My family went on our annual nordic ski trip over the holidays, and we got to visit with dear friends, ski a ton, play in the snow, eat amazing treats from the local bakery, and slow down & be together during a time that is otherwise super busy. The joy I had helping my daughter learn how to cross country ski was immeasurable. To experience her love something I love was, and continues to be, one of the best feelings.
While skiing with a friend one very snowy afternoon, we got to talking about my newsletter and the why behind it all. I started You Get-sy just over a year ago at the prompting of a friend who said she loves my recommendations and thought I should share them with others. Over time this has been a place for me to explore themes, share things I love, and connect with you all about great people, things, places, and experiences.
But the question of why? continued to linger, and I’m so grateful to my friend for prompting me to think about this and exploring this with me. I’m not here to promote endless consumerism through links and making money off of recommendations. Our society has enough of that, and has folks who are much better at it than I am. We don’t need to be buying new new new all the time. It just isn’t the answer. I’m not here to give you an inside look at my family through super vulnerable posts that divulge everything- I’m much too anxious for that, and again, there are people who do that much better and more eloquently than I ever could, and I’m grateful to read about and learn from their shared experiences. At times I think that what I do here is trivial compared to the injustices and atrocities we’re navigating in our world, and within that framework, it certainly is. But it makes me happy and gives me a moment of escape and connection to others among it all, and perhaps it does that for you too.
So… why? Well, one aspect of my personality (we all contain multitudes!) is that I tend to obsessively research everything in a quest to find the best. The best bakery to visit on vacation. The best glitter to wear while ski racing. The best writers writing about our current states of affairs. The best winter boots. The best knitting pattern for a specific scarf idea. You get the point. Annie Dillard’s quote, “the way we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives,” resonates here. I’d venture to say this extends to not just our time, but our energy, money, and resources. One might argue that my time isn’t best spent obsessively researching minute and mundane things like the best bar soap, and who is to say that the bar soap I recommend is the best, but it is something I find fun to do, and I enjoy sharing my findings with you. Perhaps I can streamline your quest for the best!
What you’ll find here in this newsletter is genuine recommendations of people, places, things, experiences, etc that I think are well worth your time, energy, money, and resources. Do I think you need to go out and buy something new to replace something you already have? Absolutely not. The best thing to do is to use what you have until you need to replace it and then buy second hand. But if I can help save you the time and energy of researching, I’m happy to do that. I love checking out new brands, old stand-bys, innovative design and ideas. To that end, please let me know in the comments if there is something you’re looking for a recommendation for! I love requests, the more specific the better. Also, I love recommendations from others. If you have someone you think would make a great feature or you have a product, place, thing, idea, experience, etc that YOU LOVE and think is the best, please let me know!
Today I’m going to feature some of my most popular posts and guest posts (perhaps you’ll get some inspiration!) that are still relevant, and next week I’ll dive into a round up of all that I’ve been reading, cooking, eyeing, buying, wearing, listening to, and celebrating this winter. Thanks for being here!
If you’re new here (and there are many of you since my last post!), or even if you’re not, hi! Hello! Welcome! I’m so glad you found your way to this small corner of the internet. I certainly missed the boat on writing about the new year or recapping the previous year due to my unplanned writing hiatus, but for those of you who are new or might have missed them, here are a few of my most popular posts from last year for your reading pleasure.
Vol. 22
Are you gift guided out yet?! Holiday gift giving is challenging for me— I am always worried about finding the *just right* thing, and I put a lot of pressure on myself (sometimes to the point that I don’t give anything), which means I’m usually down to the wire trying to decide what to give.
I was so honored in 2024 to be featured in some great Substack publications. I’ve included the posts here in case you missed them the first time around! Please check them out and give these other great Substack writers a follow!
Next week I’ll dive into a round up of all that I’ve been reading, cooking, eyeing, buying, wearing, listening to, and celebrating this winter. Until next time, thanks for being here! xo
B! I want to find the perfect sweater. It’s an old llbean crewneck that I inherited sometime in college in the early aughts. Was it Bean? J crew? It’s simple for everyday yet elegant with fun earrings in the evening. It’s affordable but it doesn’t pill! Let’s find it and then get matching??
Loved this volume, B!