The Tree's Been Crooked Since November
Warm light, good music, something in the oven. That’s enough.
Doug Bihlmaier is letting pieces of his personal archive go. This Friday, December 13th, on The Collectors Gene.
If you don’t know Doug, he’s the man behind RRL. Ralph Lauren’s personal vintage collector for decades. The man with the best eye in the business. And universally beloved (trust me, I went deep on the research, even the comment sections love him). I’m budgeting for maybe one small thing. Maybe. Either way, I’ll be there, getting inspired.
Meanwhile, the Christmas tree has been crooked for ten days.
Not whimsically crooked. Just… slouched. Half-fluffed. A 9 ft passive-aggressive reminder that I have limits.
The garland is still outside. The indoor one needs fluffing, and if you’ve ever fluffed garland professionally for ten years, you know it’s a full-contact sport and the opposite of festive.
The older I get, the clearer it is:
“Christmas magic wasn’t the lights or the cookies, it was my Mom.”
And now it’s me; exhausted, eating cereal over the sink, doing my best to give Hudson that same Christmas magic feeling.
So tomorrow I’ll fluff the tree and finally add the garland. Imperfect joy counts. Because the wildest thing about Christmas movies isn’t the plot, it’s the abundance of free time.
Who’s ice skating, baking, hosting a cookie competition, rescuing a dog, and falling in love all before dinner?
Ten years of decorating taught me this:
Christmas Magic never lived in the stuff. It lived in warm light, something baking, music playing, and nobody panicking.
Drop the perfectionism. Not because you can’t handle it, but because it’s pointless.
And because shortcuts exist. Really, really good ones.
The Ruggable x Anthro Collab
Washable rugs that don’t announce they’re washable.
These are so pretty. A little whimsy, a little Anthro, and the happiest dose of color. I’m obsessed with Clove Green and Ella Slate Blue, but truly, all seven tufted rugs are gorgeous.
And the best part is when someone spills, you literally pick up the rug and wash it.
What I’m googling at midnight (so you don’t have to):
“How long can a garland survive outside?” Answer: five days, if it stays under 40 degrees.
@garbearstare, my new favorite follow, the best holiday content
V102 mouth tape is the only mouth tape I’ll use
A Pavlova recipe, I’m confident about making
Women-Founded Finds
Furbish Studio: Needlepoint that’s funny
Cheerie Lane Popcorn: Flavors that shouldn’t work but do (birthday cake popcorn for breakfast, yes)
Hibi Youth: Skincare that fixed my December skin in three days
Happy Box: Gift boxes that don’t feel corporate (sending these to everyone I forgot)
Lazy Jamie: Home decor for the friend who always finds the good stuff first.
The five-minute upgrades that look like effort but aren’t? The good stuff’s below.
