The Saturday Letter: Seat 23A.
#004: My word of the year and a mini “gift guide” that no one (one person) asked for.
Hi everyone! In celebration of 500 subscribers (How exciting! Thank you!), I’m doing an AMA aka an “Ask Me Anything” — yippee! I am an open book, so reply to this email or leave a comment with any questions you have for me at all — career advice, personal curiosities, etc. — and I will answer them all in a new year post! Can’t wait.
Hello from seat 23A. This year has been one of stops and starts: from parking lots to planes, buses to different beds (my real-life Spotify Wrapped would read, “You’ve woken up confused where you are 15 times this year. Congrats!”), time zones to zip codes, and airport lounges to the eventual reprieve of lazy Sunday loungewear. In numbers, it’s been one year of marriage, two family vacations, three wedding weekends in a row, and the list goes on. I’m happy! And tired!
With so much going on, I decided early on that Flow would be my word of the year. For me, that meant — whenever I had the choice — always leaning into whichever task, activity, or path felt the most right-to-me in the moment.
Because of Flow, on a writing retreat weekend with a good friend at the beginning of the year, I ditched what I thought I should work on and chose what I wanted to really work on in the moment instead. I ended with my very first screenplay written in 48 hours.
Because of Flow, I put my idea for an essay collection on hold and started the other long-term project my heart had been longing to start right now. Now I have a newsletter I love writing called In Deep where I can playfully express my love for entertainment with no restrictions.
Because of Flow, approaching my to-do lists feels less burdensome. Even if it’s a list of 20 things I don’t want to do, I pick the one thing that feels the most appealing (or least overwhelming) in that moment, and not the “next thing on the list” in the arbitrary order I’ve assigned.
This is the power of Flow, or whatever you might call checking in with yourself and choosing what is calling to you over rigid structure (Clarification: you can still find Flow without foregoing a routine — great news for Type A people like me!).
By pouring my energy into the creative project I am most excited about in any given moment or on any given day, I don’t experience as much frustration or writer’s block or existential confusion about whether I’m meant to do the thing or not.
By vacuuming instead of catching up on emails when I feel like doing something more physical or mindless, and catching up on emails instead of vacuuming when I need to be productive but also want to be as horizontal as possible, I am less stressed and more at peace.
By going with the “flow” — my flow — I am sending my body signals that I trust what it wants and needs in that moment. More importantly, I am sending my body signals that I trust it will eventually be ready for that other thing. That trust adds up, and everything I create or do will be better for it.
I’m not perfect at this, but it’s a nice northern star to aim for. I find myself wishing this for you, too: trusting that what you want right now is enough, and that what you don’t want right now will find you again should you wish for it to.
Before we part ways for now, I wanted to share my utmost gratitude for you. I am especially thankful for those who make themselves known in this space by leaving comments, liking, replying, and simply reading. I feel your presence.
I also wanted to carve out a small moment to — if no one has done it for you yet — pray, hope, and wish for a beautifully uneventful closing to your year. (No bad news! No good news! Just rest and coziness!) May the very, very brightest of beginnings find you come January 1st, 2025.
As always, thanks for being here. A small note … but big news! Next year, I plan to run an In Deep post the first Saturday of every month, and a Saturday Letter the last Saturday of every month. Let’s see if I can stick with that. Lol. I’m so excited!
See you at the bottom.
A bunch of movies and shows that are perfect for the end of the year here. Plus Sabrina Carpenter’s “A Nonsense Christmas” Netflix holiday special. And Sabrina Carpenter’s NPR Tiny Desk (or just “Desk” for her, lol). And Jane Wickline’s Sabrina Carpenter song on SNL. Basically everything Sabrina because Sabrina is everything!
Shuffling my 2024 playlist that I added new songs and albums to throughout the year (Did I miss any?). It’s comprised of music released this year from artists I currently admire, have long admired, or are interested in getting to know. Speaking of artists I’m interested in getting to know … why did no one tell me about Rachel Chinouriri? A Black British alternative indie girlie? I’m in love!
I just finished The Midnight Feast, which I really only kept reading to find out what happened at the end. But it was kind of hard to get through because the characters were so all over the place. Now onto Hardly Strangers, a romance novella I keep hearing great things about!
I famously love doing something that one person requested and making it seem like everyone requested it, lmao. So without further ado … here’s my (teeny tiny) version of a gift guide1 — solely made up of things that I have “tried” and now use every day or all the time plus some future gift-giving tips — that a grand total of one person asked for!
Around the house: I use this digital label printer more than you want to know, and our digital photo frame makes me so happy every time I pass it. I repurchased the label maker for a new mom in my family as a Christmas gift (feel free to steal this idea) and love the photo frame as a gift for newlyweds or in-laws (feel free to steal this idea, too). I also cannot tell you why these adjustable bookends are so pleasing to me. I bought it for my nightstand first, then for Dan’s side once I realized we both like having various books by our bed!
In the kitchen: I will never stop talking about these colorful glass fun straws. Not only do they make every drink at every time of day — even an afternoon sparkling water — more joyful, but they add a lil’ pop of color to the room or a bar cart if you keep them on display in a glass. Again, happier every time I see them! And they’re a perfect housewarming gift. (My best friend loved this and the label maker for hers!) Two very important items on our wedding registry that I still love one year later: this mini rice cooker and this portable karaoke machine. The hype of having a rice cooker is so real. It’s much easier and fresher than boiling those bags on the stovetop and not as annoying or expensive as those single-use packets from the grocery store. Karaoke wise: Dan and I love turning dinner and work-from-home breaks into an opportunity to sing a duet. The party animal (or party homebody?) in your life has a karaoke-shaped hole in their heart — and you can be the one that fills it!
On the body: I have not found a better mascara than this one that a friend put me onto years ago, and this is after experimenting with several others. I highly recommend gifting this — or any another beauty product, clothing item, accessory, etc. a person has complimented you on — to try themselves. These classic cloud-soft sweatpants from Old Navy are the most inexpensive luxury (I got similar ones from H&M … not as soft), and I’ve been trying others, but no shoe feels as supportive and cushiony for me at this point in my life as my HOKAs.
⊛ A Shondaland Oral History of the ‘Scandal’ Season 5 Holiday Episode, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
⊛ Shondaland’s Oral History of the ‘Station 19’ Thanksgiving Episode, “Little Girl Blue”
⊛ A Shondaland Oral History of the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 6 New Year’s Eve Episode
⊛ Camilla Luddington on That ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Cliff-Hanger
“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life." -Omar Khayyam
In conclusion …
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Thank you again for reading, sweet friend. Ciao for now. 🤍
Hi there! My name is Mia Brabham Nolan and I’m a writer by day and by night, currently living in New York City. I write In Deep with Mia Brabham Nolan, the entertainment, music, and culture Substack newsletter. I’m on Instagram @yourstrulymia. Leave a comment with your thoughts or saying hi and I’ll always respond. Thanks for reading :)
A note for the (teeny tiny) gift guide: These recommendations are from my heart, just for you! I do earn a small amount (like … pennies, lol) when people purchase items from the links provided, but no sponsors or paid promotions here. Thanks for supporting <3
looking forward to another year of reading your writing! <3 I think my word for 2025 is persist lol. I am an Aries = spark and fizzle. (almost) three years ago I said, "I'll write a novel in a year!" haha. I did get my first draft after the 1.5-year mark but going into the third year I want to finish the final draft!!!
I look forward to hearing about your 2025 flow. Wishing you all the best for the New Year!