Matcha & Cherry Blossoms

A color study for spring, how to make a strawberry london fog, and spring phone wallpapers!

I'm writing this from my rooftop in Brooklyn, where I can see the city in the distance and cherry blossoms at the park start to grow.

We moved to New York in September and only had a few weeks before the cold began to set in. I am a born and raised Floridian who has never experienced a real-life winter before, and the last months since we've gotten here have been quite the adjustment! (Ouch)

I did find out that there's a lot about winter I really enjoy! I like how it makes you slow down and spend more time inside and look for things to do with your hands. I like watching the world outside the window look like a snow globe. I like how the holidays feel more festive when it's white outside.

I am completely relieved and overjoyed, however, at the sight of sunshine and seeing the blue skies light up the sky again and feeling warm air! I'm delighted to be writing this Substack article for the first time since moving here while sitting outside in the sun!

My choice for colors of the week are inspired by the new spring season ahead! Matcha green and cherry blossom pink.

I have so much anticipation for the cherry blossoms that are going to grow here at Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

I don’t drink coffee, but I have loved matcha for years. I just love tea, and since moving to the city I have had more matchas than I can count. So I am anticipating a season ahead of drinking matcha outside(!) and enjoying the sunshine.

The colors are inspired by spring freshness, newness — a nice earthy green that reflects the grass growing back in the ground — and the new season in a bright pink full of promise and fresh blooms and flowers and trees and bushes, perhaps surprise bouquets showing up at your doorstep.

And so the colors I have chosen to highlight this week are an ode to a spring of drinking fresh matcha outside, blooming flowers above, which I hope also can be a reflection emotionally.

I hope they can bring forth a season for all of us of new, blooming, fresh ideas and creative thoughts and steady comfort and friends and energy shared across coffee shop tables!

Pinterest board link | For more color inspiration this week…check out my Instagram!

Welcome to my little apartment café!

I made a delicious foamy homemade strawberry london fog and it was absolutely perfect for spring!

Here are the exact teas and supplies I used:

1. Earl Grey Lavender Tea from Tebella

2. Strawberry Black Tea from Chicago Tea House

3. Tea infuser (if you are getting into loose leaf tea — this is an essential!)

I combined one teaspoon of each tea together in the steeper to brew. Then I frothed some milk with my homemade strawberry syrup to top my tea. It is fantastic.

Here are recipe cards for easy access ↓ Happy brewing!

Suggestions for a more joyful week:

1. Play a board game on your table. Do something tactile with your hands, like dominoes or Rummikub, and play with someone or a group of people you really love. Soak in the click click of the tiles on the table. Be loud, laugh, be competitive! Maybe get a game you've never played before and play it all together, but do it with people in your community.

2. Do a phone refresh. Change up your wallpapers and make your phone sparkle and shine. I've made a few just for you — linked below. :)

3. Start a new book that is fictional and cozy. Find a book that is just delightful and only pleasant. (I am currently on the lookout for happy spring fiction, please share any recommendations in the comments!)

4. Take a walk longer than you normally do and listen to music that makes you feel like you are in a TV show series.

5. Prepare a rainy day plan — whether it rains physically or emotionally. Have a plan for this week. Could include lighting your favorite candle, taking a hot bath, getting in bed early, snuggling up with a book, or watching a favorite show.

   
   Phone wallpapers made with love for you!

   

Náko — Brooklyn Heights📍 18 Columbia Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11201

I had a wonder rose matcha latte in their beautiful space. I was really amazed by how great the customer service was too! I think the owner was working behind the bar :)

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