The December Edit
Your 2026 printable calendar, a cultural renaissance, the winter mood board, and a simple recipe to elevate your holiday breakfasts!
I love this quote and think about it each time I sit down to write you a monthly letter. Sharing the bits of beauty I’ve come across and romanticizing the mundane has always been a practice I hold dear—one that feels especially fitting as the curtains draw to a close on 2025. Writing this way helps me catalog what might otherwise slip by.
Lately, I’ve noticed more people writing about a cultural renaissance underway—one where art and beauty begin to reclaim what our hyper-digital world hacked out. A return to something more analog, texturized, and imperfect. Even the word beauty itself feels in need of rescue. Defined as “a quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind,” it’s less a product and more a feeling—one that attunes us more closely to the people and places around us. Still, it’s been so flattened by marketing that I sometimes wonder if people assume I write a newsletter about makeup when I say I mostly talk about beauty.
December, of all months, seemed to further this conversation. Asking us: how can we prioritize what truly satisfies the mind? How can we recognize and invite more beauty into our daily lives? I have a few ideas for bringing more creativity to this space in 2026, and I’m looking forward to sharing with you.
Alright, here’s how the past few weeks went…
If holiday music brings you immense joy like it does me, I’ve linked my 7+ hour long playlist above. From classics, to 90’s, to newly released—this one has it all. 🎶
We got tickets to see Marty Supreme on Boxing Day. Anyone else headed to the theatres during the holidays?
I didn’t publish a gift guide this year. It used to be one of my favourite posts to write, but I couldn’t bring myself to participate in the bombastic notifications of November this time around. Instead, I’ve included a small handful of items I personally asked to have wrapped under the tree—simple, thoughtful items I’m really looking forward to enjoying.
Red and green flags, according to protagonists of Hallmark christmas movies (lol).
Our hometown legend sold for 4.8 million at recent auction!
The art of book rebinding.
I love writing in pencil.
My favourite christmas tea!
Made me laugh.
I’m addicted to this game (via Kat). My high score is 36, can you beat me?
Been loving this festive red cotton sweater.
A wicker basket christmas tree, swoon.
Heidi Caillier designs cozy mountain interior dreams.
I who have never stuck a needle in my face.
The list I left for Santa this year:
- refill on my eye serum
- electric toothbrush with UV cleaning case
- silver herringbone chain
- this mohair + wool tuque
- a book to reference each day in 2026 (scored a signed copy for myself and cannot wait to read!)
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. I went into this expecting something more emotionally sweeping, and while it didn’t quite land for me in the way Call Me By Your Name did, I still deeply admired the writing. Set between Paris and the south of France, the story follows an American man reckoning with the complexities of love, desire, and self-denial. Baldwin’s prose are reason enough to savour it: “There seemed to be more chatter – in that curiously measured and vehement language, which sometimes reminds me of stiffening egg white and sometimes of stringed instruments but always of the underside and aftermath of passion.”
Heart the Lover by Lily King. We follow Jordan in her senior year of college, navigating a love triangle, friendship, and intellectual ambition with two friends from her 17th-Century lit class. Decades later, she is faced with a situation that forces her to confront the world she left behind. I enjoyed a lot about this one—the academic fervor and rapid-fire banter, the professor’s house that makes the story feel lived-in, and the messy but tender moments of forgiveness. However, it wasn’t a “fave”.
Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen. This new release via Book of the Month follows Cricket Campbell, a 26-year-old working in the wellness industry, who returns home to the Adirondacks to care for her father after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. As she settles back into the family house at Catwood Pond, she discovers that her father has become an unlikely oracle—predicting the future as he loses his grip on the past. I’m saving this one for the holiday break (my last read of 2025!) and can’t wait to dive in.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. This beautifully written novella follows Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man in 1980s Ireland, as he enters his busiest working weeks leading up to Christmas. On a routine delivery, he comes face-to-face with the suffering of women in his town and must decide how to respond. Keegan captures moral courage and compassion in the smallest, most human gestures. An important look at how society can turn a blind eye, and how even small acts of kindness can have a lasting impact. Wonderful little holiday read!
And just for fun… my favourite reads of 2025 were:
Winter Mood Board
I can’t believe it’s already time to put together the mood board that will carry us through to March 20, 2026! Winter has arrived—wrapping a big bow around 2025 and holding the door open as we step into the new year. I hope you enjoyed the solstice yesterday. It was dark and rainy at the lake—the sun rose at a casual 8AM and set at an early 4:18PM, clocking a shorter shift than my usual workday. We stayed cozy inside and tackled a few small projects.
This rendition is filled with snow-topped roofs, cinnamon-dusted marshmallows, deep reds, slipper pinks, oil paintings, bread bouquets, café curtains, and twelve girls standing in two straight lines.
Can you spot them all?
My 2026 printable calendar is here!
Each year I put together a simple calendar to hang in my office, and this one is yours to download as a free PDF. There are 12 pages that print on regular letter-size paper (8.5 x 11), with weeks starting on Mondays and plenty of space to jot down goals, dreams, quotes, and everyday to-do lists.
I finally got the sewing machine I’ve been talking about getting all year. A fantastic find on Marketplace (used is best!) that made the wait worth while. First up on my project list were curtains for the sliding glass doors in the kitchen…what do you think!?
We hosted a holiday dinner and sleepover for a few friends last weekend, and it was such a blast. I loved following up our evening conversations over breakfast the next morning. One of our guests made me the beautiful wreath shown above. I decided to hang it inside instead of on the front door because I want to look at it constantly.
Here’s some art I’ve been loving lately:
I hope you’ve had a marshmallowy December. Thank you so much for reading and as always, I would love to hear from you!
What’s one thing you’re most grateful for from 2025?
What are you craving more of for 2026?
Ciao ciao,
PS. I roasted pears and cranberries to serve as a festive pancake/waffle/yogurt topper for our holiday sleepover and it was delicious! I forgot to snap a photo, but here’s the super simple recipe:
Festive Orchard Topping
3 pears, cut into wedges
1 cup cranberries (I used from frozen)
drizzle of pure maple syrup
1-2 tbsp melted butter
cinnamon
pinch of salt
Toss pears and cranberries with maple syrup, butter, cinnamon, and salt.
Spread on a parchment-lined tray and roast at 375°F (190°C) for 20-25 minutes. Pears should be tender and edges caramelized.
Enjoy these winter delights (and impress your friends/family)!
"I couldn’t bring myself to participate in the bombastic notifications of November" haha same - I just published a newsletter today that talked about a lot of these topics (overconsumption x overwhelm of gift guides), solstice sunsets, what i purchased for my family, cooked and read recently. kindred vibes and loved reading this as always. xx Kristen
Hello, so happy to connect with you 🤍 I just subscribed to your content, and I hope you feel like subscribing to mine too 💌 xx