Sunday Edition: 'Tis the Holiday (Party) Season

So many recs this week!

The Sunday Edition is Tuesday’s little sister—off-the-cuff updates I’d bring up over a coffee catch-up with a friend.

As the year winds down, and more social obligations pop up, I’ve been extra-intentional around only attending and hosting gatherings that are cup-filling, rather than depleting. This week served as a perfect example: It was packed with events (I attended a book club, went to a Moth Grand Slam, and hosted and attended several dinner parties) and yet, as I write this on Sunday morning (about to meet two out-of-town Substackers for coffee), I feel the opposite of drained, for a few reasons…

1. Only said “yes” to things that fill me up. Going “out to drinks” exhausts me, largely because I don’t drink, but attending a creative event with a chance to walk and catch up before and after? Absolutely!

2. Rested (briefly!) before going out. Like you, my days have been packed in the pre-holiday home-stretch, but I took time to rest before every outing. Sometimes it meant getting ready, then pausing for literally ten minutes to sit and read a book, but it worked wonders in allowing me to ground and enjoy myself, rather than sling-shotting myself into the evening.

3. Put less pressure on myself. I made beautiful, but exceedingly simple, dinners for friends, and will be arriving to coffee this morning in leggings, sans makeup, since I’m heading to yoga afterwards. It’s all about prioritizing the things that matter—arriving unscattered, enjoying myself—and letting go of the things that don’t.

Read on for tons of photos from the week, the best thing I bought on Black Friday, plus recipes I loved, and a cold-weather game-changer…