Hi, friend.
Happy New Year! I am writing this on the first of January as snow falls peacefully outside and I lay in my sick bed (previously known as “my office”). Mike and I both came down with some demon plague (it’s probably covid) on Boxing Day and have been housebound and hating it ever since. It feels like life may be slowly returning to my body today, but as I’m still overall disgusting, I will continue to be a hermit until further notice.
But! I couldn’t let that stop me from sending out the first Hello Toad missive of 2025. I love that January 1 opened on a snowstorm in this part of the world—it feels like a proper return to the winter and a true fresh start.
Despite being sick, I had a pretty lovely holiday. We got to spend lots of time with family before getting ill, and Mike and I have been able to spend a ton of time together while recovering. It’s not what I planned for the holidays—I had big visions of doing a ton of baking and decluttering around the house—but maybe it’s the holiday I needed. The MVP of this Christmas season is Buckley’s.
New blog post: My word of the year ✨
Instead of New Year’s resolutions, I’m a big fan of choosing a word to represent my goals and hopes for the incoming year. For the second year in a row, I’ve written about the process of finding my word and why I chose what I did, while reflecting on how last year’s word resonated throughout the year. I hope it inspires you to find your own word of the year!
What I’m loving 🤍
- With the help of my talented mother-in-law, I’m once again learning to knit. I’m a crocheter, but I desperately want a Babaa sweater and don’t want to spend $500 on it, so learning to make it myself is the answer (so I can spend $500 on yarn instead). I’m currently working on the Sophie scarf.
- Whilst sick on the couch, Mike and I consumed an ungodly amount of media content. My favourite was surprisingly Twisters. I love a disaster movie but I really did expect this to be bad. Joke’s on me, I loved it.
- The new year means a new journal! I finished off my Hobonichi Avec and she is hefty. My new Hobonichi Cousin is ready to go. See the old vs. the new below.
Housekeeping 🧹
I noticed this week that some of your emails have been ending up in my junk mail, so if you’ve sent me something and I’ve ignored it, please resend! I promise to check that folder going forward. 😢
Until next time 💕
That’s all for this week, friend. I hope you’re having a slow and cozy start to the new year and did not catch any demon plagues. See you next week.
