2016 Gift Guide
I can only speak for myself, but I know I’m not alone when I say that it’s been a rough year. For many, that is the understatement of 2016. Given the weight so many of us feel for a myriad of unimaginable reasons, I struggled to find the point of a holiday gift guide. Who needs a scented candle when the world feels like it’s in the toilet? (Come to think of it, maybe it’s actually the perfect time for a scented candle. Ha! I recommend Aesop’s “Post-Poo / Anti-Merde Drops.” I can’t help but think that they would make an incredible, albeit cheeky, hostess gift. I mean, everyone needs them. But I digress.) Who wants a beautiful tea towel unless it’s to mop up all the tears we’ve cried over any number of tragedies, injustices, and heartaches. I, for one, do not want any gifts this year. I want to channel my feelings, my fears, and my frustrations into meaningful action. Isn’t that what a gift is, anyway — the manifestation of how much you care?
2015 Holiday Gift Guide
There’s no greater pleasure than finding and giving the perfect gift, but nothing diminishes that pleasure quite like the pressure to deliver the holiday goods. I think it’s a total waste to buy a gift for the sake of buying a gift. We all have too much, and yet we run around like maniacs this time of year desperately trying to buy something (anything!) for everyone on our list. The truth is, no one wants that mediocre, last minute, had-to-buy-you-something gift. What we really want is meaning.
Paris On My Mind
I’m missing Paris like crazy these days. It’s been a while since I’ve been back and my heart is literally aching. I’m dying to put on a fabulous dress and just wander the streets until I get hungry enough to sit down at a café and promptly devour an entire baguette and wheel of Camembert by myself. I want to take le métro to the flea market where, upon arrival at Porte de Clignancort, I’ll have to lift the little latch in order to exit the train. I want to dip my fries into my poulet rôti au jus at Brasserie Lipp. I want to drink red wine until my French just rolls off my tongue.