I’m in Love!: November

My November was bookended by travel. I was able to escape to Florida for a few days to visit my best friend & meet her cutie new nephew & now I am writing this on December 1st from the comfort of my family home in Ohio.

I said it last month, the -ber months are my absolute favorite. There is nothing that brings me more joy or comfort than these last few months of the year. We are now in the home stretch of the year & there is a lot I have loved this past month that will definitely be making it onto my 2025 loves list.

Ugh. Christmas time is officially here but for now, let us talk November.

Food & Drink

• Hot Chai Latte

• Hot Apple Cider

• Blueberry Muffins

• Soup

The two beverages on this list are very much staples & very much seasonal drinks for me which is why the second the weather dips below 60 degrees, I am on the hunt for both of these drinks. Lucky for me, my most favorite places to get a hot chai latte (with oat milk because dairy tries to kill me from the inside out) are very close to where I live and where I work. My favorite cafe chain to get a chai from is Pret A Manger which is chain but they make a consistently delicious chai & I will forever love them dearly for it. I know wherever I am in the city I will be able to rely on them to deliver. My favorite local spot by my office which I will not be giving up the name of at this moment, makes my favorite hot Chai in the city. These ladies know what the heck they are doing & often I will go downtown on the weekend just to be able to have them make me a chai.

Now, hot apple cider is the only thing that is able to rival my love for a hot chai during this time of year. You know I love it when I am willing to venture to midtown on a Saturday to get one from the Bryant Park Christmas village. There is a stand, Hudson Valley Farmhouse, that serves my favorite hot apple cider & since its opening at the end of October I think I have gone once a weekend every weekend I have been in the city. I think it should be mandatory for every outdoor gathering or event taking place outside this time of year to have a stand that serves it. It’s criminally underrated in my opinion.

I feel like this is self explanatory: It’s soup season.

Lastly, this month I was addicted to blueberry muffins. I got into the habit of making them on Sundays for my breakfast during the week. They are just so easy and delicious. Probably on my Mount Rushmore of favorite breakfast pastries. Everyone go and get a blueberry muffin right now. Thank me later.

Entertainment

• Julia by Sandra Newman

• Ken Burns Revolutionary War Docuseries

• Son of a Boy Dad

• Bobs Burgers

• Stumble

This month I finally finished Julia by Sandra Newman. For those who don’t know, it is a book that tells the story of 1984 through the point of view of Julia - one of the main protagonists of the original story. I loved reading these stories back to back & learning more about her journey & where she ends up. I thought it was a story that was done with a lot of care & attention to detail. Writing a book based on such a highly regarded classic from a different pov seems wickedly intimidating. I have been drawn to these types of books recently though, ones that retell well known stories or myths from different povs. If this is something that is of interest to you, I can not recommend this enough.

My king Ken Burns came out with a new docuseries on PBS around the Revolutionary War. I have started it & am about 2 episodes in and its been fantastic so far. It takes me awhile to get through episodes because of how long they are but also I am trying to pay close attention so, once I find myself not pay attention I switch to something else. Another fun little thing about this is that there are so many celebrity narrators for voices of historical figures. I am like that Leo DiCaprio meme of him pointing at the TV when I hear someone I recognize.

Guys! Guys. Son of a Boy Dad. These are literally my boys. Please understand how deeply serious I am when I say: I love this group of straight white men. For me to being saying that publicly & in the current state of society is a lot. I have been a long time listener but this month they were really on a heater especially with Fish Week. Even though I live in the same city as them I hope I never ever see them on the street, they need to exist in a different space than me, its why I don’t think I will be able to ever go and witness Harry or Francis performing stand up. If anything bad happens to any of them I will personally seek justice. They are simply the funniest people to exist full stop. Ugh I just adore them.

While SOABD is my comfort podcast, Bobs Burgers has been my comfort show this month. I am actively watching as I am writing this. This show is consistently funny no matter how many times you watch it & it is a show that manages to be associated so heavily with a holiday. The fact we didn’t get a Thanksgiving episode this year is a national tragedy. I love the Belcher family.

Okay, new show alert. As someone who has been moving away from streaming shows mainly because none of them capture my interest very much. Stumble is actually one of the funniest shows out right now. It airs on Friday nights and it is a spoof of Cheer that Netflix docuseries that was popular around COVID time. It is laugh out loud funny & sadly I do wish I was discovering it in its 2nd season so I would be able to watch more episodes rather than just the 3 that exist. NBC this is my formal request to renew the show for a second season immediately.

Misc.

• Holiday Villages

Tis the season!

NYC is the holiday village mecca & how lucky am I to live there? My favorite holiday village the city has to offer is the one located in Bryant Park. It has the food & shopping with actual places to sit and enjoy without feeling extremely overcrowded. I love to just wander around through the shops right around opening because the lines aren’t crazy long but it really does the trick to get me into the holiday spirit. Being a huge Christmas fan, walking through the stalls is enough to make me want to break out into song and skip around. Thank goodness I have people visiting soon so I have more of an excuse to go.

Those are all of the things that kept me afloat for the month of November. Now that we are officially in the last month of the year, I hope we all end on a positive & exciting note.

Have a gorgeous week.

Ily a milli & talk soon.