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In This Letter.
+Dear CRUSHes
+I’m breaking up with you, 2025
+My father’s favorite soup. Tuscan White Bean & Vegetable Soup
+3 Things I’m Crushing On
+Photos from My Recent Trip to Paris
+Playlist of the Week
+Social Media I Loved This Week
Hello Crush,
I hope that you are well, CRUSHes. I’ve been thinking of you.
You might have guessed why I’ve been away because I had mentioned over the summer that my beloved father’s health had declined precipitously. He died in November.
Also in 2025, my sister’s husband died (at 62) after a period of quick decline from early onset dementia, my mother had a stroke and my dog Rikki died. Over the last year I have felt buried under with acute family needs and loss. When my father went into hospice care this fall I felt like the best thing (the only thing?) to do with my time and energy was to let go of any non-urgent obligations and dive into taking care of my family’s needs (and my own).
So many of you can relate, I‘m sure, because three close friends of mine have lost a parent in the last six weeks. It’s the stage we’re in.
This period of family care has been difficult in ways that anyone would expect, but also in ways I would never have expected. (Like sibling tension.)
I have a lot of thoughts on how to best support friends who are deep in the frontlines of caretaking. I’ve now been through it intimately as a primary caretaker with both my late husband and father, and I had a front row seat with my sister, whose husband needed dementia care prior to his death (at 62). Let’s skip that for right now. I’m not ready and it’s not the season to do so if I were.
I plan to start publishing regularly after New Year’s, and I’ll write about it then. For this week, I’ve pulled together a few things to share to finish out the year.
I hope that you are able to carve out some time this season with people you love to enjoy some stress-free, news-free, trouble-free merriment.
Right now I am sitting in my cozy apartment in New York. It recently snowed and a friend sent me a list of the best streets in my neighborhood for Christmas lights. Koko and I are heading out for a walk. In the hardest periods of my life I have tried to remind myself that if I look for the light, I’ll find it. Tonight that will be true literally and otherwise.
CRUSHes, I’ll see you in 2026. We’ll have a good time then.
My father’s favorite soup. Tuscan White Bean, Vegetable & Sausage Soup. By Dish Stanley
I made this simple Italian-inspired soup for my father a decade ago and he loved it so much that I cooked him a batch once a month. I put containers in the freezer for him. “So you can eat it whenever you want, Dad.“
Notes: You can easily get away with half the sausage, but I like some for the flavor. Also, I add fresh (or frozen) spinach into the bowl, with some freshly grated Parmesan.”
Tuscan Bean and Italian Sausage Soup
1 lb. Italian sausage – remove casing and brown sausage
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 ribs celery chopped
1 c. sliced mushrooms (I used 8 oz)
4 cans (15 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken broth
1 28 oz can petite chopped tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp crushed red pepper (I used a little less)
9 oz bag spinach
Brown sausage. In 6 qt. pot, brown garlic, celery, and mushrooms in olive oil. Cook until tender. Add beans, broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, sausage. Add the spinach to the bottom of the bowls and ladle the soup out on top; it will wilt in the bowls.
Serve with parmesan cheese, fresh basil and parsley.
3 Things I’m Crushing On by Dish Stanley
In this series, readers like you share recommendations for the things they love the most, right at this moment.
Swedish Stockings. I am embracing the current trend (in New York, anyway) of giving up the black opaque tight (or pair of socks) for Swedish Stocking’s Olivia Premium Tight in Sharp Red (‘tis the season). Looking beyond Christmas, I’ve gotten their tights (or socks) in the Dusty Purple, the Rosa Lace in Dark Red and the Rebecka Argyle in Green. Fun.
My new everyday panties. A friend told me about Huha, and now these soft, breathable, comfortable, reasonably-priced panties have become my everyday panties. I wear the bikini fit and find them flattering, too.
Dazzle Dry: Dark Red Shades. I am not a big fan of a regular mani (or pedi) because I don’t like taking the time. I spend most of the year, and certainly the spring and summer, with “naked nails” and try my best to keep them short and neat looking. In the autumn though, I start leaning into dark nail polish. In the fall, it’s a lot of navy blues (verging on black) and I also tried a dark brown that I loved with all the chocolate colors that were trending. For the holidays I like red, but there are a lot of reds and not all of them work with my skin tone, which is pinky/peachy. A friend looked great in the shade C.E.O. (she’s a beautiful brunette) but when I tried it it made me look whiteish. I love the Passionate Red, which is red verging on brown and speaks to my current dark mood.
Does everyone know that the Dazzle Dry line is the longest lasting non-toxic nail polish on the market?
Photos from My Recent Trip to Paris By Dish Stanley
I had a longstanding trip to Paris planned that ended up landing on my calendar five days after my father’s funeral. Perfect timing for me to get away, plus I love Paris in the off-season, which late November decidedly is. I have a long relationship with Paris over Thanksgiving, which I’ll tell you about some time soon. This was my 10th trip to Paris, and while I have friends who are far more familiar with the City of Lights, I feel like I’m getting to know it. This trip I spent much more time investigating new arrondissements. I’ll tell you more about the trip later, but here are some random photos of Paris — sparkling in anticipation of Christmas.
Moving L to R: 1. Le Bon Georges, for lunch. 2. My lace tights and new blue velvet shoes at Prunier. 3. The best food market in Paris (12th Arrondisement). 4. LBG’s chocolate soufflé. 4. Astier de Villatte. 5. Jazz at Sunset/Sunside. 6. Shopping for silver asparagus servers at Les Puces de Saint-Ouen. 7. Champagne crowd at Hotel Crillon’s bar. 8. Flower shop (6th Arrondisement). 10. Cartier Foundation. 11. Louis Vuitton Foundation. 12. Street style, Le Marais. 13. Cheese.
Social Media I Loved This Week
Playlist of the Week
Benjamin Britten Ceremony of Carols
My father loved classical music. He grew up in a gifted musical family that especially appreciated Beethoven (his sister Mary was an accomplished pianist) and Mozart (his other sister Rita played the violin). Of course we listened to all the popular Christmas music in our own home, but in his heart of hearts my father leaned toward classical music. I’m playing The Ceremony of Carols on repeat this season. An 11 movement choral work with joyful, dramatic carols, it is based on an ancient English book of poetry and features Middle English, Latin and Early Modern English verses and looks at the Christmas story from many perspectives.
XO,
Dish
Some Wonderful Holiday Stories & Articles from Past Years That You Don't Want To Miss:
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Dish Stanley
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The Crush Letter
The Crush Letter is a weekly newsletter from Dish Stanley curating articles & intelligence on everything love & connection - friendship, romance, self-love, sex. If you’d like to take a look at some of our best stories go to Read Us. Want the Dish?
