I’m here with yet another recommendation for my dry skin girlies out there, specifically the ones who, like me, love an unreasonably hot shower even though we know it’s terrible for our skin. In these troubling times, I refuse to give up an ounce of comfort because Lord knows how long it’ll last. So, to mitigate the effects of my boiling hot lava showers, I’ve recently started using the Bioderma shower oil and let me tell you, it’s changed my life. I love to leave a shower feeling like I’ve washed away all my sins which usually means my skin feels a little tight before I put on moisturizer. With this shower oil, which foams up into a gentle lather, I can wash and rinse twice and still leave the shower with the soft skin of a newborn baby. It also smells really lovely, like fresh linen, without being overpowering. It’s a new holy grail product for me.

Last year I blogged about the South Korean cooking show Culinary Class Wars which means that I was immediately locked in when I saw the second season drop on Netflix. There are so many things to love about this show, from the caliber of the contestants to the innovativeness of the challenges to how hot one of the judges is. There’s also something I find really nice about having to focus on reading the captions (I hate dubs with a passion, I’m sorry) which means I can’t look at my phone. What I think I love most though is the auxiliary content I’ve found this season. One of the judges (the hot one), Ahn Sung-Jae, has a YouTube channel where he has former contestants come on and live react to the new season and it’s truly such a delight.

In other reality television news, the new season of Traitors over on Peacock is already off to an incredible start. Rob Rausch girlies, we’re eating. I’m calling it right now, he’s going to be the first Traitor to win. And the official recap podcast hosted by Bob the Drag Queen and Boston Rob Mariano (another beautiful Rob specimen) is honestly pretty fun, if just to get a few minutes of Boston Rob commenting on Alan Cumming’s incredible wardrobe.

At the start of a new year, it’s natural to feel the pressure that’s humming around us to make new and in-depth resolutions. And trust me, as a bona fide Type-A person, I get it. I love a plan. But sometimes those goals can feel like a bit of a spectacle, and you're exhausted before you even start. That’s why I love these low-energy habits from Ayushi Thakkar that don’t require any discipline or motivation—small things that slip into your daily routine and make life a little easier, especially in these times.

Speaking to our current times, as Rachelle alluded to in the intro of last week’s episode with Allegra Frank, “2026 is already off to an…eventful start.” Although disheartening, I’m thankful to writers of the past and present, who have done the labor of researching and documenting, so that I have a solid foundation to understand and make sense of all that's taking place. Spoiler alert: the answer is always rooted in capitalism. Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeno, a book I will forever return to because it’s as relevant today as it was in 1973, when it was published. It helps contextualize some of the events that we are currently witnessing. Galena writes, “Latin America is the region of open veins. Everything, from the discovery until our times, has always been transmuted into European—or later United States—capital, and as such has accumulated in distant centers of power. Everything: the soil, its fruits and its mineral-rich depths, the people and their capacity to work and to consume, natural resources and human resources.” If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend grabbing a copy, whether you purchase indie or check it out at your local library.

Music has always been a healing balm to me, and even more so in these tumultuous times. I truly believe in the healing powers of music. With that said, I highly recommend Lovie’s Spiritual House and Soulful Grooves mix.

I’m halfway through The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, which is remarkable for two reasons: 1) I made the bizarre decision to read this grand epic of a book on my phone, and 2) I’ve read nothing but smut and trash for the last year, since parenthood is kicking my ass. But The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the best novel I've read in a long time. It feels so good to soak my brain in such vivid, insightful, compelling prose. Some good books are hard to read, but this one just flows. I can already tell that these characters are going to haunt me, in all the best and worst ways.

Speaking of smut, I'm sure y'all can guess how I spent my December. I have now read Heated Rivalry and The Long Game. The Long Game wasn't nearly as charming as I was hoping it would be, but Heated Rivalry felt like getting to spend another few days at the cottage.