Anyone else binge all nine episodes of Stranger Things 2 and not regret a moment of it? That's how I ended my October, along with a visit to Storm King Art Center this past Saturday and a family hang at the Hester Street Fair for a day of vending last weekend.
This month, I'm looking forward to a girls' weekend upstate, wrapping up a couple of holiday projects, and the five things below.
Make a holiday season game plan
Sit down with your calendar and plot out the next couple of months. Add your known social and work commitments, gift shopping you’ll need to complete, any local holiday events you might want to check out, etc. Set goals for catching up with friends and family. Attach clippings of or links to recipes you want to make. Don’t forget to schedule in off days and time for housekeeping. Throw in a manicure, a massage, or a blow out for a bit of self care. If you’re really on a roll, make some cost estimates for each item so you can start to budget for what’s to come.
Commit to your cold weather skincare routine
You might have been in denial about the end of summer despite the trick or treaters at your door, but it’s time to accept it. The seasons have changed and you may want to consider adjusting your skincare accordingly. For me this means creamier formulas, hydration in many forms, and boosting vitamin D with supplements now that we’re losing an hour of sunlight.
Get your paperwork in order
Before the holiday season gets into full swing, start collecting any tax documentation that’s available. You’ll need to wait for your earnings statements to come later, but get your expenses, donations, any program applications, and other annual filings sorted as best as you can. When Thanksgiving rolls around, the holiday train will take over and it’ll be a long ride. We could be in mid-January before we come back to this, so do your future self a favor and get a head start.
Take stock of your healthcare
Another less than fun housekeeping item, but it is so so important. If you haven’t gone for your annual vision benefits, do that on a lunch break. Get your teeth cleaning and your checkup out of the way. Use your coverage and take stock of the services you've used and costs you've incurred so that you have a better understanding of your needs and gaps as you select your healthcare for 2018.
Then, have a negroni as a reward for being so darn responsible
I’m not a big gin drinker but when in Rome, I drank negronis and Aperol spritzes every day and now these drinks are very deeply associated with that trip for me. How amazing that you can bring experiences back to life this way. I came back from Barcelona with a fondness for cava and a tolerance for Heineken, from Tuscany with a love for Chianti, from Prague with a newfound appreciation for pilsners. Drinking the local drinks goes hand in hand with eating the local eats, and these sense memories are often easier to recreate.
Anyways, Negroni November is a thing in my home, and I’m sharing it with you:
Classic Negroni
1 oz. gin
1 oz. dry vermouth
1 oz. Campari
Stir and serve over ice
Option to add an orange twist
and here are 2 alternatives to gin:
Aperol Spritz
3 oz. prosecco
2 oz. Aperol
1 oz. club soda
Stir and serve in wine glass over ice
Option to add an orange slice
Paper Plane
¾ ounce bourbon
¾ ounce Aperol
¾ ounce Amaro Nonino
¾ ounce lemon juice
Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass
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