Hello! I don’t know about you all, but I’m crossing the finish line of the year. My little family is taking Christmas off for the most part this year, and I’ve decided to set our sights on 2025 instead of the holiday week.
i A recent substack postI wrote:
“Everyone has heard the Zora Neale Hurston quote from Their Eyes Were Watching God: ‘There are years that ask questions and years that answer.’ Respectfully, I’d like to add that for some years it feels like you’ve been turned upside down, grabbed by your ankles, and shaken until your pockets are empty. Don’t get rained on and your head will be covered in blood is intense, and at this moment Me, it’s very unpleasant, but eventually, things work out, but you have a different perspective.”
I think of 2024 as a year where I was a rock in a tumbler to be refined and sanded down and smoothed. was thrown away. I don’t know if I’m feeling smooth or if I’m still shaking up there, but what I know for sure is that I am emerging as a different person from 2024. I am tired and worn out and ready for a break.
If you’ve been reading my Sunday posts for a while, I’m sure it won’t surprise you at all that I love the start of the New Year. I love a fresh start and the thought of 12 new months ahead of me. Who knows what might happen? I’ve heard the naysayers and their sentiments about how the beginning of the New Year “doesn’t mean anything” but I like to think that each of us can make it what we need it to be. And right now, I need to hope.
And so, I hope. I think about this tweet often. @crowsfault Joe says, “People talk about hope as if it’s a fragile, temporary thing made of whiskers and cobwebs. It’s not. Hope has dirt on its face, blood on its bones, cobwebs in its hair.” There is a piece of stone, and when it rises on the other side, it spits out only one tooth.” I feel a little bloodied, a little dirty, and full of hope for things to come.
No matter what your holidays look like or how you feel about the new year, I wish you all the best. Thanks for stopping by, for your thoughtful comments, and for your good vibes. It is a joy and a pleasure to write these letters every month, and I am so grateful to each and every one of you.
• My beautiful, talented friend Amy Turnsharp But doing a creative adventure. Hot hand, its sub stackand it’s as delightful and inspiring as it gets. (Instagram, Substack)
• There’s nothing I love more than an awkward brawl in front of the world, and this article is exactly that: “An Amazon influencer makes a living posting content from his beige home. But when he sees another account hawking the same minimalist aesthetic, a feud turns into a first-of-its-kind lawsuit. . Can the legal system protect the spirit of the creator? And what if that vibe is basic? Grab the popcorn, babes. (The Verge)
• The Most Anticipated Books of Winter 2025according to the stir. I am very excited for many of them. (movement)
• How Gen-Z Came to See Books as a Waste of Time. As an English teacher, this is like a knife in my heart. (Atlantic Ocean)
• I love making Dutch babies, and This chocolate chip cookie is one I have a Christmas morning breakfast plan. (Joy the Baker)
• My friend Greg Mania is a ray of sunshine and joy. Her beautiful, bright Los Angeles apartment is the perfect fever dream.. (apartment therapy)
• No, you don’t always have to be honest.. This made my inner goody two shoes clench. (good trade)
• The best way to gift a cookbook is to bundle it with some special tools and ingredients. If I may be so bold, may I suggest pairing Joy’s Over easy A brunch cookbook with a biscuit cutter, some fancy coffee, and a fancy orange juice squeeze and/or some nice prosecco? Or, if you’re more of a sweet person, Joy’s Domestic degradation With a nice spatula to scrape the cake batter out of a bowl, some fancy vanilla, or a high quality pan? better yet, Gift them something for their own kitchen altar.. (Eater, Bookshop, Joy the Baker)
• The Year in Viral TikTok Beauty Products. Two of my personal favorites made the list: Rhode Pocket Blush And Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment And I can guarantee that they are legit. I have also made you. A list of my favorite skin care products And My favorite purchase of the year. I’m Taurus, you can trust me. (The Kit, The Road, The Substack)
• How to Adopt a Winter Mindseteven if you hate it. (time)
• Olivia always nails so many of my emotions, and This piece about Christmas and feelings and shopping is great.. (sub stack)
• It’s okay to say no to a holiday party.. I’m going to edit this further: It’s okay to say no to literally anything, party or not. It is cold. stay home (self)
• As a Gilmore Girls superfan, I don’t know how I feel. These fan ideas based on a Wal-Mart commercial. Listen, I’ve memorized the entire show and watched it several times, but maybe it’s time we took a break from Stars Hollow and hit the grass? (movement)
• I had brunch with a friend a few weeks ago, and he ordered the Shakshuka, and I immediately regretted it. No Thanks to Shakshuka’s order, This Black Bean Shakshuka recipe sounds even better.. Yes please! (Joy the Baker)
• Is your new best friend a swipe away? Apps that help us make friends. I am curious. (vox)
• I’m a curly girl, and finding out my curl type changed my whole life.. I’m a proud 3B, baby! (Glamour)
• One of my goals for 2025 is to be better about building intentional community, and I love this guide to throwing an impromptu dinner party.. (sub stack)
• I love reading what other people recommend, and this site’s perfectly imperfect, catalog recommendations. I found it through This Miranda July profile And now read a lot of good people’s lists. (absolutely incomplete)