“Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies.”

― Gene Hill

Started doing sessions for donations to the local dog shelter a couple of weeks back, and N and G reached out because they wanted portraits done and they loved that the sessions were for a cause. I was excited to see them too, because  they're Arya's humans. Arya came to our apartment last year for the hubby's and mine's birthday, and we got to see how much of a darling she was. 

She also drove Tomas crazy with her puppy energy, which was hilarious to watch. 

Arya is also a rescue! 

We met at the mall near their home. Apparently, this is one of Arya's fave places for walkies. We got clicking before the mall opened, which meant that we got most of the space to ourselves. Had no problem getting them comfortable because these two have photography backgrounds themselves (N is  a photographer herself, and G worked as a photographer in a  cruise ship before coming to China). Having to run after Arya and seeing her derpy outtakes were also enough to get us in the mood for some really nice shots without us even knowing it.

A few shots from that sunny morning, which is a precious thing to behold when you live in this foggy city. 

 “This year’s vintage is best enjoyed this year. Let’s begin.”

― Gina Barreca

The post title is a mouthful, but I seriously got kissaten vibes when this little cafe came into view. It's located in a residential neighborhood just behind one of the bigger malls here, on the first floor of another older residential building. Grannies hang out right outside watching after babies in strollers. The streets are also tree-lined. 

Itaewon wants to remind you that you can find Japanese retro with a South Korean twist here. More and more kissaten-inspired little cafes are popping up, old apartments turned inside out and cobbled together to create spaces with good coffee, cute cakes and retro memorabilia. 

These spaces are Instagram-worthy little vignettes, the kind that reminded me of my lola and her rooms in her house with all the lace, perfume bottles and yellowed book pages doubling as wall-art. 

The husband and I hung out by the window, and I enjoyed my cake with its dried fruit and crunchy sugar toppings as we looked at the grannies fanning themselves and sharing the day's news. We were part of that neighborhood for an hour and it felt good.