It’s The Middle Of A Working Tuesday And Here I Am, Sharing A Little Love Note From The Beautiful Japanese

Heartwork: sometime in beginning of April🌺

~ Currently crushing on: Bellaanna and Sabrina ~ 🌺

I was watching a journaling video in 2020 and spotted these. It was love at first sight. I decided to wait until these became available in India. 

I finally found these last week, listed on a local store’s Instagram page. You can imagine my delight. 

They were delivered yesterday and I had to play with all the inks I had to make tons of Bellaanna and Sabrina flowers! (The stamps from Mo Card are a journaller’s delight.) 

There was this quote on their boxes that made my heart smile, “Look for the most beautiful flower in the box and give it to you.” 

~ 'quiet enjoyment' ~ ~ the art of deriving deep joy from life's moments tenderly, without feeling the need to talk about it.~ . e.g: a small, steady smile as you breathe in the fresh morning air, humming softly as you prepare coffee, feeling content while you create, sitting down with a loved one in shared silence. 🌼 . . Picture: Jaehee Cho, Behance

Me: *falls in love with dramas*

Me: So this is what it’s like to be a fan...

My heart:

~ When we have a constantly active inner critic that thrives on self-hate, try as hard as we may, it becomes extremely difficult to move towards positive self-growth. . The negative self-talk from such an inner critic instantly demotivates you and since that's all we hear, we begin to see ourselves solely from the eyes of this critic. . This propels us to second-guess the nourishing choices we've decided to make and stops us from taking regular action to back these choices, hence causing us to stay in this same toxic loop of self-caused pain.  . If we get down to the root of this, we realize, that in order to back ourselves up, we need to trust ourselves. Due to loop patterns of self-destructive behavior (both conscious + unconscious), without knowing it, over time, we lose trust in our self and our power to make healthy choices. . The way out, I've realised over this past year, is to back the promises you make to yourself by regular, consistent actions.  . This weakens the negative self-talk the inner critic often thrives on and suddenly, there opens a tiny space where you start seeing yourself minus this toxic lens of self-hate (which is the primary cause of self-hurt and self-sabotage).  . Slowly, by backing the words + choices we tell & make for ourselves with regular, positive actions, we invite buds of self-trust to bloom once more. 

⁓ Favorite Stills: Midnight Diner: Episode 1⁓

A bit about Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories - 

This is a collection of short stories that happen in a diner in Tokyo, Japan. The owner of this diner is called ‘Master’ and he becomes a catalyst in either bringing people together or tying lose ends of a tale. Often serving as the voice of wisdom, his diner opens at midnight and shuts shop at 7 each morning. 

The stories in themselves are beautiful depictions of human emotions. They are positive, light and simple. Food serves as a connector between the people who visit the diner and is often the reason for new friendships and love interests. 

Here are a few favorite stills of mine from the Episode 1, Season 1. 

All images here are screenshots from the show and are owned by Netflix. I don’t own any copyrights to them.

©anvidoshi

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Image 1: @duxuebing 

With 'When The Camellia Blooms' I Learned The Beauty Of Owning Who I Am

Early on in my drama journey, curious about having 'When The Camellia Blooms' pop up on my Netflix feed, I tuned in. (Good job, Anvi.)

The Story:

The story revolves around a small Korean town, Ongsan and its residents. A fishing county, Ongasn's citizens are mostly fishermen who pride on their freshwater crabs.  In comes a single, young mother, Dongbaek with her 2-year-old son Pil-Goo. She decides to start a new chapter of her life and opens a small bar named 'Camellia'.

We then have Hwang Yong-Sik, a junior cop who's looking for his “Princess Diana”. With a heart of gold, he falls head over heels for our Dongbaek at first sight.

What follows is not just a love story between the two, but also a thriller mystery involving a serial killer who calls himself 'Joker'. We have Dongbaek's old lover, Kang Jong Ryul, return (who's now married with a child of his own), have her find comradery in the oldest badass of Ongsan, Mrs. Kwak and see her battle stigmas around single parenthood, objectification and bullying.

Not your typical male-female-lead Kdrama, this one is about: - the power of community, 🌼 - badassery (with some FANTASTIC female characters), 🌼 - real love standing the test of time, 🌼 - female companionship, 🌼 - healing 🌼 - and the pains of growing up in a society that prescribes 'two' parents as a requisite. 🌼

Each character has shades of grey versus your typical black and white. Each one, a poignant element, without which the story would have been lacking. The drama was a thorough delight to watch. And I am sure a lot of you who've watched this can nod your agreement when I say that it is legit a world in its own.

I don't know how to sum up a possible thesis of what moved me in the show, but here are my top 6 learnings from 'When The Camellia Blooms':

1. If you love someone, tell the whole damn world about it.

My favorite trait about Yong-Sik apart from his drop-dead gorgeous confidence, is the way he keeps choosing Dongbaek every.single.time. He taught me that love wasn't limited to a three-word confession. That was just the beginning of the beginning. Love meant showing up and choosing the person I loved, every single day.

2. Bravery often comes in surprise packages.

As we see Dongbaek own the person she is, an element we least expect to find is her bravery to stand up for herself and the ones she loves when the time arises. She taught me that often, we negate certain people as 'walkovers' and 'pitiable' only to see them outgrow their thick skin and show immense courage. At such times, one realizes the futility of boxing people up with permanent labels.

3. Wisdom and maturity have got nothing to do with age.

Bare with me as I prove my point by citing the stark contrast of EQ levels between Kang Jong Ryol, a father and his 8-year-old, Pil-Goo. While the former could pass for a bratty toddler, our Pil-Goo is too wise, profound and caring for a child his age. More often than not, he is the rock Dongbaek leans upon when she's too tired to fight the world alone.

4. Community is belongingness.

That's my favorite part about Ongsan. The town's committee is a motley of women who're there for each other through thick and thin. With stay-at-home trophy husbands, we see them battle their own regressive social stigmas and come to terms with inclusivity. It is here, in this communal space that DongBaek finally finds a home away from home.

5. We all just need someone who believes in us to start believing in ourselves once again.

Sometimes, without knowing, when we're lost, somebody's belief in us can help us find our way back home to ourselves. It's that person's belief that helps us reignite the belief we need in ourselves to grow and bloom. To rest my case, I give you Dongbaek's unconditional belief in Choi Hyang-mi.

6. Every person is a universe in their own might.

Each character's narrative in the drama made me realize how each of us are a whole, separate world on our own. Our ideas, our beliefs, our daily lives are individual universes colliding with one another for brief moments in eternity.

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Credits: Images 4 & 15: dramabeans | Image 5: kdramaclicks | Image 14: coffeecaramello.wordpress.com | Netflix | Doodle App

Hyori's Bed & Breakfast ~  Season 1, Episode 1

Hyori's Bed & Breakfast has been a non-pushy contender on my Netflix to-watch 'list' give and take, for the past 6 months.🍄

At the forefront are Lee Hyori and her husband Sang-Soon who live on Jeju island. The house in itself is modest (considering they have an entire field as a backyard and then some more). It serves as a reflection of the quiet, lazy life the couple prefers. 🍄

Episode 1 opens up to Hyori and Soon starting their day, sitting in their dining room sipping tea. Hyori is yet to figure out a camera angle that shies away from her nasal hair. She'll target Soon's next. 🍄

The couple are having second thoughts on signing up to have their home serve as a bed & breakfast for surprise guests. Living with 5 dogs and 2 cats (their children), it is Hyori and Soon's easy, nonchalant, loving camaraderie that I spot right away. 🍄

Having failed to look good on camera as they eat breakfast, the couple settles on prepping their home as the next B&B on Jeju. Their pace is slow, unhurried and they are very good with unintentional, slapstick comedy (especially the part when Hyori drops a comforter on Soon's head). 🍄

You'll see them clean, head out to get groceries, play with their pets and have a lot of moments where they don't have anything interesting for the camera. But rest assured, for the English subtitles deserve a mini Oscar. They do a hilarious 'reading between the lines' and accurate (read: LOL-worthy) interpretations of the on-goings in the house. 🍄

The episode ends with the to-be B&B owners having their last restful night of sleep as their first guests are due to arrive the next day. 🍄

My favorite bits:

1. Hyori and Soon's fail humor. 🍄 2. Little Mocha's (their tiny dog) adoption story. 🍄 3. Hyori's take on worldly possessions after she nearly buys the entire slipper shelf at a store. 🍄    4. Soon's adventurous-chef spirit. 🍄 5. Their drive to the local market filled with open highways, trees and sunsets. 🍄    6. Hyori and Soon's little tea setup in the dining room. 🍄 7. The house cats’ 'why do I tolerate these humans?' faces. 🍄 8. Hyori waking up after a nap. 🍄 9. The real reason why Soon married Hyori. 🍄

Image Credits: 1) channelkorea.com 2) Netflix

~ Meteor Garden (2018) ~ 

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Credits | GIF 1: Bookwyrming Thoughts | GIF 2: Guidie Dyshen | GIF 3: We Heart It | GIF 4, 5, 6: Tumblr | GIF 7: Tenor | GIF 8: @optimisticgirl