Fireflies // December is bisexual and thank GOD for that
with scarves of red tied 'round their throats! to keep their little Heads! from falling in the SNOW!!!
Welcome to Fireflies, the recommendations letter that arrives at or *near* the First Quarter of each moon cycle. This is the one where Addison makes you hold all the things she likes gently in your hand – like a small child who keeps bringing you leaves at the park.
*takes a huge breath*
*leans her head back like the gull in the meme*
*HOLLERS*
That’s right grinches! It’s officially the most wonderful freakin metaphorical weekend of the whole year!!! And not for the Jesus-y reasons that people who take actual time out of their precious moments on this earth to get mad at Starbucks about holiday cup designs would have you believe!
My fellow Decemberistas out there know what I’m talking about, and yeah, maybe that does have something to do with Sagittarius superiority complexes and that band that wrote my favorite song about LA. But it also has to do with company holiday parties where everyone gets inappropriately slammered and tells their boss about their work crushes; all the end of the year lists that bombard us and our inboxes daily letting us know that time is indeed slipping slipping slipping away like our shitty fast fashion glittery booties on icy patches of asphalt; and the most important, most delicious, most SOUL-SOOTHING reason for the season that there ever could possibly be: getting. fucking. cozy.
I am a gal who loves to lay about. I’m constantly on the prowl for the perfect perch on which to recline, as if after a hysterical swoon, resting so comfortably that any man who dare glance upon mine face shall be struck immediately with the undeniable notion that this woman is at p e a c e. A peace sprung directly from the very bottom of her soul. Or at least from the quality of the cushion upon which she currently lies.
December is the best time for laying around whenever possible because you’re actually kind of psychotically busy, so you really appreciate those snuggled up moments whenever they appear. It’s finally cold outside (sorry for being northern hemisphere-biased but I’m writing what I know, damnit) so you can stack up the blankets, click on a YouTube video of a crackling fireplace, and light the first Frasier Fir candle of the season. It’s comfy, it’s cozy, dare I say it, that shit is hygge.
I refuse to spend time over-explaining this cozy Danish concept to you in a newsletter, and I especially refuse to dedicate a single moment to the futile pursuit of teaching you how to say it. Do not bend to their salted licorice will. Just know that feeling joy from feeling cozy is an experience that transcends cultures, and that’s what this particular edition of fireflies is dedicated to – kicking off cozy season with a Nordic bang. Lol, wink.
So let’s stick around Scandinavia for a moment, shall we? Get in loser, we’re making gløgg! Also known as vin chaud, gluhwein, or “mulled wine” for the uninitiated Anglos. This shit is Christmassy as hell, and available on damn near every European street corner from the first crisp morning until winter bleeds out into spring. Thankfully for the uncultured Americans, it is absolutely perfect for any religious or non- holiday event, and is actually pretty easy to make at home. Especially when you have a Danish friend who co-runs two restaurants to do it for you :) Shout out to Ida and Marstang for DMing me the recipe. In that DM she also actually called it glögg, which is apparently the only Swedish interference Denmark will tolerate.
#TheDress episode of Decoder Ring. Addison how the hell is an informational podcast about a viral Internet Photo cozy??? It’s nostalgic! It’s comforting in its familiarity and a remnant of a simpler world! It fucks with your sense of reality and makes you a slightly more empathetic to the myriad ways human beings perceive the world! IT’S SCROOGE, DAMNIT! Also…. white and gold gang for life. And I fucking mean that.
Say what you want about sweet nothings (and we know Taylor always will), but this sweet lil’ pouch of highly aromatic Japense Hinoki wood Bath Tea was the best $12 I spent this year. She has already elevated my two-hour tub-bound lazeabouts thrice in the past week. If you can’t bathe in the literal forest, bring some chopped up forest into your bathing.
Swapping out your beloved linen sheets for the seasonally-appropriate flannel variety, because marking the change of the seasons keeps our brains grounded in reality. And also…. soft <3
Paper flowers. Dried flowers. Stained glass flowers. Beaded flowers. Yes those are all separate links because I am nothing if not a purveyor of links. The best winter flowers are the ones that don’t die and stank up your beautiful vases, the that you don’t have to replace literally ever and can keep around all damn year while subtly letting your friends know that yeah, you are kind of sophisticated like that! Stocking stuffers HELLO! Elf hive mind is in a tizzy over this one.
Buying the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree from your bodega because this is New York City and the idea of carrying an entire fucking tree to your fourth floor walk-up fills you with more dread than the impending January Battle Royale when the rats make homes of the decaying tree carcasses lining the sidewalks. Whoever said the rats don’t run this city… doesn’t live here.
Getting dirty martini drunk on a weeknight and watching “Love Actually” with your cat so you can laugh at how horrifically this cheesy British rom-com is aging while still enjoying baby Keira Knightley, whose smile is so English it has an accent. I learned about Joni Mitchell from Alan Rickman cheating on Emma Thompson in this movie. Colin Firth stays on that European man turtleneck grind, thank GOD.
You may have noticed I did not expand upon the sexuality of December that I professed in the headline. This, my dearest paid subscribers who are the only ones who can read this, is what we call ‘clickbait’, and you’ll never hear from me again about whether it worked or not. I mean I definitely do believe December is bisexual, but that’s a topic for another essay. Also… Jesus…. bi-wife energy at the LEAST.
I hope you’re having a looooovely first day of the most superior month of the year — don’t wish it away before the ball drops! Enjoy the festive atmosphere before January (and Capricorns) show up to kill all of our buzzes way too fucking soon!
All my love and a bottle of gløgg,
Addison