Hi, is this thing on?
Getting ahead of my New Year's resolutions, baking, and my holiday movie list.
I don’t necessarily believe in making a list of New Year’s resolutions, but one thing I knew I wanted to start doing again was to write this newsletter. I’ve been grappling with the idea of sharing recipes here, mostly because my eating habits have changed and I just spent an entire year developing recipes for my upcoming cookbook. To be honest, I’ve found myself cooking simpler meals lately, and I felt like my dishes weren’t as exciting as they used to be. Often, I just eat rice with a side dish. Sometimes I’ll eat noodles, stews, or sandwiches. Sometimes it’s frozen dumplings and store-bought kimchi. In comparison to other recipe developers sharing restaurant-quality recipes, mine just looked plain. But then I realized, maybe that’s not a bad thing. This is how I eat, and maybe there are a lot more people who resonate with me than I think.
It’s been five months since the last time I published, and paid subscriptions have been temporarily paused. Note: They will resume in January 2025, so if you no longer want to be a paid subscriber (as much as I would love for you to be here), you are welcome to cancel payments. I completely understand.
Since then, I’ve also gotten married! It was the most beautiful day. The weeks leading up to the day were stressful, but having our friends and family come together to celebrate with us made it all worth it. I will never forget when the moon came out and everyone left the tent to gaze at it.
A month later, my husband and I rented a small cottage near Algonquin Park for a relaxing long weekend. Afterward, we spent a few days in Montreal, eating all the St-Viateur bagels (and regrettably, not enough poutine).
I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on what’s next, which reminded me of something crucial: constantly overthinking and planning every little detail of your life can be detrimental because you miss out on what’s in front of you—like writing this newsletter.
Anyway, all this to say, the newsletter is back. Thank you so much for sticking around. There are a ton of other newsletters with writers a lot more consistent than me, so your continued support truly means the world.
Baking
Earlier this year, I wrote about baking. While my cooking may have gotten more relaxed and casual, I’ve definitely become an avid home baker. Over the past few months, I’ve been indulging my sweet tooth by making cakes, cookies, breads, and pies. I love the process from weighing out ingredients to the satisfying aroma of freshly baked goods. I find it incredibly therapeutic.
Since Christmas is around the corner, I’ve been baking a ton of cookies. Recently, I made marbled matcha shortbread, ginger molasses, and eggnog snickerdoodles with brown butter Baileys icing. Later this week, I’m thinking of making marbled ube cookies and madeleines. Let’s see what else I come up with.
Holiday Movie List
It’s no secret that I love movies. Last year, I put together a list of my top 15 favourite films to watch during the holidays. This year, I thought of 3 more to add.
The Devil Wears Prada
This is my comfort film, mostly because I enjoy any movie that shows journalists, a chaotic office dynamic, and fashion. I also just get so much joy out of seeing Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway together on the screen.
The Holdovers
I am so glad this movie exists. Everything about it is perfect. The pace, the acting, the editing, the mood—I love it all. Dominic Sessa, you are going places.
Notting Hill
I’m a sucker for a classic romcom. Everyone’s got The Holiday on their list, which I love, but this one is my pick of the year (although there is one jumpscare with an actor I was seriously not expecting to ever see again).
Big Tune of the Week
I’ve been exclusively listening to Christmas Pop since December 1st.