December Mishmash
Hello! Happy end of 2022, one of the craziest years I’ve experienced so far. Cancer diagnosis in March, surgery in May, chemo over the summer, radiation in the fall, and finally at the end of the year I am settling into my new normal, plus I finally caught COVID and had to cancel Christmas plans! I feel like I have aged about 10 years in 2022, but I survived! This is my 12th newsletter, and thank you again for reading and going on this journey with me. I am ready to get this year behind me, and am positive that 2023 will be better in a lot of ways (traveling!) and simply different in others (hot flashes!). Now, onto the regular stuff!
Food!
Made a delicious Minestrone Soup along with Focaccia, and remembered how good this soup is!!! The dutch oven is literally piled FULL of vegetables and then cooks down into the most comforting soup. Stir in a bunch of freshly cooked (or canned) white beans (I used some freshly cooked Marcella Beans), top with parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil, and enjoy!
Similar, but different, is another equally comforting soup that Matthew declared he could eat every day: Cozy Cabbage and Farro Soup. Peasant food at its finest.
For Christmas, I made my favorite potatoes au gratin recipe. I love this recipe for it’s lack of arranging the potatoes perfectly into a pan. I also made a salad with a mustardy vinaigrette that goes great with ham! We were supposed to be having a Christmas dinner with family but had to cancel due to a surprise COVID exposure right before Christmas. A cozy Christmas at home is okay by me, but it was a bummer.
I will also share a link to cookies that I only seem to make around Christmas: Coconut Brown Butter Cookies. If you like coconut, make these immediately!!
Please add hot cocoa to your coffee and thank me later.
Books/TV/Movies!
I didn't meet my reading goal this year, but it is rather arbitrary and I definitely go through spurts of reading more or less throughout the year. I read 48 books this year, which is plenty! I'll link my faves in no particular order!
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid: a book about an imperfect family, a great summertime read, a book that is fun without being too fluffy, a writer I really enjoy.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin: a charming book with realistic characters that I absolutely loved and highly recommend. If you liked the tv show Halt and Catch Fire, read this!!
The Love Songs of W. E. B. DuBois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers: a very long multi-generational story that spans two centuries of a family in Georgia. The length is a bit intimidating, but it’s worth it.
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon: a book that surprised me in a great way.
I Came All This Way to Meet You by Jami Attenberg: a memoir by a writer I really enjoy and wish was my IRL friend. She also has a great newsletter: Craft Talk
The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras: a memoir that is very unique. If you like magical realism, you will likely enjoy this book!
Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett: a memoir about a difficult childhood that I related to in more ways than I expected.
Honorable mention to these also (choosing faves is so hard)! Fiction: Nightbitch, The School for Good Mothers, Sea of Tranquility, The Five Wounds, Nothing to See Here. Nonfiction: Three Girls from Bronzeville.
If you’re into cool graphical representations of data, check out my book info from The Storygraph!
We watched Wednesday on Netflix, it was really fun! I definitely guessed some of the reveals but enjoyed it just the same. A darkly comic murder mystery with a weirdo main character, how could I not love it?
Projects!
I have had a couple of failed sewing projects lately, so I am feeling discouraged with sewing at the moment. I always seem to sew more in the sunnier months when there is more natural light in my sewing space. I finally got the thimble I ordered in early October so I spent the last week of the year hand stitching the puffy top to the back of the quilt. Getting close to the finish line on this very long project!
I dunno if this counts as a project, but I ordered Matthew and I some custom socks for Christmas with Remi’s little face on them and I love them so much! (Thanks to PetParty for being so easy to use and fast shipping!) They make other things than socks btw!) Matthew was surprised and thrilled, so I call this a win.
Miscellaneous!
Went to see Die Hard the Musical Parody early in the month, which is my favorite holiday event. I even got a pic with THE Hans Gruber!! IYKYK
We got dressed up and went to Matthew's company holiday party! Been a long time since we have done anything like this and it was fun! Matthew also recently got hired on full time after his contract ended, so we are happy about that!
Do you have any new years resolutions? I never make them and whenever I set these type of goals for myself, I tend to do the opposite in rebellion. But, some things I would like to focus on in 2023 include: more hikes, more yoga, more sewing, more reading. What about you?
Remi!
Little Holiday blep!
Goodbye for now, and happy new year!!!
xoM