New Year Bingo.

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When my sister and her wife were in town, they shared that in lieu of making resolutions, they create “New Year Bingo Cards” featuring a range of different aspirations, at different gradations of complexity and seriousness. For example, some of the meatier ones were career-related, but one of my sister’s Bingo Card squares last year was also “seeing an owl in real life” (I know, absolutely adorable — to think this was one of nine exciting things she imagined for her year!), which she successfully did when we visited the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies in July (!). What I love about the premise is that there’s nothing punitive about it, but if you cross one off, you’re delighted by the accomplishment! More of a pleasant game that rewards you for putting yourself out there and pursuing your own joy. I’m all about this as I get older — fewer hard lines, more grace. Life is strenuous enough on its own; why add more to your plate? Pressure is a choice! I like the way the bingo model makes ambition playful: a space to share your big visions but without penalty if unachieved.

Below, sharing a template you can print or even just save to your computer and input answers over using Canva (everyone uses Canva, correct?) —

Several of mine were writing-related (another writing retreat! polish this manuscript! query agents! etc), two had to do with traveling with people I love, one was about Magpie Merch. (Hopefully this last one is coming in February — plans are already underway. I’ve had a bunch of readers ask for the Magpie Birding Club hat I made for myself and Mr. Magpie last year, and a few have also asked for “Bad Book Girl Club” hats!, and nothing would delight me more than readers wearing their own “Magpie Birding Club” hats out for their morning walks…! I also have a bunch of other fun ideas that I am dreaming of bringing into this world, but am too scared to detail out here. (For example — yikes! — is it too ambitious to dream that Ayr might release a special Magpie edition of their Early Mornings Tee?! I mean, they already have one in a MAGPIE STRIPE which feels kismet. And it’s kind of the perfect tee for morning birding — I wore mine on an actual guided bird hike this summer — because it’s somewhere between a sweatshirt and a tee. And so many of us own and love this. To be clear, I have not spoken with anyone at Ayr, but it’s now on the Bingo card. A girl can dream!)

But probably the most meaningful was spending more time with my parents. They live five minutes away! I need more of them. Mom, if you’re reading this, look forward to finding me on your doorstep more often in 2025 🙂

What’s on your 2025 Bingo Card?

*If you’re stuck, a couple of categories you might contemplate: meals you want to make (a specific complex recipe, a family dish you want to introduce your children to, a cookbook with a new cuisine), books you want to read (could be – “read 12 books” or “read a new genre” or “join a book club”), travel goals (“see a new country” or “take a day trip with my mom to a local spa”), organizational goals (“finally tackle the garage!” or “donate my old clothes”), nature goals (i.e., “see a barred owl!” or “visit a national park” or “go on a hike”), fitness goals (“complete one month of Heather Robertson videos,” “be able to do a weighted routine with 8 lb dumbbells,” “run 5 miles”), work goals (“earn a promotion!”, “get my resume ready,” etc)! Onward!

Post-Scripts.

+On the magic of taking a walk in cold weather.

+What stage of parenthood are you in?

+Our secret work playlist.

Shopping Break.

+While we’re talking AYR, you need to know they’re running a 48 hour Archive sale with select items up to 80% off. This includes sweatshirts for $30 (orig. $165) and a preppy striped dress for $65 (orig $325).

+Varley sweatshirts still on sale here, too!

+I’m obsessing over this Zimmermann dress (70% off…!)

+I am truly in love with these Mini Marin sweaters. I have the red, an olive and black stripe, and just picked up the baby blue. I’ve been seeing that color a lot all of the sudden and it feels very fresh. Imagine with white jeans, or even khaki/taupe/olive barrel pants? The sweaters are the perfect length, super warm, and I love the detail of the wider collar. You can also just tell the quality of their pieces IRL. They really stand out.

+A few recent buys I’m enthusiastic about: 1) already mentioned this dry shampoo, which I like to use all over my head and then use the Crown Affair powder at the root; I also noticed the Divi brand sells packs of silk hair ties for $7 — much more affordable than Slip! 2) Souper Cubes! A Magpie reader rec that Mr. Magpie now uses a TON for soups and stocks. 3) Wingspan! Our new board game obsession. Mr. Magpie gave me this for Christmas and we LOVE this game. The set-up commitment is pretty steep. It’s a complex game with a lot of moving parts — you really need to invest in a full-length practice round before things start to click. But once you’re over the hump, it is SO delightful.

+New denim silhouette from Agolde!

+Coziest set. Been getting a lot of wear out of this. I bought it for travel days to/from Italy and have found myself reaching for it frequently.

+Completely obsessed with this powder bronzer. WOW. I had gone down deep Reddit archives in search of a great bronzer and this one kept coming up. It is so natural-looking!

+Love these J. Crew winter boots – on sale!

+A perfect cardigan.

+And another perfect blazer from VB…!

+Still absolutely loving my Cuyana System tote for taking to meetings, when I’m working on the go, etc. It fits everything but feels so minimalist chic. I own it in the burgundy. I might zhush it up with this fun little bag charm a girlfriend of mine was wearing on her tote the other day — under $10!

+But can this tote stop haunting me pls and thank you.

+Also, just a yearly reminder that I think MadHippie’s very affordable Vitamin C is one of my favorite Vit C options — I will regularly cycle it in when I want to save a little money. My two other go-to Vitamin C products are Biossance’s Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil (love the formula) and Goop’s formula (which I believe has the highest concentration of vitamin c on the market!)