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holidays are really approaching, and I'm excited about it. I'm home alone, so I decided to shoot such a calm, cozy, and lazy vlog. I start my day with my favorite activity- writing. Working with my self-reflection cards again. This is essentially a guided journal. So, today's question is: What can I offer in a romantic relationship? What do I want in return? I guess I bring a lot of novelty to the relationship. Not in the sense that we will go on adventures in the Amazon or skydive. It's more of a novelty in the daily routine. I have an endless list of things to do just in the city. Whether it's visiting a botanical garden, art museums, or new restaurants. It really never ends. Or even if we just go for a walk, I can make you feel
heard and understood, and we'll have a great time doing the simplest things. This is what I can offer in a relationship. And what do I want to get? I think it's some form of security. I want to feel protected, I want to feel safe with you. I want to know that you will support me. I want to feel like I'm a priority for you. Is this all about the same thing? I don't know. It seems like a lot, but I think it all falls within the concept of security. What can you offer in a romantic relationship? A great way to start the day. I feel like in the morning I'm only in the mood for quick things: a shower and off I go. But you can't take a bath in a hurry. Mm. This goes against the very essence of a bath. The other day on Instagram I said I was going to do a quick
Q&A, so I thought now would be a good time to answer a few. Are you and London planning to start any new winter traditions this year? I thought it would be cool to watch movies together in the middle of the day. So far we've watched "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." First we read the book, and then I told him there was a movie like that. We watched the original from the 60s, and honestly, it's a true cinematic masterpiece. No comments. It's just as magical as the first time, and he was just thrilled. And then we started watching the new Tim Burton version. He thought it was a little too scary, and rightly so. That's fair. But yeah, I feel like watching a movie every week sometime in the afternoon would be great. What other films do
you think would be suitable for family viewing? I think our next family movie will be Space Jam. Now that it's November, I want to make a celebration plan because this year it's my turn to host Christmas, and I want everything to be special. Thanks to Google for sponsoring this part of the video, and hello Nordstrom. So with Google Holiday 100 on my side, there's no gift-giving challenge we can't solve. This is Google's annual list of the best products, based on search trends throughout the year. Look at all these categories and collections. There are " the best clothes", " cozy comfort", " toys and games", but it was here that I found the
perfect solution - the is the place to go for the best kids' gifts this holiday season, handpicked with the quality and care they're known for. Built on FAO Schwarz's iconic legacy of creative play, it will transform your living room into an interactive stage. Shop thousands of toys in stores and online at Nordstrom this holiday season, and thank Google and Nordstrom for making this holiday challenge a reality. Check out the Google Holiday 100 at the link in my description to shop the 100 products that made our year.
Now that the biggest gift has been found, let's move on to the next task. What is your favorite dish to share? Now it's a cream of pumpkin and squash soup. I found the recipe on Instagram, made it once, and it was so delicious. I've already tried this recipe, but I decided to make it again for you in clear HD quality. So, let's begin. Haha. So, here are my little green pumpkins. The correct name seems to be acorn squash. So we'll wash them well and then put one of them in the microwave for 5 minutes. Oh my god, he's hot. Cut off the top. Oh, wow. This is probably the first time I've cooked with pumpkin or squash. I seem to be using these names as synonyms. What does quality time look like for you at this stage of life? That's a very good question,
especially since it seems like we've become so busy lately. Oh my God, the sun has already set. We have become so preoccupied as a society. But are we really that busy? Let's be frank. If you really want to see someone, no matter how busy you are, you will find time for it. So for me, quality time spent is having free time. Quality time for me is any place where we are fully immersed in conversation with each other. In short, no phones. Of course, my favorite way to spend time is traveling, when we can go somewhere together, wake up, make breakfast, clean up, and explore new places. It only happens a few times a year, but when we do, oh my god, it really is the best.
I also really enjoy house parties or dinner parties this year. In general, everything related to hospitality seems really cool to me, because as much as I love socializing in restaurants, you're limited in time-how long can you stay in a restaurant before the waiter starts hinting that it's time to go? I think a house party is great because you can stay as long as you want and feel at ease. You don't have to wait in line for the restroom. If it's too loud, you can simply turn the music down. You control a lot more things. For me, the best evening is the one when we're all having such a good time that we forget to take at least one photo. Truth? Yes, I need to chop the onion. So, I put 30g of butter and added our chopped onion to it.
Now I'm going to sauté it until it's nicely browned and caramelized. Butter makes everything delicious. Quality time has always been one of my favorite love languages, but in my 20s, I didn't have to see my friends all the time. We've seen each other, I guess? Once every two or three weeks. Sometimes we would n't see each other for months. And I still appreciate it, but now, at 36, I like it when there is both frequency of meetings and quality time. I really like it. This is probably the most unexpected gift my 30 years have brought me. I didn't even know I needed it. It seems the onion is ready. Add our pumpkin. And then 200 ml of milk. I also add 200 ml of Greek yogurt. Let's let this simmer for a bit. So, my aunt from
Korea watches my YouTube videos all the time, and in one comment she wrote, "Oh my God, Toi, you look so much better in the kitchen with an apron on." This is delicious. And now I'm going to grab my hand-held immersion blender. My God, you should have seen me when I first used it. I was scared, but now that I'm doing it for the second time, I'm much more confident. Look. Looks wonderfully finished. Delicate, velvety soup. It will be simply divine. I know that. I want it to look like a real masterpiece. So, I put the other acorn squash in for another 5 minutes, and now I'm going to take the top off, and we're going to use the rind itself as a
soup container. Yes! This is, honestly, the perfect fall and winter recipe. Oh my God. I think a cheese sandwich is a must with this soup so I just toasted one. Oh, my God. I have my cheese sandwich. I dip it in the soup puree. Wow, this is the true definition of a hearty meal. Imagine if I brought this to a party. It's like.it's like the biggest pumpkin you've ever seen. I would probably choose the pulp from a huge pumpkin, and people would just stuff themselves with it. Mmm. Oh, look. It's like a cave made of cheese sandwich. What if I pour soup inside? My God, he fits in there. What are some uncommon things we should do more often to be happier? Okay, I have a few thoughts on this. And
they are all quite socially oriented. So, the first thing is to make contact. If you have a best friend or a group of friends, or even someone you just met and you're like, "oh, I want to see them." Be the first to post a message. Be the initiator. Because often, in my opinion, people don't take the initiative because, firstly, they're afraid of rejection, and secondly, they think they're bothering the other person. But if they are your real friends, they won't take it as " oh, they are imposing again." They'll think, "oh, cool." And even if this meeting is in 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or 4 weeks, this day will eventually come. I believe that we are social creatures by nature, so it is very important
to spend time with friends. Add a little effort to your life. The only reason I always have a community around me is because understand the importance of a social life. For example, I am happiest when my social life is full. When I feel doubtful or start to beat myself up mentally, I look at the calendar and think, "Oh my god, I haven't seen my friends in weeks." So I know it's time to go for a walk or dinner. The information about the loneliness epidemic makes me very sad, because we are too used to communicating only through social media. You think you're staying connected with someone just by looking at their stories. I don't know.
I guess this brings me to my second tip for happiness: take breaks from social media, especially Instagram. Social media is a cheaper and artificial way of communicating that leaves you feeling a little worse than before, especially if you don't stick to time limits. If you use them for, say, 15 minutes, then I think you can do without harm. But when you spend an hour or two there, you borrow happiness. Of course, it takes time to find a group of friends who are free and trustworthy-it's a journey. But you won't get through it unless you take the steps yourself, right? You really have to be open to communication. It doesn't have to be a big company or anything like that.
It's enough to have two or three friends with whom you feel safe and confident, and you know that you can write to them without worrying too much and without being afraid of violating boundaries. That's all you need. These are the relationships that seem sincere and genuine. You don't catch yourself thinking: "God, do they even like me, did I offend them?" Instead, after the conversation, you think, "Oh my god, okay. This person loves me." I also think that becoming a regular visitor to a place really helps to feel stable. It could be a cafe or a library, a church, a restaurant, just a place you go to at least three times a month, where the people who visit or work there start to recognize you. We are losing the art of small talk.
People love to criticize this. They want to jump right into something deep. But you really have to earn people's trust. And I think being a regular visitor somewhere else helps you feel much less lonely. Because it reminds us that everyone lives their own life, has their own set of things to do, goals, or challenges to work on. I like being a regular customer somewhere because it takes me beyond my own self. It makes me feel like I'm part of a community. This helps you feel much less isolated. Okay, friends. This is the last question because I have to pick up my son from school. This is a question about Santa Claus. And about what we do with Santa.
Last year was tough because he had so many questions about how Santa works. For example, how does it get inside? How can he watch us? He lives at the North Pole. And then we looked at the map, and it was just an icy mess. And I simply lacked the courage to continue this elaborate lie. I didn't get it from my family. My parents are Korean, working class. So every Christmas they made it clear where the gifts came from. From them.
I guess that's why I feel this way. It's really hard for me to feel the Christmas spirit sometimes because it has n't been something I've actively worked towards. And even now I'm trying to come up with Christmas traditions. I think this is a question for parents. What is your scenario for Santa? Because I'm not going to go into Scrooge mode and say, "Santa doesn't exist." I would never do that. But I find myself avoiding questions about Santa because I don't know how to explain it. I don't know. It seems like you have to And then, when the truth is revealed, they may suspect: " Wow, what else are you lying to me about?" This is really thought-provoking. In any case, write in the comments below when you found out that Santa isn't real. And
if you have children, what do you tell them about Santa? Well, what are the details? Seriously, tell me. I would be very interested to know. Anyway, I want to thank you all for watching and I hope you enjoyed this fun and relaxed day I had. We'll talk later. See you later.
