Recent pickups & closing out 2024

Phillips Hue lights, nightstands & more bull terriers.

Happy 2025! I hope your New Year’s Day was as restful as you hoped. In this newsletter, I’m sharing some recent finds, how I spent the holiday, and an apartment update.

December 18th -

Not exactly a recent pickup, but I re-discovered my Phillips Hue lights from 2018, and they’re a total game changer. I added them to my Nelson pendants around the apartment, and now my place feels next-level cozy. Here’s a peek at my bedroom, with the Phillips light glowing red and my teeny tiny Christmas tree—honestly, it’s the perfect antidote to those winter blues.

December 20th -

For my sister-in-law’s birthday I got her a gift card to Happy Medium, an art cafe where you can order art experiences like you would order food. It’s located in the lower east side of Manhattan, which was an excellent excuse to take her to my favorite cafe, Davelle. It was the perfect rainy day to enjoy Kaarage curry and their berry and cream cheese toast made perfectly in a Balmuda toaster, a longtime wishlist item of mine.

Kaarage curry & berry and cream cheese toast from Davelle

December 21st -

Right before we were about to head home from the holidays, we bumped into our favorite neighbor, Bobby. He’s always a good time and somehow manages to put us in the best mood. He surprised us with treats from Germany. The Lambertz chocolates were definitely my favorite—I may or may not have polished them off that night.

December 23rd -

Heading home to Connecticut for the holidays is Teddy’s favorite time of year. He gets to roam a big backyard, snooze in the car, and take trips to the beach—it’s pure luxury in his book. This year, Teddy lived it up. He sported a new sweater, found a family of reindeer to join, and took a dip in the warm Connecticut winter waters.

December 26th -

Even though I’ve spent a lot of my life in NYC, I never really explored much of Queens. So, my mom and I decided to take a day to check out Queens and LIC. We were recommended this spot, a Greek café called Under Pressure, which also has a market attached. It was a gem, and we ended up picking up some Greek treats. My favorites were the milk chocolate biscuits and the mini candy bars.

December 30th -

Back in NYC, and with a little time off work left, I figured—what better way to spend it than finally finishing my apartment? After almost two years without real nightstands, it felt like time to be adults and make the upgrade. A few weeks ago, I came across these stunning Danish-style nightstands by Maurice Villency on Facebook Marketplace for a steal. I asked the seller if she’d hold them for me, and luckily, she did. Now they’re here, and they couldn’t fit more perfectly. I styled them with a vintage white glass mushroom lamp from the 1970s, a small candle, and a coaster for a clean, minimalist vibe.

Danish style nightstand by Maurice Villency styled with a vintage white glass mushroom lamp from the 1970s

December 31st -

My brother and sister-in-law hosted a New Year’s Eve party at their gorgeous Upper East Side apartment. It was one of those nights filled with warmth, laughter, and too many drinks. The sweetest part was having my friend Aishah there who lives in Miami, so any time with her feels extra special. And as if seeing her wasn’t enough, she showed up with the most unbelievable olive oil cake. She got the recipe from another Substack here.

January 1st -

I had all these plans for January 1st—work out, set goals, maybe even make a vision board. But after getting home at 3 AM the night before (something I haven’t done in years), my body had other ideas. Instead, I spent the day fueling up at a diner with my partner, taking a long nap, and binging Friends. It wasn’t what I’d planned, but honestly, it was the perfect way to ease into the new year. We wrapped up the night with our favorite takeout from Xi’an Famous Foods, which just opened a location conveniently around the corner.

The Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand-Ripped Noodles and the Liang Pi "Cold-Skin Noodles" with Jasmine tea from Xi’an Famous Foods

January 2nd -

Today feels like the real first day of the new year—back on my workout grind, setting goals, and starting new habits. My partner’s mom was sweet enough to gift me a stack of books that have been sitting on my reading list forever for Christmas. I kicked things off with Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto for fiction and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for non-fiction. I snagged that one from ThriftBooks—my go-to for secondhand books because it’s cheaper and more sustainable. When I opened it, there was a receipt from 1992 tucked inside. Kind of cool knowing this book’s been around for decades. That’s exactly why I love buying secondhand.

I’ve always enjoyed learning about how others live and what they love, so if you’re the same, I hope this little newsletter resonates with you. Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end—it means a lot to me!

Bye for now from a blog with a dog.

Teddy snoozing in the car in his brand new handsome sweater