How to Give Quality Time
A surprisingly serious, sappy "gift guide."
Dear reader,
I often joke that my only love language is quality time — “my presence is a present” — with a toss of the hair. Jokes aside, this year — between the terminal prognosis of a loved one, disillusionment with my corporate job, grappling with my own biological clock, reading Four Thousand Weeks, not to mention everything else (Israel-Gaza? the election? Ukraine? climate change?) — the value of time has been on my mind.
This week, I received over 200 gift guides. There’s many a think piece about the gift guide-ification of the Internet, but I get it, gift guides are 1) a great tool for creators/curators to make money, 2) a powerful tool for brand discovery, and 3) an easy way for all of us to reduce time spent researching gifts. But, candidly, they all fall flat — because none of them enable me to give the gift of time.
What I can do, however, is try to make the time we have more comfortable, more fulfilling, and more fun.
No matter what you decide to give this year, the time you spend — thinking of others, researching product reviews, writing a card, or making a favorite meal — is a love language.
Other Stuff & Things
Scientists solve centuries-old mystery of how a cucumber explosively squirts its seeds: it’s all in the headline.
Kerrygold is on top: after getting top marks in Wirecutter’s butter ranking, sponsoring every recipe influencer they can find, and inspiring enviable merch (how cute is this charm?). I’m excited that people are finally admitting what we’ve all known for centuries: butter really is delicious.
Prix fixe is not just for Michelin stars: restaurants are starting to learn that they can costs and improve quality when they reduce choices. (obviously)
Kitchenware refresh: a friend asked me what I was buying for Black Friday, to which I replied, “spatulas.”
Recent Eats
This taco from Los Provolones: they had me at the first sizzle of the cheese on the griddle.
Gochujang Potato Stew [Eric Kim, NYT]: the perfect welcome-back-to-NYC-it’s-freezing meal.
Scrambled Eggs [Thomas Keller, Williams-Sonoma]: if you watch The Bear, you already know that you should be sieving your eggs.
That was a lot of em dashes,
Sophia
We love an em-dash