YapCap! Feb. 24

Chamberlain Coffee Shop

Finally was able to make it over to the Chamberlain Coffee Cafe at Westfield Century City Mall. Walking in and seeing everything was weirdly emotional for me??? As someone who's been a huge fan of Emma’s content over the years, I legit jumped for joy when her coffee company was first announced. Seeing the cafe was a huge proud girl moment. The cafe itself is so adorable, with all the characters from her different coffee flavors decorated all over the walls, and the blue tile outside is truly chief's kiss. The true star is the coffee! (Obviously)

I got the Salted Caramel Cold Brew, and it was delish! As aesthetic as the Strawberry Matcha was, I’m just not a huge matcha girlie. The menu is also filled with the classics and many different milk and flavors, as well as an option for “Emmas Touch,” where Emma herself is in the back and holds your drink for about 30 seconds. (jk, Reddit says it's a mixture of coconut and almond milk). Just be warned: many people online said that they waited for about 2 hours. I luckily only waited for about 30 min, but the line was growing behind me the entire time, so just be cautious of this.

Currently Eating: Peanut Udon Noodles with Pork Belly

Love is Bleek

I have been watching the new season of Love is Blind, which I used to love, but this new season has left me wanting more and being annoyed at the state of the current dating pool.

Firstly, everyone is so white. I don’t mean to be rude; I don’t WANT to be mean, it’s just the truth. I found myself glued to the screen, almost needing flashcards to remember who’s who because all the men were truly copy and paste. The conversations were also leaving much to be desired. The contestants this season truly must have been so incredibly dry as the conversations we did see on screen I found myself yelling to the heavens above, “What did I do to deserve this?”

This truly just is the current dating scene. Shallow and vapid conversations with people who think it’s fate because they both fuck with Christopher Nolan flicks. I found myself only truly agreeing with one contestant who questioned her potential husband’s thoughts on political matters and found herself questioning if this match was one she saw herself going the distance with since she felt like she would need to teach him things about our world as his stance on Black Lives Matter was “I just stay out of it.” As many people argue that you shouldn’t cut off relationships or friendships due to political aligning or opinions, I disagree (shocker).

I think you are more than VALID in no longer associating yourself with someone who doesn’t have your or many marginalized communities' best interests at heart. I would have ended the relationship, but alas, they got engaged instead. I guess these topics are important to talk about but not important enough to stop dating over.

Another thing I’ve been stewing over is the fact that men will have a 20-minute conversation with a woman and suddenly feel like they’re in love. In this conversation, they also get to dump all their childhood traumas while letting the woman only speak to show empathy towards his lore and to share that she also loves music. Further cementing my thesis, which is that men do not need reality TV dating shows, men need therapists! (Further article on this matter in the future)

Currently Listening: Short and Sweet Deluxe // Sabrina Carpenter

Joanns Closure

Breaking News for anyone who doesn’t know yet: 500 Joann Fabrics locations will close by May. Many of us crafters and old ladies just fell to their knees. The franchise has been open since 1943 and currently has over 850 locations. I went with my mom, and as we reminisced about all the fun times we’ve had, we just kept saying, “Where the hell else am I gonna be able to get this stuff?” Where am I to go to fill the craft-shaped hole in my heart? I have refused to buy from Amazon until it is legit my last resort. I would rather travel than give into this “convince” that has stolen so much business from us. That being said, if you have any recs, please let me know! We crafters have to stick together through this hard time.

Currently Reading: Men Have Called Her Crazy // Anne Marie Tendler

Oscar Nominee Shorts Animated and Live Action

On Saturday, I was able to do a double feature of the 10 Oscar-nominated shorts for animated and live-action categories. I wish I could do the 24-hour marathon, but I know neither my soul nor my bladder is strong enough. But I was dying to become a more rounded viewer by actually trying to watch most of the nominated pictures and not just the big categories. I will say it was pretty fun. My favs for animated were Yuck! and Magic Candies. As for the live-action shorts, they all were pretty great. I think it will be a harder category as they all are pretty strong contenders. I guess we will find out who is the winner this Sunday.

Will you be watching the OSCARS this Sunday?

• Hell Yes
• probably not