2025 was a year of discovery! I am still overwhelmed by the idea that, in January of this year, I had not yet signed a contract with my publisher, but in May, I’d handed over a complete first draft. The book-writing process was eye-and-heart-opening, thrilling, humbling, challenging. It was the first time I’ve worked with an editor, and the manuscript is far better for it. Talk about ego-dissolution, though — had to check myself at the door. Meanwhile, I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder on something, and I mean that narrowly: long, long hours; a rigorous schedule accompanied by hyper-specific rituals designed to clip me into a generative head space; the brain fatigue of zooming in and zooming out on a project over and over again, going from comma placement to “which essay makes more logical sense next to this one?” to “what if I switched from the word cardinal to passerine?” If I did it again, I’d put myself on at least two week-long “sabbaticals” to make big pushes and then work in smaller increments to finish. It was really hard to wedge this work in around the normal flow of my daily writing and home life. I felt like I was living in a vise for a few months there: the due date at one end and my ambition at the other. Maybe not in a bad way? Hard to say. After all, one thing I know about myself: I always get it done. I learned this while staring at the thousand to-dos on our list when moving from NYC to Bethesda. I thought to myself, “Jen, do not let yourself be intimidated. You always get it done. Trust yourself.” And I did! One excel cell by one excel cell. That’s how it happens, isn’t it? Word by word — or, per Anne Lamott, “bird by bird.” Anyway, we’re through that intensity and I am proud of the shapely writing born of it. I just heard from the publisher that the book will be available for preorder early in 2026, and will be published on April 14!!! What a moonwalk…
Anyway, the book was my true “favorite thing” of the year, an apotheosis of the creative work I’ve been involved with since I was a child. (A friend asked: “how long did it take you to write this?” and I said, “Oh, I’ve been writing it since I was six!”). I cannot wait for you to see it!
But a couple of other discoveries and obsessions from the year:
+Music: Olivia Dean! Where has she been all my life?! I listened to her album over and over again in the fall. Landon and I also loved the new Sabrina Carpenter album. I have really fond memories of a fall trip we took — we played it on repeat in our hotel room, drinking red wine from water glasses.
+Undereye care: Finally found a solution that does something to my undereye areas (I have dark undereye circles). I use undereye masks/patches most mornings; my favorites here. (I’ve yapped a lot about this general concept and have now received a number of DMs/emails asking which are my favorites, so have them all detailed out here!) I think it’s something about really saturating and hydrating the area for 20 minutes each day — it’s made such a huge difference. I then layer this incredible brightening eye cream after I remove the pads. It’s almost like hybrid between skincare and cosmetics — it brightens/conceals/color-corrects!
+Books: We read a lot of great titles this year, didn’t we? Trespasses and Heart the Lover took my breath away / changed me / left me in awe of their writerly talent, but I think the most gripping read of the year was Wild Dark Shore. Cinematic! Thrilling! When will this be made into a movie?!
+Mantras: Found myself repeating the phrases “strive to be the lowest heart rate in the room” and “actually, I do have the time” a lot this year.
On the product side of the house, none of these will come as surprises to you. I’m basically a walking cartoon of this mood board:
HEART THE LOVER AND TRESPASSES
LESET POINTELLE (40% OFF IN THE PRETTIEST PINK) — I ONLY WANT SOFT COTTON AGAINST MY SKIN NOWADAYS; ONE OF THE WEIRD THINGS I’VE NOTICED ABOUT MYSELF IN MY 40S
BEST SWEATPANT LEVEL SOFT JEAN (USE CODE JEN15; MY MOST-WORN WORKIN’ JEANS THIS WINTER)
HATCH RESTORE — HAS CHANGED MY SLEEP HYGIENE
ICONIC BRUSH — OBSESSED WITH THE SCALP MASSAGE AND GENTLE DETANGLING
FLOOR LAMP — THIS PURCHASE KICK-STARTED MY VISION OF TRANSFORMING OUR BEDROOM INTO A SOFT, NEUTRAL, TEXTURED LUXURY HOTEL ROOM
BOMBAS — I FINALLY TESTED (AND ROUNDLY AGREED WITH) THE HYPE
ALEX MILL WEEKDAY TOTE — LOVE THIS OVERSIZED CANVAS BAG SO MUCH! CARRIES A LITERAL TON, CAN FIT MY LAPTOP, AND SO CHIC WITH THOSE BLOCK LETTERS ON THE SIDE!
OUR BEDROOM RUG — CANNOT TELL YOU HOW IMPRESSED I AM WITH THE QUALITY, ELEGANT DESIGN, PLUSHNESS FOR THE PRICE! (USE CODE JEN15)
*My favorite piece to layer with everyday gold jewelry or dress up with cocktail attire! I love the round shape of the stones — a little more feminine and sweet to my eye than square cut. Note that Dorsey is offering free overnight shipping this week in case you’re still hunting for a special piece to wear for Christmas/NYE OR are looking for a fab gift. I get a lot of wear out of their drop earrings — I have a few styles, but these are my most-worn at the moment. Delicate, just a tiny bit of sparkle, a little more interesting than a stud.
**I created a shoppable collection of these “favorite things” plus a few other bonus additions here.
What have been your favorite things this year?
P.S. Listening for the magical in the mundane.
P.P.S. Favorite winter athletic wear.
P.P.P.S. Signs you’re becoming an expert in yourself.
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