Enjoying November
Welcome to November. She’s a quiet gal, standing back and letting the loud BBs who love attention go ahead and have it. She’s easy to overlook, but of course that’s her superpower. The element of surprise and whatnot. Some of the calendar girls are so hungry for attention. January has good intentions and all but November is not on a self improvement journey. October gets all the fall hype and December is so GD needy, she tries to hijack November entirely. And yet.
+ November is that girl. She is Still Autumn ™. She is the smokey smell of the first fires of the season and rainy afternoons. She is s’mores made with leftover halloween candy. She is mulled wine, she is candles burning.
+ The ultimate party guest, she would never show up empty handed. She delivers swiftly the gift of an extra hour, on a Sunday no less.
+ She encourages you to power down, fall asleep early, and throw an extra blanket on your bed. She is long evenings that call for candles and getting a few of those $12 lamps from Target to tuck between books on a shelf and on the kitchen counter.
+ She is pulling a wool coat out of the closet, slipping your hands in the pockets and finding forgotten treasures. Two bucks, some change, and that tube of Glossier Balm you forgot about. Black cherry flavor? Perfect.
+ November is cool, literally and figuratively. She wears flared corduroys and has burgundy fingernails and if this were high school, she’d probably smoke cloves but she would never shoot whiskey just to seem cool. She likes what she likes and isn’t performative about it. And when her turn is up, it’s a peaceful transition of power as she hands the reins over to December, who tries to talk November into wearing red lipstick and sequin pants, but our girl knows who she is and try as December might, November will never be like her.
The Mood
Indulging in all things that warm the body from the inside out and the outside in. Things like everything showers and soup simmering on the stove. Dunking thick pieces of bread in said soup. A mug of hot coffee in the afternoon. Chai lattes at coffee shops and perusing used book stores. Twinkling string lights hung in the hallway and wearing heavy socks. Sitting on the floor, watching the Macy’s parade on Thanksgiving morning, preferably in the house we grew up in with our siblings nearby.
Our November To Do List
+ Buy a pack of cheap taper candles and light them every single night while you eat dinner. It’s dark outside and that can be dismal, or it can be sexy. I prefer the latter and taper candles on the table are an absolute mood.
Related: Perhaps collecting these too, because I am inspired by this so-called candle bouquet as a storage method.
+ Pick a drink, alcoholic or no, and achieve expert level in its mixology. Play with ingredients, ratios, whatever. Imagine being known for making thee best chocolate milk! It’s fun to have a signature drink!
+ Meanwhile, pour every beverage in a fancy cup. Get festive with your coffee mug. And for the record, wine glasses hold Diet Coke or apple juice just as nicely as a pricy bottle of wine. Forget possession, presentation is nine tenths of the law.
+ Scent memories are magical. They last forever and the amount of creative control we have is unmatched. How many times have you smelled something and been transported back to a startlingly specific memory? Pick up a mini-size of a new scent to wear from now until the end of the year. The tiny size limits your commitment so do not take it super seriously, and for the rest of all time, whenever you smell it, it will always be November 2025.
Related: I am personally wearing Ginger Biscuit, but strongly considered Vanilla Skin and Mochi Milk.
+ Listen to an album a day. In your car, on a walk, performing tedious busy work at your desk. Find something new or old and listen to the whole thing start to finish.
Related: West End Girl is on my to-do list for tomorrow. V excited to get up to speed on that drama.
+ Let’s get serious. It’s time to evaluate our goals from January. If needed, adjust the finish line, but then we really have to put our foot on the gas. Momentum is everything and not only do we still have time to dramatically change how we view 2025 forever, we have the opportunity to meet 2026 with goal crushing habits already at cruising speed.
Related: To fall asleep, we must first pretend to be asleep.
What are we wearing?
+ The Fall Uniform: Wide leg flares + Hoodie + Long wool jacket + Gem colored shoes
Flares: I will accept denim, corduroy, and soft knits.
Hoodie: But ambiguous. This could also be a loose sweater or a rugby polo, but the point is that it does not need to be tailored or too formal.
Long wool jacket: This is the key stakeholder; the jacket must be excellent. I’m talking crisp lines, good quality, and gd it, it should be warm. Function over everything when it’s 30 degrees outside. The right one tightens up the sloppiest outfit and somehow makes it look intentional.
Gem colored shoes: The color is merely a preference, but a common denominator in all my inspiration photos. A good, slim athletic shoe will do the trick here in any shade.
+ Ball caps in unbranded neutrals. A workhorse that requires no loyalty.
+ We’re wearing varying shades of brown.
+ In the name of practicality and economy: this $12 Snug Crew-Neck Tee from Old Navy is becoming a staple.
Media diet:
+Remember those personal curriculums? They were hot last month and we’re basically at mid-terms so let’s revisit. This month, let’s pick a movie, documentary, book, or an article to deep dive into our weird little interests.
+ Is It Cake? Holiday Season 2 hits Netflix the week of Thanksgiving and it is the perfect pregame snack for Christmas.
+ Trilogy Binge Weekend. Really go for it and just get into an imaginary world. The long Thanksgiving weekend is perfect but they can fit nicely into any weekend if you commit to staying parked on the couch long enough.
+ Some ideas: Back to the Future Trilogy // The Hangover Trilogy// Home Alone 1, 2, (and just do it) 3 // Toy Story // Harry Potter because the holiday scenes are VIBES.
+ Extra Credit: plan ahead and secure a movie snack that aligns with your chosen trilogy. Three scoop sundaes with Home Alone (I’m not driving!). Weird candy with Harry Potter. You know what to do.
+ A seasonal playlist celebrating Sweet Potato Pie, family and A Thing Called Love:
Extra Goodies:
Before you fall asleep, think about good things that happened today. IDC if you keep a list in your notes app, write it in a tiny journal, or just mull it over in your head. Being grateful is good for you.
Give your brain a little baby size break and commit to 10 minutes without consuming anything. No music, no podcast, no books, and definitely no scrolling. It’s surprising what comes out when we’re not distracting ourselves.
Try a new flavor; of coffee, of tea, of lip balm, of gum, of whatever. Take something you consume a lot and just switch it up.
Happy November BBs!