Stuff & Such Updates
not much is changing, but I figured I'd keep you abreast
Happy New Year (It’s New Year’s Eve in California),
This newsletter is a tad different, as it’s not a real newsletter (that one is coming in a few days). This is more like a surprise appetizer the kitchen mistakenly brought you but still lets you keep, which is personally one of my favorite things, consequently.
In the spirit of reflection that comes with ending one year and beginning a new one (sidebar: did you know that women were likely the first to invent what is now known as the calendar in order to track their menstrual cycles? I read an article watched a TikTok about it). Anyways, as I find myself contemplating stuff….and such…. on the eve of 2024, I am thinking about how proud I feel having churned out nearly two newsletters a month for all of 2023, and how most of that is thanks to you. What started as a way to hold myself accountable to centering joy and self-care after leaving my career in teaching has really turned into a form of self-expression, a source of confidence, and a point of community connection for me.
A lot of time and energy goes into curating these newsletters throughout the month, and I am so grateful that any of you take the time to read it. There are so many people/organizations competing for your attention, and it truly means the world that you choose to even open this email, let alone reach out to me about it or share it with your friends. With every new subscriber email and with each new comment, the corners of my mouth lift that someone out there sortakinda enjoys this too. Your support throughout this past year has allowed me to keep going with it, and I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your readership.
As I enter a new year with this publication, I’ve decided to change some things around a bit to make the publication more flexible to different kinds of writing I’d like to try in the new year and to hopefully make it easier for you to navigate as well.
I am excited to (and always will) continue to publish Stuff & Such for free as frequently as I can, though there still remains no strict schedule. (I love surprises, remember).
Some changes to look out for in the coming year:
New Colors: I’m a pink and red girl now, what can I say?
New (old) Wednesday Round-Ups: The bi-monthly(ish) newsletter of tv show/film/reading/making/cooking recommendations that never comes out on Wednesdays, is returning to its original name: Wednesday Round-Up. It will appear that way in your inbox and in the navigation bar. Yeehaw.
New Navigation Bar: You can easily find past books, playlists, recipes, accounts, and projects I’ve recommended in organized sections with categorized lists in January 2024 (lord willing).
New Sections: Enjoy forthcoming short form essays, reviews, interviews etc. posted apart from the usual Wednesday Round-Up newsletters in the coming year.
New archive: Starting in January 2024, you will continue receiving the same Wednesday Round-Up newsletter ever few weeks, but past newsletters will be archived after two-weeks. If you want access to the full archive anytime, you can upgrade to a paid subscription.
New paid subscriptions: If you’ve found value in these newsletters or just want to show your love and support with a paid subscription, those are officially available! I toyed with the notion of offering this a lot, as the idea of asking people to pay for my work would require some admission that my writing is worth something to somebody, which is somehow difficult for me to do. But here we are!
Here is a sneak peek at the categorized archive you’ll have access to in every section as a paid subscriber. This is an example of the reading section, but all watching recommendations, recipes, DIY projects etc. will each have a live, running archive in January. I think it’s so cute? There’s obviously loads more in the real archive and all the links work. ‘Tis is but a screenshot. You will receive an email preview of the Reading Archive in the coming week, shall you wish to peruse it then.
Wherever you are celebrating, or wherever you are choosing to abstain from celebration, I am wishing you a safe and healthy last day of December and first day of January. Me, personally, I’m late to my own new year’s plans which consist of attending a Fleetwood Mac cover band show two towns over. (Sorry, Pareesa, I’ll be there soon.) More in the coming days…
XO,
M