Things We Loved This Month: December’s Bright Spots
Did anyone else feel like December was somehow both seven months long but also a mere second? The holidays are always hectic, but this year in particular, I feel like I’ve lived about 18 lives in December’s 31 days. Perhaps it was because I started out the month traveling nearly 5,000 miles to Hawaii, spent the middle nursing a fractured toe, and ended it surrounded by several inches of snow while gobbling down holiday chocolates. No matter, the festive season was both magical and a trial in itself, and this month, I found myself largely drawn—and maybe unsurprisingly—to items that embodied all the cozy comfort I crave as the year winds down, along with a few pieces that brought some much-needed sparkle into these winter days. While many think of winter as the darkest time of year, it’s actually when the days start to get a little lighter—we winter children know that the December solstice marks the shortest day of the year, with every day afterwards getting just the slightest bit longer and taking us towards the onset of spring. Consider this list one editor’s selection of items that brought a little extra shimmer to December.
Things I Loved in December
- Saie Dew Blush Liquid Cream Blush in Dreamy
- Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort
- Birkenstock Boston Shearling Clogs
- Well Market Lightly Dipped Dark Chocolate Almonds
- ‘The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors’ by Dan Jones
- Starbucks Sugar Cookie Latte Inspired Creamer
- Larkmead 2022 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Saie Dew Blush Liquid Cream Blush in Dreamy
Personally, I don’t think it’s concealer that makes you look more alive—for me, it’s a good blush that will trick the world into thinking you got a solid eight hours. I’ve loved Saie’s Dew Blush for years, but haven’t been using it as much as of late—that is, until I tried the new (to me) “Dreamy” hue, in the berry color of all my rouge dreams.
Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort
In December, I traveled to Hawaii for the first time in over two decades. I headed to Rosewood’s Kona Village property with Aperture Cellars for Āina Reserves Weekend. For a quick glimpse of how much I loved this place, please note that I, someone who is not exactly known for athleticism or physical pursuits in daily life, woke up before sunrise every single morning to canoe and watch the sun slowly creep its way into the sky. It was perhaps the best way to close out my 2025 travel calendar—it’s hard to beat a long weekend filled with exclusive Sonoma wines (including never-before-tried estate blends) at a five-star beachfront resort on the Big Island. It was four days centered around sustainability, the local environment and how culinary and beverage can genuinely complement these concepts, in an entirely and refreshingly non-performative way. Award-winning winemaker Jesse Katz and chef Dustin Valette brought a taste of Northern California to the Hawaiian island, but with a decidedly local tilt, from the produce to the dishes. It was a genuinely magical start to the month, and while I’m very much not a specific food and wine writer, I loved the natural intersection with travel and lifestyle.
Birkenstock Boston Shearling Clogs
While these furry-lined clogs aren’t exactly a new addition to my wardrobe, I did almost forget about them until I returned home from a trip to Hawaii with a fractured toe in early December. After a 14-hour-plus journey home during which I committed the cardinal sin of travel by wearing a pair of flip-flops (the only shoes that my rapidly swelling foot would even consider fitting within), I spent the next few days attempting to elevate my newly grossly oversized foot and contemplating how to navigate the swiftly dropping temperatures in a Havaianas. And then, my favorite Birkenstocks reappeared in my life—a pair of slightly-too-large, fur-lined clogs that might not be the most fashionable thing in my wardrobe, but are perhaps the most comfortable shoe I own—and they happen to fit my swollen pinky toe.
Well Market Lightly Dipped Dark Chocolate Almonds
December ended up a bit differently than I’d expected this year, and I spent a lot of time in the car, driving to and from appointments for hours on end. I’m a big proponent of keeping a good protein bar in my bag at all times (I’ve written about my love of a GoMacro bar), but as of late, my snack of choice has been these specific dark chocolate-covered almonds from CVS that I buy more often than I’d like to admit. They’re decadent enough to be a little bit of a treat, but hey, it’s still an almond, so it’s really a health snack, right?
‘The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors’ by Dan Jones
To be transparent, I haven’t finished this book just yet, but I’m a bit over halfway through and very, very into it right now. I read Dan Jones’ The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England over the summer, switching between my Kindle and an audiobook I listened to during a very long drive to and from Cape Cod, and this book is essentially the sequel to it. It chronicles the time period from the fall of the Plantagenets to the eventual rise of the Tudors, and my history-loving heart is simply eating it up.
Starbucks Sugar Cookie Latte Inspired Creamer
You can hate on Starbucks all you want, but I simply cannot turn away from my sugar cookie latte come the holiday season. Unfortunately, an $8 daily coffee is not in my current budget, so I make do with the dairy-free creamer to bring my beloved artificial cookie coffee taste to my everyday routine, and I’m not sorry! Honestly, I’m already dreading the moment that this limited-edition creamer leaves the grocery at the end of the month—I’ll be counting down the months until its return next year.
Larkmead 2022 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
I’m not a wine expert by a long shot, but I do know that I absolutely adored this 2022 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Calistoga vineyard Larkmead. Crafted from 82 percent cabernet sauvignon and 18 percent cabernet franc, it’s a classic Napa Valley cab—full-bodied with silky tannins, with a gentle aroma of blackberries, leather and earthiness. It’s perfect for a crisp winter evening, especially while nibbling on some olives before indulging in a really good steak.