December 2020 Favorites

It feels like an oxymoron to write ‘2020’ followed by the word ‘favorite.’ Nothing about 2020 has been my favorite, but there have been a few things that have made the state of things a bit more bearable.

As we close out the year that will go down in history as being a certified dumpster fire, I’m thinking back to the things that I ate, read, and listened to that kept me grounded and made me feel human.

Here are my December 2020 faves for your consuming pleasure. Happy New Year and may 2021 be the light at the end of the very long tunnel. 

1. How Dippin’ Dots could help distribute the COVID vaccine – Dippin’ Dots has perfected the complicated process of shipping their tasty delights at a constant -49°, and even sell the ultra-cold refrigerators that could also work to store the COVID vaccine. 
2. Making kombucha – Did you even quarantine if you didn’t take on an ultra-complicated fermentation project? Move over sourdough bread, 2020 was the year of kombucha brewing for me. I’ve made pretty successful batches of lemon-ginger, cranberry-lime and apple cinnamon kombucha. It’s really not that complicated, all you need are black tea, sugar and some gallon jars.
3. Rent fancy clothes you wouldn’t wear normally – An unexpected pleasure for me this year was renting a bunch of ridiculous formal wear from Rent the Runway and wearing it for absolutely no reason at all. My partner and I dressed up one evening for a formal-wear-only date night in, and it was very sweet. I highly encourage you to take what’s left of this pandemic to take the time to experiment with the things you’ve always wanted to wear but never had a reason to! What’s better than no reason at all?
4. Furoshiki – In an attempt to make the holidays more sustainable this year I got very into furoshiki, or the Japanese art of fabric wrapping. Brooklyn-local and black-owned business Unwrp makes the chicest fabric wrap in the game.
5. Smashed potatoes – Do you miss fresh french fries from your favorite restaurant? (French fries are just not conducive to takeout–I’m sorry, I said it). Try making smashed potatoes for all your ultra-crispy, crunchy potato-y goodness. Extra points if you cook them in duck fat, like I did.
6. Peerspace – I describe Peerspace as AirBnB for creatives. Basically, Peerspace allows you to book spaces in your area for short periods of time (as little as an hour) for photo and video shoots. I found the most amazing mid-century mod inspired house in Massachusetts that inspired a whole sparkly, kitschy NYE shoot (see the featured photo for this post).
7. Vintage Fair Isle sweaters – I bought my favorite piece of clothing of all time this year from Etsy–a 1960s vintage Fair Isle sweater. Since then, I’ve been scouring the internet (and moms’ closets) for another score. I love wearing mine over a turtleneck for ultimate coziness.
8. Have one highly specific athletic goal – Early on in the quar, I tackled a physical goal that I never thought would be possible for me, but had always dreamt about: getting into splits. After 30 days of stretching for at least 30 minutes and holding excruciating splits for 2+ minutes per day I was able to finally get to the floor. I have found highly specific yet small athletic goals to be very motivating. Now I am working on being able to do exactly one pull up. Hang this pull up bar in a door frame and get to work!
9. Listen to Under Control cover by Rostam – The way Rostam twists the line from one of my favorite Strokes songs, “I think we gotta change our minds / I think we gotta change the world” makes it the tender rallying cry for 2021 we all need.