Week 116: Joon + Our Story

Week 116: March 16th-22nd, 2025

It may not come as a massive surprise, but...I love to shop. I love to browse. I love to peruse to my heart's desire. This week, I had a great time browsing some cute local shops in North Park that I'd driven past but never went into. I was looking for birthday gifts and housewarming gifts for some friends and am happy to report I found both at Joon and Our Story.

I re-discovered Joon while scrolling on Instagram. I'd driven past it many times and always wondered what was inside, so when I came across a post about it, I saw it as a sign to finally check it out.

On a beautiful sunny day, anything is possible, so it felt only right when I lucked out with a parking spot right by Saigon Coffee, Joon's popular neighbor. I fought the urge to get myself a little coffee treat as I walked past.

Outside Joon on a sunny day!

Inside, Joon was full of colorful items and interesting things to look at. It was a great curation of local goods, highlighting Asian artists and practical, cute items. There were a lot of fun cookbooks and coffee table books. There was a warm, peaceful vibe in the store and I enjoyed taking my time to look at everything they had to offer.

After checking everything out and resisting the urge to buy myself things, I decided to get some nice, plain but brightly-colored notebooks from Penco for my friend's birthday. As someone who lives by writing things down, either digitally or on notebooks scattered around my desk, I figured everyone needs a nice notebook for something.

I paid $21.56 after taxes for the two notebooks. As I left Joon, the urge to continue browsing and shopping led me around the corner to Our Story. The vibe inside Our Story was very different from Joon. It was more muted, bohemian and cluttered, while Joon was sharp and colorful. I love seeing what visual merchandising can do for a store's general aesthetic and brand.

I was the only one in the store for a while, so the owner and I chatted while I browsed. She was incredibly sweet and seemed very thankful that I had stopped in. We talked about high cost of living in San Diego and she said she bought a tiny, old house in North Park in 2020 and wouldn't be able to afford it today. We bonded over our love for home goods and cute gifts, and she invited me back to try their Charm Bar. You can select your choice of chain style for a bracelet, necklace, or keychain, and then mix and match from their fun selection of charms. I made a mental note to come back for a fun girls' day activity or future gift idea.

I was surprised at the affordable prices on some of the items and ended up getting a housewarming gift for my friend who is about to move into her own place soon. I got a set of 3 food safe dishes that could also be used as trinket dishes for rings or jewelry.

Some trinket or sauce dishes from Our Story

I paid $25.86 after taxes for the three dishes. A group of women and a four month(!) old baby came in as I was paying, and they seemed ready to shop just like me.

I look forward to gifting these items to my friends while also supporting local shops and artists.

BONUS: I made a semi-botched version of this pozole recipe because I randomly bought a can of hominy and rediscovered it in the pantry. I used bacon and chicken sausage and didn't include any guajillo or ancho peppers, but I think it turned out pretty good.

See you next week.