February 2025

Wow, February really flew by! I feel like I've said that about every month I've been writing this monthly recap, but I really mean it this time. It's not just because February is the shortest month of the year, but also because winter is finally giving way to spring!

Even though we mostly stayed indoors due to the cold at the beginning of the month and experienced several snowfalls throughout February — one of those snowfalls actually stuck! Which is unusual for New York.

As I write this now, the weather is absolutely perfect! I was sitting outside on our balcony, working at our little table, while the sun shone down and a cool breeze swept by.

Anyway, here’s what happened in February!

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭🏹 ˚.⁺⊹🌹

Poconos, Pennsylvania

As a little birthday getaway, we headed to the Poconos this year. I must admit, I loved our trip to Culebra last year because it was hot, and we escaped the freezing weather in New York. However, this time I wanted to enjoy a cozy cottage retreat in the cold, complete with snow and a warm fireplace.

A few years ago, I took a solo trip to Connecticut with my dog, Treasure, and fell in love with the cozy cottage atmosphere. So, this year, my partner, brother, and I decided to drive to the Poconos!

Though the Poconos are famous for their beautiful mountains and opportunities for snowboarding and skiing, we chose to keep things cozy and explore the Jim Thorpe area, which surprisingly had many witchy shops!

If you like a witchy vibe with tarot cards, crystals, and incense, comment “🔮” below!

We dined at a fantastic farmers market called Poconos Organics. Originally, we wanted to have breakfast there, but we woke up a bit too late and missed the breakfast hours!

However, we still enjoyed lunch, and oh my goodness, it was delicious! I had the mushroom sandwich, which was incredibly flavorful.

The homemade chips on the side were also excellent! We couldn't finish them, so we took the leftovers home, making for a perfect afternoon snack.

After lunch, we drove to Jim Thorpe, and it was really cool. Again, there were plenty of interesting shops and cafes, including many witchy ones! We bought quite a few items, like an astrology book, candles, incense, pickles, cards, and more.

We even passed by a haunted hotel called The Inn at Jim Thorpe, built in 1833. A local told us that if guests arrive without knowing the Inn was haunted and that room happened to be available, they might be placed in a haunted room without being told!

We also tried a unique boba drink at a local spot called River Co Tea Bar, and tried their “Apple Cider Cheezo.” I surprisingly enjoyed the cheese foam paired with the apple cider — we got it served hot with boba at the bottom. The boba itself was flavorful and pretty good. Not too bad! My brother on the other hand, didn’t like the pairing together lol.

For my birthday dinner, my partner found an amazing place called Momento Restaurant. We decided to all order the tasting menu experience with a wine pairing, and it was absolutely incredible! Each dish was flavorful and artistically presented.

The chef even came out to explain some of the dishes. One of the staff members, Dominique, was outstanding and very knowledgeable! I loved her vibe; she made the experience even better.

One thing I appreciate about tasting menus is that they allow you to sample various dishes in small portions, and they are surprisingly filling. By the end of our meal, I was stuffed and also feeling pretty tipsy!

We lit the fireplace in the evening, watched Single’s Inferno, and just relaxed. I love that cozy feeling! Treasure even decided to join us by the fireplace, which was adorable since he usually prefers to sleep alone in a separate room away from us.

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭🏹 ˚.⁺⊹🌹

RH Rooftop

I met up with my friend a few days after returning from our trip. When I turned the corner to meet her, the wind was incredibly strong — I had a hard time walking both forwards and backwards! It felt like I might get blown away! It was hilarious!

We had originally planned to meet at a place called Genesis House, but they always seem to have private events, and that day we met up, they had a private event going on… so we couldn't dine there as we had intended. It was a bit frustrating, but we moved on.

We ended up having lunch at RH Rooftop, which I’ve never been there before, but I had always heard rave reviews about it.

We decided to celebrate our birthdays there together — yay Aquarius!

The food was delicious, the cocktails were fantastic, and the atmosphere was lively! I’ll also be writing about this experience later in my blog post.

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭🏹 ˚.⁺⊹🌹

Valentine’s Day

My partner and I have our monthly dates on the 15th because it was on this date when he asked me to be his girlfriend. We felt it was the perfect day to celebrate, right in the middle of the month.

This year, Valentine's Day fell on a Friday, and knowing how many couples would be out buying flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals, and dining out, we decided to avoid the crowds — especially since we live in NYC.

Instead, we chose to celebrate Valentine's Day the day after, which conveniently coincided with our monthly date!

A few weeks before Valentine’s Day, I suggested going for high tea and shared a few places for my partner to check out, but he ended up finding a lovely spot called Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon. It’s the cutest place near Union Square in the Gramercy Park neighborhood.

You walk up the steps of a beautiful Georgian brownstone and instantly feel like you've traveled back in time to a whimsical era. We enjoyed the afternoon high tea set, complete with tea pairings, and everything was divine! If you love high tea or tasting menus, be prepared to feel incredibly full; we couldn't even finish our desserts at the end!

I’ll be writing more about this experience in my future blog post, so stay tuned for that.

To make our date even more magical, it started snowing while we were enjoying our tea service. However, when we decided to stop by the Union Square Greenmarket to pick up some essentials like jam and eggs, the snow became quite annoying... The wind was blowing hard, and the snow kept getting in our eyes. By the end of the day, my hair, which had been beautifully curled for our date, ended up straight. 🥲

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭🏹 ˚.⁺⊹🌹

Outing with the lil bro

The last weekend of February, my brother and I met up with a goal: to buy our best friend the perfect 30th birthday gift. I had also brought him some items from my recent visit to Taiwan, so we decided to tackle those during our time together.

We started with lunch at Fiat Cafe, which turned out to be an amazing spot for Italian food! Great find, Brian!

However, the space was incredibly small, with tiny tables that made it feel like I was going to accidentally knock things or people over while wearing my bulky coat because of the cold weather. The service was excellent, but one downside is that it's cash only. Despite that, the place was popping!

After lunch, we walked over to some shops to look for stationery because we wanted to get our friend a planner to help him stay organized as a Product Manager. We browsed a few stores and found the perfect planner, along with a hilarious birthday card. We then headed to UPS to ship it out.

We ended up doing some other errands and walked around more.

Can you guess how much we walked that day?

Did you guess?

We walked 14657 steps! That’s almost 7 miles!

All in all, it was a fantastic and productive day. Love a spontaneous but also productive day.

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭🏹 ˚.⁺⊹🌹

Wrapping it up

Since February started off cold but has now the weather’s nice, I’m really excited for the upcoming months! Next month is going to be even busier, but I hope I can make time for some self-care.

How was your February?
Also, what fun plans do you have for March?
Let me know in the comments!

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭🏹 ˚.⁺⊹🌹

check out my HOSHINOYA Guguan stay

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭🏹 ˚.⁺⊹🌹

SUGGESTED FOR YOU