Postcards from Home—#8

Everything I got inspired and influenced—from dressing like a human mocha mousse to environment-friendly toilet paper.

Apr 27, 2025

Hello from my home to yours!

This is Marie from Marie Home.

The weather in NYC has finally turned sunny and warm since Easter, and I couldn't be happier about it. This week—the last full week of April—also happens to be peak cherry blossom season at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, so my husband and I decided to do a spontaneous picnic and spent the afternoon there last Tuesday.

Though I live in Brooklyn, it was such a long-overdue visit to the BBG—it's been more than 10 years(yikes!). The last time I went there was in 2013 or so, and it was also for the cherry blossom season. It might take a minute for me to find those photos, but I still remember that time like yesterday.

How was your week?

If you live in the NYC area, have you tried the Residence of Mr. Moto in Williamsburg? A few of my friends said they'd go after hearing about it from me, and if you like Kaisen-don, I highly recommend it. For me, it felt like I found a dupe of Tsujihan, the famously packed Kaisen-don spot in Tokyo(there are 4 locations if you are ever in Tokyo!). I never managed to try it while I was there, so I can't compare the flavors, but if you've ever seen those towering bowls of raw seafood over rice finished with a pour of savory broth that you saw on Instagram reels, this might be the closest you'll get without a flight to Japan. Also, I loved their signature cocktail menus, especially the Ichiro the Merchant—lychee saketini— a perfect drink if you like sweet drinks like I do.

And here's something new: as of this April, they've started serving brunch! You can now enjoy their weekend brunch menu with Japanese siphon coffee. Now, I have another reason to visit them again soon.

Since the weather is warming up, I'm definitely feeling more of that wardrobe crisis I talked about in my last postcard. As much as I'd like to hold off on spending, I keep catching myself scrolling through all these fashion brands. One thing I've been noticing, especially fashion influencers and so on, is incorporating more brown shades into their outfits, and I'm totally influenced as well. I think it's coming from the Pantone color of the year for 2025, Mocha Mousse, which provokes subtle elegance and sensorial richness, simple yet sophisticated color, according to the Pantone website.

So, to make myself a human Mocha Mousse, I gathered everything from mocha cream to espresso-toned pieces:

Ariel Choc Sleeved Knit Top, Dissh / Eden Platform Thong, Reformation / Estelle Bag in Raffia, The Row / The Pointelle Simple Crop Pant, Donni / Annie Sleeveless Boat Neck Top, Weekday / Luce Top, Sézane

Francisco Top, Sézane / Mini Flat Gora, Dragon Diffusion / The Linen Simple Pant, Donni / Tefi Knit Top, Reformation / Brown Cow Mary Jane, the Wax Apple / Shirring Boat Neck Sleeveless Shirt, Uniqlo

I had a phase not too long ago where everything I wore was gray, so this everything-in-mocha-mousse phase might be the next one after that.

Here's a glimpse of my everything-in-gray moment from the photo roll.

Warmer weather also means it's officially sundress season. But here's the question: Have you really worn those sundresses that often? As much as I adore beautifully patterned, flowy sundresses, I've always struggled to accompany them into my day-to-day wardrobe choices. Because it's a dress, it's so easy to wear just that one piece, which makes it feel harder to rotate in my daily outfit cycle without making me feel like I'm only wearing that one dress all the time. But in the end, it's so difficult not to love them.

Collection Embroidered Slip Dress, J.Crew / Matte Silk Wrap Dress, Banana Republic / Tulip Dress, Tyler McGillivary x Lisa Says Gah / Ischia Dress, DÔEN / The White Lotus Cotton Wrap Dress, Banana Republic / Collection Strapless Bow-back Maxi Dress, J.Crew

Cotton Voile Empire-waist Dress, J.Crew / Collection Ruched Maxi Dress, J.Crew / The Scarlett Nap Dress, Hill House Home / Margo Linen Dress, Linenfox / Lilo Mini Dress, Damson Madder / Sita Maxi Dress, Daughters of India

These are the ones that caught my eye recently. The darker-colored ones, in particular, might be more versatile. You can throw a sweater over them and easily carry them into the cooler seasons once summer is over.

When I think of a summer wardrobe, I can't help but think of comfortable loungewear at vacation places, which brings my conclusion to activewear. Lately, I've been curious about Skims, especially after hearing so much about how buttery soft their clothes are. Like their Foldover Pant, I think leggings that have a cut a little more like pants can be super comfortable loungewear from your city home to the summer house by the beach. On that same note, I was intrigued by Pact's On the Go-To Cropped Bootcut Legging when I saw their ad pop up on Instagram. The black one seems like the perfect piece to wear as daily pants for running errands or lounging around. (They are currently on sale, so most of the sizes are sold out...)

Also, I'm on a constant hunt for a comfortable bra, so if you tried Skim's Unlined Demi bra, please drop a comment and let me know what you thought! Speaking of that quest, I tried Like a Cloud Bra from Lululemon. It's very soft and comfortable, but my only downside for this is that you can't adjust the straps. So, on that note, I love their Align™ Cropped Cami Tank by Lululemon(it seems like the cropped version is now gone, so I'll tag the waist-length version instead). It's an incredibly comfortable bra top that compliments your body shape, and I've been wearing it as an inner layer during the colder season.

Postcards from Home—#8

Everything I got inspired and influenced—from dressing like a human mocha mousse to environment-friendly toilet paper.

Discussion about this post