Have a Loving Weekend. | Cup of Jo

What are you up to this weekend? We are going to our friends’ Hanukkah gathering tonight — chag sameach to those who celebrate! — and then taking it easy. Anton was sick this week, and he’s still quiet and draggy, which is such a contrast to his usual wriggly self. Maybe some hamster cuddles will do the trick. Have a good one, and here are a few links from around the web…

Today’s Big Salad issue features our girl Stella Blackmon’s 12 favorite things, including travel shoes, a party snack that breaks the ice, and the most romantic movie scene that’s all about eye contact. Hope you enjoy!

I also put together a gift guide with my favorite NYC jewelry shop, including this lovely bracelet and the ring I saw all over Paris.

Oh my gosh, a reading party.

Making the case for restaurant pajamas, haha.

Is this the world’s stinkiest cheese? “The ‘cabbagey’ aroma, Mr. Stone insisted, is ‘not there in the taste…I didn’t know we could get the smell to be so very rich… I remember walking into the store and thinking, ‘Oh my God, we’ve hit it,’ and other people recoiling in horror. And I’m going, Well, that’s what washed rind should smell like.’” (NYTimes gift link)

Why would any man not want to be bald? (NYMag)

Every teenager I know is asking for this holiday gift.

Extreme sledding in Switzerland brings a mix of joy and fear. (NYTimes gift link)

Craving a chopped salad after a cookie swap this week.

What a beautiful drawing of bread (prints here).

And, most important, I’ll be making five calls to urge representatives to support de-escalation in Israel and Gaza. Here’s exactly how to do it, and it’s simple and critical. Sending love to everyone who is suffering right now and hoping for peace for all.

Plus, three reader comments:

Says Sisu Garcia on are you mysteriously drawn to bows right now: “The key to wearing bows without them feeling too childish is for them to be floppy. A relaxed bow just feels chic (CLAIRE IT’S FRENCH!) I am also an avid scrunchie wearer, and an oversize scrunchie gives the same vibes.”

Says Anne on Anton got a pet: “We had a nutty hamster who would push her water bottle out of its holder so she could insert herself in it. She’d just be stuck there hanging by her armpits until we took her out. Ha!”

Says Beth on gift guide #9: the hard-to-shop-for crowd: “My friend is taking a day off work next week to take her elderly former neighbor who now lives in an assisted living facility to go see a children’s holiday dance performance as a Christmas present to him — I truly want to burst into tears even thinking about it.”

Have a good one, and stay safe and cozy. xoxo

(Photo of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, 1952. Bread drawing via Edith on Kottke.)

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