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 issue 145 ~ week of November 15, 2019

Note from the Editor

Happy Friday <<First Name>>! 

For the past week or so, I’ve been in a splendid stupor watching — no, devouring — the entirety of Great British Bakeoff: Holiday Edition on my couch. (I never knew I could be so invested in the construction of festive mince pies.) I also tried on a new movie, Let It Snow, on Netflix (it was bad, sorry), eager to devour any and every new holiday or holiday-adjacent movie or show because this is hands down my favorite time of the year.

My couch time so far has been an incredible way to ignore my upcoming seasonal duties. The most important, exciting, and alarming of which is the fact that my fiancé and I are hosting Friendsgiving for the first time ever this year. Let's just say that I happily volunteered us to host without FULLY processing what this entails. As someone whose "chosen family" has gained importance over the last year or so, I was simply excited at the prospect of hosting a cozy night in with our friends.

But, panic has now fully ensued in my brain. I am a Planner and Perfectionist, both with a capital P, especially when hosting gatherings. I need things to be in order. I need to know exactly what is happening at all times. I need the perfect tablescape, the perfect menu. And yet for Friendsgiving, I don’t even know where to begin drawing up a plan. I’ve never roasted a turkey before! I am overwhelmed.

What time do I need to start cooking? I read a guide recently that said I must order a turkey with my local butcher at least 2 weeks in advance? What is “trussing?” What is brining, and does that involve the plastic bag thing I saw at Williams Sonoma the other day? Do I need to serve ham? Will people eat pumpkin pie? Why are there so many different types of thermometers?! 

My panic’s been assuaged, though, because all signs point to the fact that Friendsgiving is supposed to be the chill version of Thanksgiving. “Thanksgiving should be a party,” says Alison Roman in her new NYT video about prepping for the big day. In a sense, Friendsgiving is the ultimate millennial dinner party, which means it’s totally fine that we “just pull up a plastic table and use folding chairs,” as my fiancé suggested when I observed we cannot fit 18 people at our dining room table. 

My takeaway is that I can do this. It will be casual. I will buy store-bought, pre-made stuffing if I need to. I will defrost my turkey in the bathtub if I need to, just like Alison Roman does. Sure, I’ll study up on the art of roasting a turkey, but beyond that, I’ll try not to stress too much and have some fun. What matters in the end is good food and good people, spilling into all the possible rooms, corners, and nooks of your tiny apartment. :knife_fork_plate: 
 
'Til Next Week, 
Alisha Ramos, CEO & Founder at GNI 

P.S. We linked this very wonderful book incorrectly last week (it makes a great gift for someone in your life that may need a reminder to take care this holiday season). 🤗

in the journal this week


what our team is writing about
☁️ Cozy, Comfy, Squishy, Fluffy: All the Home Things We Love for Cold Nights In 
Our team has been on a kick, outfitting our homes with all the cozy and soft things in anticipation of some upcoming fall ~gatherings~. Katrina rounded up all our best finds for hibernation szn.

🤗 Hosting is Hard. Here are My Hosting Life-Savers. 
Olivia, our Community + Experiences Lead, on all her tips and tricks for hosting, including a charging dock for big groups and the perfect token thank-you gift. 

🥘 Nobody Really Cares If Your Chairs Match (and Other Friendsgiving Hosting Tips From Our Community)
Our newest member of the GNI team (!!) Jenna rounded up all our community's best tips from Friendsgivings past. 
 

this week's picks


what our team is loving this week
sometimes taking care is a comfy bra (via @alyssekatherine)
 
  1. Cooking up batches of this white chicken chili 🥘 in the weeks to come. "I love relying on a few fall go-tos that I make in fairly large batches each November. I feel like it frees up my mind and brainspace for all the prep and cooking toward the end of the month, closer to Thanksgiving." - Olivia

  2. Wearing these Madewell fringe hoop earrings basically everywhere. ✨ "I love the fall colors these come in. They're neutral while still being fun and a little different." - Tyler
     
  3. Refreshing our closets with this (nu) monthly clothing rental subscription. 👖 Nuuly allows you to try styles that fit into your real life from 100s of brands like Anthropologie and Free People, plus one-of-a-kind vintage. Rent any six pieces you like each month, and they’ll come delivered to you more sustainably in a garment bag made from recycled materials (!!). GNI readers can get $20 off your first month with code MYNUULY20 when you sign up from now until 11/22. #SPONSORSTHING
  4. "Freeing myself from underwire by snapping up a few of these beautiful, chic, and wire-free bras that our teammate, Genevieve, created. They're now stocked at J.Crew (!!) and our team is collectively so psyched." - Alisha 

  5. Following @nytimescookingcomments. 😂 It's one of those rare corners of the Internet that will *actually* make you laugh out loud, especially if you're a fan of ~the comments section~ of any internet recipe. 
     
  6. Going full cat lady 😻 because Trader Joe's has this perfect advent calendar for cats (!!) now. Pro-tip: Rumor has it there's also one for dogs and one filled with beauty product samples! Everybody gets an advent calendar! 
  7. Keeping up with The Daily Good newsletter. 🌿 "I've been loving getting this quick read in my inbox every day – I love the content around living sustainably as I try to incorporate these practices into my everyday life in a way that's seamless and approachable." - Jordan 

sponsor spotlight: Billie

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• It's less than $9 with the promo code below. 
• The blades are well-made and the handle and holder are stylish too.
• We love their new travel case (especially with holiday travel coming up).
• One percent of all revenue goes to women's causes worldwide. 

GNI readers can get 10% off a starter kit with code GNI1911 through 11/21/19. 🧖‍♀️

smart reads of the week


from the GNI Team
dreaming of friendsgiving prep in this kitchen (via @parachutehome)

👨‍👩‍👧 New friend tip: Just make the group chat already.  Sometimes the key to making a friend group is to just... make it. If you and some people you like strike up a conversation about loving Bon Appetit’s YouTube channel, that can be your group chat theme. (Editor's note from Tyler: “One of my personal favorite group chats is named ‘Discussing the Internet’ and includes all my friends that enjoy Twitter and memes as much as I do. Would recommend!”) If anybody makes a GNI group chat, pls send us a screenshot! 🤗

👩‍⚕️ Some helpful info about UTIs. The pesky thing about them is that if you get one, you're likely to get another one–in fact, studies show that 30 to 44% of people who get a UTI get a second within six months. Not a fun stat at all. That's why we're reading up more on with this handy guide from SELF.

👑 In Phoebe Waller-Bridge we trust. Reading this profile of our Fleabag queen in Vogue this week and falling even more in awe with her. As Andrew Scott, her longtime friend whom she cast as the "hot priest" put it, "People describe Phoebe as really cool, but, I don’t know, I feel that she’s not cool. Cool suggests detached and indifferent, and I think she’s actually the opposite of that, a boundless enthusiast for life.” 

👰Saying no to wedding-related festivities is awkward, but sometimes necessary. Of course we'd like to go to the ends of the Earth for friends and family on their special day, but sometimes logistics and finances make it impossible (those cross country flights really add up!). If you're looking at your wedding calendar for next year and realizing there might be a stressful “no”  in your future, read this NYT piece for some helpful advice.

🔥 Hot take of the week: Your birthday is one day, but it's becoming increasingly common to celebrate for a weekend, week, or even a whole birthday month! This piece says to quit it, and we're not sure how to feel about it. 
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walking into the weekend like...

WOOF. (via @femislay)
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