Lumiphilia
Cotton Candy, white noise machines, and invincibility.
December 2025
Even for We Lovers of Winter, pre-5:00pm sunsets are, admittedly, a bit much. So it is in no way surprising that many of our solstice season traditions center around light. Our ancestors knew that in the darkest of times, there’s no more important ritual than a reminder of lasting brightness, shared warmth, and the hope we help each other kindle. These days that ritual might look like maxing out your credit cards on an electric bill to power an obscene amount of flashing lights that transform your cul de sac into a gingerbread house-meets-Vegas local attraction. Or it might manifest as the crackling glow of the Yule Log channel, on loop, beside a pink tinsel Charlie Brown tree. Or maybe it’s candles in a dinosaur menorah. Heck, it might even be a holly jolly seasonal affective disorder daylight lamp. We won’t judge. This month you’re invited to get fresh with me as we look for the light. A little goes a long way.
Outdoorsy
Bannerman Castle - Beacon, NY
If you’ve ridden the Metro North Hudson Line, and been savvy enough to snag a seat on the river side, the crumbling ruins of an enigmatic castle perched on a small island have surely caught your eye and piqued your curiosity. As we sped towards the island on our little boat, the wind chill and golden, sunlit foliage ushering in upstate autumn and the last tour day of the season, we had kept ourselves purposefully ignorant of Bannerman Castle’s history. We speculated about tragic deaths and Gilded Age Robber Barons. And while our imagined version of things missed the mark, the true story didn’t disappoint. As we wandered the grounds and gardens and “Wee Bays”, our guide regaled us with tales of unsupervised children firing cannons into the river towards West Point, drunken Dutch sailors being dumped on the island and left to sober up, prostitutes and explosions, advertising and architecture. Truth and legend hang in the air around this little spot of land with its native-growing cacti (surprise) and one feels the island itself enjoys a sense of relief and release now that it’s home to movie nights, farm to table dinners, and walking tours. For a military surplus warehouse built to resemble a fortress to end up as a Monarch butterfly migration stopover…that’s a fate more poetic than I could have dared to imagine.
Prefer your boats with less motor and more elbow grease? Kayak tours are available here.
Fine Art
Invader - worldwide
“You do not take a photograph. You make it.” reads a sign inside the Maison Europeenne de la Photographie. I smile at the thought as I pause outside its walls to take a mediocre iPhone pic. There’s something in the contrast between the billowing bunches of purple wisteria and the diminutive 8 bit green tile alien waving from the facade of the building in the background that I want to remember. A few blocks prior we had noticed a similar mini installation, like an impulsive tattoo on one of Paris’s historic buildings, of the invincibility star from Super Mario. I imagined it lighting up and bouncing through the streets of La Marais, asserting that my generation has walked this earth, and made our mark. See, cities are the group projects of the people who live in them. And the irreverence and audacity of artists unafraid of contributing to their landscapes makes them richer, funkier, and more flavorful–a cultural fermentation process. Anonymous French street artist Invader and his ceramic tile mosaics playfully do just that, gamifying his global “invasion” by giving himself points for installing in energetic epicenters of the cities he visits. He calls it a form of urban acupuncture. From an International Space Station to well below sea level, it’s anyone’s guess where these pixelated talismans will appear next.
Heading abroad? Check @invaderwashere for a glimpse of what to keep your eyes peeled for on the walls of your destination city.
Culinary
Fonty’s Deli + Dukaan - West Village, NYC
The guy behind me in line wanted to talk trendy places to eat. He was trying to convince me to trek to Staten Island to go to that restaurant they made a Vince Vaughn movie about where actual Nonnas do the cooking when my friend walked up. (In case you’re wondering, they rotate a roster of international grannies.) What makes a restaurant buzzy? Why do New Yorkers line up for, in our case, sandwiches? Lightning in a bottle, as they say. A magic formula. For Fonty’s, lunchtime math reads naan bread + panini press = the new way to eat chicken tikka you didn’t know you needed. And while the admittedly genius concept of a “naanini” might get you hype, a creative menu where South Asian standbys like chutneys and chickpeas mix and mingle with egg sammies, tuna melts and lamb kebabs suggests you’re more than just a pretty face. Add to that a tiny back room with homey seating and an electric fireplace that fits more people than would be acceptable anywhere but NYC. In the time it took me to crunch my way through my bag of Bombay Spice chips, the dining area had metamorphosized a few times as the guests borrowed chairs and condensed tables. What we won’t do for a little well-earned buzz.
Fonty’s journey is just beginning! Get on the bandwagon now by following @fontysdeli_dukaan.
Noteworthy
Say She She - New York, NY
Apartment living and thin walls frequently combine to result in resentment, building nemeses, and overuse of white noise machines. But sometimes, at least on the Lower East Side, early morning vocal warmups and late night heel clicking alchemize to create two thirds of a discodelic funk band. As for the third front woman? She joined after a serendipitous sing-off at a rooftop party in Brooklyn. Three albums and a European tour later (which Nya completed while 7 months pregnant), Say She She is on the rise, delivering socially aware songs that bring the party. Listening to the depth of their lyrics and nuance of their harmonies, it’s shocking to hear that their creative process typically involves writing and recording a song the same day. They like to keep things fresh, improvisational–not overworked or contrived. And while their songs include all the trappings one would expect from classic disco (there’s a jazz clarinet solo on Forgive Me Not that would make Ron Burgundy jealous) this isn’t a shallow recreation of a dusty genre. This is the revolutionary spirit of the discotheque, dressed up and ready to administer the shimmer of its musical medicine to a new generation.
Follow the adventures of Sabrina, Piya and Nya @saysheshe.
Artisan
Lumie Glass - Wirksworth, UK
Some screen shots live in your camera roll for years, patiently awaiting the day your ship will come in and you’ll decide to treat yourself to that splurgy, beautiful thing you technically don’t need. Every once in a while you’ll scroll past and sigh and threaten to add it to your Christmas list. That’s the little will-they-won’t-they game I’ve been playing with the stained glass sun-catchers made by artist Carolyne Heppenstall under the banner Lumie Glass. These window (or wall) hangings feature artfully composed collections of simple, art deco inspired geometric shapes, hanging on linen cords from a brass bar. The pieces, some smooth and some with textured surfaces, layer and overlap to create an intoxicating interplay of line and color. Yolk yellows and vibrant lilacs mingle with pops of clover green or deep turquoise, casting colorful reflections that evolve with the changing daylight. For our understated friends there are more muted palettes, comforting and soft as a thick blanket of San Francisco winter morning fog. Sunny day or grey day, these prismatic treasures deserve to be out of the cloud and into your inbox.
Window shop (Get it? Get it? Groan.) by following @lumie.glass. Then let me know when you order so I can be insanely jealous.
Community
Tivoli Gardens - Copenhagen, Denmark
Disembarking the train at København H, blissed out after several days of meditative Swedish lagom, we couldn’t have been more surprised to have the first smell to playfully tickle our nostrils be cotton candy. Turns out there isn’t something rotten in the state of Denmark. There’s something sweet, nostalgic, quaint and magical. And it has been there, in the heart of Copenhagen, since 1843, earning it the title of World’s Second Oldest Amusement Park. To walk through the gate into Tivoli Gardens is to be transported to a world of immaculately planted flower beds, choreographed illuminated fountain displays, and charming vintage street signs. If the vibe sounds familiar you’re not mistaken–Walt Disney took copious notes about everything from cleanliness and courtesy to ride design during his visit in 1951. But Tivoli is in Denmark, not Florida or California. Watching the visitors drive the bumper cars so politely that it’s almost satirical reminds you of that. So does sitting down for a show at the Pantomime Theater, watching its impressive peacock “curtain” folding up its feathers to reveal Pierrot and Harlequin faithfully enacting their 19th century mischief for 21st century laughs.
Happen to be heading there this month? Don’t miss out on Santa, The Snow Queen, holiday stalls, skating, and a Lucia procession featuring over 100 choir singers!
Page Turner
The Dark by Lemony Snicket, pictures by Jon Klassen
I expected to be reading to third graders. But here I was, on National Readers Day at PS 106X, walking into a fifth grade math classroom with a picture book about being afraid of the dark. “Do any of you have younger siblings with this fear?” I asked, as I cracked the book open to the first page. There was a smattering of raised hands…some oh-so-mature scoffs. They were so above this topic. But as I eased us into the story, something palpable changed in the room. Maybe it was Jon Klassen’s mysterious illustrations that first pulled them in: beams of light illuminating eerily monochromatic interiors, framed by cavernous fields of solid black. Maybe it was Lemony Snicket’s poetic description of the voice of the darkness, beckoning young Lazlo to follow with a whisper. Or maybe it was my Tony-worthy, suspense building narration (wink, wink). Little did the kids know that I have a B.F.A. There were gasps! There was nervous laughter! They were, dare I say, hooked–forgetting, as the best picture books give us permission to do, that they were supposed to be grown up, cool, and unafraid.
Our post-read discussion was a joyful share-out of the creepiest places in our homes, complete with details like flashing red lights, ominous shadows, and souls visiting in the wee hours of the night. If you have a young reader who could benefit from an entry point into candid discussions about fear, head to your local indie bookstore and pick this one up.
Playfully curated culture to help you keep exploring.
New York based, globally minded.
Archive: December 2023, December 2024