After over five consecutive years of ringing in the New Year with excited chaos of house parties and chatty dinners, my introverted self found this New Year’s Eve a breath of fresh air, where we can trade in the high-energy festivities for a cozy night at home. It was everything I needed. I have always told people I am such a simple person, and spending New Year’s Eve at home made my heart truly sing.

We started the night in the kitchen; D was whipping up our signature mascarpone cream that had made us swoon with delight last Christmas. We rolled out tiny sausage-filled pastries on the tray and waited for our lasagna Bolognese from the Italian supermarket to bubble away in the oven. We stayed alert for the clock to turn its hands while finishing our rerun of Reply 1988 and the last episode of Shameless, then fell into the grip of the documentary Biggest Heist Ever, which left us wide-eyed and engrossed.

D and I shared our thoughts and plans for the year ahead, and I revealed my priorities for the New Year after looking back to evaluate my 2024. I realized I had nothing much to say about 2024 that did not involve work and the shop (which had many unforgettable moments and achievements!). However, some of my semi-personal dearest memories from last year include:

1) swimming in the clear and calm water in Isola d’Elba,
2) finally managing to stretch my own raw canvas; and
3) having my 30-minute “silent time” at my acupuncture appointment every Tuesday.

I didn’t write a lot last year. Almost not at all, to be honest. I didn’t have the time to daydream or type a draft of a story or even a tiny essay I would love to keep for myself. I didn’t do much deep journaling, didn’t read that much, didn’t feel inspired. I felt tired and anxious most of the time as if I was racing under invisible pressure—and I knew that something needed to change.

David Sedaris said there are four significant burners in our lives: family, friends, work, and health. To succeed, the theory said you can only have three of the four burners on simultaneously. I don’t know if I want to “succeed,”—but I know I want to feel the joy of living life, no matter how mundane that life looks to someone else.

I have been enjoying sniffing my Earthly Records’ incense paper in the morning as I arrive at my journaling desk, and I fell in love with one called “Blissful Ripple“—my theme for 2025. I don’t plan to keep three burners on next year. I only want to focus on one: my health and well-being, and see if it will create a blissful ripple effect on the other three burners of my life. I don’t mind having the four burners on and off now and then or having four of them on but on really low fire.

As New Year was approaching, we indulged in the sweetness of Pandoro cake with a dollop of our fresh-whipped crema di mascarpone and watched the fireworks exploding around us from the balcony with a bottle of prosecco, then silly-danced to the loud bachata song, Obsession—turning the speaker super loud since we’re the only ones in the building and all the neighbors were going on holidays.

We decided to “camp” on our sofa bed, throwing our blankets and pillows to sleep under the living room’s skylight; the distant crackle of fireworks lulled us to sleep in comforting closeness, closing one year and starting the other with shared warmth and simple joy. We woke up to the light rain, heavy grey clouds, and raucous wind outside, the signature Amsterdam winter weather—then had a cup of cappuccino and assembled our LEGO flowers.

So here’s to new beginnings and quiet nights, where the best memories are made in the tender moments shared with loved ones.

Featured photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash