A Year of Earl - what meant the most to me

Happy New Year!

Here we are! A new day, a new year, a new everything, but the same me. I wrote a little about this before, but 2024 was a big year for me, for many reasons, and I’m looking back with a lot of mixed emotions - it was the best of times, it was truly some of the worst of times, but a time was had indeed, and I hate to say we survived it because that makes it sound like it’s something I’d rather forget, but the reality is this is LIFE. Some great, some horrible, all of it ours.

I’m in the desert this week with my best buddy and our kids and husbands, and I’m feeling the most intense gratitude and awe, and I’m also feeling like sitting on the couch with her and doing nothing, so I’m doing more or less nothing, except standing back and looking at what I wrote and made this year, and some of my very favorite letters.

Here are what I think are the best of this year, and the ones I felt the best working on.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO RUIN YOUR LIFE TO REPAIR IT

Why and how I got sober this year.

FANCY WAYS TO WEAR YOUR SWEATSHIRT

…fancy ways to wear your sweatshirt? Also my first Substack video!

ONLY BORING PEOPLE GET BORED

Good taste is dead!

HOW TO BUILD A TRAVEL CAPSULE WARDROBE

My very tidy packing protocol.

NOT EVERYBODY IS GOING TO LIKE YOU

An essay on not being everything to everyone.

HOW I EDIT MY WARDROBE PART 1

Exactly what it sounds like…and with video.

STYLING THE THINGS IN MY CLOSET THAT I’LL NEVER TOSS BUT ALSO NEVER WEAR

The joy and pleasure of getting dressed.

AND! From Your Mom (my other newsletter)

MOM HAS TATTOOS

All about my tattoos and what they mean.

HOW FAR CAN MY HEART STRETCH BEFORE IT BREAKS

Missing my kids but ~finding myself~

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO FOR DINNER

I hate cooking and hate that I have to think about it.

STANDING IN THE SUNSHINE

My thoughts/feelings after the election.

I hope you had a very very good day yesterday, I went hiking with my little crew out here, it was perfect.

Your friend,

Laurel