November 2025

Starting with Gratitude

I read something today that lingered in my mind: “If you don’t know where to start, start with gratitude.”

And as November opens its doors, I find myself doing just that—pausing to reflect on the year that’s nearly behind us. What a year it has been. My heart fills with the memories that stitched moments of happiness through all the noise and motion of life.

Yes, there has been work and worry. The world keeps spinning faster, often in directions that feel dizzying—wars, politics dividing hearts, technology reshaping the world in ways that both amaze and alarm. Yet even as I write this, Charlie is happily preoccupied with a new bone, the maples outside are blazing red and framing the front of Grace like living art, and my tea—sweet, fragrant, and warm—sits beside me, grounding me in simple joy.

And no, this isn’t coming from someone who has mastered constant gratitude. Believe me, it’s as much a practice as going to the gym. Some days, gratitude feels like lifting emotional weights. It takes patience, and a soft heart. It takes remembering that even when life feels heavy, there’s always a small mercy to hold onto—a sip of tea, a breath of crisp air, a quiet glance at the sky.

I’m famously busy. My days fill themselves—if I’m not doing this, I’m doing that. I run a business, keep a big house, chase after a puppy, cook for friends, try to read two books a month, and run fifteen kilometers a week. Time is a trickster; it slips away easily. And when it does, I can lose sight of the beauty in the ordinary. But not in November.

November slows me down. It’s the month before my birthday, the time I instinctively begin to gather myself—to take stock of what’s been, and what’s yet to come. It’s also the quiet gateway to the holidays, when Gather Around begins to hold special meaning. And of course, November brings Thanksgiving—a holiday complicated by history, yet still offering a beautiful reminder to pause, gather, and give thanks.

I love the ritual of it: the old family recipes, the familiar chaos of the kitchen, the joy of sharing too much food with the people who know you best. Turkey has never been my favorite dish (let’s be honest), but even I can’t resist the awe of a golden, perfectly roasted bird taking center stage at a family table. Surrounded by savory bread pudding, green beans with more bacon than beans, and pumpkin everything, gratitude seems to spill naturally from every plate.

And so, with inspiration in my heart, this month’s Gather Around takes us to France—a country I love almost as much as the U.S., and perhaps even more than Brazil (sorry, Motherland!). When I think of France—Paris, Marseille, Brittany, Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux—I think of food, wine, and a way of living that celebrates beauty in small, deliberate moments. I think of how grateful I am to have walked those cobblestone streets, to have tasted their flavors and felt their rhythm.

So this November, we’ll gather around the comfort of melted Gruyère in a delicate quiche, the rich depth of a slow-cooked boeuf bourguignon, and the simple sweetness of apples so tenderly baked they turn into caramelized poetry. I’ll open my best bottles of French wine and raise a glass to the friends who join me—to their laughter, their presence, and to the quiet grace of gratitude that fills the evening, if only for a moment.

Because sometimes, gratitude doesn’t have to begin with grand gestures—it can start right here, at the table, with good food, good company, and the soft hum of November all around.

Let the cup overflow!

Julia