Howdy! How are you? I missed this humorous, sensible neighborhood, and I’m excited to catch up. Now we have some enjoyable posts deliberate this month, and within the meantime, listed here are a couple of snapshots from the break, for those who’d prefer to see…

We hosted Christmas in Brooklyn this 12 months — with the boys and me, in fact, plus my dad, my aunt Lulu, and our cousin Jimmy. We lit numerous candles and ate numerous yummy issues. (“I’m low-key hooked on mandarins,” Toby informed me.)

Our first journey for the vacations is all the time driving to see the lights within the Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Are you able to think about transferring there in the summertime and out of the blue realizing what a Christmas scene it turns into? Folks promote scorching chocolate out of their garages, and Bing Crosby blasts from automotive radios.

When our kin arrived from England, we have been so excited!

Jimmy and Anton have been already twinning with out planning it…

And Lulu instantly set about making carrot soup. The extra issues change, the extra they keep the identical. xoxo

We took walks to the Brooklyn Promenade…

..and stopped by Jane’s Carousel and the close by ice-skating rink…

…and admired the views from The Edge in Manhattan.

On Christmas Eve, we went to church and ate plenty of smelly cheese.

By the way in which, how cool is this olive tray? It was my Christmas reward to myself 🙂 I can’t keep in mind the substack design e-newsletter the place I initially found it, however I’ll let you realize if I discover it! Replace: Right here it’s!

On Christmas morning, the boys opened their stockings. Right here’s 12-year-old Anton’s haul. I beloved how his wishlist mirrored his in-between age — with objects like a scented-pen (child) and pimple patches (teenager).

Plus, in fact, a 12-pack of Dr. Pepper.

We had a gathering on Christmas Day, since, I discover, youngsters are often jittery from all the thrill by the afternoon, and it’s good to have buddies over to absorb that vitality.

Additionally, though long-time readers might discover it laborious to consider, I’ve truly been having fun with cooking. One crowd-pleasing dinner for the group was this straightforward tacky beans dish. I added extra onion for crunch and extra crushed crimson pepper for warmth.

The Kalanithi mother and father; lunch at Hook Fish.

Afterward, my dad and I headed to San Francisco to see my sister, her daughter, and her in-laws.

We crashed at my pal Lena’s stunning house, since she and her household have been out of city. (They’re going to remain at our place in the summertime, like a non-simultaneous home swap.) And that cool phrase artwork? “When my son Eli was studying handwriting, he began making giant letters on single sheets of development paper,” she explains. “I took my favorites and tiled them in an enormous plexiglass body I purchased off Craigslist.”

As all the time, on New Yr’s Eve, we visited Paul’s grave. We poured out Champagne for him, and the children toasted with Martinelli’s.

Hope you had a very good break and acquired some relaxation and leisure! And if not, that’s okay, too. As they are saying, everybody you meet is preventing a battle. Plenty of love, as all the time, and searching ahead to a beautiful 2026 collectively. xoxo

P.S. 11 readers share their blissful moments, and what are you grateful for, giant or small?