august favorites: my signature green cardigan, fig leaf syrup recipe & the joys of newsletter branding

+ labor day sales on natural fiber clothing

Hello! I’ve been in bed wearing my Monchichi pajama tee with the fan blasting, nursing a mug of Stomach Ease tea. These are the Labor Day sale things I’m enticed by…color-centric and natural fiber-forward.

• Oddobody 20% off—sleep short in moon (perfect for dance/yoga), tanga and bikini underwear styles

• Freda Salvador 30% off—woven ballet flats in pink and green

• Beklina 20% off—cotton lace trouser, such a good early fall piece

• Boden 20% off—cotton blend green cardigan (I also have my eye on this green cotton cardigan from Sonderhaus with a more inclusive size range, but it’s not on sale right now).

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AUGUST FAVORITES

1). Did a focused closet styling session for myself.

I usually feel so much pressure to start hanging, folding and organizing all my shit whenever I’m in my closet but this is intended to be a blocked-off PLAYTIME. There are pieces I just haven’t looked at closely in a while (like this orange space bubble Issey dress), and I haven’t tried styling it with my new stuff yet (like these epic Prada cat eye sunglasses).

Decided that one of my signature fall looks will be my trusty TOAST merino cardigan in my favorite shade of green (old colorway) with these sunglasses.

2). Read my old journal entries by the pool.

Your journal is not just for actively adding entries, it’s also the book of your life that you should read more often.

On this day, it was too hot to swim laps so I just did flips and bobbed around in the dive tank trying to avoid bumping into the kids playing mermaids. Then I hopped out, laid stomach down on my giant striped pool towel, twisted the chlorine water droplets out of my hair, and cracked open my journal. I re-read old entries and found myself lingering on memories from my trip to Tucson this year. I also forgot about these ticket stubs/photo strips I tucked into the journal pocket.

3). Shared a plate of chicken tenders and fries with a friend.

Sometimes you want to gab with a friend over a snack cause you’re not in the mood for a full sit-down meal or alcoholic drinks. We were like…should we get the kid’s meal?? Is that weird?? No. It was actually the perfect bite and something I want to plan for more often.

4) Put up posters for my newsletter around Berkeley Bowl.

Is there anything more fun than getting up to local hijinks like this? I giggled so much putting these up around Berkeley Bowl. Need to get a color printer, though.

5). The fried tofu set at Joodooboo is the star of my weekday lunch rotation.

Fresh veggie-forward banchan feels especially comforting to eat on sweltering days. I’ve recently gotten hooked on the fried tofu set at Joodooboo. Everything is made with so much care. I do wish the portions were a little bigger because the meal doesn’t keep me very full for long.

6). Making fig leaf syrup.

If you have access to a fig tree, now is the time to harvest the leaves and use it for syrup! My recipe:

• Rinse 4-5 fig leaves and pat dry

• Lightly toast on the lowest setting in toaster oven…just until it gets fragrant and shrivels a little, not burnt

• Boil syrup base (standard 1:1 water and sugar ratio)

• Add the toasted fig leaves in the pot while it’s actively boiling for 3 minutes

• Turn off heat and let it cool, letting the leaves steep for 1 hour

• Pick out leaves and store syrup in an glass jar (old jam jars work well!)

• Mix into iced lattes and sparkling water

7). Went to my first baseball game.

My partner is a big Padres fan so we went to see them play against the Giants a few weeks ago. It was my first baseball game and I peppered him with soooo many questions—why are the players are stoic/demure when they hit a good ball? why is snacking such a big part of baseball culture? why are they wearing knee high socks?? Overall, I loved how relaxed it felt compared to other sporting events. I love that you can mill about and half pay attention. I love the classic snacks—pretzels and cotton candy—and the regional delights (clam chowder bowls, lobster sandwiches).

8). A personal branding moment that felt easy and natural.

Most of us struggle to “market” or “brand” our personal businesses in a way that doesn’t feel cringey. But the longer I work for myself, the more natural it becomes to build a brand universe that feels like me. Recently, I was eating a bag of chips from the japanese grocery store and noticed the pale green and yolk yellow colors were a perfect Molehill color match. Then I thought, the flower looks like the O…and next thing I knew, I tried spelling out M O L E H I L L with the chips. I don’t know what I want to do with this photo/concept (yet), but I filed it under my personal moodboard.

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xo viv

Thanks for being here. You can find me on IG and TT. My wardrobe pieces and recs are saved here—unless it’s vintage, of course ;) I may earn a small commission on purchases made through affiliate links.

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