The 26 small upgrades that make my everyday life a whole lot better.
an audit of what actually improved my days (most under $100)
As a deeply nostalgic and reflective Virgo, I feel it’s my cosmic duty to take the beginning of a New Year seriously. If you were to flip through my journals, you’d see that come January, I dutifully analyze the highs and lows of each year. From there, I set pie-in-the-sky goals for what I’d like life to look like in the coming twelve months. This past week, easing into 2026 has been no different.
My energy coming into this year is especially supercharged thanks to the meaning I put into numerology. If we aren’t yet connected on Instagram (let’s fix that!), it might be news to you that 26 is my angel number. If you’re not familiar, angel numbers function as a cosmic nudge—when I see mine pop up in a licence plate, street address, or something as menial as a coat check ticket, it feels like the universe’s quiet reminder that I’m on the right path. That being said, kicking off 2026 feels like one big call from the universe. I actually got the below text from my mom months ago and felt so seen…this year is calling to make it count.
Something about the symbolism of 26 has always appealed to me: it’s the number of letters in the alphabet and the miles in a marathon (though, I think at three marathons, I may have hung up my hat for a bit). And while I’m not Jewish, many of those in my community are, and I’ve been told in Judaism, 26 represents divine presence, and attributes like authority, completeness, and eternal nature. LOVE.
All this numerology and goal-setting talk brings me to the topic of this issue: upleveling your life in both little and big ways. When journaling this past week, rather than making sweeping resolutions or reinventing the wheel, I found myself looking back at what already worked this past year—the ideas that resonated most, the small upgrades that quietly improved my days, and the cultural corner of the internet I’ve been spending my time in lately. Consider this first TSS edition of 2026 a snapshot of what carried me through last year, and what I’m bringing with me into the next 365!
My most engaged 10 letters of last year
The 26 little upgrades that have made my life better
The Vault (Paid Subscriber Exclusive): What I’ve been watching, reading, and listening to these days!
Every year, I’m fascinated by what content rises to the top—not just in terms of numbers, but energy. What people save, forward, and reply to. What lands in inboxes at exactly the right moment. Looking back at last year’s most engaged letters (this reflects a combination of open rates, click-throughs, replies, saves, forwards, and conversions to paid subscriptions), a few clear throughlines emerged, revealing not just what I loved writing, but what you loved reading. For your perusing pleasure, the top ten are listed and linked below.
88 *NICHE* Gift Ideas for Very Particular People. 8 hyperspecific guides for the hotel snob, the ultimate hostess, the voracious reader, the frequent flyer, the Francophile and more!!
A No-Gatekeeping Guide to Mallorca. Reporting back from my fourth stint on this magical island...
Little Luxuries that Make an Outsized Impact. 26 ways to romanticize the everyday.
A Week in My [Charmed] New York City Life. work, play, West Village Book Club, and everything in between (with timestamps)
![a week in my [charmed] New York City life](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-xcb!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0f2780df-0c5b-45e8-9fa8-6529dd233a46_1680x1200.png)
Sun, Sea, and Reverie: The Magic of €uro Summer: including my breakdown of the four Balearic Islands and a mini Formentera Guide
How to Romanticize Your Life (according to self-proclaimed experts) which was a fun collab with my friend Caylee Ashwell!
Your Local’s Guide to West Village ...112 places that prove it is indeed, good to be a West Village Girlie
The Packing Method that Changed My Life (written while packing a carry-on for 12 days to Australia) including the exact AI prompts I use to pack like a pro
The packing method that changed my life (written while packing a carry-on for 12 days in Australia)
I’m Gifting $450 of Goodies to Celebrate International Women’s Day. plus, Q&As with Dianna Cohen and Laney Crowell
2025 Intentions: to get HOTTER and RICHER. do I have your attention yet?
For this section, I really wanted to be less shoppy and more ‘optimize your life’ vibes, but the reality is, a fair bit of these upgrades do involve replacing an everyday item with a better one. Luckily, most are less than $100!
Traded in running and light sculpt workouts for lifting heavy. This one was a colossal shift considering I ran 500+ miles and pulled off a marathon PR in 2024, yet I started the year pretty unhappy with how I was feeling physically. Oh, the irony!!!!! I decided to swing the pendulum in the complete opposite direction and started weight lifting a few times per week. A total game-changer, not necessarily in the number on the scale, but in the composition of my body, I’m excited to keep this habit up in 2026.
Replaced my electric toothbrushes with this Swiss-made handheld toothbrush. I love the idea of going analogue in as many aspects of life as possible, and after losing my second electric toothbrush in a hotel room, I decided to go back to basics. I fell in love with this brand after being given one as a dental amenity kit in Zurich and haven’t looked back since.
Swapped my fridge water filter dispenser. This 20-cup dispenser filters out metals, minerals, salts, and ions and has a TDS meter to check the levels of dissolved solids before dispensing or pouring water, so you always know when it is time to change your filter! I especially like how it sits in my fridge and is easy to refill without taking it out.
Speaking of water filtration: installing my Jolie Filtered Shower Head. The IG ads finally got me on this one and it’s so worth the hype! Can’t believe I waited as long as I did to make this switch. So easy to install and replace the filter regularly.
Being a late adopter of Salomon XT-Whispers. I wasn’t cool enough to wear these before they were mainstream, but now I’m on my second pair and fully hooked on finding fun colorways before they sell out (the cool colors always sell out).
Caved on a vibration plate. Again, TikTok got me bad on this one, but I’ve loved incorporating this into my morning routine for enhanced muscle activation, improved circulation, and faster workout recovery. Vibration plates are also supposed to help with bone density and lymphatic drainage.
My Kindle. My sissy got me my Kindy (as we lovingly call her) for Christmas last year after years of me insisting I preferred paperbacks/hardcovers. Now, I can’t imagine NOT having her, especially for travel!
GIN GINS when feeling car sicky. These are another must add to the travel bag; anytime I’m on a long drive, these are a savior.
Speaking of travel bag…creating a permanent travel toiletry kit. No more decanting products into mini bottles or scouring through my toiletries at midnight before an early morning departure. Everything lives packed and ready, and I just restock when I get home. It’s one of those systems that makes me feel very adult!
Swapped my Armani foundation for Victoria Beckham foundation. I hate to be this person, but this product is worth its weight in gold…easily my top beauty product upgrade of the year. It goes on more like skincare and stays on so well throughout the day. I feel like my skin has only gotten better since I started using it, and you barely need a pea-sized amount of product to make a huge impact. VB doesn’t sell at Sephora, but Cassandra Grey’s Violet Grey has her products! FWIW, I’m shade Fair 3 Light.
Mixing protein powder into my yogurt. We are all so inundated with the need to consume more protein, so this is just a little cheat! I mix a scoop of this brand into my Fage (which I get unflavored) nearly every morning.
Becoming a Russian manicure person. Possibly the beauty treatment that revolutionized my year in the most impactful way, I finally started going once a month for an e-file manicure at Yara, and I cannot believe how much my nails have gotten longer and stronger. If you have a salon near you that does this style of mani, run, don’t walk. I can even stretch to five weeks in between appointments when needed, and my nails have never looked better!
Getting a cross-body pearl phone chain. Before my work trip to Australia, I decided to get this and it made having my phone handy during long travel days and while on the trip to shoot content such a breeze. Mine is currently on sale.
LMNT electrolytes. I’ve tried basically every electrolyte brand on the market and these are the best IMO. Always have them in my travel bag!
Replacing my old lip mask for the TATCHA Kissu lip mask. Coming from a Rouge Sephora girlie, you can trust I do my fair share of product sampling! This was one of my fave totally unnecessary but totally fabulous upgrades of the year. Also make great gifts!
This handheld steamer. Again, I used this brand at a hotel and immediately knew I needed to upgrade my steamer at home.
LUMIFY eye drops. IYKYK and if you don’t, now you do! Nothing will make you look more alert and polished than a few drops of Lumyyy.
Clean Skin Club Face Pads and Face Towels WOW. I’m obsessed with these. I grew up in a washcloth house…there were always so many washcloths in the laundry between my sister, my mom, and me, and I carried that habit into adulthood of always needing a washcloth to wash my face. Turns out, these disposable towels are much more hygienic!
Cocolab floss. I’ll admit I’m not great at flossing. This is the lovliest brand I’ve ever used and my best chance at actually flossing!
Began using Biodance Bio-Collagen Masks. Me and the rest of the internet adore these Korean masks. I personally don’t like sleeping in them but prefer to put one on around 6p or so and take it off around 9p; your skin is literal glass afterwards.
Starting my day with my Theraface Depuffing Wand. Always in my travel bag and lately when home, I’ve been doing this while on my vibration plate to habit stack and it’s a fun way to really feel snatched to start the day. Nothing feels as good as this cool applicator on puffy eyes!
Using the Hatch Alarm Clock instead of my phone. The Hatch was the top-selling product on my holiday gift guide, and with good reason! What a gorgeous way to start the day, versus having your phone beside your bed.
No more leggings on flights. Real pants! But comfortable pants!!! I love these ones and these ones (worth the splurge). Or, if you want to pull off pants that look like jeans but are actually sweats, of course, these ones. Having a go-to “airport uniform” changed how I feel starting a trip and how I show up when I land.
Becoming a belt person. Belts became my hyperfixation this year, beginning with acquiring my Ralph Lauren Metal Accent Leather Belt, as well as building up my Aureum collection (shoutout Cass DiMicco!), including this one, this one, and this one to name a few. These belts instantly make an outfit look more elevated, and I’m looking forward to continuing to cultivate my collection. Next one on my wishlist is this beauty! Also, I take mine to my shoe guy to add extra holes so I can wear high-waisted or at the hips.
Allowed myself to have a scale for the first time since college. Well, well, well, if I’ve seen a better reason for a paywall, then I haven’t met her yet. Body image/weight is such a personal topic, so thank you for the grace to open up a bit about my [fraught] relationship to it.
