Who’s snowed in? It’s still dumping here in NYC and if you’re also in blizzard mode, we have the perfect read of lifestyle news during your glorious couch rot!

For anyone new here, this is The Skinny, a free weekly newsletter. It’s designed to entertain and inform, and each week we serve up a smart selection of need-to-know lifestyle news. The goal: help you save you time (stop scrolling, start living).

What we’re covering: 

• Hold onto the reins, because the Year of the Fire Horse is here. We explore how to navigate its energy, wild horse destinations, the best horse books of all time, shoppable Year of the Horse fashion accessories & a link to one of our favorite Rolling Stones songs

• Pantry Raid: Jill’s ode to The Pioneer Woman, and her favorite go-to soup recipe  

• It’s a wrap: Milan Cortina is over, but we have our top three Olympics storylines as a quick ICYMI recap 

• Plus: your snow day couch workout, fibermaxxing, a $1 dress, soup on a stick, butter is back & 25 enviable book nooks 

💡Did you know: all The Skinny editions are online and searchable—which means you can easily find topics/recipes/items we have written about in the past. Bookmark this link for reference.

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Saddle up

Lunar New Year: how to channel Fire Horse energy

The Skinny: The Lunar New Year is here with a bang and, running alongside it, is the Fire Horse. We’re not experts but what we gathered is that this particular horse is driving some serious energy, passion and transformation. So whether you are a believer or not, we like taking a look at the Chinese Zodiac predictions, and also found this story about the 5 Things to Avoid During the Year of the Fire Horse a useful guide. This is a powerful horse, and one that hasn’t reared its head in 60 years. Navigate strategically, and with care. From the mythological Pegasus, to Bucephalus and Secretariat, horses are one of history’s most revered animals so it’s no surprise that this year will be hard-charging with forward motion. On to the links:

The greatest horse books of all time (though, we must add Cormac McCarthy’s “All the Pretty Horses” to this list). 

The Best Places to See Wild Horses in North America, per Smithsonian Magazine. Been there: camping on Assateague Island, with horses blazing through our site at dusk. An incredible and memorable experience, which was the opposite of a couple other friends’ stories (horse chases aunt into the water, trying to nip at her before a terrifying escape into a boat; horses eat all their granola bars, then spend the night throwing them up outside the tent).

Equestrian fashion! Whether you’re going English, Western, or looking for a lucky horseshoe, this year brings stirrup pants, fringe detailing and horse-inspired hardware. From crossbody bags to silk neckscarves, red flats and horseshoe jewelry, you can shop some of the best Year of the Horse accessories here. 

(Note: some of these links are affiliates—which means, at no cost to you, that we will be partially compensated if you shop through them. We are not getting paid to write this newsletter, so this serves as a small cash flow to keep the newsletter running:)

Pantry raid

A love letter to the Pioneer Woman

The Skinny: From Jill: When I want the best of the best recipes for comfort food there is one person I hold above all others: The Pioneer Woman. She will always give you the absolute best full-fat versions of whatever she’s making for the hubby and kids (who always seem to be out in the fields daily, if you follow her). Regardless, I wanted to channel Ree to think what her best soup move would be when it’s frigid—and her Chicken Tortilla Soup is my gold medal winner. This soup is a meal.

Related: as we covered retro Jell-O mold desserts last week, today’s nostalgic treat (not sure for who…) is: Soup on a Stick.

Cortina roundup

Jill’s new curling hobby, skating non-drama & Jack Hughes’ teeth  

The Skinny: We watched the men’s hockey championship yesterday (GOOO USA!) and lots of skiing—including the comeback gold medal run by Mikaela Shiffrin, who Nicole had the opportunity to meet 10 years ago during this shoot for Glamour. 

Here, a quick Sunday roundup of our three favorite stories:  

• Hockey: Jack Hughes, who was “spittin’ Chiclets” before his golden goal, goes viral with an epic victory image, bloody knocked out teeth and all; and, the evolution of hockey hair salad: “lettuce hair” is a kinder, gentler mullet.

• Ice skating: Loved reading about Alysa Liu who, after retiring in 2022, earned a historic comeback gold by skating for fun, not in fear. Her winning routine, described as a “party on the ice,” is a must-watch.

• Curling: Every four years we all watch two straight weeks of Olympic curling and collectively decide it looks easy enough to medal in. Jill has now joined the Telluride league and can confirm: it is not easy, and she will never  be representing Team USA—where a victorious entry into the semifinals came within inches. 

Another round

Support The Skinny: would anyone like to buy us a drink?

The Skinny: We love what we do, which is working hard to serve up our time-saving newsletter each week for your pleasure, but even we can use a break—and a little help. If you would like to support us by buying us a drink (we are now celebrating year two of our relaunch!) you can now do so by clicking here (which will also make you a VIP subscriber). Whether it’s a coffee, cocktail or mocktail, name your price: any support at all, no matter how small, means the world to us, and we will send you a personal thank you (you'll also automatically be put on the list for any future Premium Content). Cheers!

Last licks

This week’s newsfeed

• It’s not a couch—it’s a home gym! Yes, you can do “exercise snacks” while watching TV. 

• The brand is “Egzmbil.” And it’s a casual cotton dress, with a $1.20 price tag that comes in a dazzling 15 colorways. What’s not to love? We almost succumbed to Walmart/Amazon temptation, but a “not worth one actual cent” review snapped us back to reality. If anyone dares to order this dress, we will happily publish your review. 

• Twenty-five creative/small space book nooks, for your Sunday reading enjoyment/inspo. 

• While everything today seems to be “maxxed,” often with negative effects, the one TikTok trend nutritionists seem to get on board with is “fibremaxxing.” Add to cart: our fiber faves, such as: chickpea “chicken salad,” popcorn for dinner, and an avocado-a-day.

• It’s better with butter: survey reports that Americans say “no” to rules and stressful eating restrictions and “yes” to eating to feel good and joy snacks (like this viral “butter and date”). 

• Last edition’s most-clicked report: 1) late-night ramen and how a Michelin chef makes a simple ramen upon returning from work; 2) body care continues to be sudsy with high interest in the Kate McLeod Body Stone (which you can purchase here, among other luxe body care); 3) Nicole’s trip to French department store Printemps, along with stylist/friend Alyssa Dineen (which may have had a glitchy link prior). 

*If you purchase something linked in The Skinny, we may get an affiliate commission—but at no additional cost to you.