Actually cozy things
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Actually Good Things is a weekly newsletter with curated product recs from a seasoned shopping editor. I know what to buy, and I can tell you exactly why.
This week—while pondering how many black sweaters are too many and wondering what, if not Lululemon Align pants, a semi-cool adult woman should wear for air travel—I’m counting stuff I find cozy.
Yes, fall doesn’t officially start until September 22, but don’t let this un-fun fact stop you from going full hygge. (Pronounced like “hoo-guh,” hygge is a Danish word to describe a feeling of physical comfort, contentment, and joy over small pleasures.)
Anyway, here are a few actually good things I consider cozy—and seasonally appropriate in September.*
Quite possibly the perfect beanie
This Gigi Pip beanie is soft and malleable (not suffocatingly tight or hot, considering it’s wool) but also slightly structured and durable. I honestly had a really hard time choosing a color on this one. You may disagree, but I consider burgundy seasonless, neutral, and highly versatile.
Inside shoes
Cozy Earth makes a lot of, well…cozy things. As a full-time work-from-home human, I need good house shoes. I typically buy a new pair each fall, and this year, these bouclé-ish slides are it.
This giant mug
I’m a big See’s guy—and not just for the lollipops. I own two of these very, very large (20-ounce) mugs and drink my coffee from one every morning.
Caramel Apple Pops
Speaking of lollipops…classic caramel apple suckers slap. I bought some recently and bored my husband with a 10-minute monologue about how the tart green apple flavor is impeccably balanced with the sweet, ever-so-slightly salty caramel. I also appreciate the hardened caramel’s wrinkly imperfection.
A suspiciously soft blanket
The Kardashian women bring these blankets with them for medical procedures and on their private jets. They’re not the most aesthetic, but the softness is unbeatable.
A cordless salt rock lamp
This salt rock lamp is rechargeable and cordless, so you can place it anywhere you want to boost the vibes, and it just looks nicer than a plug-in light. The battery dies quickly, so you only get a couple uses per charge, but whatever—we can’t have it all, can we?
Reading books!
I love reading so damn much. Nothing makes you smarter than reading. Plus—what I tell my 6-year-old—the best stories are hidden inside books, and we must read to find them. I used to be a paper-book loyalist, but I like looking up words on a Kindle, not to mention the instant downloads. The dark-screen mode is also clutch for winding down for sleep.
Other very specific things I find utterly cozy:
Traditional sitcoms with laugh tracks (The Big Bang Theory for its play-like simplicity and cartoonishly predictable costumes, and Friends for its warm-toned set design)
Hanging out with my best friends’ sisters or my sisters’ best friends (even better if the sisters bicker amicably or question one another’s childhood memories)
Greeting trick-or-treaters as a grown-up
Ibuprofen, my drug of choice
Being home in the evening when my kids are also home but asleep in their beds
Painting my own nails
Going to the movies
By the way, this is what I came up with for my plane outfit:
*Some products with affiliate links might earn me a small commission.
What I’m reading lately:
Rolling Stone | Justin Bieber: The Boy Who Swagged Too Much
New York Magazine | The Forever-35 Face
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