My word of the year in 2024

Also in here: Reader of the Week and practicing the piano

Happy New Year! Do you choose a word for the year? Last year my word was “absorb.” For 2024, I chose “connection.”

A few big things I’m looking forward to in the first half of 2024:

1. The Super Bowl with Nate. One very fun perk of being married to an NFL creative director is that I get to tag along to the fun stuff he’s working on! I’m definitely wearing these and trying not to get my hopes up that Taylor Swift will be at the tailgate party. 

2. My newsletter is turning FIVE! My sister Mary, who’s majoring in Editing & Publishing (hint!), and I are working on something special for Handpicked’s birthday in March.

3. Presenting at Alt Summit. AHH! Dream come true! I’ll be hosting a roundtable discussion all about newsletters. Also, I want to do a small giveaway for my participants... I’m thinking something rubber stamp related, stay tuned. PS: if you’re attending Alt Summit this year, will you please message me??

4. Heirloom Portrait collaborations. This year Heirloom Portraits are coming to Los Angeles in a new way! Getting all my ducks in a row at the moment, but I’m excited to make lots more portraits of women, especially in collaboration with cool women-owned boutiques. 

*I’m looking for a few women in the Los Angeles area to come and get photographed in my tiny garage studio (for free!) for my Heirloom Portrait launch. Please message me if that’s you!

A few smaller-scale things I'm excited about for 2024:

• more piano practice

• more salad 

• more walks

• more scripture + prayer

• running the dishwasher every single day

• getting rid of acne for good

• radical financial literacy

• framing art

I’d love to hear what you’re looking forward to in 2024. LMK in the comments.

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Camellias, the jewel of January

reader feature

Our reader of the week is Peter C. from Boston, MA. Peter is a friend from college, as well as a dad, photographer, and holder of a PhD. He’s also one of the only male readers of Handpicked! Last week, after we shot family photos, he showed me his pocket-sized Instax printer. (He inspired the two above Instant photos. Neither was shot on my Instax, rather printed by this tiny $99 printer via my phone.) Thanks, Peter!

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today’s bouquet

• Next week we have longtime Handpicked reader Marie Elliott guest curating! Marie and I have been friends since 2012 (gasp) when she was my manager at my first Anthropologie job, store 502 in Southport, Chicago. She’s stylish and musical and sisterly, I can’t wait for you to “meet” her.

• I was featured in a WSJ piece on throw blankets!, written by my internet friend Laura who also writes the terrific newsletter,

  LIVING SMALL by Laura Fenton
  .

• We *finally* watched The Eras Tour movie (I cried twice). Immediately afterward, Questioner that I am, I went on a deep dive into T’s red lipstick. According to the internet, her on-tour color was the Pat McGrath Lab LiquiLUST Legendary Wear Matte Lipstick in Elson 4, which is, of course, currently sold out everywhere. She reportedly also wears MAC’s Ruby Woo and Nars’ Dragon Girl. I’m going to try out two drugstore picks, pioneer and ground-breaker, to see if I can manage a believable dupe. I’ll let you know!

• Made me feel like crying, in a good way: infinite flowers. (via Sara)

• 25 rare photos from the set of The Sound of Music. I’m screaming!

• Time to vote for our favorite Trader Joe’s products!

• Want to see the movie Good Grief. (via Nate)

• Joy Cho’s essay on starting a mental health newsletter is excellent.

• Inside an extremely cool sketchbook. (via

  Austin Kleon
  )

• Jars of sunsets.

• How the Met’s conservation team gave the iconic Degas dancer statue a brand new tutu. My girls and I loved this! (via

  À La Carte
  )

• I’ll never get sick of snowflakes up close.

“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face.”

— Helen Keller

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piano practice

Fun fact: I’ve been playing piano since I was 6! I’m pretty rusty but trying to improve enough to accompany the singing in church. In 2016, I bought an upright piano for $175 on Craigslist. For the first time since high school, I’m back to practicing thirty minutes a day, an hour on Sundays.

This week’s practice:

• LDS Hymns 172, 192, and 193, especially focusing on playing more legato to transition to organ

• Easier Piano Hymns II, Tell Me the Stories of Jesus, pg 4

“Ponds grow old, and though I will too, I like the ecological idea of aging as progressive enrichment, rather than progressive loss.”

— Robin Wall Kimmerer

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Hey, look! “Handpicked” in the wild! This was delish, btw.

Mickey turned1!

Jan 1st walk with my Eleanor

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last thing

• Most clicked link from last week: the photo I searched for for years (Madame Walska standing in the lilies)

• Readers today: 1,387

• Thank you to each of you who took the Handpicked reader survey! I read every single reply. You can still take the survey if you’d like to share what you like/ don’t like/ want in Handpicked.

• Grateful for you!!! xo