A Spicy December Sunshine
Welcome to the last Inside Sunshine of the year. December always feels like a magical month—equal parts reflective and celebratory. It’s a time for wrapping things up (metaphorically, literally) and indulging in nostalgia traditions. Advent calendars are big here, and this year, I gave Studio Ghibli Advent Calendars—a hit, with each day offering a surprise figurine; it's worth it for the little glass Totoro alone. Another favorite holiday ritual is decorating the tree and reconnecting with masterpiece art projects of Christmases past: the kindergarten handprint ornament, the reindeer/potato with legs …
Now that Season One of So Mom is also a wrap, I’m sending a hug out to my mom. If you haven’t listened yet, So Mom is a podcast where Mom and I talk about family, parenting, work … and occasionally test recipes from the 70s. Now that we’re cooking up Season Two, I’m so happy we get to continue the conversation.
On the “naughty list” this month, Berkley’s trailer for Strike and Burn is live. It’s spicy and twisty and everything Taylor Hutton might have wanted when Julie and I first fever-dreamed it into being. Catch a peek:
The book is out January 28, and we’ll be celebrating its launch that night at Chevalier’s Books, so please come say hi if you’re local.
December also gifted me a cold, but on the upside, I got more time in bed to read, which was a treat. I was really captivated by Charlotte Wood’s new novel Stone Yard Devotional—so much so that I immediately listened to her earlier novel The Weekend on audio. Orbital by Samantha Harvey is stunning, though as another audio, it’s not in my photo stack. Also I haven’t started Lovely One yet, which is in the photo stack, and family members who did highly recommend it actually listened to audio. (All to say, if you want to follow my complete reading adventures, I’m keeping a better list on Goodreads.)
Finally, this month’s cake arrived via Goldbelly and was over the top in all the best ways—and maybe also in too many ways.
Here’s to bringing every bit of all that extra into the New Year.
Warmly,
