A New Obsession

Hi friend,

As people set New Year’s resolutions, undoubtedly many will vow to spend less time on their phones. This is a task easier said than done. After all, so many important functions have moved to our phones. They’re where we map a route, check email, keep in touch with friends. And, of course, they provide endless distraction when we are in need of it. Who doesn’t look at their phone when waiting in a long line?

Getting off apps and retraining the focus muscles of our brains will require us to do one thing: be bored. “As someone who has made plenty of contributions to the getting-off-your-phone content industry, I can confidently say that the real solution is not that complicated,” says Kate Lindsay of the newsletter Embedded (which is all about being online, so she knows of what she speaks). “There’s no theory to learn or science to practice. You don’t have to do anything to fix your attention span. You just have to be bored.”

Subtract aimless scrolling and your day opens up. Suddenly you have time for more – more cooking, more hobbies, more conversation, more reading. You get it.

There’s never a wrong time to pull away from social media and its endless churn, but this year might just be the tipping point where most of the fun and utility of these platforms melts away as they brute force us into weird AI experiments, remove the guardrails for misinformation (meaning, in Mark Zuckerberg’s words, “more bad stuff”), and continue to beget confusion.

Over the past few stressful months, we’ve withdrawn from social feeds and have instead begun hyper-focusing on decor. The result is our shopping guide, below, full of pretty and interesting items to perk up your interiors. Here’s to a colorful, cozy, and beauty-filled New Year.

Bye,
Your friends at Gloria

We’ve been spending a lot of time at home these days, and are newly obsessed with home decor. We’re particularly interested in stuff that feels colorful, unique, or otherwise a little bit more special than what you’d pick up at your typical big-box store. Here, 16 fun finds we hope will also inspire you.

• These almost feel like jewelry for your table. Sophie Lou Jacobsen Spiral Coasters, $75.

• The texture and the shape make a neutral feel much more interesting. Lamps Plus Raffia Weave Empire Lamp Shade, $100.

• A soft stripe in crisp, smooth cotton percale. The Company Store Wide-Stripe Percale Sheets, Duvet Covers, and Shams, from $29.

• A very pretty shower curtain (which feels rare). Nickey Kehoe Floral Shower Curtain, $125.

• These are simple, but special. Zara Ceramic Frame, $19.90.

• So many beautiful prints; impossible to choose a favorite. La Double J. Medium Linen Tablecloth, $320.

• Cute candles for a nice price. H&M Six-Pack Spiral Taper Candles, $20.

• A luxurious new bath mat. Autumn Sonata Karin Bath Mat, $90.

• The shape of this planter (which also comes in terra cotta) is appealing. Hawkins New York Footed Planter, $17.50.

• Very sturdy dinnerware in a throwback pattern. You can find tons of these sets secondhand, too, and simply fill in gaps via the brand’s website. Pfaltzgraff Pistoulet Dinnerware Set, $160.

• A sophisticated tablecloth from an Italian brand that’s been around for decades. Busatti Cardellino Tablecloth, $118.

• This swirly pottery from Romania is our newest obsession. Casa de Folklore Horezu Bowl and Plate, $30 and $78.

• Extremely cool (and expensive). Mozhdeh Matin Cushion Cover, $170.

• This site is a great resource for kitchen goods, like these colorful mats. Utilitario Mexicano Recycled Mat, $35.

• We want this lampshade. Lisa Corti Lampshade, $99.

• A patterned shower curtain that won’t overwhelm. Les Indiennes Petite Croix Shower Curtain, $148.

Shop the Story

If you are a runner – specifically, a road runner – there is a sneaker built for you. It’s Hoka, which was founded in 2009 to give runners the best experience while providing crucial cushioning and stability.

Now they’re one of the most popular shoes for runners, and they can be quite pricey. This site has done the work to find the best deals on Hoka; click here for their list of the stores to hit up. #partner

TO STREAM The new CNN documentary Luther: Never Too Much pays tribute to the great Luther Vandross, and features luminaries like Mariah Carey and Dionne Warwick discussing his career and personal struggles. We’ll also be tuning in Thursday for HBO Max’s new medical procedural, The Pitt, which stars Noah Wyle and feels like a cross between ER and 24. 

TO TRY We all know ultra-restrictive diets do not work. The Simple weight loss method, meanwhile, offers personalized coaching to help you make healthier choices and to better plan your meals to achieve real results. Right now, they’re offering a 50 percent off deal for the new year. #partner

TO MAKE It’s soup season, and nothing sounds better to us right now than a classic minestrone. We like this version, which riffs off Ina Garten’s recipe.

TO READ We’re at a point now where people are romanticizing the early 2000s, so it makes sense that there’s a new book out about that era. In Y2K: How the 2000s Became Everything (here on Amazon, here on Bookshop), writer Colette Shade mines the nostalgia of that optimistic time and connects it to present-day events. You can listen to her talk about it here.

Renting a bath sounds fantastic. • Tips for jewelry repair and maintenance to bookmark. • A long, stressful, important piece about a man who infiltrated American militias. • What Texas’s government is doing is a glimpse into the “complicated constitutional morass” we’ll certainly be seeing more of soon.

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