13 reads & 5 recommendations from last month!
A new favorite romantasy book (!!), the best homemade pumpkin spice syrup and 2 accessories that have changed my cup of tea forever...
Hi friends! Today’s letter is light on recommendations— the Black Friday Cyber Monday maelstrom sure came with plenty of those already. I’m exhaling a bit and I actually feel relieved the sale extravaganza is all over? I’m a very strategic bargain shopper but I would remember the most random things— contact lenses?? a bath mat??— that I “needed” to snag 40% off on before it was too late. Cut to me buying a coffee table at 11:47PM on Cyber Monday… will find out if that was an impulsive mistake when it gets here! (I am really tired of using a rogue dining chair as a “table,” so I am thinking it won’t be…)
November kicked my ass, how about you? I’m realizing that I have not been in town and at home for more than two weeks since June, and it caught up with me with our move in November. I just got home from another week of travel and am really wanting to stay in one place! (I leave again in 2 weeks, lol.)
This is all to say: damn! It’s the best part of the year, but it’s so hard to enjoy when you’re stretched thin! Which everyone is…
This week I’m excited to write the third annual installment of my “People who are festive live longer better lives” letter— I wrote the first one two years ago, and the reprise (which is a little more vulnerable) last year. Both are great ways to set the tone for the month ahead, and I’ve removed any paywalls in hopes you might enjoy them too.
Let’s step back in time (well, a day or two!) to the very best of books I read and things I loved in November…
Usually my recommendations run the gamut, but I realized that post holiday shopping all I wanted to talk about being cozy at home. Bizarrely, all my recs this month are beverage related… so let’s lean in to the theme!
I got my hands on some Weck jars that are the perfect size for two shots of espresso poured atop a mountain of crushed ice, homemade pumpkin spice syrup and the fresh whole milk from my weekly farm box. I look forward to this new set up every morning!
Speaking of, I bastardized this classic Starbucks pumpkin spice syrup recipe by tripling the pumpkin puree in it— and it turned out perfect and like my platonic ideal of pumpkin spice. I keep it in the fridge in a coffee syrup container that I bought opportunistically at Home Goods the day I made the syrup. Fancy that!
Not to only talk about beverages— though I consider them an interest of mine— but I am going through a major tea phase. I mentioned Raazi Tea’s green jasmine a few weeks ago, and I know I’ll be stocking up on more Brodies Scottish Breakfast in Scotland this month… but I actually am longing to get my hands on Mariage Freres Marco Polo and Nil Rouge, two classic favorites from when I was younger and my best friend’s granny would serve us tea after school. Does anyone have a good recommendation for where to buy Mariage Freres in the US? I am about to resort to Amazon 3rd party sellers if I can’t find a tariff-free solution soon…
Yes, that is a Smeg kettle pictured above and it was an early wedding present (!) I couldn’t resist using pre-wedding!! I love it so much and use it at least three times a day! (Fine, maybe my newfound interest in tea has something to do with the kettle…)
Last thing— I found this cutie tea ball infuser with a ceramic horse charm on it. That sounds weird, but click the link and you’ll see what I mean! It’s from a small business and it’s so cute, I find dealing with loose leaf tea to be a bit of a chore but this has made my least-favorite part a little more fun. Their matching mug is a 10 as well.
I’m trying something different this month, tell me what you think of it— I share so many reads each month that it can kind of just look like a block of text which may be a bit tedious for you, my dear reader! I’ll tease a few here that stood out from the last month and paid subscribers can get my full, candid book reviews below if interested.
The Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory // Philippa Gregory is writing books again and I have STRONG feelings about this audiobook— if you’re someone who watched The Other Boleyn Girl and has any modicum of curiosity or interest in the topic, more thoughts for you below.
Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson // Pam Anderson is not of this Earth. Heartbreaking…but not for the reasons you think it will be.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell // Topical time to read this one what with Paul Mescal starring in it in theaters! I’ve yet to see the movie so tell me your thoughts if you have— my thoughts on the book below.
Kiss of the Basilisk by Lindsay Straube // The most unhinged thing my eyes have ever read.
The Force of Such Beauty by Barbara Bourland // Not a new release but an underrated sleeper, toothsome, all the things. Sort of like a dark tale of the Princess of Genovia or Meghan Markle or Princess Charlene or Princess Diana.
Brimstone by Callie Hart // The action-packed romantasy sequel to Quicksilver ties with The Boleyn Traitor for absolute best book I read this month.
In depth book reviews, recommendations and tea from me— resident bookworm— to you.
This month is my last month to hit my reading goal of 150 books for the year… and I am going to make my goal! I can’t believe it, since this sounded like a stretch to me when I set it, but it’s incredible what you can accomplish when you have no social media and no kids. At time of writing, only 6 books to go until I hit my yearly reading goal! I can do this!
After the Forest by Kell Woods // A reimagining of Hansel and Gretel meets Snow White… sort of! I first discovered this author through her second book, Upon A Starlit Tide, which I liked so much it actually inspired my own novel draft. I didn’t know that magical realism and historical fiction and fairytales and fables could collide the way they did until I saw Kell Woods do it!