A Fondue Fever Dream
the making of our holiday windows + 7 more Little Gems
The holidays are the absolute wildest and unquestionably my favorite time to own a brick-and-mortar retail business. It is stressful and chaotic and challenging in so many ways, but in so many more ways, it is pure magic.
In our West Village shop, we have big front windows that we’ve made a tradition out of outfitting for the holidays. Last year, we worked with artist Phthalo Ruth on a large-scale, hand-painted centerpiece, and decked it out with hanging vintage glassware to feel like that moment at the New Year’s Eve party when everyone has a glass of something sparkly in hand and wants to cheers everyone in sight.
We installed this year’s window last night, and…it is every bit as (if not more) special.
We were inspired by two elements: Our unabashedly colorful linens collaboration with the London-based Colours of Arley,
and a recipe in my book called The Future Is Fondue.
What we wanted (craved, really) for the window this year was comfort and coziness and warmth. And I am in awe of how Ariella and Adam Sperling, on my team, made that vision – their window vision! – a reality.
That’s another magical part of building this business: getting to see all of the ways in which my team takes these shops, this brand, this idea — of a place to find more joy at home — and runs away (in the best way) with it. I am so grateful.
I can’t get over the custom upholstered chair, the vintage Christmas records, and of course, the TV!!! And, a moment for the perfect fondue pot (found by my mom):
And now for a few more Little Gems…
I went to Ikea alone on a Friday night a couple of weeks ago, and it was kind of heavenly. Apparently no one else wants to be at Ikea on a Friday at 6pm, so I wandered the fake bedrooms and kitchens alone with my own thoughts. I came for underbed storage, and what I got was a kind of guided retail meditation.
And, yes, I also got the underbed storage. After years of resenting the hard plastic sweater tupperware under my bed (perhaps you know the type), I found an immensely improved answer: these soft cases. They actually made my Seasonal Closet Switch (an all-day affair I typically dread) much more enjoyable.
As is the case with any trip to Ikea, I walked out with something I didn’t plan for: this extra extra large mixing bowl. When I tell you it has changed my salad-making life…
Big Calzones. A recipe from Big Night, which I can’t recommend enough for a night when you just need comfort and fun and also who doesn’t want to eat a big calzone sometimes? The recipe calls for store-bought dough, but my real preference is going to my nearest slice shop and asking if they’ll sell me a ball.
La Vara, the Spanish restaurant in Cobble Hill. My dad was in town for one night only, and we took him here, and it was perfect. The place has been open for over a decade, and as far as I can tell, it just keeps getting better. Can’t recommend enough for when someone from out of town wants “creative, smaller plates grazing” (my Dad’s exact request via text).
We just launched our holiday Big Night COOKIE TINS! We designed “2024” into the tin because I am bullish on making this an annual tradition. Dreamed up by our Grocery Buyer (and baker herself),
, and cookie queen Laurie Ellen. Let me tell you, these cookies (and caramel popcorn!) are SO GOOD.Found: the perfect sweatpants. Size up for maximum cozy. The high-rise, the colors, the price — it’s all just right. My Thanksgiving week wish for you is that you only wear things as comfy as these while you eat your favorite foods and spend exactly as much time shopping as you wish.
On that note, I would be remiss not to mention that we are running our big, once-a-year sale at Big Night (online only) this week. It goes live on Wednesday 11/27, but if you’re reading this, you’re my VIP, and you get early access right here. Use code BIGNIGHTVIP for 15% off, before everyone else tomorrow :)