Breakfast is not a thing in Seoul. You can get a cup of excellent coffee on every block, but the food is generally wrapped in cellophane, looks extremely unappetizing, and sickeningly sweet. After a few tries we landed on some scones at Anthracite Coffee Roasters before heading over to the Seongsu neighborhood.

When we got off the subway, I headed into Olive Young; there are multiple stores in every neighborhood with all the cosmetic products you need. The woman suggested I grab this for my dry lips, and after a few uses, she was spot on.

The neighborhood is very chic, and the architecture is everywhere. It was as if the city just kept building as it grew. I particularly love all the brutalist buildings. We went to Tamburins, where I overheard the woman beside me say she came early because there was always a line. Koreans love their products, and I picked up one too.

Nudake is the spot where they make Instagrammable desserts. They are gorgeous, and the details are incredible.

But as usual, the taste rarely hits it. I was enamored with the black squid pastry filled with matcha creme. It’s not bad, but not omg.

This says it all.

EQL is a concept store with a hip atmosphere and various local and foreign designers, from cosmetics to clothing to home goods. I loved seeing how they put the place together.

This gives you a bigger view.

Kith has a store there, and Sadelle has two floors for a dining experience. Brilliant partnership

Aderror is a Korean brand, and it has its own store that is highly tricked out.

You go through one door, and follow the directions in and out.

I like that they use older models for their products. We saw many ads with older models. It makes sense, as Korea has the lowest birthrate in the world, .72 children per woman when it needs to have 2.1 to keep up.

Lunch was at Somunnan Gamjatang for the pork soup. They are open 24 hours a day. They have the system down, and the soup is fantastic. There are a few things you can get but it is all about the pork soup. It is placed on a heater to keep the soup boiling while you partake. I need to figure out how to make this at home.

We hopped on the subway and went to the Hyundai Mall. This futuristic mall has an incredible food court. Why we can’t do this in the States is beyond me.

Fred had a nice interaction with the robot.

Our friend’s daughter-in-law grew up in South Korea and sent us for a local favorite, raw crab marinated in soy. It was a local spot, and Fred loved it. Not for me. It wasn’t the gooeyness of the crab but the taste. I am not sure I like many Korean spices, although I am working on it.

A full day, a few other spots, and lots of walking, and we are definitely getting the lay of the land.

We have wanted to go to Seoul for years. We had booked two trips to go skiing in Japan and had to cancel both for random reasons, so in the end, we made an autumn trip to Seoul and Tokyo. It will be our third time in Tokyo, our first in Seoul, and hopefully not our last.

Seoul is a friendly, monochromatic city (as almost everyone wears black, white, and grey) where coffee, beauty products, and golf reign supreme. There is something futuristic about it, too.

We landed and ate dinner at Palsun, an excellent Chinese restaurant in the Shillo Hotel. Besides the Peking duck, our favorite dish was the Cantonese-style eggplant and tofu. It’s not surprising that the Chinese food here is delicious.

Ambien is my friend when we travel. It pushes me to get in the time zone. On our first day and every day since, we have been putting in almost 20,000 steps. We went to the Apgujeong/Garosu-Gil/Gangam part of town. The key to getting around is the subway. They are clean, efficient, well-air-conditioned and large. It only we had these in NYC!

There is a coffee shop or two on every block. We went over to Camel. There are a few around the city, and I believe some are in the States now, too. This iced coffee with a thick cream on top hits the spot. Caffeinated treat to get the day going.

There are also plenty of parks that make the neighborhoods family-friendly.

Breakfast is not big here, and we needed something so we stopped in to Tartine, and the bread is fantastic.

Gentle Monster is a futuristic eyeglass store; a few are around the city.

They are cool but not for me.

There is a member-only Cooking Library. They let us poke around on the ground floor, but that is it. There is an extensive cooking library, a space on the roof where they grow vegetables, a few spaces for chefs brought in from around Korea, an area to try spices from around the globe, and I am sure more. It is a very cool spot.

We hit up some stores; this one is called Empty Basement, filled with Korean brands I have never heard of.

There is also a Corso Como, one of the most incredible stores out of Milan. Unfortunately their NYC store went bust, bad location choice.

Boon is in the same area; it reminds me of Barneys (RIP) when Barneys was at the height of fashion.

Fried chicken is big here. Most places are chains, and some are gross, but we did pop into Kyochon for a few wings.

We returned to the hotel and walked by the palace, which sits right in the middle of downtown, to chill pre-dinner.

Dinner was at Born and Bred, a 22-course cow festival. We have been to these tasting events over the years, where 8-10 people sit around a chef who explains the process and the food, so I know the key is one bite per dish, even though it doesn’t make them happy. Also, eating that much steak is overwhelming.

A good entry into Seoul. We are on our fourth day, so am a bit back logged on posting, I have been reading and chilling instead, which is much needed, hopefully more tomorrow.

I have moved countless times in my life, not only to different cities but also in different homes in the same city. Our apartment in NYC has undergone renovations and now has no remnants of our children’s bedrooms. I think of my bedroom growing up, and after my siblings went off to college, my Mom sold the house and moved into her own place that had nothing of mine there. Regardless, I still considered her house my home. It wasn’t when I grew up, but my Mom represented my childhood home.

Our kids are all living their own lives in their own homes. I love how they have each created spaces that represent their comfort places. We all live in different spaces, but when I see them, or we all get together, wherever that is, that feeling of comfort, safety, love, and warmth is home. It might not be a physical space but when we see them, we are home.

Home is not a physical space as much as a mental space. I love my physical homes; they give me comfort, and even though some of those spaces are built for just me and Fred, we consider them our families homes.

It is the familiarity of our kids’ hugs, voices, faces, and thoughts that say to me, “I am home.” As our kids become older, and create their own lives, wherever they may be, as they should even though I would love to have them all in the same place, all the time, that is not fair, as we taught them to be their own people and to be what made them happy.

Home is a space in your heart. It has taken some time for me to wrap my arms around that, but I think I am there. We are a small, connected family, including my sister, my brother, our sister-in-law, and their kids, and it is home that I feel every time I see them, regardless of where we are. Home is really just a state of mind.

I have been making lunch for the crew at Gotham’s headquarters office every Wednesday. I love to cook, and there is something about making this for everyone where we enjoy the same meal. I try to make something different every week, similar to how I cooked when the kids were growing up.

This was a win, so I am posting. You can scale up or down depending on how many mouths you feed.

• Chicken Broth – I used pre-made from the grocery store
• A whole chicken
• Two large carrots – peeled and cut into two big pieces
• Two bay leaves
• few pieces of thyme
• rind of parmesan cheese
• cheesecloth
• a few cans of butter beans – drained
• a few heads of escarole – chopped
• shallots – sliced
• fennel – sliced
• parmesan cheese
• baguettes for croutons

Pour the chicken broth into a large soup pot. Add the chicken, carrots, thyme, and bay leaves and wrap them in cheesecloth and tie a knot. Add some water. Put the chicken in the pot, and the parmesan rind, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until thoroughly cooked, about an hour or so. Remove the chicken and set it aside. I ate it for dinner, but you could shred it for chicken salad or a salad. The broth is now ready for the soup. I made it the night before

In a large frying pan, saute the shallots and fennel. Add the escarole and plenty of salt and olive oil until it is soft. Drain the butter beans. Set all of this aside and add to the soup about ten minutes before you serve it.

Cut the baguettes into cubes and toss them with olive oil and kosher salt. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until the cubes are lightly browned.

Before serving, warm up the broth, add the beans and escarole mix, and serve the soup with croutons and parmesan. Delicious!

This week, I took a trip down CPG memory lane, talking about what I had seen and learned. Reflecting on all the different startups I invested in is always a shot to the head.  

I always had a place in my heart for the CPG (consumer products) business. It is insanely hard. Connecting with a repeat customer in DTC is costly, and selling in grocery stores that operate like 1980s businesses with competitors already paying for space is challenging.  

Most CPG founders have a true passion for their product. You have to. Out of all the CPG businesses I invested in, Sweet Lorens wins the cake (no pun intended). She is also an insanely smart, savvy, positive businessperson who cares passionately about her product, because she filled a void in her life that turned out to fill a void in millions of people. Sweet Lorens has become the #1 natural cookie dough that is plant-based, non-GMO, gluten free, peanut free and vegan so no dairy.  

This weekend, I received an email from InnaJam stating that, after 15 years, she is closing shop. Her heartfelt note is below. She should absolutely celebrate her incredible run. 

These businesses are rarely financed and never become huge. InnJams are seasonal and the organic fruit is sourced within 150 miles of their kitchen. I have been watching this company for fifteen years. First it was the jams, and then other products, pantry, shrubs and subscription models over the years These are hard businesses yet loved by the people who build them. And if you can find some of them, like InnaJam, you are lucky to have enjoyed the love put into them all these years. My favorite is the pretty spicy Fresno chili jam, perfect on a cheese platter, and a grilled cheese sandwich.

Now that I am wholly ensconced in the cannabis industry, I am reading as much as I can (or take) about laws, lobbyists, research, revenue, and shifts happening in weed, alcohol, and pharma. I can only imagine what is being discussed behind closed doors. Cannabis has thrown alcohol and pharma for a loop, and the question is will the federal government allow the cannabis industry to flourish or hand it over to their pals in alcohol and pharma. New industry is the only way to create growth, so alcohol and pharma might have to shift their biz plans. So be it.

This is from the CDC, and it came out in July 2024. Some studies show that drinking three or more alcoholic drinks per day increases the risk of stomach and pancreatic cancers. Drinking alcohol may also increase prostate cancer risk. All alcoholic drinks—including red and white wine, beer, and liquor—are linked with cancer. Shocking but not shocking.

Then on the other side of the coin, this study came out this week. The US could save $29 billion in healthcare costs if all 50 states legalized medical cannabis, according to a new report published in the journal Applied Health Economics and Health Policy by the medical cannabis firm Leafwell. Companies in states with medical cannabis had an average of 3.4% reduction in coverage plans compared to states without, and the study noted that cannabis users generally had lower body mass indexes and drank less alcohol.

I happened to meet someone the other day who left the pharma world. He told me that he was working on a drug that he knew could be prevented if someone just changed their eating habits for seven months, eating more Omega3, but instead, they have a pill. As a capitalist, he said, for him, the buck stopped there. He left the industry and took a U-turn on life. Impressive.

Republicans are still holding up the Safe Banking Act because both sides want to tie this into crypto, which it shouldn’t. However, each of these industries needs intelligent legislation, and who deems what is intelligent?

We can read the data on alcohol, but more interesting is how cannabis might solve as many problems as Ozempic. Both of these reduce the cost of medicine and make your body healthier, forcing the food industry to change, too. It is all connected. The only reason it takes so long to get through Congress and the Senate can only be power and money that comes from the lobbyists, aka PACS to support their bills. This study means that holding the spending bill, and the reclassifying of cannabis back, they are holding back the economy and our health. Something has to change.

I am not a fan of the Hemp-derived products on the cannabis market. It is hard enough for the state governments to monitor cannabis products; I can’t imagine how difficult it is for the federal government to monitor hemp-derived products.

We do not carry hemp-derived products at Gotham; we carry products grown by farmers in New York State. Hemp-derived products can be sold and shipped across the country, so the business model for these brands is entirely different from what sells in a dispensary.

Hemp is an eco-friendly, sustainable plant that has become the foundation for many products, even construction materials.

Most people need help understanding what you buy in your dispensary vs. online. It will be interesting to see what the federal government decides about hemp-derived products and whether they should be legal or not. Being able to ship these products anywhere, to anyone, competes against the states desires to build their dispensary businesses.

California might be the state to look to on what happens to the hemp-derived products being sold. At the end of the day, all of this will be decided in the courts.

My sister-in-law sent me this video that her Mom did for Kamala Harris. Auntie Talks and Listens invited her to be on, and they asked, “Who are you, and why are you voting for Kamala Harris”?

I jumped into an Uber and listened to the recording. Irene rocked it, and her morals and values shine through as a mother, a grandmother, and soon-to-be great-grandmother on why there is no other choice. I love it.

After it ended, my Uber driver yelled, “Yes, let’s go, Kamala.” And he then began talking about why and how there is no other choice. He was an immigrant raising his family here and a Christian. He tossed his church leaders under the bus for believing in Trump, yet he believes that religion is essential for guidance. The driver went off about Trump.

I asked him about his community and how they were feeling. He said they are all in for Kamala, and she is going to win. He knew all the data, he understood the insane electoral college – which if we got rid of it, these elections would not be as angry and divided – and he believe the United States will do the right thing.

When he dropped me off, he apologized for getting so riled up. I told him I loved how revved up he was about the election. It gave me hope. We need more than hope; we need voters!

On Saturday, Fred and I took the Amtrak to Hudson to celebrate the opening of Gotham’s newest location. It is an absolutely civilized experience taking the Amtrak out of the new Moynihan station. There are plenty of options, it is clean and friendly, and you feel good passing through there compared to the hellhole we called Penn Station.

We went up, met the team, checked out the town, and then grabbed a train back. It felt European. We need Amtrak-type trains to go out to every area outside of NYC. The transportation in our country is in desperate need of more upgrades. Those upgrades will make an impact on the environment, and traffic. I could have driven but why do I need to sit in traffic and a car for more than two hours when I can take the train?

Hudson is beautiful, and we are thrilled to be a new addition to the community. We will start doing fun events to bring people together.

We got on the train that rides through a scenic route that can be mesmerizing, and two hours later, we were back in the city. We walked through the station, crossed over to the Hudson Yards, walked the Highline, walked into the ugliest mall in the world from developers that missed out on an opportunity, and had dinner. Except for being in Hudson Yards, it was a perfect day and evening. It was one of those nights where it hits me again and again how much I love New York.

I have realized why it was essential for me to learn every craft project growing up.  It certainly kept me busy and my mind engaged. As someone just said, you don’t compete with anyone but yourself. I think it might be true.

I learned to knit and crochet. I like them both, but I lean towards crochet. I have a bunch of yarn from Covid projects and some that have never been finished. My eyes were bigger than my stomach when I began a knitting project 13 years ago after not doing it for decades. I decided it was time to use all of the crochet Granny squares.

I started crocheting and found I couldn’t stop. I got so into it that I began doing it while on Zoom calls. I quickly realized that crocheting while on Zoom made me more focused on the call. 

I find my mind wandering, and it’s easy to check other things, which is so uncool. Yet crocheting is opening up a whole new world. I do not see myself bringing my crochet project into office meetings, but Zoom—that’s a whole other ball game.

I am not bringing it to a live meeting, although the focus might make it worthwhile.