A Tiny, Unsolicited Gift Guide
Because it's not December without one more email telling you to buy something
Surprise! We’re nearing the holidays and shopping gives us a much-needed dopamine boost, so we put together a miniscule gift guide—six items each.
A crass show of commercialism? A celebration of the small makers who bring much-needed beauty to the world? Your call, really!
No affiliate links (though we support you creatives who use them!), no nonsense, just a few things we’d happily give or receive this holiday season. Thank you for subscribing, and we’ll see you again on Tuesday for our regularly-scheduled letter.
CHRISTINE
Lady & Larder Gift Basket from Lady & Larder, starting at $150
Lady & Larder is LA’s coolest cheese shop, and maybe the coolest shop in the country. Owned by twins Sarah and Boo Hendricks, these ladies curate a mean cheese selection and have the most delightful design/branding/ethos. I drool over everything they post and often wish Lady & Larder were my neighborhood cheese shop (and also wish that Boo, Sarah, and I were a cute little friend trio who went shopping and drank martinis together).
Anyway, their made-to-order gift baskets, ranging from $150 to $300 “reflect the ever-changing seasons with flowers and produce that rotate weekly based on what is beautiful and available at our local farmers market.” Think locally-grown flowers, small batch cheese, hand-dipped candlesticks, dreamy LA produce, and more.
Because everyone has slightly different strongly-held preferences, it can be tricky to gift cheese. But, there’s no way these baskets won’t delight your favorite cheese lover.
Meadowfoam Honey from Old Blue Raw Honey, starting at $11
Old Blue Raw is my favorite honey producer, and this one tastes like marshmallows. Seriously. And, it’s great with cheese, especially an uber creamy situation like Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam, Sweet Grass Green Hill, or Brillat Savarin. I buy this in bulk!
marianna fierro kitchen towels from Dame NYC, $25
If there’s one NYC restaurant I’m bummed not to have been able to visit this summer, it’s Dame. Run and owned by Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard, they’re known for NYC’s best fish & chips and a bonkers beverage list. This winter, they’re operating as Dame Deli & Bottle Shop, and will return as “Dame, the more refined seafood restaurant” next spring.
I just discovered they ship a few items, including the last remaining kitchen towels illustrated by my dear friend Marianna Fierro, who did all our branding for us (thanks, Mari!). I have seven of them and still want more! Marianna’s bright and cheerful tea towels bring much-needed light to my kitchen and spark delight every time I lay eyes on them. Her shop is currently closed, so if you want to partake in her sunshine in tea towel form, buy these up.
Taper Beeswax Candles from Bee Happy Vermont, $16
I started buying these at the Burlington farmer’s market, and they’ve since become essential in my home. There’s no added scent, but thanks to the beeswax, they release a subtle honey-like scent when they burn. They burn cleanly and beautifully, and hippies on the internet claim that beeswax candles purify the air as they burn. IDK about that part, but they are wonderful.
Genmaicha from Puerh Brooklyn, $8
One of my favorite teas from one of my favorite tea shops. When they opened in Williamsburg in 2015, I lived around the corner and would spend hours sipping tea and chatting with Grippo, the owner, about the many special teas he so lovingly champions.
Like most delicious things (bread, cheese, booze, chocolate, etc), the tradition of Genmaicha hails back to monks. In the spirit of frugality, they would mix green tea with the browned rice at the bottom of their cooking vessels, and that combination soon caught on outside the monasteries. It’s toasty, brothy, and oh so satisfying. Think popcorn, but as green tea. In a very good way!
Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit at Haymarket Books, $9.59 (currently 40% off the listed $15.99)
You’ve likely heard of Rebecca Solnit. It’s thanks to her iconic Men Explain Things to Me that we have the term “mansplaining” (she didn’t coin the term, but it came about thanks to the conversations around her book).
I love everything she writes, but this is my favorite of hers. I have a hard time keeping it on my own bookshelf because I keep giving it away. Some books I give away because one read-through was enough, some books I give away because I can’t help but share them. This is solidly the latter.
Instead of gushing further about the book, I’m copying one of my favorite passages below. The only thing I’ll add is that, if possible, it’s worth buying it directly from the publisher (linked above). Haymarket Books is a non-profit, leftist publishing house doing an immense amount of good in the world and they deserve our support.
Hope locates itself in the premises that we don’t know what will happen and that in the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act. When you recognize uncertainty, you recognize that you may be able to influence the outcomes — you alone or you in concert with a few dozen or several million others. Hope is an embrace of the unknown and the unknowable, an alternative to the certainty of both optimists and pessimists. Optimists think it will all be fine without our involvement; pessimists take the opposite position; both excuse themselves from acting. It’s the belief that what we do matters even though how and when it may matter, who and what it may impact, are not things we can know beforehand. We may not, in fact, know them afterward either, but they matter all the same, and history is full of people whose influence was most powerful after they were gone.
TAYLORE
Every couple years, I invest in a pair of these tights to live in throughout the winter. I bite and pick at my nails like a kindergartner when I’m stressed—more on that next week—so this year, my fingers have obviously been reduced to jagged little nubbins that would tear inexpensive hose to tatters. This specific pair is run-resistant enough to make it until March unscathed, the perfect level of opaque, and versatile enough to dress up or down. I also fucking love a back seam, so I may indulge in this sexy slimming option, too. Aaaaaand I might just have to grab this snuggly Marino variety to layer under boyfriend jeans. They last me a long time, ok? This is practical!
Frank Prisinzano’s horny ass turned me on to this spice shop, which turned out to be a five minute walk from my apartment. My spice cabinet overfloweth at the moment, so I’m turning my attention to some liquid assets. This collection’s date vinegar practically demands to be reduced to a glaze and drizzled over vanilla ice cream, and I’ll find some way to make that banana flavor work for bread pudding. If you know and love a home chef who’s bored of balsamic and apple cider varieties, this is a fun alternative.
Sarah Kersten Fermentation Jar
I’ve seen this specific crock floating around for a long time, so I added myself to the e-mail alerts for its restock. I live in a small apartment so I can’t afford to have anything smelling rank or ugly-ing up the place, so the reviews that promise this pretty little thing seals up tight sold me. After all, there’s never been a better time to pickle everything in my home. Chefs Scott Cava and Matt Olley served a plant-based tasting menu at their Rooftop Reds pop-up in September, and I’ve been meaning to make the Brussels sprout and apple kimchi I had there since Matt shared his recipe. And I’ve been flipping through Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore for months, so I plan on fermenting a batch of sauerkraut to stir into Darra Goldstein’s cabbage soup or layer into a melty veggie reuben à la Court Street Grocery.
Rituel de Fille Color Nectar Pigment Balm, $24 for one and $120 for set of five
I’m eternally impressed by this brand. Sometimes color payoff suffers when cosmetics are formulated with exclusively all-natural ingredients, but every shadow, lipstick, and blush RDF releases has a lovely texture and long-lasting hue. These new-ish balms are a personal favorite of mine: they’re suitable for everyday but can be played up to go a little avant-garde, they’re universally flattering for all complexions, and their finish reminds me of mirror glaze. Tell your giftee to dab a single shade on their eyes, lips, and cheeks for a subtle monochromatic look, or smear them all over their face like a toddler scribbling on the walls with crayons (strategically!) for a more editorial, watercolor effect.
Tammy Fender Lavender Oil, $65
I can’t imagine a single soul walking the Earth that wouldn’t love this shit. Your granny will add it to her bath, your sister will run through the bottle within weeks, your ex from years ago who still hits you up for products will (finally) appreciate it (you) (???). It softens the skin and functions as an olfactory sedative; I like to slather it all over post-bath or shower right before bed. It’s not overly floral either, as some body oils can be. I believe all fragrances—and beauty products in general—are unisex, but this still smells herbal enough to gift to anyone that likes to smell traditionally masc.
Food 52 Vintage Champagne Bucket, $90
BFF Kasia resents me for not always having ice in my apartment when she comes over to make dinner (my freezer is tragically small and stuffed with ground beef poised for Marcella’s bolognese) so this is part present, part jab. She also loves something sparkling, and this vessel is practical enough to keep her Prosecco frosty and chic enough to leave on display at her place. (Sorry, surprise blown.)