Sophie’s Favourite Things of 2012

Well, 2012, what a year! It’s time to light a fire and curl up on the sofa in front of the Christmas tree for some quality time with family and friends. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is thankful for a little holiday and Christmas cheer. Here are some of my favourite things of the past year…

1. Snail mail

Is it just me, or does everyone live in London? And as we get older, it’s getting harder and harder to stay in touch, no? At least, that is how I have felt over the past year as I moved from London to Oxford and stopped visiting the big smoke quite so much. Facebook messages, texts, emails, and even calls are great, but I’ve found that nothing beats some post, whether it’s a little note or a long, deep and meaningful letter. A refreshing revelation in this age of technology. I think it’s the physicality of it, the intimacy of the handwriting, the way a letter links you physically across the miles, that makes it so special. (I particularly love Kate Spade‘s gorgeous range of note cards, although getting into expensive stationary is a dangerous thing!)

2. New Girl

Okay, so this isn’t new for 2012, but this show starring Zoey Deschanel did take a while to grow on me. Zoey has really grown into the role now, though, and not only is her wardrobe inspiring, but her character also reminds us that being a feminist doesn’t mean that you can’t like ‘girly’ things, like baking and glitter and flowers. I used to cook a lot for an ex boyfriend, because he didn’t know how to, and I got quite a few comments about that from friends who assumed I was conforming to female stereotypes and bowing to the patriarchy, blah blah blah. A few years later, though, and he is a genius in the kitchen. He was watching and learning the whole time.

Anyway, in the words of Jessica Day: “I brake for birds. I rock a lot of polka dots. I have touched glitter in the last 24 hours. I spend my entire day talking to children. And I find it fundamentally strange that you’re not a dessert person. It freaks me out.  I’m sorry that I don’t talk like Murphy Brown. And I hate your pants suit. I wish it had ribbons on it or something just to make it slightly cuter but that doesn’t mean I’m not smart and tough and strong.”

3. Cycling

I’m going to have to learn to drive at some point, but one of the things I love about living in Oxford is that I can hop on a bike, see some beauty, breath some fresh air, and get myself where I need to be without damaging the environment. It reminds me of being a child and feeling incredibly grown up and empowered because I realised I could transport myself from A to B pretty damn fast all by myself.

4. Gilmore Girls

The boxset is out! Santa, if you’re reading this…

So if you’re not a fan, I know what you’re thinking. I thought it looked tacky and twee, too, I really did. It’s the title, and the Carol King theme song, and the odd fashion sense. But believe me, it is totally worth getting past this bad first impression – it’s smart, it’s funny with brilliant dialogue, it’s a lot more ‘real’ than any other TV show I know – there aren’t too many dramatic plot twists, the characters stay true to themselves and grow naturally, and have relatively normal wardrobes. It’s also really quite open minded in the true sense of the phrase. The evil Republican grandparents turn out to be human and loveable just like everyone else, and even the crazy, severe Seventh Day Adventist Mrs Kim is a well developed character with a soft side in the end.

5. Pinterest

I’m addicted, I readily admit it. But I don’t think that’s bad thing at all – I have made an amazing baked alaska and a delicious onion soup from recipes I found on Pinterest, and those brilliant caramel cookies… yes, I found that recipe on Pinterest, too. And I find that somehow having pins of all my favourite things – a virtual wardrobe – makes me less sad about not being able to afford lots of stuff in real life. Any other Pin-addicts out there will know what I mean. Pinterest is a real sign of the fact that social media is becoming more and more visually oriented.

6. Tina Fey

Not only is she the brains behind 30 Rock, she also wrote Mean Girls. HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS?! What a comic genius. I just love everything about her. I think that’s a good note to end on, really.

Merry Christmas, all!

Does your correspondence deserve a wider audience?

I am having something of a letters revolution this week. First of all, Sophie Caldecott wrote me a lovely, long letter from Oxford, taking up the responsibility of sending me my first non-financial bit of post at my new flat (apart from birthday cards).

And then today I discovered (via the web section of the newly relaunched, and excellent Geek magazine) this incredible archive of letters, memos, faxes and other bits of paper: Letters of Note.

There’s something about getting your thoughts and feelings down on paper, especially now, that requires a lot more care and attention than banging out an email or sending a text message. After reading Sophie’s letter, I tried to think of the last few I had received or sent. The list included a letter from my ex boyfriend for me to open when I arrived in Asia to mooch around for four months, notes to and from an old flatmate and an explanation of what I had been doing since a wonderful charity gave me a small loan towards my journalism studies.

Letters of Note, edited by Shaun Usher, has considerably more interesting examples amongst its 804 posts – a letter from Winston Churchill’s wife telling him to lighten up, another from an emancipated slave from Ohio in 1865 to his old master and a handwritten note from Up and Monsters Inc director Pete Docter on Pixar not finishing films.

A Letters of Note book will be published this November – it’s available for pre-order at £30 for a cloth-bound hardback and would make a lovely limited edition gift. The book will apparently feature examples Usher has held back from uploading online and also include a letter from Hunter S. Thompson starting ‘Listen you lazy bitch’ which was addressed to a film executive but removed from the site.