The end of Daylight Savings has really thrown me for a loop, but despite that, I’m trying to nudge myself into the Advent/Christmas/holiday spirit. We’ll see how well this goes! In the meantime…what have you been up to lately? Tell us!

Reading: I’m re-reading Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet before I go see the movie adaptation.

Art: Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers at the Guggenheim.

Video: Rebuilding (starring Josh O’Connor) with my friend K, at the Angelika.

Drinks: A recent French 75 at Bar Six was just what I needed. At home, lots of chamomile-lavender tea before bedtime.

(Tr)eats: For Thanksgiving, some pumpkin-squash pie from Jersey City’s own Feliz Deliz Bakery. Some especially good sesame susamielli cookies from an unknown bakery source in N.J.

Beauty Products: C.O. Bigelow was having a pre-Thanksgiving sale on their house brand so I stocked up on lip balm, hand cream, shower gel (Aqua Mellis!), and sample-size hand washes.

Fragrances: A Frassaï sample set (courtesy of Bloom Parfums, for whom I’m doing some freelance writing). These exceeded my expectations; really high-quality and evocative, and not at all gimmicky.

Garb: I’m not normally a sweatshirt person but I got an Anna Sui sweatshirt from her recent Old Navy collab (most of which is still available, on sale) and it’s basically all I wear at home now.

Pleasures: A local music night and reading at a local bookstore. Some seasonal behind-the-scenes work for a favorite business. A quickie tarot session with my favorite reader. Quick recovery from my latest knee episode (which was minor compared to the springtime saga, fortunately).

Up Next: A mid-December writing deadline is taking up most of my energy right now. Please light a (scented) candle for my progress at the keyboard!

Image: one of my extremely rare uses of AI, made back in December ‘24 via Google Gemini.