Small Comforts

goodbye to the longest January on record

Welcome to the end of January, or as it’s more commonly now known, The Month That Wouldn’t End. I hope you’re managing to manage The Rage and The Horrors. My husband knows now that I can’t be spoken to in the mornings until I’ve had my anti-anger/calming meds. Like, I wake up with my jaw and fists clenched. For those who follow my Instagram, you know I’ve been venting my fury in my IG stories, so I’m not going to replicate all of it here. Instead I’m going to show you some books I’ve picked up, because book procurement is one of my stress coping mechanisms, along with writing senators, and rage posting on Instagram.

Saw Angela Tomalski’s ‘The Infamous Gilberts’ on someone’s Substack but I can’t remember where so I can’t properly attribute. But I promptly ordered. “The Remains of the Day meets The Royal Tenenbaums in this darkly funny debut novel about a wealthy, eccentric family in decline and the secrets held within the walls of their crumbling country manor” was all I needed to hear about it.

And I also picked up a blind book bag during my latest walkabout through Barnes and I was pretty sure I knew the book that it contained, and I was 100% correct, and it’s a book I’ve been wanting to read for many months now!

‘The Rose Bargain’ by Sasha Peyton Smith is described as ‘Bridgerton’-esque with a marriage mart competition but it’s magical. And there’s a fearsome faerie Queen. Sold. Please excuse the flecks of dust or lint on my newest tablecloth acquisition. My other one was fantastic for the golden glow of autumn, but right now I wanted something bold and punchy and cheerful. I think I’ll probably build a seasonal tablecloth collection because that seems important to do right now.

Came across this Heartland Masala Chai and cookbook from Harney teas, and would like to try both.

Darling Desi is a YouTube account I’ve been following for a few years now and she’s like a real life grown up Anne of Green Gables. Her book tastes and mine are closely aligned, and I have about half of the books she mentions in this video of her 2025 favorite books, and the other half are ones I would like to read.

A reader left a comment last week asking if I had read the book ‘Apricot Sky’ by Ruby Ferguson. She said it’s been described as “sunshine between two covers”. I was so excited to realize that I ALREADY OWN IT, but have yet to read. So with this endorsement, I’ve jumped it several books ahead in the TBR pile. This is supposed to be a charming look at post WW2 family life in the Scottish Highlands, and I’ve heard nothing but praise for it.

A COLOR SCHEME IS EMERGING in this post, love it when that happens.

Photo: House & Garden UK

Saw this recipe the other day for a cocktail called a CHAMPAGNE COBBLER. It’s a recipe from famed London hotel Claridge’s and doesn’t it look DELIGHTFUL? I’ll take two. Oh and you best believe, I’ve had champagne chilling in my fridge for years, waiting for a certain announcement. If you know what I mean, great! And if you don’t, I’m not explaining it to you.

What to eat when nothing sounds good.

House & Garden UK

In paint news, I’m also looking at Dark Plum paint now for my family room. (This is TOO dark, but I do admire the color.)

Other links I appreciated this week:

Anything Gabrielle Blair writes is worth your time.

Loved this list of Mystery and Thriller Novels Set During Snowstorms.

Advice on how to make life more whimsical.

Jenna Park’s Substack is always so beautiful and thoughtful.

U.S. exceptionalism is a myth:

The Way We Live in the United States Is Not Normal

Adore this artist’s work and this new series she’s created.

This piece is not cozy. It will scare you. It should because fascism is scary.

RIP to this legend. The best of Catherine O’Hara as Moira Rose on ‘Schitt’s Creek’:

Yours in rage and sorrow,

Melissa