❤️ Everything I loved in November
+ an ode to Houlihan's
This wasn’t my most traditional Thanksgiving. We celebrated with a delicious Thanksgiving spread at my wonderful in-laws’ apartment in NYC on Friday. But on the day itself? Not so tradish.
I drove solo to the Philly suburbs early in the week with my almost-two-year-old, who immediately fell asleep in the car on the drive back to Westchester on Thursday. I’d congratulated myself on timing the roads perfectly. But I’d underestimated my EV’s range, despite being about 45 miles over what we needed.
With 45 miles between us and home, I decided a quick charge at a rest stop made sense. (It didn’t. The chargers were full, then blocked off behind a fence like some kind of fever dream.) By the time I found a slow charger at a Marriott in Secaucus—an outdoor mall, naturally—I had a toddler and an hour to kill on Thanksgiving.
That’s when I saw it: Houlihan’s. It looked closed from the outside, but I saw people in the windows. It was open. Gleaming. It was like a mirage. Like spotting your crush at a high school party.
I went in. They had a Thanksgiving turkey dinner. Three courses, $25, actual competent service, zero cleanup required. Families were enjoying their feasts. My son and I had the kind of time you don’t plan for, and I found myself thinking about a New Year’s Eve I spent alone in high school watching West Side Story. It’s ranked in my top five NYEs ever. I spent my twenties and thirties running myself ragged trying to manufacture the “right” night—the kind with FOMO attached—only to finally accept that the quiet, unforced version was my favorite for a reason.
I’ve been staying in most NYEs the last decade or so. Turns out the less traditional route—the weird, unplanned one—is often the best. Charging an EV at an outdoor mall, Thanksgiving at Houlihan’s in Secaucus: I’ll take it every time.
Everything I loved in November
The retinol miracle I’d stopped believing in. It’s spendy, but it delivers everything I want—brightening, resurfacing—while keeping my finicky skin entirely calm. Zero irritation. Zero compromise. This is the one, and I’ve repurchased it.
You’ll see no one but Laura with the Good Brows (my favorite brow influencer—I’ve learned so much from her!) touting the eyebrow pencil she created because it’s not affiliate-friendly. But it’s the best one I’ve ever used. It gives you the best hair-like strokes you can even do at the start of your brow near the bridge of your nose and get believable-looking brow length and width.
These black pilates socks are intended for men—and pilates, let’s be real—but I love them for padding around my hardwoods without slipping on a regular. And pilates.
While I was in Philly at my dad’s, my Apple Watch band broke. It wasn’t expensive, but it was devastating, because—steps. I asked him if he had a spare band (buying things in multiples is an affliction we both have, as Geminis, and lo, he gave me a very chic, understated, deeply Japanese one and I like it even more. It’s the beige one with orange and blue accents and it comes in this pack of six for $9.
This instant printer is pretty much the new candle, in terms of giftability. I’m remarkably terrible at printing photos of anyone since the ‘00s, including my son. This little gadget makes it a breeze.
I’ve got 10 more favorites to share this month for paid subscribers!
