BULLETIN:// Thanksgiving Planning
A Friday mycyberspace series
As we head into the end of October, it’s time to plan for Thanksgiving!
My husband and I have had a long-standing tradition of going to a steakhouse — we’d do steaks with all the Thanksgiving fixin’s: stuffing, cranberries, green beans, and mashed potatoes. We’d always cheers with Oban and move on to red wine for the rest of the evening.
Last Thanksgiving was the first time I cooked for us at home. I made a lemon-rosemary turkey breast, brisket, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. I’ll admit, it was good, but it wasn’t my best. It was my first time to make both turkey and brisket. I was also surprised that it took me two full days.
This Thanksgiving, we are weighing out our options: continue on with the steakhouse, bring it home, go to Healdsburg, or cook.
That said, I’m still planning my Thanksgiving menu. That way, I’m not scrambling at the last minute if I have to cook.
I have a full-blown post coming on my journals. I’m even going to make it a regular section here called JOURNAL:// since journaling is a huge part of my life.
A tradition I started last year and continuing on is making an annual hobonichi order. I buy quite a few: an a5 yearly with cover, an a6 yearly with cover, a blank grid with cover, and this year I picked up a weekly one.
Again, I’ll make a full-blown post on ALL of the above, and each one needs its own post. My personal favorite is the blank grid one. I use that as my recipe journal! I write in it at real time, and it is organized by the month.
My recipes, grocery lists, meal plans, recipe inspiration, menus, and other outside inspirations are in it. I like to record the seasons, the flavor affinities, and anything else involving cooking. I love it because as you flip through the pages, you can see the story of the seasons.
A huge goal of mine, both personal and for Texaspacific, is to self-publish a cookbook (hopefully multiple!).
Texaspacific and my cooking in general is continually inspired by Texas, California, and wine country. All three places I call home. I see this journal as the backbone of the future cookbook. I have my first one almost completely planned out (obviously the inaugural Texaspacific one combining Texas / California / Wine Country — and it will double as a coffeetable book). I’d also love to make various Holiday cookbooks, as well.
Also shout out me for being the first to combine Texas / California / Wine Country as a brand. I’ve done my research and know for a fact I am first.
Anyways, I’m starting to plan out what I would make for Thanksgiving, and it is so fun! I love creating and developing recipes.
One of my biggest strengths as a sommelier is food pairing and diving deep into flavor affinities. I’m much better at that than theory (tbh, that’s my weakest somm trait). I’m all right at blind-tasting, but pairing food and wine and creating something special out of it is one of my biggest strengths and passions.
It’s been fun to keep a record of everything I’ve made throughout the year. This year was my first go at it, so I am incredibly excited for my 2024 Cooking Journal. I have a good idea of how to set it up.
For paid members, I will share my exact pages from various journals here on mycyberspace soon! I have a cooking journal, personal diary, digital content journal, daily commonplace books, and many, many, many more.
& in case you are curious, below are the hobonichis I have. You can get them on Amazon, but I order directly from Japan — I love the pens it comes with (you only get them direct), and the prices are cheaper minus the shipping. I’ll provide both links, but know that Amazon is about 2-3x more price-wise but will arrive within 48 hours. Ordering from Japan will take about 1-2 weeks.
Hobonichi
A5 Gingham Cover (I ordered this cover only since it will house the blank journal — aka my cooking/recipe journal)
Amazon
Now, let’s get into the bulletin, shall we?!
While we are in the spirit of Fall and Thanksgiving, be sure to check out my Pumpkin Spice Latte playlist. It’s so festive!
On my radar: Gingerbread Biscuit by Jo Malone. I am such a sucker for warm, cozy, holiday-inspired scents.
Speaking of warm & cozy, Voluspa’s Pumpkin Spice Latte candle is out of this world good. It’s probably my favorite pumpkin candle out there.
I’m Rouge with Sephora, so I’m shopping the sale now! Things I am getting for sure: Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Filter Foundation, and Dior Lip Glow in both Opal Pearl & Cinnamon. I also have my eye on this holographic Dior Silver Lip Gloss.
These Turtlenecks with thumbholes are my absolute favorite. I just got them in Sled Red, and June Bug Green! Big fan of thumbholes over here.
Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn’t let her children use social media. Raising children in the day of social media is something I think of constantly. The more I think about it, the more I think childhood & adolescence should be spent offline, 100% disconnected. I also found the comments here both interesting and fascinating…
An oldie but a goodie: I love this feature on Emma Chamberlain’s house. It definitely feels like Northern California & the Pacific Coast! I love the mix of past and future and the original elements of the house she kept. Her personality can absolutely be felt in her home!
Another oldie but goodie: this tip on Polly Pocket’ing yourself & wardrobe with the new Apple update is genius. I 100% am going to start this!
Treating myself to some new Uggs this season! Here’s what’s on my radar: Classic Tall II Boot in Mustard Seed or Black and Eve Blue Tazz Platforms.
A hobby of mine I miss is keeping a wine journal. It was a practice I started when I first turned 21 and studying to become a sommelier. I recently bought this wine journal (huge fan of Clever Fox as a whole) and look forward to starting the hobby back up! It’s an activity I plan on doing together with my husband with the wines we enjoy.
The weather lately has been gorgeous. There is nothing like October in Texas. I just ordered this outdoor blanket so I can start taking my work days al fresco. I love the emerald color. Green has been a favorite color for me as a whole this season.
We stayed at the Four Seasons Las Colinas in Dallas last year and they used the L’Occitane Amande collection. The milky shower oil was an instant favorite of mine. When I got home, I purchased this exact bottle at my local L’Occitane. The shower oil is so luxurious and smells fantastic, even hours later. I also love to use this spray apres shower. The formula is so hydrating and deliciously scented. Not to mention, it always reminds me of the Four Seasons Dallas which always reminds me of TEXSOM (iykyk)! RIP Four Seasons Dallas, which now turned into the Las Colinas Resort by Ritz Carlton.
Speaking of the Four Seasons Las Colinas, I made this playlist to supplement it. I love to make playlists for trips to set the vibe. Throughout the trip, I have it on and add to it constantly. It’s another way to vacation virtually. Check it out!
I am putting the finishing touches to my Monthly Mix! Every month, I release a Mix of all the songs that made my month. I started casually doing this during the Pandemic, in July, to be exact. I think of things "seasonally," if that makes sense, so it's helpful for me to know what songs were when. I release them here for funsies on Lazy Luxury, with the Top 7 songs listed first. Those Top 7's get put into a Collection. Here are 2020, 2021, and 2022. Here is a complete collection of all the Top 7's. 10102022 launches Monday. All Monthly Mixes are released at the end of the month. You can find those posts on mycyberspace. See below:
FM:// 102023
As the leaves turn golden and the air chills, there's nothing quite like curating the perfect playlist to match the mood of October. As the dusk of the year descends and October nights grow longer, it's time we explore the shadowy, rhythmic world of deep tech house.
019 Wine is such a special brand to me. I look forward to growing it over the future. One of my favorite hats to put on for 019 is the Radio DJ hat. 019 Wine Spotify has a very specific vibe and mood. The idea of it is, if I had a winery or wine bar, how would I soundtrack it? I recently gave 019 Wine Spotify a significant makeover. Think playlists to enjoy no matter what you are looking for: genre, day, mood, season, varietal… the list goes on, and the Spotify grows. Here is last October’s playlist for 019 — it’s one I’ve had on repeat since the month began! Listen to MONTHLY:// October on 019 Spotify now!
Almost a decade ago, this time of the year, I moved from Texas to Wine Country — Healdsburg to be exact. Fall, and especially October, always reminds me of California Wine Country — especially around the Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, and Anderson Valley. To give into nostalgia, I recently made an order from a local favorite: Joe Matos Cheese Co. The St. Jorge is so good. When sprinkled with a little fried rosemary sprinkled with maldon sea salt, & served with a truffle salami (this tarfuto to be exact), and you have a house-made crostini tastes just like Fall 2013.
All of my brands have seasonal playlists. A current favorite of mine is the Texaspacific Autumn Mix. California Wine Country inspires it in Autumn! I moved to Healdsburg almost a decade ago, so October always reminds me of wine country. It’s a moody, indietronica mix with all the right nostalgia vibes. Feels like Fall in Texaspacific. :-) Check it out!
Are you looking for a new show? I just started Ina Garten’s new season of Be My Guest! It’s her third season. The first season had an epsiode with Faith Hill and was so fun! Anything Ina does is feel-good in my book.
As mentioned above, I’m starting to plan out our Thanksgiving! This is the second year I’m likely hosting at home for just the two of us. For the past decade, our tradition was always a steakhouse dinner for two: Izzy’s in San Francisco and Perry’s in Texas. We loved ordering a steak with all the Thanksgiving sides and an Oban. This year and years to come, I am planning on mixing Texas with California Wine Country as I take our Thanksgiving for Two home. I know what we are doing meat-wise but need to figure out what sides and what dessert to make, as well as what wine to pair! I am looking back on my time (& journals! these always for my daily journal. I have 10+ but all in this color and brand, and order a new one when I get to the last 30 pages) living in wine country to inspire what to cook!
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