do you remember the era of monthly favorites and long-form content and blog posts? well, i miss it so i want to share some of my favorites. this isn’t specific to a month, but these are things i’m loving lately. books! okay, i am sorry to say that i’m not reading as much as i’d like. HOWEVER, here are some books that i read recently and i love love love. whenever someone asks me a recent read i loved, i respond with this: bliss montage, by ling ma the stories in this book occupied my thoughts rent-free!! i listened to this on audiobook towards the end of summer, and i enjoyed it so much tha ..read more

although i don’t blog at the same capacity as i used to (aka .. i have not blogged since literally this time last year), you can always count on me to write a little letter on Twirling Pages’ birthday. today marks nine years (!!!) since i created my Instagram and blog. i think about the friends i made when i first started blogging, and many of them are no longer bloggers or internet creatives. while i miss them, i understand that it takes active effort to continue the pursuit of *content creation.* and recently, i thought about why i’m still here and what i wish i knew when i started. so here ..read more

eight years ago, i shared an instagram photo of my bookshelf on my then-new account, @twirlingpages. it feels magical and nostalgic to know that eight years has passed since then. (hello???) while i no longer blog (consistently) anymore, it feels right to create a blog post commemorating this day. the first photo!!! vsco era, circa 2014 in chinese, the word/character for “eight” sounds similar to the character for “fortune” or “prosperity.” because of this, i want to share eight things i learned during my eight years online: 01. your relationship with the internet will change this feels obvio ..read more

i’m on a flight to los angeles, and i don’t know where to begin. do you know that feeling when you want to do something, but can’t bring yourself to do it; and the more you try, the bigger it feels like a Big Deal and the stakes are higher and you feel like the next time you do it, it has to live up to the time that passed??? that’s how i feel about blogging. yums from a local restaurant near columbia called Bahnme, kaitlin, priscilla ! but this past week, i met up with kaitlin and priscilla, former bloggers of twirling pages (former because we all just… stopped blogging lol), and it was hone ..read more

this post is sponsored by Jemi! i spent a looooong time trying to design and create a landing page for all of my social media links and other things. or actually, i spent a long time trying to find the perfect platform for what i wanted. can it be both cute and functional? (gone are the days where a landing page is simply a row of links… please). and i finally found the perfect platform/site to create it!! introducing… JEMI! this is my homepage in all its glory! Jemi is a website builder created specifically for creators. it has a ton of easy-to-use features so i built the site of my dreams ..read more

this blog post is created in partnership with Idenati. hello friends, i hope you’re doing well! in the beginning of 2021, i said i’d “get my life together,” then proceeded to fall off the face of blogging and suffer from severe burn out. i’m still working on it, but the past month was dedicated to acceptance and forgiveness. i’m learning to be okay with not getting everything done immediately. but i think i’m finally arriving at a place where i’m ready to transition towards a better version of myself. so. here’s how i hope to get my life together. 01. bring back a morning and night routine ..read more

farewell, january the first month of 2021 is over!! i, like many, was very motivated to ~get my life together~ and achieve all of my life goals in the span of 30 days which (obviously) did not happen and took a toll on my energy levels. in all honesty, this past month was tiring. this was due to a plethora of factors but primarily because i resumed school. there was a lot more work than anticipated. (cries) thankfully, my quick intersession is closing soon and my academic workload will go back to a realistic pace – as with the rest of my life! my plans for january and 2021 (but in reality it ..read more

thank you Simon & Schuster for sponsoring this post! hello hello!! Cassandra Clare’s Chain of Iron is releasing soon and i’m so excited to share ~exclusive~ character cards for the series! the shadowhunter realm is one of my favorite fictional series so i can’t wait to dive back into it with Chain of Iron. also, can we talk about how beautiful the cover is?!!! look at it: Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare on March 2, 2021 Amazon||The Book Depository Goodreads The Shadowhunters must catch a killer in Edwardian London in this dangerous and romantic sequel to the #1 New York Times bestsell ..read more

farewell, december alexandra: december was filled with ~chaos~, as anticipated. it started with final exams (which really weren’t so bad). the chaos was mostly from the numerous power outages and my sister doing her pastry shop’s pop-up in LA. the details were unveiled here: after that, it was a week of ~i don’t want to do anything~ and that feeling extended to the end of the month. (i’m still basking in it.) christmas weekend was pretty uneventful: stayed home, binged true beauty‘s drama then webtoon (more info coming), made some milk bread, and watched some movies. all was chill; all was w ..read more

I received this book for free from HarperCollins, NetGalley, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence. The Burning God by R. F. Kuang Series: The Poppy War #3 Published by HarperCollins on November 17, 2020 Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Epic Pages: 640 Format: eARC Source: HarperCollins, NetGalley, Publisher Amazon||The Book Depository Goodreads The exciting end to The Poppy Wa ..read more