Happy Midwinter! This box will probably get to you after most of the major holidays, but I’m hoping the items inside will shed a little light on the longest nights of your year.

I’ve been hoarding things to send you for months now! I think I mentioned to you over the summer that I’ve been trying to find a way to bring back the self-care subscription box I used to run during the dark days of covid. The selection of items in this box is a mix – it contains the self-care supplies I’ve selected for the midwinter box, but I’ve also thrown in everything else I’ve been saving for you since you started your super demanding new job.

I’m planning to send out a year’s worth of free self-care boxes in an effort to figure out whether I can really launch this project. I would love to keep on sending you gifts in exchange for nothing but your participation in a few little feedback surveys. So if you enjoy this box and feel curious about receiving similar seasonal curations for the coming year, please let me know. Feedback is my most valuable resource right now, so it would do me a huge favor.

My aspiration is to send 8 boxes a year, around the times of the Quarter Days (Equinoxes and Solstices) and the Fire Festivals (the midpoints between Quarter Days). This is partly because I’m also testing an explicitly pagan version of the box with some other friends, and partly because I’ve tried a monthly cycle before and found it too fast for my limitations.

Gift guide below!

Roma Heirloom Tomato candle by Flamingo Estate

I wanted to offer you a splash of summer to help you get through the longest nights of the winter. To me, this fragrance is the best antidote to seasonal depression. It reminds me of walking through gardens during those sunny summer days that are hot enough to make the aromatic terpenes rise from the leaves. Smell is the most primordial sense – it zaps straight to the lizard brain. I don’t know if others can relate, but I feel uplifted when I smell something summery in the middle of a long winter.

The tomato (in the myths referred to as the “golden apple,” because the first tomatoes were yellow, not red) is a symbol of Venus. Venus isn’t really the Goddess of Love – her domain is Glory, all the things that make life beautiful and worth living. Love is only part of that.

Mythology aside, I just wanted to give you a candle from Flamingo Estate, a company that’s doing really great awareness-raising work in the environmental sphere. They drive me nuts half the time with their LA-intoxicated obsession with celebrity… but I can’t help but agree with 100% of their business philosophy, and I love the way they put their money where their mouth is. Their sourcing team does a really great job of finding small businesses in the regenerative agriculture world to support, and that’s similar to the work I’d like to be doing with my subscription box post launch of actual business.

Oak Moss incense matches by Hibi

Japanese craftsmen have taken the concept of the portable incense match and turned it into a genuine work of art. One of the tiny boxes contains eight immaculate incense matches and features a striker; the other contains a heatproof mat to lay the match on so it can burn safely wherever you are. Eight is a lucky number in Japan – it’s associated with abundance.

Oak Moss, the fragrance of these incense matches, pays tribute to the coming summer. In ancient Irish mythology, the Solstices represent moments of victory in the endless battle between the Oak King (who rules the Summer) and the Holly King (who rules the Winter). On the Winter Solstice, the Oak King triumphs and the days begin to get longer.

This fragrance is a useful reminder in the long dark of midwinter: summer is coming.

Rose quartz mini facial roller by Mei Apothecary

As a person with muscle tension everywhere in my body, I think everyone on Earth could benefit from the occasional facial massage. Either you already know how much tension you hold in your face or your mind is about to be blown.

I love this tiny tool for its precision – it’s great for targeting the little muscles around the eyes, nostrils, lips, and ears. Just trust me and try it. I like doing it absent mindedly while reading or doom scrolling.

You know how all the fairy tales say you can use anything as a wand? See if you can extend your sensory awareness into the tool. Use the tool’s awareness to locate where your tension needs work. Don’t think too much about how to do it, just give it a go.

Friendship bracelet kit by Mercury Provisions, featuring Sero by Gist Yarns

It’s good for your brain to do stuff with your hands. Did you ever make friendship bracelets as a kid? I didn’t, but over the summer I got into it and it healed something inside me. I had forgotten that textile crafts are one of the most intrinsically human pastimes ever – one of the first things humans ever did for fun *in all of history.* Playing with yarn is something we’re *supposed* to do.

Anyway, if you ever feel inspired to do something creative in your downtime, friendship bracelets are a super easy way to get into a craft. There are a ton of tutorials out there and I trust you to find one that works for your learning style.

I wanted to outfit you with the best possible thread because I feel strongly that as adults we deserve good quality grown up materials for our arts and crafts. I tried to pick out an expressive selection of colors for you to play with. There’s enough for you to waste some of it in a trial and error process, and then still be able to start over with the same design when you figure it out.

The yarn I’ve given you is made of raw silk from China. I love the saturation of color it’s able to achieve. The red almost glows in the dark.

Winter cookie selection by Mercury Provisions

Twice-baked shortbread: Made with only three ingredients. Small batch, half-salted cultured butter, unbleached organic cane sugar, and Red Tail Grains’ “miller’s choice” blend of the discard mixed grains that come off the mill between different batches of flour. Rustic, toothsome, and buttery.

Cocoa Crinkle: A brown sugar based cocoa cookie made with Bensdorp 22/24 (more on this later) and rolled in two types of sugar for a nice outer crust. I ate crinkle cookies made with this specific cocoa powder as a 12 year old child when I was on holiday in the Philippines, and I imprinted on them. Spent the next 18 years searching for the flavor… and I found it.

Brown butter sugar cookies: A simple soft cookie with extravagant details. My standard golden sugar mixed with browned salted Kerrygold butter, an almost offensively large amount of Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste, and a touch of malt powder to balance out the sweetness. Humble and beige, just like all the best cookies are.

Hazelnut semolina cantucci: A twice-baked Italian low-sugar cookie made with Flamingo Estate’s famous extra virgin olive oil, organic hazelnuts, a touch of Nielsen-Massey vanilla, maple sugar for the rich flavor, and Red Tail Grains’ soft semolina. I wanted to get a deep golden color on the hazelnuts so I baked them until very dry and crisp.

Pistachio rose cantucci: Similar to the hazelnut version, but lighter and more floral. I used a touch of almond flour, yellow cornmeal, Turkish pistachios, and Flamingo Estate’s member exclusive rose petal infused wildflower honey. These are baked softer – let me know whether you prefer them or the crunchy ones more.

Bensdorp 22/24 Hot Cocoa by Mercury Provisions

Bensdorp 22/24 is unquestionably *the* world’s best cocoa powder. It’s processed in Belgium using the Dutch method, which adds alkali to balance the acidity of the raw cacao. The result is a high-fat, low-fiber cocoa powder that is packed with both flavor and nutrition.

I’m not a food scientist, but one thing I know is that the flavor in food mostly comes from the fat. So it’s important that the processing Bensdorp uses for their cocoa powder retains a lot of fat. That’s what makes it so flavorful compared to lesser cocoas.

A lot of people insist on making their hot cocoa on the stovetop, but this mix works just as well if you microwave your milk (or dairy alternative). There’s no solid chocolate bits to melt in slowly. Just stir in as much or as little of the mix as you want.

If you want to make an American style hot cocoa, use about a tablespoon of mix with about 12 oz of milk or dairy substitute. For closer to a Spanish style, use a heaping tablespoon with 4-6 oz of milk, and dunk cookies in it. Don’t be afraid to add sugar (or maple syrup) – I did not make the mix very sweet.

The cocoa powder does tend to stick to itself and lump up upon contact with liquid. Really take your time smushing out all the lumps you can find.

Ingredients: Organic unbleached cane sugar, Bensdorp 22/24 cocoa powder, Maldon salt.

Lemongrass Room Spray by Flamingo Estate

This winter Flamingo Estate put out a box of assorted small items made in collaboration with some really cool Bhutanese companies, and I bought an extra box to distribute amongst friends because I wanted to pay money towards supporting their collaborators.

The Flamingo guys traveled to Bhutan and wanted to remember the natural aroma of the mountain air. They found a team to distill the lemongrass that grows wild in the mountains, and they captured the essential oil in this clean, single note room spray.

I don’t know if you believe in aromatherapy, but as a third culture kid, I’ve always found it fun to try foreign cultural stuff even if I don’t believe it’s really going to work. Aromatherapy says that the fragrance of lemongrass can be spiritually cleansing, soothe the nervous system, and brighten up your spirit. I find this to be true of many citrusy aromas, but maybe it’s just because of the lizard brain. Good smell equals safe environment.

Beware of overspraying this in a small space – this company is not known for their subtlety, and they have a heavy hand with essential oils in all their products. A little goes a long way.

Charm 01 Embodiment essential oil blend by Mercury Provisions

This one doesn’t have a label – it’s the small amber bottle marked with a red dot of paint.

I’ll say it up front: don’t use this product on your skin! It’s a fragrance only. It is not for skin care. If you get it on your hands, wash them with soap right away because this will hurt if it gets in your eyes.

All that said, this essential oil blend is designed to center your awareness in your body and help you detach and ground from ruminating thoughts. If you focus on the fragrance for minute or two, you will start to feel your energy moving downward from your head into your body. It’s not magic, it’s just herbs.

The ingredients in this essential oil blend are parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and ginger (SPICY TO TOUCH). They’re all soup aromatics! Is that a coincidence? Nope – it’s history.

Before the days of doctors and medicine, herbs were incorporated into everyday food for health reasons. These particular herbs became soup staples because they were used so often for strengthening and warding against illness, especially in cold weather. Of all herbs, why these ones? Because they are traditionally believed to have properties of strengthening and empowering the body.

Fragrance cuts right through to the lizard brain. Smelling the soup herbs’ essential oils works a little differently than eating the same herbs, but the effect is the same. The energy that is circulating in your mind centers will be pulled back down into your body as you breathe in the fragrance. That ends rumination spirals and hands back your agency.

Heart diffuser and wool coaster by Mercury Provisions

A lot of people are sensitive to the fragrances of essential oils and have a strong aversion to active diffusers, the kind that puff essential oils into the air. I prefer passive diffusers, which simply hold a drop or two of oil for you to smell only when you get close enough. Active diffusers disperse fragrance that lasts for days, while passive diffusers tend to quiet down after a few hours.

I thought these heart shaped lava rocks were little cuties. The pocket made of wool felt also functions as a coaster to absorb any extra oil that falls through the pores of the lava rock. When you’re done using the essential oil you can put the lava rock back into the pocket so Jinx doesn’t steal it.

Make sure you don’t douse the lava rock with too many drops at a time – you don’t want the essential oil to drip out of it, because if it soaks through the wool coaster, it can eat the finishing off your furniture. 2-3 drops of oil is plenty. If you need more intensity, stick the whole bottle right under your nose.

Charm 02 Nerve Tonic herbal tisane by Mercury Provisions

This herbal blend is designed to function as emotional regulation support. Its active ingredient is Skullcap, a natural anxiolytic. As an herbal tonic, it’s also packed with a ton of diverse nutrients to give you a generic boost like a multivitamin.

The other herbal blend I’ve given you has more of a mind quieting effect. This one does more to quiet the physical symptoms of emotional distress, not the thoughts. It slows down the fight or flight response.

Tea infuser by unknown maker

I’m sure you already have something like this, but there was no way I could send out an intro subscription box without including an infuser for the herbs and teas I’ll be sending out over the months.

I chose this one because it’s roomy enough for you to be generous with your dosing, it has small enough perforations that nearly all the herbal matter will be contained, and it looks easy to clean. It’s roomy enough that later on when I send you whole tea leaves there will be space for them to bloom. The lid also doubles as a coaster!