report card 8: i'm back!

the excitement of a new month + august goals

Welcome to the eighth report card, that will span musings from bits of July and early August. The acronym for today’s report stands for: Recapping, Eating, Playing, Obsessing, Reviewing, and Treating.

Still life with melon, 2018, Igor Sventitski.

I’ve missed writing these report cards so much, and I’ve found myself, over the past month, reading through my past report cards out of nostalgia. Imagine how I’d feel after a year of these! I feel like we have lots to catch up on, and I’m brimming with so much excitement to chat about how Plastic Free July went for me, a new way I’m setting goals for this year, and my current favorites list.

plastic free july,

I’m really excited to say that I’ve accomplished my first PFJ! I’m not going to sit here and tell you I did everything perfectly, because I’ve made my fair sure of plasticky mistakes. However, I started to see the world in a different light—the excessive plastic packaging in grocery stores, trash littered at beaches or even sidewalks in the city, how convenient it is to pollute the earth and why companies lack the empathy to help reduce their customers’ climate anxiety. Instead of going to the grocery store, I now have to figure out if I need to bring any of my reusable containers for the bulk bins. I need to plan out my farmers market trips so I get all the produce I’ll need for the week. It needs to be adequate, but also feasible in that I actually need to use these ingredients before they go moldy. I realized I actually don’t own many glass jars, which is bizarre because I feel like most people (my parents) have so many glass jars from condiments that they actually don’t have room to store it in their cupboards.

I’ve discovered so many new sustainability-focused creators ever since doing PFJ! Some of my favorites include: Emma Dendler, Brennan Kai, Lauren Bash, Dr. Anita Vandyke, Charlie Gill, Megan McSherry, Summer Dean, and Diandra Marizet.

ty pinterest.

goals,

I’ve been handwriting my goals these past few months. I still love and use my Notion template, but I’m never really consistent with physical versus digital documentation.

1. No more than 1 non-essential purchase

2. Walk or complete my move ring at least 3x/week or 12x this month

3. Sell at least 2 items

4. Only buy sustainable replacements, nothing new/duplicated

5. Clean bathtub

6. Stay within my maintenance ($100) and dates ($65) budget

dining out,

• san and wolves bakeshop - I’ve had this on my to-try list for the longest time, and I finally got the chance at Mayumi Market. My favorite was the pandan coconut cake (not entirely sure what the exact name was, but I’d re-order this for sure). I felt impartial towards their blueberry cornbread bibingka (bonus points that it’s gluten-free), salted pinipig chocolate chip cookie (felt like it was too salted), and mango royale (mangoes were delightfully fresh, but it made me a bit nauseous and I wish there were more crust/crumb over filling). I disliked their ube and pandan cinny buns (the aftertaste was odd) and bicho-bicho (I prefer sugar twist donuts over this).

• lucky catsu - I haven’t been impressed by a vegan restaurant or dish in many years. It’s usually because I’ve had it all, coming from a food-loving person who’s been vegan for 8 years now (!!!). However, when I had my first bite of the Lucky Catsu Bowl, I felt like I was transcending onto another plane of existence, where I could dream of eating Lucky Catsu every single day. I don’t say this often, so if you’re in the area, please please please give this small business a try. They serve vegan Hawaiian BBQ street food, and while their menu isn’t extensive, I’m sure the other dishes are as phenomenal as the Lucky Catsu.

• copa vida - I really enjoyed their oat milk vanilla latte! However, I could find something equally as good or better at my go-to shops for a few dollars less. I still can’t believe I paid $7.99 for this.

• phở saigon pearl - This was actually so terrible. I got their Vermicelli with Vegetarian Egg Rolls, and the egg rolls had this odd sweetness to it that made me feel quite sick. The sauce for the dish was also not strong enough, because in the end, it tasted like I was eating mildly sweet noodles. It was such a disappointing meal considering how many great vegan Vietnamese options I could’ve gone for over this one.

• hoa sen vegetarian restaurant - This restaurant did what Phở Saigon Pearl couldn’t. My go-to’s are their nem nướng (vegan BBQ pork spring rolls) and phở (their broth is unparallelled — I haven’t been able to find a place that does a better broth than this). Mr. Beans ordered the cơm tay cầm (rice in claypot with mushroom and vegan chicken) and Thai tea (surprisingly good to me, since most thai teas tend to be overly sweet).

• vegan steamed baos from 99 ranch - My parents got me some baos to bring back to my apartment, and I’m surprised at how good these actually are! My favorites are their mushroom and chive stuffed baos. The cabbage one is just alright. Unfortunately, these are packaged in thin plastic boxes that are difficult to recycle.

• mama musubi - I usually get their spice kelp one since their eggplant musubi isn’t my favorite. Unfortunately, this time, it fell short — the rice to kelp ratio was too high. I prefer more stuffing over rice! Also, the musubis themselves weren’t sticking together, so the filling fell apart in one sticky mess.

• monty’s good burger - A vegan dupe for In N Out, but better. Pro tip: you can refill their lemonades, so I always make sure to refill my sparkling strawberry lemonade before I leave!

• đông hưng viên bakery - The vegan pastries here are to die for. My go-to’s are their vegan pâté chaud (savory meat pie) and the vegan grilled chicken bánh mì.

musubis, phở, and burgers.

making,

• pressure cooker japanese curry (カレーライス (圧力鍋)) by namiko chen - This was so good. I think I’ve made this three times this past month, and I’m still not sick of it. Well, kind of. But I’m able to literally add whatever vegetables to this and make it taste good.

• watermelon juice with lemon - I purchased a watermelon from the farmers market one of the weekends and made juice out of it! I added half a lemon to it, which made the juice the perfect summer movie-watching treat. I think adding mint to this would make it even better!

• rolled oats with peanut butter - I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m in my oatmeal era once again. When I was in high school and undergrad, I’d eat oats every. single. day. I even went so far as to making these elaborate oatmeal bowls with matcha, or spirulina, or chia seeds, or fancy honey cashew butter (remember when non-peanut butter was a luxury in 2015?). Ever since experiencing pretty nasty bloating issues recently, I’ve been trying to eat more whole and fibrous foods, one of them being oatmeal. I know it would taste much better if I actually cooked the oats on a pot or in my rice cooker, but I’m just so lazy.

• (cold, not iced) vanilla cold brew oat milk lattes - Going from instant coffee to cold brew is a huge switch, because I forgot how luxurious cold brew tastes compared to instant. If I were to rank my coffee from best to not-so-best, it would be espresso → cold brew → instant coffee.

ty, pinterest.

drinking,

• mango flavored kombucha from a local cafe - Coincidentally, this cafe is in the same plaza as two other refill shops, so I 100% will be coming back again. I refilled my 64oz growler with mango kombucha, but I’ve realized that fruity kombucha flavors kind of taste the same to me. This cafe also sold jun, so I tried a sample for the first time and was surprised at how much body it had — the flavor was much more pungent and each ingredient was distinctive in taste, instead of melding together like kombucha. I’ll be bringing Mr. Beans here so we can test out different flavors. I have a feeling he would prefer jun over kombucha!

• green grape flavored green tea - I’ve stopped getting boba in my teas every time I go to a boba shop, and it’s been life changing. Also, this drink is my favorite since this specific shop makes their grape jam (with grape chunks) in-house.

• danzeisen dairy strawberry lemonade - This actually tastes really good! I am picky with lemonade and need it to be more sour than sweet — this does the job. Also, I’m able to get $3 back if I return the glass bottle to Sprouts. However, I’ve been keeping it to store cold brew and other juices lately.

ty, pinterest.

films,

July was a heavy watch month, with multiple weekend movie marathons and post-work movie sessions. Find me on Letterboxd if you want to see all my reviews and ratings! Here’s everything I watched in July and early August.

spider-man: across the spider-verse (2023).

THE BEST (4.5-5 STARS)

the besties.

• spider-man: into the spider-verse - I was anti-animated superhero films for the longest time until I realized my own prejudices were my own downfall. This was a work of art. Also, the soundtrack?? 10/10.

• spider-man: across the spider-verse - The ending of this movie still haunts me. So. Insanely. Good. The soundtrack was even better than the first movie.

• the intern - Another Anne Hathaway banger. Robert De Niro was so precious in this movie! I just have a soft spot for gentle old people.

• the dark knight rises - Anne Hathaway, once again! And Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing the most adorable policeman? The casting for this movie was insane. Bane, as the villian, was great in theory but clownish in execution. I think it’s just his voice — I hated it.

• stuck in love - This was so good. Some movies don’t do the multiple storyline concept well, but I was so invested in all the characters’ development that it was a captivating watch!! This movie made me cry so hard.

• top gun - I watched TGM first, which doesn’t make sense, but I now understand the relationship Mav had with Goose.

• legally blonde - Can you believe this is my first time watching this movie?!? I find it so funny how despite Elle Woods got into Harvard Law, the movie was filmed on USC’s campus, and Elle attended CULA for undergrad (sound familiar? UCLA?).

• how to be single - I didn’t expect to cry this hard after watching this. I don’t know why Dakota Johnson gets so much hate, but I actually love her as an actor and person. Despite Madame Web being a flop, How to Be Single evoked every emotion possible in my body.

• barbie - Upped my rating from 4 to 5, most likely because I was watching this much more casually than through a critical lens. I wrote an in-depth review on Barbie in this newsletter if you want to check out my critique for it!

• love, rosie - My go-to comfort romcom!! I got Mr. Beans to watch this with me. Oh, how my heart breaks with right person wrong time tropes.

• hit man - Rewatched for Mr. Beans. It’s a Glen Powell summer, and I’m loving it.

THE PRETTY GOODS (3-4.5 STARS)

• eileen - I knew this was a horror film, but all I can say is what the hell. The plot, the characters, even the theories about this movie. I was also on an Anne Hathaway kick since I’m obsessed with her, and she killed it in this one.

• batman begins - I thought Batman became Batman by getting bitten from bats. Just me? I actually didn’t expect to like this movie, but I was captivated so quickly. Christopher Nolan seems to never do wrong, and Christian Bale is the superior Batman.

• the dark knight - The anxiety I had watching this! Joker’s just a silly little goose who wants a friend. Love that for him. Also, Cillian Murphy’s appearance was a delightful surprise.

• frances ha - This movie’s for all the girlies with anxious attachment and have wanted their number one best friend to also choose them as their number one best friend… I felt that.

• a family affair - Joey King and Nicole Kidman were hilarious in this movie, and while it was highly anticipated from the trailers, Zac Efron did not give what he was supposed to give.

• love & other drugs - Anne Hathaway, once again!! Didn’t expect to be jumpscared by Jake Gyllenhall’s buttcheeks in this one, and I’m complaining.

• american pie - I’ll forever be Finch’s #1 fan.

• pitch perfect - I got my ticket for the long way around… this movie had my best friends and I in a chokehold in high school. Nothing can top the cup song.

• jurassic world: fallen kingdom - Chris Pratt in a role where he’s actually intelligent just makes me so proud of his growth as an actor.

• blue valentine - Anxiety, anxiety, anxiety…

• american wedding - Stifler inappropriately making everything about him is the reason why I love and hate this character so much.

• your place or mine - I loved Reese Witherspoon in this, but this movie was too cringe for my liking. Also, kind of boring.

• definitely, maybe - I watched this mainly because I’ve been inundated with Ryan Reynolds content due to the Deadpool vs. Wolverine release. I’m not complaining! I love that actor, but this movie was very meh.

• date night - This was very…weird. Like at times, uncomfortable. I feel like Steve Carrell gives off the same energy in almost every role he plays.

• the flash - Mr. Beans and I are rewatching this show! I think I watched up to the first season when I was in high school, and stopped because it just got too cringe. I’m not sure what instigated Mr. Beans to rewatch this since he’s seen up to season 4, but it’s been great so far. I keep forgetting how CW used to do 20+ episodes per season, since I’m so accustomed to Netflix’s 6-8 episodes per season. We finally finished Season 1 and are on Season 2.

THE REGRETS (<3 STARS)

• man of steel - Wasted two hours of my life watching this garbage.

• neighbors - I can’t believe I first watched this movie in senior year of high school because I’m pretty sure I didn’t understand 90% of the jokes at that time.

• irish wish - Lindsay Lohan deserved a much better acting opportunity than to lead in this movie, because what the hell did I just watch.

books,

Can you believe I read 11 books in July? When I get in a mood, I take as much advantage of it as possible until my steam runs out. Find me on Goodreads if you want to see my in-depth review of each book below as well as their rating.

a good ol’ chonk of books for july.

• darling venom by parker s. huntington - Surpringly good, some dark themes, and reminded me of 13 Reasons Why.

• devious lies by parker s. huntington - Can you tell I tend to read books written by the same author if I really liked one they wrote? This one was pretty entertaining with lots of angst. Not for the faint of heart.

• archer’s voice by mia sheridan - Actually obsessed with the two main characters, and would 100% reread this book, over and over again.

• the long game by elena armas - I loved The Spanish Love Deception, but after that book, everything else by Armas has fallen flat. This one was specifically disappointing.

• night shift by annie crown - This is the type of book I’d DNF, but I pulled through. It was not good.

• forget me not by julie soto - This is my first Soto novel, and I am so impressed!! Her writing style isn’t as great as EmHen or my other top romance writers, but it definitely is up there. I can’t wait to read recently released novel, Not Another Love Song.

• you, with a view by jessica joyce - Ohhh, I actually am obsessed with this book. And Jessica Joyce. This book made me believe in love more than I did, and trust me — I love love.

• a novel love story by ashley poston - Poston does it again!!! I read The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip last year and loved both. Of course, this was another excellent read that I rated 4.5 stars.

• ready or not by cara bastone - I’m waiting for my first 4.5 star rated pregnancy trope book… this wasn’t it, but it was still cute.

• business casual by b.k. borrison - If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know that I’m a huge Borrison fan. I’ve read the first three books in the Lovelight series (Mixed Feelings is my favorite), and was so excited for Charlie and Nova’s story. Super cute story and Charlie is so precious!!!

• the ex vows by jessica joyce - Read this if you want to cry your heart out. What a masterpiece of a novel.

ty, pinterest.

“And you let him go?” Of course I did. What other choice did i have, hold on to him until my hands turned white, until I choked the love out of him? No, love wasn’t a trap, something you had to crawl out of later. If you loved something—someone—sometimes you had to let them go. And if they loved you, too, they’d come back.” — A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

pods,

The number of podcasts I’ve discovered and have been obsessing over this past month excites me!! The first being, soju with sarah. I love the alliteration and Sarah’s voice — so soothing!! I also relate a lot to Sarah in many ways, including the trajectory of her relationship, her academic path, and obviously being an Asian American woman. I’ve listened to the opportunity cost of your 20s and getting older & uglier (sucks). I’m in the middle of listening to this one below!

I have Commons downloaded on my phone to check my carbon emissions and whatnot from my purchases, but found out last month that they also have a podcast called Second Nature?! I’ve listened to a few episodes and have loved each one. My favorite part of it is how the host gets the CEO of Commons, Sanchali Pal, to chat briefly about the topic at hand. I’d love to meet Sanchali and have a conversation with her one day.

I found Clotheshorse on Instagram, and when I saw that they had a podcast, I knew I had to jump on it ASAP. This podcast is more fashion/clothing oriented, if you couldn’t tell already. This might just be me, but I really enjoyed hearing Amanda talk about laundry for an hour straight. It is an art!

I haven’t finished an entire episode of Talking in Spirals yet, but it’s a fun, more relaxed type of podcast that is more banter-y and less research-focused.

free,

• The graphs that Storygraph is able to produce, even on the free version! I still use Goodreads as my main platform for publishing my reviews, but Storygraph allows me to look more in-depth with the books I’ve finished.

my storygraph wrap-up.

• Not letting the dishes pile up after a week. I have the most terrible habit of leaving my dishes in the sink until a few days later when I actually need a bowl and there aren’t any clean ones left in the cupboard.

• This Reddit post on r/BuyItForLife on how shopping in general is increasingly difficult since most items are being produced more cheaply, ultimately resulting in lower quality.

• Emily Strobl
  ’s brain dumps (here’s her most recent one). Her Pinterest collages are everything.

• Underconsumption core. I’ve seen a lot of discourse around this trend, that it’s romanticizing poverty, it’s just a normal way of life, or something people have suddenly glamorized without realizing that people of ethnic backgrounds have been doing this for as long as they can remember (myself and my parents who immigrated from Myanmar). And while I see where these discussions are coming from, I think this underconsumption trend is great for the majority of people who over-consume on a regular basis. Sure, it might not be crazy for people like us, who strive for a more minimal and sustainable lifestyle, but I think it provides insight into most people’s spending habits and challenges their views on consumerism, and whether they are willing to change for the better, or solely for the sake of this trend.

lots of opinions on this one

• The term, “rawdogging a flight”. Something I’ve been doing for the past 5 years, and coining this term kills me. I always have the digital flight map open in front of me. I’ll start the flight with music, but my ears get sore pretty quickly so it’ll be silence + sleeping + glancing every so often at the location on the flight map + people watching the rest of the way.

victoria jusice in a betches video.

wishlist,

A list of non-essential/expensive items in my Notion wishlist that I’m sharing for the sake of showing that despite wanting something, it doesn’t necessarily mean I need it, at least right away. Feel free to deinfluence me if you see fit.

• portable treadmill for my standing desk - I’ve seen these all over YouTube when the standing desk craze reached its height. Mr. Beans gave me his standing desk, and I’ve found myself using the standing functionality often. However, the downside of standing in one place for periods of time is the impact it has on your knees. After standing for an hour or so, my knees become extremely sore. To avoid excess pressure, I know that having a treadmill to walk on would greatly relieve this. I’ve also seen a few treadmills being sold near me on Marketplace!

• w&p freezer cubes - I keep getting ads for w&p which is why I’m nervous to make this purchase. I’ve been wanting to transition out of buying frozen fruit from markets to freezing my own batch that I buy fresh from the farmers market. I don’t have a good freezer container system, since I’ve been usign Ziploc bags my entire life.

• popsocket pop grip - I’ve used a PopSocket on my phone for the past 5 years, and I’ve grown so accustomed to having some finger support whenever I use my phone. Now that I have a bigger phone (went from 11 to 14 plus), it’s been pretty exhausting holding my phone up for videos or Instagram scrolls. The curves one looks so cool!

• bluejay premiere edition electric bike - I’ve actually wanted an electric bike for a while now, but have been convincing myself to not buy one for multiple reasons: 1) fear of getting it stolen, 2) the upfront cost, and 3) cost use ratio. Now that I’m embracing a more sustainable, earth-conscious lifestyle, I’m now considering it! The BlueJay bikes are beautiful but ridiculously expensive.

• u-konserve rectangle food storage container - I added this in after I had some trouble with my Stojo bowls. I might take this off my wishlist soon if I end up liking my Stojos.

• joco cup utility 16oz - This is for Mr. Beans, since we don’t have a good coffee cup to bring whenever we get coffee. I have two high quality cups that are 28oz and 32oz, but they’re a bit excessive in size when I ask for a latte with 4 cubes of ice. It isn’t a great look.

• marley’s unpaper towels - This brand has been around since the dawn of the zero waste movement, and I’ve never found the need to purchase from them since I never really used cleaning clothes. Atrocious, right? I’ve been using paper towels and disposable Lysol or Chlorox wipes. Clearly, that needs to stop. I’m hoping to get 4 individual towels that would equate to $15, but I’m still thinking on it. I don’t have a cleaning spray to use this with in tandem, so I feel like both items need to be accounted for when purchasing.

• voluspa panjore lychee reed diffuser - I’m almost out of my Capri Blue Volcano diffuser, and even though I love the scent, I’m ready for something different. They’re expensive though, at $30 each!

• sqwishful scrub sponge & dish brush - This brand is Asian woman owned, and the shape of the dish brush is so different from the wooden dish brushes I usually see at zero waste stores! It’s been a while since I’ve used a dish brush too but from memory, it was so much better than using a sponge. The scrub sponge listed here is for Mr. Beans’ use to exfoliate in the shower.

the summer wishlist.

I usually write down items I’ve spent within the aforementioned dates that cover the report card I’m writing for, but because this isn’t a regular weekly cards, it’s going to be excessively long. For July, you can see an overview of my expenses here. It’s not specific though, unlike my previous report cards where I actually state all the transactions that have hit my account within that week. The list below contains select expenses in August that I either find interesting or worth writing about.

1. medical bill ($272.02) - This is a portion of the medical bill related to my ear infection saga.

2. local refill shop ($4.07) - Got some oat milk powder (absolutely disgusting, I don’t recommend) and salted plantain chips (new favorite snack).

3. postage ($4.63) - Despite loving my Earlywood spatulas, I purchased the wood wok spatula that is a bit too big for my liking + I don’t really use woks. I emailed them to see if I could exchange it for the cooking spoon. Since I purchased the scraping spoon in my first order, I asked if they could honor the price of their cooking spoon set, which is cheaper than if I were to buy the two spoons individually. They agreed!

4. monin french vanilla syrup ($22.96) - Shipping was $13 for this one (ridiculous). I’ve heard people say Monin is better than Torani, and they were right. Sadly, there aren’t any stores nearby that sell Monin in-store so I had to order this online. I got the french vanilla syrup, and it’s phenomenal in my oat milk cold brew lattes.

5. sprouts haul ($43.41) - Got Oatly, strawberry lemonade, pineapple juice, plantain chips, salsa, BBQ sauce, and Bon Ami powder cleanser that seemed pretty plastic free.

6. vanguard vtsax ($481.07) - Last Roth IRA payment of this year! Finally maxed out!

7. wild lip balm case and refill x3 ($22) - I’m just praying this doesn’t trigger my angular cheilitis.

8. mango kombucha refill ($15) - For my gut health.

9. stasher mega & mid stand up bags ($53.44) - This has been on my mind for a while since I don’t have a good container to bulk refill nuts or snacks. It’s quite ridiculous how expensive these are, but knowing that they’ll last me a lifetime has helped me justify this purchase.

intentional spending only!

Back to the original acronym with T standing for “treating”. Here’s what I’ve been indulging in lately:

• Planning an upcoming trip to a national park with Mr. Beans and his parents

• Fruity kombucha on tap

• Salted plantain chips dipped in mild salsa

• Freshly juiced sugarcane (favorite combo is pineapple + coconut water + sugarcane)

• Late evening walks when the temperature cools down

• Bringing tupperware when going out for food/drinks to avoid plastic

• Chem-focused environmental science research papers

• Frozen vegan dumplings from Hmart

• Seeing dust and debris getting sucked up by my Dyson vacuum

• Weekend farmers market runs

• Vietnamese food (unsurprising for all year round, but especially perfect for summer-y days since Viet food is known for being more fresh/light than heavy/hearty)

• Writing in my journal

• Mid-day naps

• Self-confidence with comfort

• Reading with Mr. Beans (not the same book, just reading next to each other on the couch)

• A reorganized living room

• Planning a future trip to Taiwan with Bumble Beans

ty, pinterest.

As you can tell, this post is free! Because I haven’t done a report card in a while and I’m changing up the structure, here’s what you should expect for future report cards. They won’t be weekly, but most likely monthly, and contain more lifestyle content than my usual free posts. Upcoming report cards after this one will be paywalled, until I switch up the structure (which will probably happen in the future, knowing me).

—Beans