We’re 15 days into 2026 and I really don’t know what to say about it.   

I had a fabulous end to 2025- The Mom/Nana was over from the US and we had a fabulous fabulous fabulous trip to Tasmania, a place I highly recommend and can’t wait to go back to!  Thomas had a great birthday, and genuinely December was good.

But the vibes in January and, and for 2026 in general, seem off.  I mean there’s the macro picture and the US-related picture where everything there is cooked.  But even closer to home, things feel heavier, more uncertain, less hopeful than they did in 2026.  Or maybe it’s just a post-holiday comedown!

It’s hard to go from holiday mode of wine, cheese, and hotel rooms that you don’t have to clean to grocery shopping, laundry and unpacking the dishwasher.

Either way, there’s no point in avoiding it, 2026 is here.

 And I’m back to baking already… This week, I made Martha Stewart’s Alexis’s Chocolate Chip Cookies from her brand new, Martha 100 Favorite Recipes Cookbook. 

The highlight of Christmas for me is always getting new cookbooks.  This year didn’t disappoint.  I mean Martha’s cookbook is super aspirational– she is who I would love to be when I grow up.  I just need a few hundred million dollars to get me started on the way.  My absolute favourite cookbook that I’ve gotten so far is Caroline Chambers, “What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking”– absolute banger of a cookbook.  Everything I’ve made so far is SUPER easy and SUPER tasty!  HIGHLY Recommend.  The third one I got was “Cook Korean” by Billy Law which I’ll be testing out over the next few weeks.  Anyway, back to this week’s cookies. 

They’re not pretty, in fact they turned out VERY thin and nearly went into the bin– however they are actually delicious.  They’re crispy, chewy, salty and caramelly sweet, thanks to about a kilo of sugar but they are yum!  I’ve gotten EXCELLENT feedback on them including this gem!  I mean let’s be honest, if Martha Stewart puts them in her top 100 recipes, you know they’re good.  AND THEY ARE!

So maybe that’s my lesson for 2026, don’t give up.  Things might not look the one you think they should, and they might be pretty, but don’t chuck it all in the bin– things might be perfect and you don’t even realise it!