The November Edit
Butternut squash soup, my fave long sleeves, five book reviews, and printable monthly calendars for 2025!
The Monthly Edits are a casual curation of my consumptions from the past few weeks including: books I read, delicious eats, fun finds, and personal meanderings. Buon appetito!
The holiday shopping started and was completed this month, which is always my goal. Leaving the next four weeks to simply eat, bake, visit, and enjoy.
Scott and I celebrated five years together (and our second wedding anniversary) with a visit to the art gallery and a lovely dinner. We also purchased our first faux Christmas tree, leaving the house feeling infinitely more cosy during the grey rainy weeks of November. I wrapped silk and velvet bows around household items to bring more cheer and attended a few holiday events at my favourite local boutiques. Although it’s dark and soggy outside, inside it’s twinkling and bright.
This month’s edit includes a holiday playlist, monthly printable calendars for 2025, a link for my fave long sleeve tops, five quick book reviews, and the most simple butternut squash soup/pasta sauce ever. Alright, here’s how it all went…
I made a five-hour playlist for those who enjoy Christmas music. I also found this 20-hour Jazz for Sleep playlist that creates the perfect calming background ambiance.
The local farmers market now has delicious butternut squash and I’ve been eating a lot of it lately. I made a really simple base that’s perfect as soup or pasta sauce. I like to freeze single sized portions for midweek lunches and dip my thick cut sourdough toast in it. I also used this recipe to make a hearty pasta sauce with roasted chicken that turned out quite nice.
The Easiest Butternut Squash Soup/Sauce
- 2 pounds cubed butternut squash
- 1 medium diced carrot
- 1.5 tbsp fresh chopped sage leaves
- 3 cups broth
- salt and pepper (+ chili flakes)
- 2/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Sauté the squash, carrot, and sage leaves for about ten minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Then add your broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly then add your parmesan and purée everything in a blender until smooth. Add additional salt and pepper to taste (I also added chili flakes to give it an extra kick). ❤️🔥
The Day of the Jackal is stay-up-all-night good!
Taylor Jenkins Reid has a new book coming.
Dreaming of chalets like this one.
A big Wicked whoops!
My fave long sleeves are on sale.
Love this 3D watercolour paper installation.
Everything to know about Parmigiano Reggiano.
This marketing campaign.
Pistachio cardamom buns with maple glaze.
I’ve been living in these boots (from the clearance rack!).
What’s with the $5M duct tape banana?
Surreal street furniture in Bristol.
November’s Bookshelf:
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. This was a sensitive and poignant story about families, secrets, longing, and the struggle we all face to try and understand the ones we love most. It was a slow build for me, and maybe not so much a ‘page-turner’, but left a lasting impression. I enjoyed the rich psychological exploration and character focus—especially around the topic of grief and how individualistic it is. 3/5
Milk Fed by Melissa Broder. This was such a fun and quick read—and I should probably mention also wildly erotic. Rachel, a twenty-four year old who is obsessive about calorie counting, meets Miriam, the local frozen yogurt shop clerk, and a relationship of appetites begins. I love Broder’s ability to combine unabashed desire with deep emotional insight. A tender and hilarious story I definitely won’t forget. 4/5
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. I thought I was clever putting myself down on the library waitlist nice and early for this one. I ended up 227th in line (lol) but a few weeks ago—I was finally the lucky borrower. This story follows two grieving brothers in Ireland as they navigate the loss of their father, as well as their own complicated relationships. I found myself really enjoying my time with these characters, almost as if I was having a personal conversation with them (for 430 pages). It was slow but never boring. A beautiful look at vulnerability and acceptance. 4/5
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I knew nothing about this story going into it but wanted to give this classic a go. It was incredibly poetic—beautifully written. I underlined many sentences, melted at her famous passage about the fig tree, and can see it was ahead of its time (written in 1963). It reminded me of the writing (and sadly the context) in The Virgin Suicides. But truth be told, I didn’t enjoy the plot. It was dark and very depressing, which I can typically admire, but this one just didn’t sit quite right. 3/5
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. I’m only halfway through this one, I will be finishing it this weekend. So I can’t give this a complete review, but so far I am very intrigued and invested in finding out more about this story and our main character. Told by the youngest of forty women who are locked in an underground bunker together, this unnamed woman must face the challenge of freedom after spending her entire life having none.
Printable Monthly Calendars for 2025
Pen to paper planning is super satisfying for me. I always have a printed calendar above my desk (as well as a digital version on my phone). This year I put together a minimalist calendar—sized to regular printer paper (8.5 x 11). Feel free to download all 12 months and manifest your best year yet.
I hope your November has been twinkling and bright—no matter what the weather looks like. Thank you so much for reading and as always, I would love to hear from you!
Do you put up a tree?
What have you been watching lately?
Digital or paper planner?
Ciao ciao,
ahhhh this entire roundup was IMMACULATE but i’m most excited to hear that TJR is coming out with a new book
Love this post omg!! I was wondering how you inserted/make the png images you use in your post (the books for example).