Mindholiday: January edit
Mindholiday Collage Salon, trips I'm sending clients on, December favorites, and more
Welcome back to the monthly Mindholiday edit, the corner of the internet where I share my newest finds, current favorites, places I’m dying to visit, travel stories, and local adventures.
Happy New Year, everyone!
New Year’s Day has Monday back to school energy. While I’m energized by the promise of a fresh start, I’m equally sad to leave December behind. It was filled with so much holiday magic and new family memories. We took a trip to the Rosewood Mayakoba with our close friends and all of our kids (these trips are the cutest and most cup filling), and Mark and I also had a fantastic Christmas trip to Todos Santos.
We didn’t expect to fall head over heels in love with Todos Santos, but it charmed us so deeply that we felt like we left part of our souls behind. That kind of magnetic spiritual alignment with a place doesn’t happen often to us, so when it does, we know we’ve stumbled upon something truly special and otherworldly. The feeling of being surrounded by raw nature seemingly untouched by the outside world is what always triggers this for us. We saw hundreds of whales swimming south for the winter with their newborn offspring. The beaches were virtually empty—we’d walk for miles and not pass a single person, only the sound of blowing sand and waves enveloping us. We hiked and ate a ton. We left with sand in our suitcases and an insatiable need to buy land there one day. For now, we will keep dreaming. (A guide coming soon, obviously!)
Speaking of the new year, last week I shared my guide to setting intentional goals and vision boarding. Along with this guide, I’m excited to share something I’ve been dreaming about for a while: the first Mindholiday Collage Salon! One of my goals for 2026 is building real, in-person community around Mindholiday. I want to create space for us to gather, connect, get creative, and not look at our phones for a few hours.
The first Mindholiday Collage Salon theme will be vision boarding and manifestation. We’ll spend the afternoon making vision boards and collaging while we share (or don’t share—no pressure) our goals and intentions for 2026. I’ll provide magazines, supplies, drinks, and snacks. If you’ve already created a vision board or just want to hang out and collage or junk journal for a bit, you’re more than welcome.
The details:
When: Saturday, January 11, 4-7pm
Where: At my place in Brooklyn (exact address sent after RSVP)
Cost: This one will be free to attend, but if you want to contribute $15 or so, it would be appreciated. Future events might be reserved for paid subscribers! Also, if you have magazines or source material you’d like to contribute, please bring them with you.
Note: While I’d love to host everyone, my home unfortunately does have limited capacity, so please RSVP here ASAP to guarantee your spot. The event password is “mindholiday”. And if for some reason you didn’t secure a spot or if this date doesn’t work for you, no worries! More events to come, I promise.
xx,
Bella
Note: This month’s edit is a long post and might get cut off in your email, so head here to read it in its entirety.
A curated list of the things I loved last month, from travel gear and beauty products to restaurants, experiences, and small discoveries that made my life better and brighter.
Getting in the Christmas spirit! One of the best parts about having a child is reliving holidays traditions from childhood while creating new ones. I love decorating our disco tree, making Christmas cookies, and sending out cheesy family holiday cards every year.
MoMA and The Bar Room at The Modern. On Tuesday, we took a family trip to Manhattan because Quinn had been begging us for months to take him to see Starry Night. We really loved the Ruth Asawa retrospective, but the thing we all enjoyed the most was lunch at The Bar Room after. Turns out, this dealcoholized rosé (which was so good we immediately ordered a bottle), fried chicken, and caviar hot dogs are a parent’s and ten-year-old’s shared dream. Of course we finished the meal with the frozen toasted marshmallow hot chocolate sundae, and then Quinn chain-smoked candy cigarettes as we walked through Central Park, enjoying the leftover snow and crisp air.
When in Mexico with our friends, the kids (and adults) had so much fun putting a 500 piece Piecework puzzle together. As soon as I got home, I ordered the Slim Aarons set, which might have been overly ambitious, considering all of the puzzles are 1000 pieces, but if I’m putting a puzzle together, I want it to be whimsical and aesthetically pleasing. Consider this my new hobby.
Seed Library for post-dinner cocktails. Is it as good as its London counterpart? No. Nothing will beat the original Shoreditch location, because it’s sexy, well-padded and therefore not loud, and they have my favorite mocktail of all time. But is it another fantastic cocktail bar in the Flatiron area that’s worth a visit? Yes. Their version of a whiskey sour is excellent.
This Dr. Jart+ moisturizing mask for post-travel. Being on planes always always dries out my skin, and I’ve been using these recently after landing to combat that. It’s affordable and it works without feeling suffocating.
The Francis Featherstone exhibition at Arcadia Gallery. The way that Featherstone paints fabrics, tattoos, and quilted patterns is magnetic, transportive, and comforting. If you’re in SoHo this weekend, you should stop by before this ends on Jan 4.
A vintage Bottega Veneta nylon cheetah print bag I found on The RealReal. It was a steal and it holds everything I need, including my Kindle. There’s another one still available—twin with me!
Golden Ratio finally opened in my neighborhood, and it’s unreal, just like everything that the Place des Fêtes team touches. A bar where all cocktails have a mocktail counterpart? Sign me up. The deep fried hake was pure magic on a plate. If you’re into Dry January, this would be a great date spot.
Travel Buddies is a Mindholiday series that celebrates the idea that travel isn’t just about where you go. It’s about who you go with, the cultures you engage with, the people you meet along the way, and the memories you create.
This month’s travel buddy is Alex Friedman, a comedy writer who's worked everywhere from ABC News and CNN to Late Night with Seth Meyers, and her newsletter Hot Tip is exactly what you'd want from someone with that range: whip-smart yet hilarious political analysis sitting alongside useful hot tips from her friends and recommendations for the best coffee shops and cafes worldwide.
Alex’s writing is sharp, funny, and informed without being preachy. She has a real gift for making each newsletter she sends feel like you're getting texts from your smartest, funniest friend who just happens to know everything about everything. In an overwhelming world with a spooky political landscape, Alex reminds us to pay attention to both the big stuff that matters and the small delights that make life worth living, and she's generous enough to share all of it with us.
Tell me about yourself.
I’m a comedy writer living in Los Angeles by way of Philly, New York, D.C., and Atlanta. By day, I write Hot Tip, a politics and culture newsletter where I cover our ever-devolving world with as much laughter as possible, ideally at the expense of JD Vance. By rest of the day, I write sci-fi rom coms and dark comedies set in 17th century Europe. I love to garden and go for walks and watch The Great British Baking Show.
What’s your definition of the perfect travel buddy?
Someone who feels equally passionate about getting in line for the first pastry of the morning at the famous bakery as they do about getting a 10AM room service breakfast because you were out late. Equal parts follow-the-guide and go-with-the-flow. I also like to make a big Google Doc of loose ideas and research and mark Google Maps with 500 cool spots ahead of time, so I tend to do better with someone who is more Type B to my Type A. Someone who likes things planned and organized for them, because I love to plan and organize.
If you could plan your dream trip with one person, dead or alive, who would it be, and where would you take them?
I wouldn’t necessarily say this is a dream trip, but I think it would be fun to go to Las Vegas with Benjamin Franklin. I just know he would be good at gambling, and it would be the first time there for both of us. We would see the Backstreet Boys residency together. I’d ask him why he never wanted to be president as we overeat at a casino buffet. I’d show him that he’s on the $100 bill, and then he would throw it down on the poker table and everyone would be like, fuck, that guy’s cool. And I wouldn’t even mind that he took my only $100. It would be perfect.
Of all the trips you’ve taken, which one would you want to experience again in the exact same way?
I had a really crazy experience last summer, in that I got to go to the Paris Olympics, basically for free. I had never been to Paris—I was supposed to go the year before but had to cancel to have ovarian cyst surgery, so it felt very poetic. One of my best friends was invited to go for work, and she invited me to tag along as her +1. I’m a massive Olympics fan, truly it’s a solid 10% of my personality, and she said “the Olympics are like…your Olympics.”
I went to the Opening Ceremonies on the Seine. We danced in the rain as thousands of athletes rode by on boats. Celine Dion performed. I cried. I got to go to a huge party at Fondation Louis Vuitton, which was basically the Met Gala of the Olympics. Everyone was there. I had zero chill. I was a swimmer my whole life, and I got to see Katie Ledecky swim. I saw the American men win a relay they weren’t supposed to. We stayed in a five star hotel, and all I paid for was my plane ticket. It all sounds made up, and like a movie, and it was. I had a cold the whole time and was exhausted and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it. I wrote about it here, too.
Was there a place where locals really shaped your experience of the trip?
I went to Mexico City this past summer, and my friend and I had a very funny experience that happened over and over again. If one of us didn’t finish our entire plate, like even if we left two bites, the waiter would panic that we didn’t like the food. We would have to assure them: No, we’ve just already eaten five times today. This was amazing, don’t worry. But it happened so much, it almost felt like the city was doing a bit with us by the end.
Have you ever picked up a custom or ritual from another culture that stuck with you?
When I was 16 I went to Italy and for weeks after I came back I insisted on a breakfast of dipping pastries in coffee. It didn’t work that well with my lifestyle of being an athlete in high school, but my mom let me keep it up for a bit, which I appreciate.
When you think of the word “home” what place comes to mind?
What’s crazy is now it’s LA. When I moved here four years ago, it felt like an obligatory thing because I wanted to be a comedy writer and I hated living in New York. People cautioned me about how long it takes to fit in and find your people and told me I needed to be patient. Within about four months I think I decided I would never leave. Perpetual sunshine, great people, cool live performances all over, weekly Haim sister sightings, breakfast burritos at every cafe? Why would I go anywhere else?
What are three things you always bring on a trip, no matter where you’re going?
Xanax, film camera, sunglasses. I’m an anxious flyer, I love to take pictures that I have to wait to see, and my eyes are very sensitive.
The flight attendant is coming around with the drink and snack cart. What are you ordering?
I’m getting a seltzer and charming my way to two packs of pretzels or cookies.
A monthly roundup of what I’ve been reading, watching, and listening to—the books, shows, podcasts, albums, and essays worth downloading to binge before your next flight.
Reading
Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything by Alyson Stoner. Kids shouldn’t be working full time at eight years old, and they definitely shouldn’t be famous for it. After reading this memoir, I’m even more sure that child stardom fucks people up in ways that last long after the cameras stop rolling. You probably know Alyson Stoner as the ridiculously talented kid backup dancing in Missy Elliott’s music videos, or from movies like Camp Rock and Cheaper by the Dozen. But this book pulls back the curtain on all of the stuff that was happening behind the scenes.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This is a must-read story that I had never even heard of before. HeLa cells are the first immortalized human cell line, taken without consent from Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951. These cells have been reproducing continuously in labs ever since their retrieval, contributing to extremely important medical breakthroughs from the polio vaccine to cancer research. Henrietta’s cells were harvested and distributed to labs worldwide without her family’s knowledge (or compensation), raising questions about medical ethics and racial exploitation.
Anything and everything written by Lloyd Kahn. Kahn is 90 years old, and I aspire to be just like him in my old age:
I have a 12-foot Joe Bark racing paddleboard that weighs only 21 pounds, and skips across the water like a water skeeter. I can actually get a wake going. This morning I left my truck over at Stinson Beach; tomorrow I’m gonna paddle over there (2.75 miles), get a hamburger and milkshake at the Parkside stand, and drive the board and me back home. The best kind of exercise is that which includes adventure.
Watching
I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve just gotten around to watching The Summer I Turned Pretty, and I hate to admit the chokehold it has on me. I’m on the last season, so no spoilers please (I’ve somehow not spoiled the ending for myself).
Listening
A monthly sneak peek at where I’m booking my clients and where I’m traveling myself—the destinations, hotels, and curated experiences that are on my radar right now.
A Costa Rican adventure split between a cloud forest in the jungle and Santa Teresa, one of my favorite beaches in the world.
A client came to me saying that she wanted to have an epic vacation to Costa Rica with her husband—part adventure in the rainforest and part relaxation on the beach.
My mind immediately drifted to sending them to El Silencio Lodge & Spa for the first part of their journey. It’s completely immersed in nature, located on a 500-acre nature reserve. They take sustainability very seriously, serve only the freshest food, and there are so many activities on property, including waterfall hikes, forest night walks, and bird watching.
After they get their fill of forest adventure, they’ll take a charming puddle jumper flight to Santa Teresa, one of my favorite beaches in the world, and one of the very few places I’ve felt spiritually aligned to. I booked them at Hotel Nantipa, as I’ve stayed there twice and have so many fond memories associated with my time there. It’s barefoot luxury at its finest, in a slice of paradise, with the best views of the sunset.
A Kauai adventure filled with nature hikes, botanic gardens, and secret beaches.
One of my Substack readers reached out to me with a very fun prompt—she’s headed to Honolulu for a work offsite (I wish my time in corporate America slayed that hard), and her husband is joining her. They wanted to tack on a week of exploration at the end, and we decided on Kauai, especially since they were seeking full blown nature immersion, hiking, and off-the-beaten-path experiences.
On the South Shore, they’re staying at Koʻa Kea Resort on Poipu beach, a coast which is known for very sunny days, world-class snorkeling, and close-ish proximity to Waimea Canyon and Kokeʻe State Park for breathtaking hikes to waterfalls.
On the North Shore, they’re staying at the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. My clients recently had a baby, and I felt like they deserved a very relaxing end to their trip near some truly world-class beaches—Haena, Tunnels, and Ke’e, to name a few. And of course, the Limahuli Garden.
A lot of Italy planning is in the works.
Italy is still white hot as a destination, and I’ve received a huge volume of requests for trips to Sicily and Puglia, along with interest in agriturismo stays (authentic farm guesthouses) and trips with built in Rome stopovers with the main goal of eating as much as possible. Stay tuned for more here.
I’m not going anywhere this month, and I’m thrilled about it.
As much as I love travel, I’ve also really come to appreciate stretches of time spent at home, where I can get into a solid routine, cook and eat healthy meals, and experience New York City for all it has to offer. I’m excited to focus on my health, rest, and take a completely sober January. I’m so excited for the year ahead, and I’m truly so grateful for each and every one of you!
Thanks so much for reading and sharing Mindholiday—it means the entire world to me! Want more? You can follow along on Instagram. I’m also a travel advisor, offering full-service trip design, hotel research, complimentary hotel booking (I can add perks to your res) and more. If you want to partner on a future vacation or newsletter, drop me a line bella@mind.holiday.
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So glad you loved todos santos! I felt the magic there too.
thank u for the fun interview and also for saying such nice things 😭