Present Joys: Stocking Stuffers, Notebooks, Vermiglio and Views
Week of December 23, 2025
Leo’s First Birthday
We celebrated my nephew Leo’s first birthday last weekend! With family recently spread between California and Pennsylvania, it’d been a while since all the cousins were reunited in one room. It was so lovely to share in everyone’s company and celebrate Leo’s first year together. We observed the traditional doljabi, played some trivia (Leo currently has 10 teeth), and enjoyed some tacos and cake.
Karpatka
My family loves when I make cream puffs, but with the multi-component recipe of it all, I don’t make them too often. I knew I wanted to bake something for Leo’s birthday, but was feeling a bit too lazy to pipe out a bunch of cream puffs. Enter the Karpatka! It’s a Polish cake that consists of two layers of choux (baked inside of cake pans rather than piped) and layered with cream—basically a jumbo cream puff! I riffed on this Nicola Lamb recipe and subbed in fig leaf pastry cream and apricot preserves. Leo loved it. 🥹☺️
Stocking Stuffers
This year, Van and I opted for stocking stuffers instead of Christmas gifts for each other. It’s been so fun to grab little items that I think Van and Bruce will enjoy as I bop around town. ❤️
Bake It Whole Cookbook Club
I attended my first Bake it Whole cookbook club meeting over the weekend co-hosted by Roxana Jullapat of Friends and Family and Nan Schaefer of Grist and Toll. Both women are whole grain enthusiasts so the sole rule of this club is to bake with whole grain flours. This month’s cookbook selection was Helen Goh’s Baking and the Meaning of Life. Goh co-authored countless recipes with Yotam Ottolenghi, another author I deeply trust, so I was excited to explore her solo endeavor. Before sampling the baked goods, guests went around the room and stated what they baked, what whole grain flour was used, and any helpful tidbits or findings worth sharing. The group was filled with baking NERDS which I thoroughly appreciated. We’re all amalgams of our own array of experiences and interests, but sometimes it feels nice to single one out as a connecting point with others.
Annual Notebook
I was super pleased to discover that it took exactly one year to use up my Leuchtturm1917 notebook which I started this past January. I used it less like a diary and more as a repository for any experience, quote, or inspiration that moved me. I’ve already re-upped for next year, opting for a Spice Brown A5 notebook that’s twice as thick. Looking forward to seeing what fills the pages in 2026.
Vermiglio
The Italian entrant for the 97th Academy Awards for the Best International Feature Film was Vermiglio (2024) which I decided to watch on the plane ride back home from celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday. The film floored me. You know when you watch (read, see, hear, etc.) something and you just think “Yes, yep I know that,” well that was what this film was for me. Something about the mix of Catholicism, the father figure, the many siblings, the grief, the joy, the circumstance, the scenery. It was just beautiful.
Homemade Holiday Cards
It was our friend Lian’s birthday the other week and I felt like making her a homemade card. Inspired by Lian and the changing season (hey, even here in LA some of the trees do turn colors), I went outside and walked around the neighborhood foraging for flora. I made Lian’s card and then saw this little fern-like leaf I picked and thought it could make a nice Christmas card. I might make all my cards like this in the future. Personal, easy, fleeting… ‘Tis the season!
A Year of Whisper!
Well almost. We technically picked him up for a “sleepover” on January 5, 2025. Little did we know, two days later our town would be on fire. We evacuated with a senior pitbull in tow and, over the course of the next few weeks, completely fell in love with him. Taking care of Whisper has been the highlight of our year. Who saved who right?
Balm of Gilead
I think I may have written about Balm of Gilead before, but if you have any scarring or dry skin (even acne), this balm is wonderful. I’m off all other “skincare” at the moment and all in on this balm.
Enjoying the View
The happiest people I know are the people who don’t hesitate to pause and enjoy a view: a sunset, a mountaintop, a little worm making its way across a sidewalk, a loved one doing an ordinary task. They’re good at being present; living life alerted to, and participatory in, the nowness of the moment. This year was filled with a lot of tragedy, life lost in communities very close to my heart as well as in those I have yet to have the pleasure to know. I feel not only a calling but a responsibility to enjoy view, not only for oneself, but for all those who no longer are here to enjoy it with us. I want to be patient, kind, to take a moment to enjoy the view, to live!
Until Next Year!
Present Joys will be back in the new year. For now we’ll leave you with a selection of our favorite joys from 2025.
Fred and Emily’s sweet pup, Licorice
TERREMOTO’s community
Lian’s love of baths
Carolyn’s Queen of the Night parties
Kerrilynn’s long walks
Etienne’s Squiggles
Tania’s film photography
Michelle’s search for sunny spots
Joyce’s salad evangelism