to San Francisco for a week to visit friends before spending the weekend in Tahoe for my Golden Birthday celebration. To end the month, I took my first ever wine tasting class and passed an exam for tasting certification! February was defined by delicious restaurants but a fair share of work woes. In March, I traveled almost every week- going to New Orleans for work, LA to visit friends (and see the Jujutsu Kaisen Movie!), and then a final long ski weekend for the year with my boyfriend in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. In April, I started looking at apartments with my boyfriend for us to move into, and my climbing started to get noticeably better. In May, I had two friends come visit me separately so I got to do a lot of hosting and exploring my home city. At the same time, I was packing and prepping to move at the end of the month. And now it’s mid-June! The first part of the month has been defined by getting comfortable living in a new apartment with my boyfriend, and then I headed off to Greece for over two weeks!
Although the above paragraph focuses on the highlights, there also have been a lot of downs. I’ve been frustrated with work many days and generally live in an existential state of constantly wondering what my purpose is and if what I’m doing on a daily basis is enough. But when I don’t allow those thoughts to dominate my mind, I realize I’m actually doing pretty well. Per usual, I want to do a roundup of all the things I’ve been loving so far this year.
Products
Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant: I wrote about this late last year as well but I’m still obsessed. My skin texture has never looked better (although I still have a persistent patch of maskne)
EM Cosmetics So Soft Blush in Baby: I’ve been a fan of cream blushes for years now and this one makes a strong case for my favorite. It’s super creamy, blends like a dream, and stays for almost 8 hours (on my oily skin, that is an accomplishment)
Athleta Elation Tights: My mom got me a pair for christmas last year and I immediately went out and bought another one. I don’t care if I never touch another pair of lululemon leggings ever again. This leggings are impossibly soft, the waist is super high, and they’re my favorite travel/athleisure pants at the moment.
Tower 28 Bronzino Illuminating Cream Bronzer: saw this in a no-makeup, glowy skin makeup tutorial and boy does it deliver. The best part about it for me is that I can also apply and blend it easily with my fingers. I basically wore this on my cheeks and eyelids every single day while in Greece.
Recipes:
Mapo Tofu: My friends made this for me while I was visiting San Francisco at the beginning of the year and it quickly became part of my personal rotation. It might be a little warm to fully enjoy it now, but it’s so flavorful, overheating might just be worth it.
Dakbokkeumtang: Another great recipe from this creator. Once you have the basic ingredients, it’s so simple to put together and the chicken just falls off the bone. One of my boyfriend's favorite recipes that I make regularly
Cold Noodle Salad: On the flip side, I found this recipe on tiktok and it is the perfect amount of refreshing and healthy for the summer. I never used to like cold noodles but something about the sauce for this one really seals the deal for me.
Restaurants (Chicago): I’m only going to talk about Chicago restaurants because I can be more confident that the experience was actually amazing and not convoluted with the general happiness I get from traveling.
Galit: Galit was an accidental find. I had asked my boyfriend to go to a Harry Potter Pop Up bar in the area and when dinner rolled around, I managed to get us an early spot at this place. It now has a Michelin star but is a reasonably priced four-course middle eastern experience. Everything is ridiculously flavorful but maintains a light texture, like you could keep eating forever - and you’ll want to
El Che: Booked this when my steak-loving friend came to visit since I had been looking for an excuse to visit for months. It is an Argentinian open-fire steakhouse. Of course the steak was mouthwatering but everything else was surprisingly delicious as well. The steak tartare was a standout as one of the most fragrant I’ve ever had.
Komo: A new Japanese inspired restaurant that opened in our area. We booked the tasting menu experience and it was super worth it. The dishes were recognizable but somehow made unique again. My favorite was the Foie Gras which included lobster, mochi ice cream, and pear sauce. I had no idea what to expect with that kind of description, but you can trust them.
Laopengyou: A recent casual Chinese find. They specialize in noodles and dumplings and they might be the best dumplings I’ve had in Chicago so far.
Media
Books
Poppy War Series by R.F. Kuang: this book follows a slightly feral female protagonist during her rise and participation in the Great War of her time. Heavily inspired by the relationship between China and Japan during the World Wars, but adds a supernatural fantasy element. These were the books I’ve torn through the quickest so far this year.
Date o Nomics by Jon Birger: I wrote a whole article about this one here. But essentially a research-driven take on how gender ratios might be the culprit for current dating trends.
Exercised by Daniel Lieberman: Obsessed with this one. I also wrote a whole article for this as well. The author attempts to dissect human’s relationship with exercise as a whole - why do we do it? Why is it hard to build an exercise habit? And truly what are the benefits? Might be the most important book I’ve ever read on exercise.
Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Batzerrica: I had to throw a freaky one in here. This book is a dystopian fiction that takes place in a world where animals are no longer fit for consumption so humans have resorted to raising other humans for slaughter for meat. It is disturbing, to say the least.
TV
The Silent Sea (Netflix): This is a futuristic Korean drama about a group of scientists/military that goes to the moon to investigate why the last group of researchers all died. It is chilling yet hopeful all at the same time.
Mob Psycho (CrunchyRoll): I know this anime is old news now but I caught up on all three seasons when I was in San Francisco and it is so good! Mob is such a good character and the humor is impeccable. I also learned that the creator is the same as one punch man, so it all makes sense why I loved it so much.
The Great S2 (Hulu): I talked about this show last year and I’ll talk about it again since season 2 was released. I’ve never watched a period drama that was so unhinged, yet stylish, and also comedic, but this show captures all that on top of absolutely excellent writing. In love.
Arcane (Netflix): The only show I’ve watched this year that I would rank as near perfect. I held off on watching this for a while since I didn’t really know anything about League, but caved in eventually and WOW. The story is incredible, the characters are better, and the animation is a work of art.
Steinsgate (Hulu): An anime that had been on my list for a while. Takes a bit to get into but definitely one of the most interesting takes I’ve ever seen on a time travel story.
Neon Genisis Evangelion (Netflix): Another classic anime I finally sat down to watch with my sister. It is super depressing and existential, but I love the way it shows all these abstract ideas through the imagery of the tangible story. It also plays with the medium in a way that I find is less common in anime’s that are based on manga.
SpyxFamily (CrunchyRoll): Think a family version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. This anime is so fun and I’m so excited for new episodes!
Movies
Spencer: I believe this one came out last year, but I only watched it a few months ago. It was a much smaller story than I had originally expected but Kristin Stewart’s acting was amazing.
JJK movie: If the anime movie makes me cry, it makes the list. Even though the movie focuses more on characters that don’t appear as much in the anime series so far, I was completely hooked.
The Outfit: Literally watched this a few weeks ago. It’s about a tailor in Chicago who gets embroiled in mob drama. The whole thing takes place inside the tailor shop and feels like a play. They use this small stage to their advantage and show off great nuanced writing and acting. Highly recommend.
Let me know what you’ve been loving so far! I’m especially on the hunt for amazing books and movies!
Living for the rare sunny days in Chicago