December 2023 Favorites

By: Gabriela Yareliz December was filled with walks to see the lights, revisiting old places, tree lightings and thoughtful gifts. There was Christmas cheer and magic in the air in Midtown Manhattan. These days, I have been planning and reading. My planner is jam-packed with little lists and scribbles. I am determined to make itContinue reading “December 2023 Favorites”

The Unfinished Attic

By: Gabriela Yareliz The current dropping temperatures and howling wind remind me of winter as a kid. I would take my favorite Christmas catalog and set a cushion or pillow by the heater vent on the floor (old Northern houses), and I would bring a blanket and get cozy and read. Every girl or dollContinue reading “The Unfinished Attic”

American Wealth: Hope, Opportunity & Resilience

[Image via englishspeecheschannel.com] “Always do what you are afraid to do.” Ralph Waldo Emerson By: Gabriela Yareliz There was a JFK essay contest in high school. We learned about it through a newspaper we would read in English class. Those cute papers that had poems and featured other peer writing. I wanted in, and IContinue reading “American Wealth: Hope, Opportunity & Resilience”

Seeking Wonder

By: Gabriela Yareliz Oh yes, the season is here. The other day, I woke up and heard the faint bouncing of a basketball at 7 am. Probably the cute Asian kid that lives next door. It was that rhythmic bounce on a slab of concrete in the middle of their tiny backyard. Their net isContinue reading “Seeking Wonder”

King

By: Gabriela Yareliz This Christmas season, if there is anything that stood out to me the most from the familiar Christmas story it was its humility. The bleak circumstance of it all. How the God of the universe’s arrival frustrated every expectation. His parents filled with the same anxieties that overwhelm us, at times. TheContinue reading “King”

Here I Come A-wassailing

By: Gabriela Yareliz Searching for Memories I can see myself holding the Christmas carol book, fast-forwarding the little white cassette in my purple boombox past that one song, “I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In.” I found that song to be boring. Not sure why. Skip. My favorite one was “Here We Come A-wassailing” (thereContinue reading “Here I Come A-wassailing”

Page Eleven, Letter D

By: Gabriela Yareliz I clicked on one of the thousands of marketing emails I receive in my old law school email that I still very much use. It was Magnolia’s Holiday Collection. There was something about the layout that reminded me of the old school catalogs. Maybe, also the holiday theme. I got a weirdContinue reading “Page Eleven, Letter D”

How To Get Festive When You Aren’t Feeling It

By: Gabriela Yareliz Wishing you all a merry merry Christmas Eve from my little candle-lit apartment to your home and heart. It has been a year that we have survived together, and I don’t blame you if you aren’t in a very festive mood tonight, or tomorrow or on New Year’s Eve. We’ve been onContinue reading “How To Get Festive When You Aren’t Feeling It”

Merry Christmas

“The Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion being that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature, into human nature, descended into His own universe, and rose again, bringing nature up with Him. It is precisely one great miracle. If you takeContinue reading “Merry Christmas”

Home

By: Gabriela Yareliz Recently, Atelier Doré announced its theme for the month is ‘coming home.’ Ahhh, the classic holiday move of returning to family and familiar grounds. For so many of us, home means two places: where our family lives and where we made memories, and also, the place where we lay our heads toContinue reading “Home”