Snow Day in Brooklyn

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This is what every New Yorker wants: 1. a beautiful snow day, preferably with gentle flakes that stick to the ground (but not to your eyelashes), creating a white wonderland 2. for the weather to immediately get warm the next day and melt all that snow away. I love living in New York. I hate the grueling winters that make me absolutely dread going outside, even though I love being outdoors always, but when those beautiful flakes hit the city, it makes those 5 months we spend in below freezing weather worth it. We were anticipating this snow storm all week. We’re typically early risers, but on Saturday we woke up before sunrise, set the heater next to the window and watched the first snowflakes speckle down onto the street. It’s all so magical! Even four winters in the city later, watching the snow still gives me this extremely giddy feeling — one I can only assume a child gets, haha! 😝 When the sun rose and the clouds dissipated a little, we layered up and got our butts onto the streets. We walked toward the Williamsburg bridge for a little and met a puppy who brought his ball over to me! I always say dogs love me because they know how much I love them and I think this scenario just proves it. Jay snapped a few quick pics, which warms my heart because he knew how much I would treasure those pictures, then we made our way into one of our favorite neighborhood bars and took some more pictures along the way! I decided to wear my Free People earmuffs that I snatched before winter because I love all things furry (faux, of course) and pink. I’ve ultimately decided that these earmuffs are completely up my alley — Jay thinks they look extremely silly, but they warm up my ears and I think they’re adorable. Wear what makes you feel good, girls! 🙋🏻=🐰 After we got home, we made some white chocolate hot cocoa and put on The Day After Tomorrow (obviously his choice because why would it make sense to watch an apocalyptic film about the next ice age when it’s blizzarding outside… 🙄) and started to vacation plan for my last spring break! We decided on a location but our plans aren’t completely set yet. So I’ll share those with you once they are — but get…

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Thanks A Million, 2016

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Happy 2017, my loves! 🍾 I really wanted to write this post as a brief wrap-up of 2016, but as I was typing out and reflecting upon my life and all the changes that came about this past year, I could not stop thinking about how much you guys have changed my life for the better. So firstly, thank you, dear readers. I am continually astonished by your kind words, your sweet comments always and the simple fact still remains that I don’t really understand why you even care at all about my weird little life. But I am incredibly grateful that you’re here, right now, reading this, and I always hope that I can bring a little joy to you the way you’ve given so much to me. 💕 Some personal highlights of 2016: I turned 21 this year! CRAAAZY! Finally able to go to bars and drink willy-nilly, although I don’t drink/go out that often, it’s still an amazing freedom to have. 🍻 I traveled more this year than ever (and hope to continue this in the future). I went to the Dominican Republic with some amazing girls at the beginning of this year as a part of a medical mission trip. My boy and I took our first road trip together to Washington D.C.; and a second and a third to LA and Joshua Tree, all of which were wonderful. I spent a summer at home, which was the longest I’ve been home since I left for college, and it was the best being able to spend so much time with my family whom I love dearly. I finally addressed some anxiety issues through a few therapy sessions and a ton of self-help books, and now I feel mentally stronger than ever. I’m always hesitant to talk about anxiety and stress (and the bad aspects of life) but it’s so important to emphasize that obstacles such as mental health are completely normal, and no one’s life is as perfect as an Instagram page could seem. I took my MCAT! I needed to put that in just because I spent most of the year studying and preparing for that exam and I’m very happy that it’s finally done with. I found a boy who I’m head-over-heels for; who constantly supports my endeavors, and pushes me every day to be my personal best while knowing my limits and respecting my boundaries. So…

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Welcome Home, Albie (Our Christmas Tree)!

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This year was my first year buying a REAL Christmas tree and I’m so so so glad I did! Jay and I set out early one morning to two different Christmas tree shops, one in Brooklyn close to home and one in Manhattan to search for the perfect Christmas tree. Finally, we settled on our 8-foot beauty – Albert! I call him Albie for short; it definitely started a joke naming our tree (because it’s “living” in our apartment) but the name caught on, and now we just refer to him as Albie casually, hah! 🤓 Having Albie in the apartment is so great, he seriously makes the air quality fresher in the apartment, and I LOVE the amazing pine smell he radiates. I’ve also been burning my favorite holiday Bath and Body Works candle, Mahogany Balsam, so it’s been smelling EXTRA foresty in here. Can’t complain about that! 🌲 We got most of our simple ball ornaments from Target, I actually bought two different packs of ornaments to get the colors I wanted the tree to be, which is mainly white and gold with a hint of pink! And I think it worked!! Our more fun ornaments are from West Elm and Anthropologie. I know it’s getting VERY close to Christmas but I linked them down below anyway for anyone who’s running a little late on decorating, or still haven’t gone home due to final exams in college! My favorite ornament(s) this year is definitely our little bunny couple that I picked up from West Elm. They are dressed so fancily and I love that even Jay appreciates the adorable-ness of a bunny in a bow tie, haha! His favorite is the “merry” wire ornament we got from Anthropologie. A classy choice. I can’t forget to mention our wooden J & W initials as well – we actually got matching initials last year to decorate our tree, but since we found these new and more stylish ones, we retired our old initials and hung them on our stockings instead (to distinguish between the two, of course). This little Christmassy set up has quickly become my favorite corner at home. Since the apartment is pretty small, it definitely feels like Albie is the center of the apartment, which I kind of love. Christmas is only 3 days away now and I am getting excited just thinking about it! 🎄 I have a few more pictures and posts to share so I will definitely be a busy bee until then to push them…

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Holiday Traditions

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One of the things I love the most about the holiday season is reminiscing on sweet childhood memories. I remember when I spent my first Christmas in the states, my mom bought us a cookie frosting kit and a gingerbread house, and we sat around the fireplace that night, decorating the house, drinking hot chocolate and listening to endless Christmas music. I treasured the quality time I got to spend with my mom so much when I was younger, as she was a single parent who had to work a lot in order to support our family. Ever since then we would always have one night in December where we baked and decorated cookies, drank hot cocoa, and devoured half the batch in one night while we watched a Christmas movie or two.  ☕️🍪 Of course as time goes on, traditions evolve. I moved away from home almost four Christmases ago now, but I’ve still been lucky enough to continue this tradition with my loved ones, from my college roommate Joanne and now to my boyfriend, who (thank goodness) loves Christmas and sweets (and Christmas sweets 🍬) as much as I do. I found this gingerbread cookie recipe via Pinterest and I knew I had to try it! I love all gingerbread flavored things and this cookie definitely did not disappoint 🙂 We put on our ugly Christmas sweaters and my favorite “holiday” movie – Just Friends and just went to town baking and decorating these cookies. I feel like Just Friends is one of those movies I’ll watch a good 5-10 times year ’round, but especially during the holidays! If you haven’t seen it, it’s actually on Netflix for the time being, so the time is now!! If you can’t tell already, this is my favorite time of year. I have so many posts I’d like to do leading up to Christmas (only 7 days away now!) so I hope I can make them all into reality 🎄 Still yet to show you guys the full details of our tree (we/I named him Albert the Christmas Tree) so that will definitely come next! 💛 Hope everyone is having an amazing weekend so far! Thanks for stopping by!! xo

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Thankful

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Happy Thanksgiving! This is actually the second Thanksgiving that my boy and I have spent together, which makes me kind of giddy. 😝 Last year, we did Thanksgiving at my apartment, and I went a little overboard with food (see here & here), haha. Even though I love cooking and hosting, this holiday is about giving thanks and spending time with family, so it was amazing that I got to go home to New Jersey with my boy this year. We had so much fun with his family, playing board games, eating cheese and drinking wine. We actually end up playing board games I’ve never played as a kid every time we visit his parents, which is kind of cool. I’m SUPER competitive, but I’m pretty lucky to have him, who is MUCH uglier in competitions than I am. So by comparison I don’t seem so bad. (I’m still pretty bad.) 🤔 I was actually letting loose so much that I got a liiiiittle wine drunk (oops!) and had a post-turkey nap in midst of watching Zoolander after dinner. We woke up to pie, ice cream and bringing 3 pounds of leftovers back to the city. Probably the most perfect Thanksgiving I could’ve asked for, haha. 🙂 We went out to take pictures in the morning at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. I absolutely adore his little town; it’s so quaint and proper, surrounded by grasslands and miles and miles of forest. The trees are definitely bare at this time of year, but the air still feels so crisp, which is amazing. It’s a perfect escape from the city. His town is so beautiful and such a different idea of home than the one I grew up with, being a city girl and I’m so thankful I’m able to share this with him. In the spirit of giving thanks, I obviously have to address all of you. At this time last year, I hadn’t even started a blog yet. Which, now that I think back, feels absolutely insane — because why didn’t I?! I’m so thankful for every With Waikei reader and for everyone who constantly leaves nice comments and supports me on Instagram. I love you guys so much and I love all the friendships I’ve developed through connecting with you guys on socials. I know it’s not usual to have found so many of you in such a short…

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Hello!

I’m Waikei, a 23 year-old girl wandering in the streets of Brooklyn and LA, spending her time blog-writing, photo-taking, and petting every dog she sees along the way.

For collaboration inquiries and chit-chat, please shoot me an email at hello@withwaikei.com. I will get back to you as soon as I can! 🙂

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S U B S C R I B E

 




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Hi guys! My name is Waikei [Why-Key] Tong, I am 21 years old and live in New York City.

I’m currently in university studying biology and philosophy, but when my head’s not buried in books, I blog!

 

With Waikei is a lifestyle blog that I’ve created filled with positivity and love. In the pages of With Waikei,

you’ll find lifestyle, beauty, fashion and fitness tips, along with some delicious and easy recipes —

all tailored to fit the needs of a twenty-something always on the run.

 

I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!

I’m so glad you’re here. xo,

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do you wear false eyelashes?

Nope! My eyelashes are from a combination of  Benefit’s They’re Real! Tinted Lash Primer, Maybelline’s Falsies Big-Eyes Mascara, and curling them a little too much 🙂

How tall are you?

I am 5’7”.

What foundation do you use?

I use Benefit’s Hello Flawless! Powder Foundation on top of a light layer of Stila’s One-Step Correct Primer. I find that this combination really makes my foundation last all day (because what busy college student has time to reapply?!). You can shop all my makeup must-haves here.

What’s your workout routine?

I’m very on-and-off about my workouts, but when I get into it, I love a combination of spinning (via Soul Cycle) and ballet barre (via Pure Barre). Of course, that can get expensive very quickly! So, when I’m working out at home, I like to do 30 min uphill incline on the treadmill (just to get in some cardio and lift up the booty a little 🍑).

What stores do you shop at?

I’m inclined to Urban Outfitters just because sizing is consistent (and I value consistency). But I shop local a lot, and living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I find adorable boutiques on almost a daily basis. You can shop my feed here, and find some things I’m loving here!