Happy New Year to you all! Honestly, I wish this week had also been a holiday, because I’m really not ready mentally to dive in to another year with fresh perspective like I usually am at this point. I am getting there, but I guess I haven’t had enough down time to reflect in a meaningful way, or rather, I’m still in the process so a lot has yet to be finalized.
One thing I usually focus on around this time is a closet clean out, which I have done over the past couple of years with videos and posts on how to learn to live with less, which I think ultimately sharpens your style. I have taken all that content off the site, because I am thinking of compiling it together into something you can print out and do at your leisure. I might even charge a small fee for this. Will anyone bite? Not sure, but as I mentioned, I am thinking about a way to restructure my site that makes sense for me as a business and for you, as a reader. The way I make money now is through affiliate sales, and while I want to recommend things that I think are worth it, my goal is to promote a fewer, better things lifestyle and my business model and ideology don’t sync up. It’s something that’s bothered me for a while, so stay tuned for what’s next–going to try to have something definitive end of next week.
Ok. Are you still with me? Here, some random things I’m doing or that have been on my mind.

First, I want to update my desk. I work from home, and I have a beautiful room with a high ceiling and large windows and an antique desk that I bought at the flea market in Paris years back and had shipped home. I have half-furnished the room and my desk, but it needs something else….a few more objets…perhaps a mood board on the wall. I have always loved Deeda Blair’s desk, though it’s too classic for my taste. I feel I need something part Deeda, part Lee Radzwill (below), part Elsa Peretti (holding image).

Honestly I’m not even sure where to start looking for things. I need a new pencil cup, perhaps a picture frame or two, I do like some of the objets at Forsyth, and an Elsa Peretti objet might be fitting. I also know that anything too forced never works, so it might take time to find the right pieces. If and when I do, I will share them.

As far as New Years resolutions, I haven’t really made that many yet. I want to grow my circle of friends and the community that has become a part of TFI, write more thoughtful thank you notes, grow my jewelry business and get better at photography, which may include taking a course or two. I am taking January to really take care of my physical health and well-being–I went for a yearly check up and am trying to cut down on my pizza and wine intake (a bit, we’ll see). One thing I started using before Christmas that I highly recommend is Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Cream. Wow. I had The Cream, which I found to be just fine and then it ran out. It’s too cold not to have moisturizer so I bought The Rich Cream. I cannot recommend it enough. I feel glowy all day long. It is thick, you almost have to press it into your skin instead of rubbing it, but I feel an improvement after two weeks. It won’t work for me when it’s warm, I am sure it will slide off my face, but for now, I’m loving it. Next I’m going to try the Eyebrow and Lash Enhancing Serum. My lashes don’t look great, and I cannot use any of the products like Lashify because they irritate my skin. It says it takes 4 weeks to see results, but I have all the time in the world so that’s my next purchase.

Thanks to a reader’s insightful comment, I am almost finished with Simon Sinek’s Start With Why, about why you do whatever it is that you do, matters as much and even more than what you do and how you do it. Simon relates most of this to business and work, but I find it applicable to all aspects of one’s life. So thank you Robyn! And, my daughter read Fleishman Is In Trouble, then saw the first episodes of the series starring Claire Danes and Jesse Eisenberg on FX. She preferred the book, so I’m starting there too. Also thinking about reading Don Delillo’s White Noise, which is also now a movie on Netflix starring Greta Gerwig, Adam Driver, and Don Cheadle on Netflix. So many reviews of this book, written 37 years ago, say how prescient the story is today. My formative years were in the 80s, so I’m intrigued.
Oh, and the Toteme brown shearling coat I posted on recently and bought (my Christmas present). Living in it! Love it. Get so many compliments when I wear it (not that that sways my feeling good in it at all).
I hope this year brings new opportunities, fresh perspective, friendship and health to you all!
x Jennifer
I’m in for paying a fee for closet clean-out recommendations!
Like Mary, I’ll pay for closet clean out tips/guidance.
Stay tuned!
Great column. Makes me think about looking into taking a class at my local college. What? I don’t know.
A great pencil cup is a vintage silver julip cup. I have one that I use for makeup brushes.
Why not try something new?! Thanks for pencil cup rec. I actually have some nice ones from Paris I should clean up and use.
Sounds like a good plan, I’m in!
Stay tuned!
Hi. I enjoy your posts, and have occasionally bought through your affiliate links. I see how it’s hard to espouse fewer better things (a mantra by which we should all live, though it’s not easy!) with a working business model. Good luck! I love thé Palmgrens desk accessories. The leather is beautiful, as is the stitching, and you can choose classic or fun colors. They ship quickly and easily to the U.S,
Thank you for the rec!
Hi Jennifer, Happy New Year! In addition to these gorgeous affiliate links, I believe many would absolutely pay for your knowledge and experience, since your insights are applicable across wardrobe collections at all levels, from beginner to advanced. Reflecting back over the last couple of years, what stands out for me is the immense and unique value you provided when you started with “why” and then, step by step, unpacked the “how.” Good luck! Can’t wait.
Thank you and stay tuned!
You could also consider charging a monthly fee for full access to your site. Not sure if that resonates or if that’s where you want to invest your time, but check out how The Simply Luxurious Life charges. You inspire me and I’m in either way.
I have thought about it. I will check out your suggestion.
https://smile.amazon.com/Veranda-Room-Ones-Own-Sanctuaries/dp/161837284X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3SEZ50VWNN9Y0&keywords=a+room+of+one%27s+own+coffee+table+book&qid=1673011121&sprefix=a+room+of+one%27s+own+coffee+table+book%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc
Highly recommend the above book for inspiration about your office, because it really should be “A Room of Your Own”, and a sanctuary rather than just an office.
I’m in with the rest.
Thanks for the rec Kathy!
I have a silly question about the coat – since the wool of the shearling is on the exterior, does it keep you as warm as a coat with the fur on the interior?
Not a silly question at all. It is warm. I guess if you think about it, it’s the way animals are…fur on the outside.
I vote for vintage/thrifted for your desk accessorizing. The best interiors are those created over time (the best designers almost always follow that practice in their own homes). Look for things you like on eBay or Chairish. Nothing matchy-matchy.
I have watched your closet clean-out videos and am a fan. It seems appropriate to charge if you will make less from affiliate links. The “free” influencers are consistently posting themselves in new items and thus feeding our addictions. It’s such a challenge to not “want” the new thing! You could carve out a space for quiet and honest consumption, a fashion reflection of sorts.
Thank you for your insightful comment Dana. You all have me thinking a lot!
Happy New Year! To me, good content is something worth paying for — and if it helps with the mission of “fewer, better”, all the more reason. Still, I know changing business models is not a small matter. I am sure you will come up with the right balance. Wishing you all good things for 2023! xx
Who’s in the top photo? I love everything about it — the workspace, the lamp, the table on trestles, the mirrored walls, and the lighting.
It is Elsa Peretti. Why everything is so good.
Oh I hadn’t seen this pic of Elsa Peretti before! Thank you!
The icing on the cake is the glass of wine in her hand.