Well… the new year is almost here. I will be honest the last few weeks have felt like a blur: travel, holidays, dinners, travel, starting some contract work, putting down a deposit on an apartment, deciding not to take the apartment, more travel, more holidays… it has been brilliant and exciting and exhausting and that is exactly what I am asking for. In that time there has been intentional and unintentional consumption and I am eager to share that.
Dan In Real Life
I remember seeing this movie at our local movie rental store. I remember physically holding a copy of it and deciding, “ehh probably not for me” then grabbing The Butterfly Effect. I have heard others have had similar reactions because the cover simply doesn’t do this movie justice. Now, I am not saying this is a classic by any means, but it is a great Steve Carell movie mixing light-hearted comedy, awkwardness, and emotional subjects to create a fun family-friendly movie to watch.
Holdovers
Sabrina and I have decided this is the first of our traditions around Christmas. We watched it just us last year, not really knowing what we would be getting into and we absolutely loved it. This year we shared the experience with Sabrina’s mom and sister and they enjoyed it as well. The way it is filmed feels nostalgic it feels Dead Poets Society inspired, it has a fun yet serious storyline, and it is set around Christmas break at a boarding school in Massachusetts. If you have already watched it, I absolutely recommend listening to the Script Apart podcast on it.
Horse Game (Mythical Creature Version)
Sabrina’s Aunt and Uncle host Christmas every year and we play a game called “The Horse Game” rules found here. It is a game of luck and is a bunch of fun when played with the right crew. They removed the horses, created their own giant board, and replaced the horses with mythical creatures. The game gets even more fun if you have a great gamemaster and create your own house rules.
Cortados
Cortados have been my go-to for the past few years, there is something I love about the milk-to-espresso ratio. Sabrina gifted me some glasses specifically for cortados, the perfect ratio from espresso to milk if guaranteed based on the size of the glass, so while I have been working on transitioning to more tea, it is safe to say that the cortado is not going away any time soon!
Weekly Playlist
Well Christmas is over but we are still in the season. This week’s playlist includes 10 songs that are better than Christmas music. I personally, can only stand so much Christmas music, what we have here are 10 jazzy, old school, comforting songs that feel like Christmas, but don’t kill the vibe after the season is over. I personally start playing these songs around Thanksgiving and take them out of rotation around Valentines day. I have well more than 10 songs, but here are a few of my favorite. There is something about tossing these on, lighting some candles, and sitting down with a book or cooking dinner that just feels like you are thrown back in time.
Thanks
From the bottom of my heart, thanks for reading. If you have any recommendations for the newsletter or any other writing you would like to read in 2025 please comment below or reach out to me. I plan to stick with it and double down on the thought pieces going into the new year.
Much love,
derek