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January 2026
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What filled your glass this month, Subscriber?
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I've spent the month mostly cozying up in my blankets, eating comfort foods and escaping into my creativity as much as I can. (see Behind the Cobwebs below for more...) In overly simple terms, it has been a wild world out there. For myself, the best solace has been enjoying a drink with loved ones over aimless conversations or a friendly board game.
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Thanks to marathoning a 1930's film series titled "The Thin Man", it sparked a craving for a classic martini. My husband and I got to check the scorpion bowl off our cocktail list at Makai Santa Cruz, and we sampled both Applebee's new seasonal cocktails and the newest Two Chicks variety pack. I also have to work on a new cocktail for Sips & Spirits. I can't wait to play with that, "but ah...I'll have a couple of drinks first!" 💋🍸As a gin ghoul, nothing quite beats a martini for me. It's simple, classy and strong.
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If you are interested in the rest of my random gossip, you'll have to keep scrolling. But before you continue...you didn't forget to pour your own glass of boos, did you? Then let's raise it to a kinder month ahead.
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Life Occurrences & Creative Ventures— January 2026
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Unlike last month, I eased back into blogging by kicking off the start of the year with a summary of spooky small businesses I shopped with throughout 2025. It was very fun to look back at all of the small businesses I supported last year from new to old. Many thanks to Mara for voicing her interest back in September to know what was in my big bag of spooky shit! It was an unexpectedly enjoyable post to put together and I plan to repeat it in the future.
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In addition, I created an archive post containing all of the 2023 Centennial events I attended at the Winchester Mystery House. Although it took me over two years to complete, I am so very proud of all the knowledge I amassed in 2023, not only about the Winchester Mystery House, but about the area surrounding it. Linking to them all in one place feels so good and I hope it will be a useful post for those who want to learn a little more about my favorite local historic landmark. This particular post is a different format from my usual blog entries, so I am curious to hear if you enjoyed the presentation of it...
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Pictured right:
Finding webs during hike @ Mt. Madonna
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When it comes to life events, I've intentionally kept it quiet and leisurely. I realize I have become quite the introverted extrovert. I am encouraging my family to spend more time playing board games, exploring different crafting mediums, and being out in the forest and near the ocean. It has also become a focus of mine to move my body more often in natural rhythms. I have never been much of a neighborhood walker and I'm allergic to a traditional gym. As a result, I have been dragging my family out of the house whenever possible to explore nature.
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Pictured left:
New jellies at Into the Deep exhibit
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Unexpectedly, last week, I received an itch to explore the aquarium. So, on Friday, I loaded up the littles into the car with snacks and excitement and we made it happen. We got to take our time, for the first in a while, my little sea monsters free to explore the space without having to entertain a friend or family member. We had the crazy luck of walking into three different feeding experiences of an albatross, the bat rays and the birds in the aviary. Such a treat! I couldn't believe how empty the aquarium was. It's possible these Fridays may become a more frequent thing throughout the remainder of the school year...
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My husband and I decided to take a brief break from Sips & Spirits this month, but we'll be returning in February with a new cryptid episode. Which means you still have the chance to guess that cryptid! Check out the riddle, then let us know your guess. We'll share your answer on the podcast, right or wrong. But don't wait too long...we record on the weekend of 2/6!
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Mood Check
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Older Goodies for my Gossips
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I gain too much pleasure from loading these emails full of random toasts and teasers. However, I understand email newcomers may have missed out on something here or there. As such, there is a special page to explore, exclusive to my email subscribers. It is filled with all the goodies I have tucked away in emails since 2024, in addition to an email archive of past newsletters.
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Use the password: GossamerGossiper
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What I'm Weaving Behind the Cobwebs
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Acrylic marker sketches of flowering herbs to help brainstorm final herb spider designs
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I have been scheming up many projects for Be Kind to Spiders Week, allowing myself the grace to ease into the full swing of things until the world its self starts to stir and awaken for the spring. I have decided to go with a garden-esque theme for this year's arachnid festivities. To say I am quite excited over the ideas that have sparked and are already forming is an understatement. As such, I am embracing the planning stage whole-heartedly by allowing myself to really play with all of the ideas swirling around in my head.
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Most of this has involved looking at LOADS of reference images of both real spiders and plants, online fabric shopping (I miss Joann Fabric so much. TT-TT) and drawing the cutest little plant spiders I ever did draw. You can expect a new cocktail, a new outfit and LOTS of crafting. I cannot wait to show off more as it all comes together! All of my fabrics for the outfit project have finally arrived and by the next newsletter, I hope to have some progress to show off with that in addition to a very exciting announcement if everything falls into place. In other words, if I stick to my deadline, I'll have something very exciting to brag about!
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Tomato Widow - My initial inspiration/thought for the idea and she is too adorable! In love!
None of these spiders will be used for final ideas, but they helped me get from concept to execution and they are too adorable. Maybe I'll create a postcard or sticker sheet of them to mail off to anyone interested...
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I have also been bouncing back and forth between my physical planner and my Milanote to get a vibe of what I want to blog about this year. Milanote has been my Pinterest replacement and I LOVE it. I have been gushing about this online mood board planning tool for a couple years now and it is just the thing I needed to collect all my ideas and inspirations while helping me keep track of the quick little notes for an idea I jot down. I love how visual-focused it is and I often take photos of my hand-written notes and sketches to upload into it. Images, photos and even documents can be easily organized by uploading into the board it is intended for or stored into an unsorted stack for placing where needed when ready to create a new board. It has helped me log all of my ideas by storing them in one place to organize without needing to flip through sketchbooks, notepads and my planner in a quest to find a particular note I cannot seem to find. #NotSponsoredButWishIWas
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A special request of you!
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As I finalize my Be Kind to Spider Week ideas and start to draft out my plans for May through October, I'd love to hear what you might in interested in seeing on the blog. Last year, I totally cheated/caught up with past-intended post by revisiting all the Centennial Speaker talks I attended at Winchester. However, my blog topics have been so random from reviewing things in my wardrobe to DIY projects to event and convention coverage to personal milestones of myself or my family. I have a vibe I want to capture, but how I share that, I'm a bit unsure and would love to hear what you enjoy reading from me.
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