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What are you up to this weekend? We are knocking around and making a few pies for a school fundraiser. (Maybe this one?) Also, a reader named Em wrote, “I would love to see a post where the amazing CoJ readers who own small businesses could link to their shops.” We heartily agree! Readers, please leave a comment about your work; we would be thrilled to see. Hope you have a good one, and here are a few links from around the web…
My mom’s looking for a new sofa. I recommended the comfy, pretty one our family had, and my sister recommended the comfy, pretty one she has. Which would choose???
The dad-ification of fashion. Yes! (NYMag)
Are Portia’s outfits on The White Lotus good or bad? (Vogue)
My holiday makeup look, including the perfect pretty lipstick.
Would you stop to check on a crying stranger? My answer: Yes in an airport. Yes on a train. Yes in small town. No in NYC. The whole city is your living room. Sometimes you want to go for a walk and burst into tears and no one notices or cares and it’s wonderful and soothing.
Is a frown something you do with your forehead or your mouth?
My #1 travel essential for saving my laptop/neck/sanity.
The New Yorker shares the best TV shows of 2022. (But where’s Bad Sisters?)
Free all-terrain wheelchairs arrive at state parks!
Sophia Coppola’s bookshelf, including the book she hopes gets turned into a movie: “Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason. I’d like to see the movie directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Riz Ahmed.” (Elle)
Incredible rooms I’d have in my mansion if I were rich. (This made me laugh for way too long.)
My small biz shout-out: Last night I had dinner with my friend Leah, and she showered me with support and (welcome) advice about some family/illness/work/social stuff that we are going through right now. She’s a life coach and I kept thinking, omg is this what she does for her clients?! I don’t usually make recs like this, but holy smokes she is great.
Plus, two reader comments:
Says Alexa on the hard-to-shop-for gift guide: “Lottery tickets are my go-to white elephant gift, and people go WILD!” Adds Sarah: “We do a white elephant every year with my husband’s family, and it’s a slog. But this year, I’m doing two envelopes: ‘The Sure Thing’ with $20 cash and ‘The Gamble’ with $20 worth of lottery tickets. We’ll see how it goes over!” [Ed. note: Genius.]
Says Silly Lily on 12 gifts for dads: “The several years, for our parents, we purchased a cardboard folder with twelve slots, one for each month. In each pocket, we put a gift card with a note. For instance, a $50 supermarket gift card in November was for their Thanksgiving turkey. One year, we just gave gift cards to restaurants. That was the year my mom called me mid-February to announce, ‘We’ve used all our dinner cards!’ She’s been gone 16 years now but it still makes me laugh. It’s a pricey gift but it can be for any amount — an envelope for grandchildren could contain $10 in June for the first ice cream cones of the summer, and the same amount in December for hot chocolates while driving around town to see the lights. One year, we gave cards for our grandkids to take their parents out to breakfast. They were all under six, so it was a big hit. Once you get started, you will be amazed at the ideas you come up with. Best of all, it avoids the avalanche of toys and spreads Christmas throughout the year. Hope this helps, and happy holidays!”
(Photo by Kristin Ellis/Stocksy.)
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