Consumption Lounge: December Brain Dump
Over 20 great ideas on how to spend your time and/or money!
Yesterday morning I wrote this newsletter, then a bunch of awful stuff happened that felt necessary to acknowledge. The shooting at Brown University adds to the 392 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2025 alone, according to the Gun Violence Archive, and the Bondi Beach massacre in Sydney targeting a Hanukkah celebration left 15 dead in a country with one of the strictest gun laws in the world, adding to a global spike in antisemitic hate crimes—heroically saved by Muslim bystander Ahmed el Ahmed, who successfully disarmed the shooter while completely unarmed and is currently recovering in the hospital with serious injuries. If that wasn’t hard enough, beloved director and actor, Rob Reiner, and his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in a homicide late Saturday night.
As we begin the Jewish Festival of Lights, a reminder to bring lightness for those who cannot. Call someone you’ve been meaning to, tell your loved ones they are loved, and hold tight onto hope for something better. I recognize that “thoughts and prayers” feel superficial and trite at a time when we need action from leaders, but it’s also important to be the change we want to see in the world with small acts that remind us and others that we are human and life is a gift.
Love to all of you,
Carly
Hey everyone,
Recession indicator alert: I haven’t updated my Substack in two months! Just kidding. Though, I did give everyone fair warning!
It’s winter in the West Village and I have been graciously booked and busy, including this guide to edible THC for Bon Appetit — a HUGE win after writing about cannabis for the past decade, which rarely gets the green light for mainstream coverage. ICYMI, I also had my Hudson itinerary and guide to the Catskills published in Travel & Leisure, adding some solid recs as a supplement to the comprehensive one.
Speaking of upstate, I’ve been there quite a bit recently doing some recon for another guide coming out in 2026 as a follow up to my 48 Hours of Eco-Friendly Adventure in Ulster County. It was fun spending little extra time bouncing through the lesser known nooks and crannies of the Catskills, including Rosendale, a tiny, under-the-radar town nestled along the Rondout Creek where the smoked pastrami Reuben at Truss + Trestle Diner is an underrated banger, the deli-vintage shop The Big Cheese is a surprisingly delightful hit, a beloved local cinema keeps it fresh with B-side screenings at Rosendale Theater, and the Rosendale Trestle offers brag-worthy panoramic views from 940-feet high.
Just a short drive away is High Falls, a small but buzzing hamlet witnessing a resurgence thanks to a handful of trendy businesses like Blue Heron Books, where I frequently stock up on new and used books, eclectic vintage finds at Fool for Love, and the best wood-fired pies ever at Ollie’s Pizza. If you want to chase some waterfalls, there’s a short and easy path to the High Falls Waterfalls (not to be confused with the one in Philmont in Columbia County) that’s also a great place to let dogs run wild if you’ve got ‘em.
Both of these areas are frequently overlooked as people make beelines to Kingston or Hudson but encapsulate the charm of nature-adjacent Catskills small towns. If you love to geek out on herbalism, going upstate is a must for stocking up on heirloom herbs and niche ingredients. Even though we’re well past pawpaw season, Big Cheese tends to have them when they’re hot, as well as the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it weekend farmers markets. I picked up some fire cider from Gnome Apothecary which inspired me to make my own via a Plant Church workshop from my good pal Simone of Thyme/Space.
Because it’s the end of year, I figured it’s best to end on a list of consumables to treat yourself or someone else. I feel like gift guides are kind of overdone, so this is more of a “put it in your shopping cart that always has something in it” list. But maybe you love gift guides, in which case, happy giving!
It’s funny because I didn’t plan to exclusively buy books from female authors this year but noticed when I was adding them to my collection that my bookshelf is dominated by about 85% women and applaud my subconscious for being a girl’s girl. Of note, I need to give a special shout out to Amy Shearn—not only because I love that her book “Animal Instinct” was so ahead of the curve with its AI chatbot-driven dating-during-the-pandemic divorcee debacle subject matter (as well as the fact both she and Carla Sosenko had the brilliant idea to get custom-printed shortbread cookies with their book covers for their launch parties)—but because I tried to entice her to do a Q&A with me, to which she generously agreed, then dropped the ball being overwhelmed with stuff on my end. (Sorry, Amy! I owe you an email!) In the meantime, buy her book and subscribe to her Substack!
On a final note, I am pleased to announce that I have given myself the best gift of all: a complete detox for the last two weeks of December from all technology except my laptop as a self-imposed NYC writer’s retreat staycation. I mean hardcore: no phone on except first thing in the morning and last at night to clear out emails and let people know I’m not dead; no television or music. The reason being is that I did this once two years ago and ended up polishing off an entire book in one sitting—which was the most rewarding thing on the planet. I forgot that I even had that capability because I so rarely have the time to do it, and realized this what’s holding me back from finishing writing the reads I want to share with you.
Without further ado, I leave you with a bunch of things I love:
CONSUMPTION LOUNGE
A long shortlist of things I love right now.
READS
Feed your brain by getting off the algorithm
“Animal Instinct” by Amy Shearn
“Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy” by Julia Ioffe
“Crush” by Ada Calhoun
“Sociopath: A Memoir” by Patrick Gagne
“Sloppy” by Rax King (my dear friend and writer Kayla Cagan sent me this one that I’m planning to dig into in 2026)
“I’ll Look So Hot in a Coffin: And Other Thoughts I Used to Have About My Body” by Carla Sosenko (read the Q&A here!)
“Death Valley” by Melissa Broder (this came out in 2024, but consider it like how I have to retroactively pay my taxes the following year and started in 2025)
“Real Artists Have Day Jobs: (And Other Awesome Things They Don’t Teach You in School)” by Sara Benincasa (also not new, but still holds up! Read the Q&A here!)
HIGH ROLLERS
Weed that’s worth it for Dry January and beyond
Snickerdoodle Rosin Cookie from Kush Queen (ships across state lines! Also, with each cookie 50mg maybe don’t eat it all in one sitting?)
Bagelhole from MFNY (the NY version of hash holes or donuts: a potent preroll crowdpleaser great for gatherings, featuring 1.5 grams of flower surrounding a 0.5 gram cylinder-shaped roll of live rosin extract running down the center packed into a hand-made blunt that gets gooey when lit (kind of like cream cheese softening inside a freshly baked bagel)).
Ranch Water THC Beverage from Senorita (a zero-proof bar favorite laced with a hemp-derived buzz, canned at 5mg and 10mg for your pleasure)
Jaunty Northern Lights All-In-One Palm (appreciate seeing recognizable strains making a comeback with weed that tastes like weed)
Cookies and Cream Gelt and “Punim Pucker” Lemon Sumac Gummies from Token Jew (WARNING: the extremely delicious lemon sumac gummies (a collaboration with Jake Cohen that I hope remains a permanent item eventually) is 20mg—something I discovered after I misread the 10mg CBD content and was ejected into another stratosphere. The chocolate gelt (cookies and cream is also a highly underrated flavor imo) is only 10mg, and much more manageable if you start with half of any of these—something I also recommend in my own piece but didn’t follow my own advice. Classic).
Mezzrole by Klaus (this NA cannabis beverage line from cocktail historian comes in three expressions and all of them are guaranteed to be some of the best stuff you’ve ever drank).
Moroccan Peaches from Aster Farms (flower is still my fav and this strain is so sweet and uplifting)
Anything from Softer Power Sweets (you’ll have to come to NY for this un/fortunately, but everything I’ve had from this sub-brand of boutique vegan Hudson Valley chocolatier Lagusta’s Luscious has been MINDBLOWINGLY good)
EATS
Recipes and restaurants to consume
Scenic seasonal bars to snuggle up at: The Bar at Mandarin Oriental, Alpina at Eataly, Santa’s Winter Wonderland at Pier 15 Watermark, Moet on the Hudson at Mezze on the Hudson, The Dante Winter Cabin, Alpine Luxe at Industry Kitchen, Miracle on 8th at Mace Bar, A Christmas Parlor at Starchild, The Snowglobe at The View, Snowday in Brooklyn at Sundays in Brooklyn, Grinchmas at Roberta’s (honorable mentions that will undoubtedly have a line: Rolf’s, Lillie’s Victorian, Pete’s Tavern)
Tyra Banks’s Hot Ice Cream SMiZE & Dream comes to NYC (been following this idea of ANTM hot ice cream for a minute with deep confusion and intrigue since launching in Australia. Good news: it’s in NYC for the next two months, kicking off with a cozy rooftop pop-up at Mr. Purple at Hotel Indigo LES on Dec. 15-21 featuring Cookies Hot Ice Cream followed by Pistachio Cardamom Hot Ice Cream topped with a slice of kulfi at Passerine on Jan. 8-10 and Apple Pie à la Crème Hot Ice Cream at Jean-Georges T. Brasserie, Tin Building on Jan. 15-18).
Dark Matter x Marky Ramone’s Bowery Beat! (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and iconic drummer Marky Ramone of The Ramones has teamed up with Chicago/NYC coffee roaster Dark Matter to put out a high-octane washed processed Catuai from Guatemala with a portion of all proceeds to support the Bowery Beat Foundation, a nonprofit initiative currently being established to preserve and expand access to music education in public schools).
Cranberry Raisin Pecan Bread from Balthazar (yes, we’re in buche de noel season, but this bread gives me life. I used it for my stuffing this year at Thanksgiving).
No-Bake Protein Balls (a healthy, easy snack that usually cost more than they should at coffee shops and the Whole Foods checkout line, and even have a recipe on the back of the flaxseed meal bags at Trader Joe’s. I’ve been batching these up so I don’t skip breakfast! Bonus: use leftover batter to make buckwheat chocolate chip pancakes with Arrowhead Mills mix 😋)
Brown Butter Lentil and Sweet Potato Salad by Yossy Arefi (that brown butter really adds a special something to this super simple seasonal classic, with lots of ingredients that happened to be in my latest Farm To People order (get $25 off any Farm box in your first order using my code CARLYF88)
Cider-Braised Chicken Thighs with Apples and Greens by Leudy Heuck (of all the subscriptions, the NYT Cooking app is totally worth it and every recipe I’ve had has been consistently dope)
Sheet-Pan Gochujang Chicken and Roasted Vegetables by Yewande Komolafe (I think it’s just chicken thigh season, but this one really was a chef’s kiss)
Looking good. Happy Chanukah!