a mighty good year

2013, you were one GREAT year. Challenging, adventurous, stimulating, inspiring, loving, and beautiful...definitely one of the best yet.

In January I could have never imagined that I'd be sharing 90% of the year's highlights below. Every new year brings new experiences and opportunities and seeing them unfold one-by-one is truly a thing of beauty. Every challenge you overcome, every time you say 'yes' instead of 'no', every time you let your self get out of your comfort zone (personally, professionally, and physically), they're all worth recognizing and celebrating.

So cheers - cheers to reflecting on and celebrating the journey had while looking forward to the adventures that await. Have a very happy new year! xx.

2013 Highlights

Launching Ring Cozy

Getting married in Colombia + exploring it with friends

Being featured by Cuyana

Going off the beaten path in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Photographing the beautiful bags by KAYU

Stay-cationing in KL

Ditching the glasses and getting LASIK

Fishing in Phu Quoc and riding like a local in Saigon, Vietnam

Celebrating one year of living in Kuala Lumpur

Jetting off to Bali for the weekend

Getting married again in Alaska and exploring the Last Frontier

Launching the Love Malaysia Collection with Gin & Jacqie

Snorkeling in Redang Island, Malaysia

Learning to cook our new Malaysian comfort food at LaZat

Park strolling in Bangkok

Exploring and eating in Melaka, Malaysia

Falling in love with Rio De Janeiro in three days

A dream trip to Takayama and Tokyo, Japan

Loving and leaving our flat in KL

Posing for the camera for lasting memories of our time in KL

Road-tripping to Sedona via Historic Route 66

Wrapping up the year with a cozy cabin getaway

a cozy cabin christmas

Hi guys! How have your holidays been? We spent our Christmas in the mountains just outside of LA and it was perfect. We booked a great little cabin via Airbnb, rented a car, and loaded up on firewood and groceries for plenty of cooking, drinking, and snacking. The plan was simple: relax and indulge.

Other than driving ten minutes to Lake Arrowhead for a brief visit, we stayed cozied up inside with a roaring fire (Joe is a great Boy Scout) and ate whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. Christmas Eve dinner was just right but the food highlight of the holiday was my batch of Colombian buñuelos. I made them for Christmas in London but last year we sadly had to go without the traditional fried cheese balls of goodness since the cheese we needed simply didn't exist in KL. However, it only made them taste that much better this time around, especially since I got to share them with my family! My sister, brother-in-law, and nieces joined us on Christmas Day, just in time for my girls to help me roll the maza into little balls. After tamales and buñuelos, my nieces and I did Christmas arts and crafts and roasted marshmallows with Tio Jojo using sharpened branches he collected. Needless to say, those girls were two very happy campers!

And so was everyone else. Joe had been happy since we arrived because he finally had an excuse to use the hatchet I bought him three Christmases ago (couldn't take it to London with us) while my sister and bro in-law were happy to kick up their feet and relax while Tia Mu (me) entertained the girls with activities.

It was absolutely perfect. The family time, the quiet time, the nature time. I can't think of a better Christmas gift than the gift of an experience with the ones you love. So happy.

get your kicks

  There's nothing more American than a road trip and our trip to Sedona last month was the perfect welcome back experience.

We've been car-less for nearly four years now (counting when I last lived in LA and got rid of mine) and currently have no plan to buy one. So when it was time to head to Sedona for a friend's wedding, renting a car and hitting the open road felt like a big adventure.

Growing up in LA I'd notice historic markings all over town indicating that X Y Z street was a part of 'Historic Route 66'. I knew where the route ended (the Santa Monica Pier) but I had no idea what the rest of it looked like. The Sedona trip was the perfect opportunity to see what was east of Los Angeles and California on the 'Mother Road' that invented motels and created (once thriving) small towns around it.

We used the freeways leaving LA but as soon as we passed Barstow and had our required In-n-Out meal, Route 66 was it.  It was quiet, there were no trucks, and it was right next to the landscape. When we saw something we liked, we stopped and enjoyed it for a minute or two. Some sections of the road were in need of repair but for the most part it was easy driving.

The photos above are from Amboy and the surrounding area.  Before we stopped for a coffee break at Roy's, we saw the landscape change to a beautiful mix of volcanic rock and white sand. We wondered how long ago the eruption happened and how far away and got our answer when we followed a sign into the National Park for Amboy Crater. What a cool spot. Not only did we get great view of the cinder cone (you can hike to its rim if you have the time) but it was the site of the raddest picnic table I've ever seen. I took at least a dozen photos of it from different angles! We really wanted to hike the trail and just be in the stillness and silence that was all around it but it was getting late and we still had our overnight stop in Kingman ahead.

We hit the road, back on Route 66 where every hour or so was a new possibility of experiencing something from the past: a retro motel, a greasy diner, a scenic view. Had it not been for a meeting I had to come back for, we would have extended our trip by at least a week. The short stretch of Route 66 that we did was a tease but it reminded me of the diverse landscape that we have here. In other parts of the world you can drive six hours and pass through one or two countries with fairly similar looks and feels but here in the States, it's possible to feel like you've been in three or four different worlds all in one day. Same country, no passport required. As much as I love working my passport, a good ol' American road trip was just the ticket.

sedona rocks

We're back from our mini road trip where we drove on the Historic Route 66, stopped in a few towns along the way, and took in the beauty of Sedona, Arizona. At first I thought "I can't believe that I didn't take more pictures!" but then I realized that I was enjoying just being there too much. The red rock formations, the sun light, the blue sky ... everything was awesome in every sense of the word and I didn't want to interrupt the moments by taking my camera out. However, during our hike on the last day I did make sure to get some snaps in. We had hiked at least four miles every day since arriving so by that point I felt more comfortable taking the DSLR out knowing that the trails were easy to navigate.

We had the most gorgeous morning sun and the air was perfectly crisp and cool. It was so nice to be outside and be active, a far cry from our activities in KL. There were groups of locals running along the paths and whizzing by on their mountain bikes ... can you imagine having Sedona as your back yard playground? What a treat.

I was surprised with how small the city was (and how sleepy it was at night) but they have done a great job at keeping the area's spirit and beauty in tact despite it's growth and popularity. With imposed height restrictions for buildings and signs, paint colors, and very few commercial chains, you can hike up to any vista point of the city and barely notice the city beneath it's famous rocks. For example, Sedona is so committed to maintaining its natural beauty that the city forced McDonalds to change their Golden Arches into the worlds only Turquoise Arches in order to open!

Also surprising was how much of a forest Sedona is. I had imagined just the red rocks and then maybe red desert sand everywhere else but no, the area is covered in trees. Mostly evergreen types, and of course varieties of cacti, but even more surprising was the location of the wedding we attended. It was creek-side and between the scores of ducks swimming around and the yellow leaves falling off some of the trees, it felt like we could have been in Colorado or anywhere else that wasn't (what I thought) just a desert. Sedona was full of surprises like that. Beautiful beautiful beautiful surprises. Pack your bags and road trip there asap.

the door is open!

Happy Friday, guys! Joe and I are road-tripping to Sedona, Arizona for a friend's wedding and while there, we'll be staying at a place we booked via Airbnb.

Airbnb is all about Mi Casa es Su Casa so I thought that today was perfect for sharing some fun news from the Muñoz family. If you caught this post from our wedding/holiday in Colombia then you might remember that my parents were planning on opening up our family country home, aka finca, as a bed & breakfast for travelers. Well, the day has come and their door is open - they're now official Airbnb hosts!

If Colombia and the coffee region have ever been on your hitlist, do consider staying with my folks. My mom is crazy for hospitality (her breakfasts have gotten rave reviews!) and my dad loves nothing more than to share his beloved Colombia with people. Seriously, he kept a stack of Colombia related books on the coffee table that he would open up to show to everyone who came by our house.

Now he and my mama are back in Colombia and they can share the real thing from Finca La Hamaca ( the 'hammock country house'). All of the info is on their Airbnb page where they also list some recommended sights to see and things to do. In addition to a hearty breakfast, the price per night includes transportation and guided day trips by my dad - a huge plus in the coffee region where things are spread out and most locals don't speak English.

I could talk the finca up for days but I'll stop myself now in case you do find yourself there. I wouldn't want to spoil all of the surprises ;)

Happy Travels!

taking tokyo (japan part II)

Tokyo: expansive, bustling, organized, efficient, clean, convenient ... I could go on. What an impressive city!

With so many different neighborhoods each with their own character and things to do, I feel like we needed at least two weeks to really see what Tokyo is all about. Kinda like when people tell me they've visited LA but only hung out in one or two neighborhoods - it's simply not enough.

We had three days to work with so we spent them taking on some of the busiest train stations in the world, enjoying some sun at the Imperial Palace Park, and shopping at one of the newest malls in town filled with awesome Japanese brands and products.

At night, between dinner and drinks, we people-watched in Shibuya.  The sushi was as amazing as expected but surprisingly harder to find than Italian and hamburger joints. I'm sure it was just our location but the Japanese restaurants we did see seemed to be mostly grilled meats and veggies, not the sushi and ramen we were so desperately craving. I guess that the Hida Beef in Takayama had satisfied that end of the protein spectrum! I think the reason we were so surprised at the quantity of western dining options is because when living and traveling in South East Asia it's easy to forget just how western Japan is by comparison. Not that I'm complaining - next to our hotel was a Tribeca, NY sister restaurant called Bubby's and OMG did I relish a proper American pancake for breakfast!!! Not one place we've tried in KL has come close.

A typhoon during our last full day and night messed with our plans to check out the architecture in Omotesando and visit a few temples. So, back indoors we went, to Tokyu Hands, a long-standing DIY store that we had heard a lot about. Though small in square footage, it has everything you could need from laundry detergent to leather hides and supplies for making purses. It was a plentiful but well curated one-stop-shop dream for someone who's been without a Target and Michael's Craft Store for some time (don't ever take those two for granted, US readers).

Abundance of stuff aside, the other things we experienced were very neat. Heated toilet seats in nearly every public and private restroom (don't knock it 'till you've tried it), easy traveling with Japan Rail Pass, and generally very gracious and pleasant shop keepers, bartenders, and restaurant servers, despite communicating in sign language half the time. Even the taxis were great.  Drivers wore ties and white gloves, and their car doors...they're automatic!  So don't you dare try to open or close them yourself - it's taken care of for you.

With a service-minded culture, delicious food, and incredibly clean and organized streets and transit, Joe and I left feeling like we had to add Tokyo to our "cities to live in" list. Or at the very least return to spend some quality time immersing ourselves. We'll be back, Japan!

taking takayama (japan part I)

this post features interactive captions - hover over each image for the 'dot' to appear.

We've all heard that sometimes it's not about the destination, but about the journey. In this case, visiting Takayama, Japan was about both. The high-speed train ride up the mountains showed glimpses of rice paddy fields, communal and family farm plots, homes with traditional glazed clay tile roofs, and some mountain scenery to rival anything we've seen in places like Alaska. I could have just done the train ride and been happy!

We chose Takayama by accident. Finding an available ryokan in Kyoto proved challenging (and grossly overpriced) so we expanded our horizon and looked for a similar, culturally charming town with easy rail access. Takayama fit the bill perfectly on paper and exceeded expectations in experience.

It was a quiet time in Takayama: mid-week, after the popular autumn festival, and before the colourful fall foliage. I can only imagine how gorgeous the city looks when the leaves turn to bright reds and yellows. The backdrop of Edo Period homes and shops, all in shades brown and black, would really make those autumnal colors pop. But even lacking the seasonal changes, Takayama was breathtaking. During our first walk in town we went to the main temple, but got sidetracked on an older, obscured stone stairway.  It led to a smaller and more modest temple perched on a hill surrounded by tall cedar trees and peek-a-boo views of the city. After reaching the top, the wind started blowing, leaves started bustling, and music started playing on loudspeakers mounted in the trees. It sounds silly but it felt like such a magical spot. I know that the music was for the ceremonial performances happening down below but it felt like it was meant just for us to hear at the top of that path. From that moment on we knew that we were in for a great couple of days.

We spent the rest of our time strolling the streets stopping to indulge in local specialties like Hida beef, sweet dumplings (mitarashi dango), buckwheat soba noodles, and lots of locally brewed sake. We drank sake like water and it was wonderful. Also wonderful were all of the shops filled with locally produced goods in wood, ceramic, and paper. We didn't hold back in buying souvenirs as we're big fans of the Japanese design aesthetic. Okay, we did hold back a little because there were plenty of hand-crafted chairs that I would have liked to take home with us. It's amazing how they work natural materials so beautifully, everything is treated with the utmost respect and love.

That's the way the entire area felt. The locals were proud of their heritage town and treated it with respect and love. Everyone from our ryokan hosts to the cashier at the riverfront snack shop showed genuine interest in, and gratitude for, our patronage, offering nothing but smiles and good cheer. The streets were pristine and clean, centuries old homes and shops were well maintained and revered, and every effort was made so that visitors had all the info they needed for a positive visit (i.e. directional signposts, tourist info desks among the shops). Even with all the helping hands, Takayama didn't feel overly touristy. It was just right. Just the right amount of traditional charm, ease, and comfort.

At the end of our trip I couldn't help but think "Thanks, Kyoto, for being so popular that we couldn't book ya'". Takayama, may have been a second choice but it sure came out on top.

happy friday

We arrived in Takayama yesterday. Tired from the red-eye flight and multiple train rides but happy to find a peaceful, friendly, and charming town. Our Ryokan is perfectly traditional and modern with everything we need for a Japanese home stay experience, low door frames and all. I don't know how Joe has managed to go this long without a few bumps on his head, old Japan just wasn't built for a man of his stature (he's 6'3")!

We just finished a traditional breakfast of fish, miso, and local veggies in the room, while sitting on tatami mats and wearing our yukatas. It's all been pretty great so far so I can't wait to have a full day of exploring. Maybe we'll even wear our yukatas out as the locals do ... or save them for a sake pub crawl tonight ;)

Have a great weekend!

reminiscing rio

Back from Rio and major jet lag aside, it was a great trip. We went for Joe's work so we stayed in a business hotel in the old part of Centro, far from the more recognizable beach side spots like Copacabana and Ipanema. I was hoping to be by the water - not gonna lie - but our location ended up being perfect. Had we stayed in a tourist hotel by the beach I might have never been forced to use my Google translator app to speak Portuguese with the staff.  I might have never had lunch with local office workers in a tiny well-kept restaurant overlooking a building facade of decorative hand painted tiles. And on Joe's day off, we probably wouldn't have spent an entire morning walking around the downtown city streets discovering little alleyways full of old European charm. It was quite the surprise. We never expected to come across such a neighborhood in Rio since all we've ever been shown are the parts of Zona Sul that look more like Miami Beach with a tropical backdrop. We went back for dinner and what a different scene it was from the morning...tables and chairs filling the alleys, office workers enjoying beers and baskets of fries, and every other restaurant blasting their stereo or showcasing a local band - we opted for the spot with live samba music. As we ate, I danced in my chair, shoulders shaking, making elaborate plans to be in Carnaval one day (I did say elaborate). It was a short and sweet trip but I'm already longing to spend more time there exploring its many facets. What an interesting little big city...I'm sure it's full of surprises.

melaka

Hello from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil! Can't believe that we're on the other side of the world. It was a twenty four hour trip but all things considered, it's freaking amazing that it's possible.

These are some pics from our recent overnight in Melaka, Malaysia, just a two hour drive from KL. Melaka is a World Heritage City so all of the touristy things you'd expect were present: loads of tour groups and buses, souvenir shops, and of course, a Hard Rock Cafe (we skipped the t-shirt).

From a local's standpoint, we've heard that you only really go to Melaka to eat Nyonya food (a mix of Straits Chinese and Chinese/Malay cuisine) but we thought it would be interesting to see what a World Heritage City in Malaysia looked like. The food was as amazing as promised (we went to Riverine, a Nyonya kitchen, twice!) but the architecture was what stood out for me.

In KL there are sadly far too many beautiful old buildings rotting away or being torn down to make room for new luxury malls or condos. The condo we live in is on a street where there used to be traditional homes and I can imagine how gorgeous they must have been based on the last remaining structure on the street. I feel like such an a-hole for lamenting the past while living in modern KL but if I ran the city, I would find a way to do it all better.

In Melaka, the heritage buildings seem to be a priority. Not all of course but a decent amount. It was awesome to see the different influences in design based on the location and date that the structures were built. Being the key port city of the Straits way back when, Melaka has buildings that reflect the Chinese, Dutch, Portuguese, British and of course, Malay aesthetics. I loved the colonial stuff but my favorite was seeing the mid-century modern influences in their Chinatown and government buildings. It made this LA girl very happy.

Now here in Rio, I've already spotted a ton of cool old buildings that I can't wait to check out. I'm not sure I'll take my camera out too much since I'll be exploring solo most of the time but I'll capture and share what I can. Have a great week!

a walk in the park

Happy Friday, guys! Did you know that Bangkok has a giant park in its city center? It was a nice surprise during our visit last week. Our awesome little hotel was just up the street from Lumphini Park so we took a morning stroll through it on the way to the metro station. There were school groups playing games on the basketball court, three old couples dancing to swing music underneath a giant tree, and plenty of locals getting in their tai-chi exercises for the day. It definitely felt like a proper civic park.

Aside from people watching, a few colors, patterns, and textures caught my attention. Particularly a large type of palm tree that was unlike any I had ever seen. It looked like the palm fronds were cut off as it grew, leaving sturdy slanted stumps begging to be climbed. And yes, I did climb one. Just a few feet up (ssshhh)!

If you can this weekend, do take some time to go for a walk and see what you see. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed doing that.

Something I can't forget - announcing a winner for the Gin & Jacqie Love Malaysia Collection giveaway! Congrats to Alicia - you're the lucky pick! Please keep a lookout for an email with details.

I'll be Instagraming (and blogging) from Rio next week...hopefully I'll have some news to share after that trip. Have a good one!

redang-culous sun and sand + here we go again

Hey guys, I hope you had a nice weekend. I know I know, it's Tuesday already but I'll explain why I'm so off with regular posts in just a moment. First, these are a few snaps from our recent trip to Redang Island off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia. The hotel's food and density were disappointing but the real reason we were there exceeded expectations: THE BEACH! The sand was unreal, completely white and soft like flour, while the water was incredibly clear. It was warm, calm, and the snorkeling was the best we've had yet. We swam with turtles, saw a baby shark, and found ourselves following (or being chased by) schools of tropical fish of many varieties. All that beauty just a one and a half hour flight from where we live...so crazy, so lucky, and so we better take of advantage of it while it lasts.

And by "while it lasts" I mean until the end of October - yep, we're moving once again! Not sure to where just yet but until our boxes are packed and our apartment keys are turned in, we're fitting in as much travel and local activities as we can. That's why we rushed to make a trip to Redang as soon as I returned, did a quick two nights in Bangkok last week, will be in Melaka this week, and have more planned. I know that traveling is a crazy luxury so I'm not complaining, but it does make keeping a solid work (and blog) schedule pretty difficult. But I'm here and I can't wait to see where the next several months take us, on and off-line!