There’s a lot to like about this end and beginning time of the year. Everyone seems to operate at a slower, sludgier pace. At the beginning of December, I went to Cuba, finally getting to put my passport to use after a long covid hiatus. I don’t have a nice synopsis of the trip. It was fascinating and strange, and I may have left with more questions than when I arrived. Unfortunately, I also left with a brutal stomach bug. Normally, slow periods of time in the year leave me feeling itchy and struggling against whatever existential crisis bubbles up. This year ended with my endless stomach woes; I was instead deeply grateful for the trickle of emails and the multi-day logistics conversations. It allowed me to sleep in and slowly recover. It also allowed me to slowly devour all the year-end roundups, to go through all my backlogged saved article tabs finally, and to watch every television series people insisted I must watch.
Aside from starting the new year rested and relaxed, I’ve been:
Enjoying all the lists of best books and top reads from 2022. Mother Jones always puts together an excellent roundup. I’ve also been following Rob Henderson for a few months, and his best-reads list will likely keep me busy in 2023.
Looking at a lot of interior design work and particularly enjoying the work of Meghan Eisenberg, Katarina Rulinskaya, and Natalie Myers.
Pondering Pinterest’s predictions for 2023. I hope to see floral baked goods and fancy mocktails everywhere this year. Though hoping that mocktail prices don’t become beyond unreasonable.
Falling down a Flamingo Estate rabbit hole. Their tomato candle is excellent, but I’m deeply skeptical about these $3,000 gardening tools.
Discovering that my favorite olive oil is available via Amazon now!
Bookmarking this former artists retreat in Northern California for a potential California coast trip. Also, saving this list of beautifully designed hotels in dezeen and the Shishi-Iwa House, just in case Eli and I head to Japan in the fall.
Subscribing to a bunch of newly formed newsletters from my favorite Twitter accounts. By far, my favorite is Zillow Gone Wild.
Diversions is a newsletter I’ve been on and off writing since 2014 with random thoughts I’ve been stewing on and links I’ve been sharing. These days you can find diversions on substack.
Till next time,
Sandy Noto