Ep. 607: Do You Love Whimsy? Celebrate a New Holiday with Us

Gretchen Rubin (0:06)

Hello, and welcome to Happier, a podcast where we talk about ways to become happier.

This week, we'll talk about reader suggestions for choosing a meaningful date for our very popular series about, what do people know? We want to make this an annual roundup. We got a lot of creative, imaginative ideas about choosing a date. And we will also talk about another date. I love using the calendar as a catalyst for reflection, and we have another suggestion for that. I'm Gretchen Rubin, a writer who studies happiness, good habits, human nature. I'm in my little home office here in New York City. And joining me today from Los Angeles is my sister Elizabeth Craft. And Elizabeth, we just got together in Kansas City.

Elizabeth Craft (0:45)

Yes.

That's me, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in LA. And Gretchen, we were supposed to go to Nantucket. The three of us, you, me, and mom, but there was a storm, so we pivoted and had a great time in KC.

Gretchen Rubin (1:00)

Well, I just signed out. It was just something you taught me. I always thought a Nor'easter was just the way New England people said big storm. And so I always felt a little bit silly using it myself. Like I was a Midwestern gal pretending to be an East Coast person. But you said, no, a Nor'easter is actually a technical term.

Elizabeth Craft (1:18)

That's what I read before this storm. I didn't know that either.

Gretchen Rubin (1:22)

Yes, a reminder to everybody to get your copy of Plot Twist, the excellent memoir, but the enormously popular writer, Harlan Coban, we are going to be talking to him in a few weeks. So send us your questions and comments.

Elizabeth Craft (1:34)

Yes, can't wait for that.

Gretchen, and then we have an update on two related topics, treating your house like a hotel and spending money on your house instead of away. This comes from Rachel. She says, I'm catching up on the podcast and just listened to your episode on treating your house like a hotel, and thought I'd share a quick tip for this. We actually used to rent the house we live in now as a full-time Airbnb. So when we moved in, we had to almost do the opposite, how to make your hotel more like a home.

But one thing I made sure to keep in every room were the coordinated mounted toiletry bottles that I'd bought on Amazon and installed for soap, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and mouthwash. I love how less cluttered it makes every space feel to have them mounted on the wall instead of on the counters or all over the shower and they look so nice. Plus, I can buy larger volume refill bottles and just top everything off. I even have a sunscreen pump bottle in the outside bathroom and makes it so nice for people to use what they need and looks really polished.

Gretchen Rubin (2:40)

Yeah, that's a great idea. Yeah, and I think it seems so much less wasteful as she pointed out.

Elizabeth Craft (2:45)

For sure.

Gretchen Rubin (2:46)

And then Debbie wrote, Around this time of year, I start to think about ideas for how I want my next year to look and was thrilled when I was listening to your podcast, episode 602, spend your money at home instead of away. And I was suddenly struck with inspiration of how I can plan my 27 for 27 list. I suddenly realized that my focus next year will be on creating a beautiful garden. It is an area of our home that we have ignored, just doing the most basic chores to maintain it. I know it's going to take a lot of time, energy and money to get it how I'd like it, but I've decided that it would be so beneficial to me and my family to have an outdoor space to enjoy.

I can't wait to sit down with my husband and share our ideas. And I know he will love this exercise too.

Liz already inspired me to include a pizza oven, and I am confident that my husband will want to add a water feature. You have also inspired me to add 27 things to delegate for 2027 Thank you for the inspiration. Oh, that's a lot to delegate. That's excellent. So that sounds so fun. Right, building a beautiful garden.

Elizabeth Craft (3:45)

And then Katie said, I just listened to episode 602 about spending vacation money on something at your home, and I would love to share mine. I am a very big beach person, and one of my favorite parts of vacationing at a beach house is the outside shower. I have dreamed of one in our backyard. Recently, my husband made my dream come true by building one in our backyard. There's nothing more relaxing than enjoying a cool shower after yard work, a hot day, or even a warm shower on a beautiful fall evening. With the money we could have spent on a weekend at the beach, we were able to build one. There are many different ways to build an outdoor shower, depending on your space and budget. It has definitely made my life a lot happier.