Buy Yourself the Pink Donut 🩷
Design, Donuts, and Doing Less
Every so often, my husband or son will bring home a pink sprinkled donut.
No occasion. No reason. Just because.
Something about it always pulls me back to what I call
The Pink Donut Reminder.
Years ago, I convinced myself that a two-day-old pink donut in a white paper bag was a thoughtful surprise from a thoughtful man. It felt romantic. Specific. Proof he was paying attention.
Spoiler: it wasn't.
Weeks later, I stood behind him in a donut shop as he ordered himself a pink sprinkled donut, turned to me, and asked, “What do you want?” That was the day I realized it had never been about me.
That's the Pink Donut Test:
The moment you catch yourself making excuses for someone because of the story you wanted to believe. We all do it. We stay for the timeline. The rules.
The version of “enough” we were sold.
The older I get, the more I think you should skip the test entirely. Buy yourself the pink donut. Love yourself & the rest will follow.
It always does.
The Good Stuff
The happy report
First, advent calendars are dropping, and yes, I'm already making us a spreadsheet. We will be opening 25 tiny doors of joy this season.
Stevie Nicks x Lindsey Buckingham, together, teasing “Wednesday.” That’s my kind of good news, rare these days.
The Dad Letter Project. Volunteer dads are writing letters to anyone who needs one. Sometimes the internet remembers how to be human.
Those vintage colored Christmas lights from actual childhood? Found them.
The exact ones that made December feel possible before we understood electricity bills. The big bulbs that got concerningly hot. The colors that somehow looked better than anything LED will ever achieve. I'm buying 3 boxes and calling it self-care.
These 1-on-1 design sessions have been the highlight of my past few weeks. Getting to meet you, hear about your spaces, and help you create something that actually feels like you. This is easily my favorite part of this job. If you’ve been thinking about it, now’s the time.
The Overlooked
Things trying to keep me functional
Listen, it's that season where everyone becomes a walking petri dish, and I'm not interested in participating (knock on wood).
My defense strategy:
Hypochlorous acid cleaner: Kills everything. Also doesn't slowly poison you, which feels like a win.
Shark NeverChange air purifier: Claims to work for 5 years without maintenance. I bought it six months ago and already take my air for granted, which is exactly the relationship I want with my appliances.
Current Obsessions
Crockpot dinners: Two nights a week, dinner takes care of itself while I live my life. At $2.50 a serving vs $12 takeout, a family of four saves about $3,952 a year. That is not cozy talk; that is math. Crockpot Ideas
Hyper-specific playlists that set the room: “Making coffee while it's raining” has 47 songs. I'm not sorry.
Alemais Contessa Chilli Clutch: The clutch that orders the spicy margarita for you.
Vogue Advent Calendar Waitlist: I joined the waitlist for the plot, not the purchase. I like being in the room where the discount happens.
& The Use It Nightly List:
I did the trial & error, so you do not have to. 10 objects that do the most, how to choose them once, and how to care for them for 10 years.
You can have all of it for less than a halfway decent iced coffee.
Before I tell you what actually works, let me tell you what I bought that absolutely didn't…