1 Reflection and 2 Requests
January 1, 2024 Newsletter
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Today is January 1, 2024.
Wild.
For the past three years, I have been extra fortunate to end the year celebrating the holidays with my aunt and our unintended tradition of shopping in downtown Benicia. I didn’t realize it was our tradition until I found myself going to all our shops in 2020 alone.
I never take for granted how fortunate I am to live in the beautiful city of Benicia. From high on top of our hill, my backyard has a water view. I see the Carquinez Strait every day driving down our hill. Driving to and from work, I get to cross over the straight twice a day, and I even get to pay a $7.00 toll to come home. The joys of living in the Bay Area!
But walking, dining, and shopping on First Street in the historic downtown area is my all-time favorite. It’s nice to see the shop owners each year, and extra special when they remember us.
This year’s favorite shop: The Filling Station Goods and Gifts. It’s a new-to-me store with environmentally conscious items, like the center station where you can fill and refill bottles of shampoo, hand and body soap, laundry soap, and the most divine scented dish soap ever. Yes, if I have to wash the dishes after spending an hour in the kitchen cooking for my family, at least I enjoy the smell. My scent of choice: rosemary and peppermint.
My favorite purchase: a Brighton handbag. It’s a shiny, brown fake alligator purse with sterling silver hearts and bracelets. It’s the perfect size. It has the perfect amount of compartments. And I’m so excited to use it!
I love quaint and cute downtown Benicia. Of all downtowns in the other cities I have lived in, Benicia’s is my favorite. Some downtowns are one lone but long street like Benicia and Albany, while other’s are larger grids with criss-crossing streets and traffic lights like Walnut Creek, Concord, and Chico.
A QUESTION FOR MY SUBSCRIBERS:
Does your current city have a downtown? If it does, please take a few months and tell me about it! If your city doesn’t have a downtown, does it have something else? I grew up in Mission Viejo which I’m pretty sure still doesn’t have a downtown. In the 80’s and 90’s it had The Mall, which has blown up and out since then, now known as The Shops at Mission Viejo Mall.
Please respond here in the comments on Substack or visit my Instagram account and respond there and tell me about your city’s downtown, or the lack of one. My instagram post:
AUTHOR SERIES PODCAST REQUEST:
I have finished Season 1 of my Author Series podcast and have created two composite episodes. Could you please send my 7th episode, a composite of all six featured authors’ advice to writers, to writers you know? Here is the link:
https://heatherstill.substack.com/p/advice-for-indie-authors
Thank you!
I wish you the very best for 2024!
Heather
