Becoming the Creative Director of Your Year

Ideas for a lifestyle of creativity in 2026

This edition of the Monday Letter is free for everyone because Squarespace sponsored it!

Happy New Year! I am writing today, nestled in striped pajama pants with a homemade iced chai latte nearby. It’s iced because I am back in my hometown in Florida (currently 78 degrees and sunny) for the holidays, and my little brother-in-law’s wedding is this week. He is not actually little; he’s a grown man, but I met him when he was eleven, and I decided he’d be my little brother forever.

I dated his older brother as a high schooler, and as an only child, I quickly embraced the role of older sister whenever I could. Memories of my high school sweetheart are filled with a middle school brother following closely behind.

One time, Connor and I climbed onto the roof to stare at the moon — a moment so picturesque and quintessential high school romance that Kenny Ortega could have directed it. While the questions lingered in the air, “Will this be our first kiss?” and as our eyes met, we heard a rattle to the right of the roof. Tucker’s head appeared.

“Hey, guys! What are you doing up here?!” He had climbed the ladder behind us.

As gatherings of celebrating Tucker and his soon-to-be-bride commence, joy seems to rattle and hum throughout the dinner tables. I caught up with Connor’s grandmother, a wonderful woman and also a reader of Feeling! (hi, Grandma!) And she remarked that it seems as if my creativity had turned back on since I moved to New York.

It’s absolutely true. In 2025, I began remote working and was home all the time, so I shifted all my creative energy into my own small apartment. Limited resources, limited time, and limited space — yet somehow, this was the year I felt most free to create. I am so grateful my imagination turned back on, after years of feeling that perhaps I had lost those pieces of myself.

“What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits.” - Carl Jung

I am back to glue guns, glitter, and big ideas — just like every version of past Jennas have been. And so, I am eager to jump into 2026 with a fresh lifestyle of creativity.

Every dinner is a chance to learn how to delicately and artistically plate food.

Every coffee is a chance to try a new recipe and make a seasonal menu.

Every day is an opportunity to invite someone in, make a dinner for someone who needs a place to be.

Every year is a chance to embrace the role of creative director of your own house, your own life.

I’ve put together some ideas for you to pursue this year, just a brief directory of sorts, to spark some energy towards pursuing new creative endeavors. Specifically, not to make money or a new stream of revenue, but just to enjoy and share.

Directory of Creative Projects

Re-envisioning Your Kitchen as a Restaurant

The most beneficial project of 2025 was reframing my own kitchen as a creative escape. To combat the high prices of New York takeout, it was essential that I learned to love being in my kitchen. I asked myself, “What kind of restaurant would I love to eat at?” And then I turned grocery shopping into ingredient sourcing, meal planning became menu development, and even organizing my drawers became exciting. A few prompts to get you creative in the kitchen:

• What are the best restaurants you’ve ever been to? The ones you’ve really personally enjoyed the most.

• What about that restaurant made it amazing besides just the food?

• What elements of the restaurant could you emulate in your own space?

And here are some jumpstart creative prompts (imagine them on little folded-up pieces of paper, like you can grab one out of a jar!):

• Design a weekly menu like a real restaurant

• Develop your signature grab & go items that you batch each week (think behind the coffee counter type of snacks)

• Make seasonal syrups for your at-home lattes and teas like your favorite local coffee shop

Journaling

I’m calling it that journaling will be trending at an all-time high in 2026. Aesthetic journal images, leather-bound journal recommendations, and writing prompts are going to be everywhere. Here is my encouragement if starting a journaling practice feels intimidating: just start without thinking about what it would photograph like. Actually, that’s my recommendation for any of these creative projects. Try to tap back into what creativity felt like before it was something to post about, and getting started will feel less intimidating. I’ve found that when I do things for joy first, it ends up looking a lot more lovely than if I put the idea in a chokehold of content creation.

Journaling has always been a private practice, so don’t feel pressured to make your practice public. Just make it joyful first.

I personally keep a few journals at once:

• One is my everything journal, primarily for life/work. I am jotting packing lists, daily to-dos, grocery lists - everything.

• One is for sermon notes, big feelings, prayers, and Bible reading

• One is for documenting/scrapbooking memories - I fill that one with photos, tape, colors, all the fun stuff.

If you haven’t integrated journaling into your daily routine, I encourage you to make this year the year. Get thoughts and feelings on paper, and see how much lighter your head feels.

To jumpstart your practice:

• Start a blank journal for documenting, and write a few thoughts in it each night as you reflect on the day. Once a week, print out favorite pictures from the previous week, and embellish the journal with printed photos.

• Organize your collection of pens and highlighters — choose your colors of the month.

• Watch some YouTube lettering videos to improve your handwriting and learn calligraphy techniques so you love going back and looking at your own words.

• Set a goal to write daily for two weeks, so you form the habit of writing. (Try to write at the same time each day)

Make a Digital Oasis

In 4th-grade computer class, I finished my work as fast as I could so I had time to work on a website builder. I was meticulously crafting my own webpage, with confetti animations, a web visitor counter, and random sound effects. It was heaven.

I have maintained, fortunately, this creative practice of online design. Now I use Squarespace to build out my site. I am working on a new website (secrets!) and trying to expand my own skills using some custom code within one of the beautiful pre-designed templates to build something incredibly unique. I am no coder, but finding it straightforward and genuinely fun to learn on Squarespace.

I see websites as an opportunity to own some digital real estate. I’d advocate for a swing back to the early 2000s internet. You could make a page for yourself, just because it is really fun (and cheaper than scrapbooking, haha). Here are some incredible websites (built on Squarespace) for inspiration on what you could do:

• A colorful world like JellyGummies’ 3D animation portfolio site

• This whimsical food design portfolio (with a cherry custom cursor!)

• A chic and colorful creative director’s portfolio, complete with rainbow stars trailing the cursor

ALSO! Squarespace also offered to take 10% off your website project, just for readers of Feeling! You can click here for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, use code “FEELING” to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Some ideas for out-of-the-box website design projects:

• Make a personal scrapbook for your family or friends — the whole website is just a digital archive for you (you could password-protect it too!)

• Make a digital cookbook where you document and organize your recipes

• Make a shoppable “store” where you curate products and use affiliate links to curate your own boutique

Here’s a glimpse of my colorful website (P.S. I have a few calendars left if you want to snag one!)

Get a Pen Pal (or two or three or four)

Letter-writing is so back. The pendulum has swung back to tangible. We yearn for thoughtful, hand-etched notes after years of text exchanges, do we not? Find a pen pal in 2026. It could be someone you know - a friend who moved away, a grandma or great aunt, or someone lonely. There are so many excellent non-profits that pair you with someone elderly and lonely to start up a pen pal exchange.

My friend recently organized a holiday letter-writing meetup. She printed out pen pal bios from an organization, brought blank cards, and the whole bunch of us 20-somethings at a bar wrote notes to the elderly. It was amazing.

Plan some Parties

Hosting is in, as you know. Here’s my top tip: invite people over on certain dates before you have time to think it all through. Before you plan every detail, send the date and time out to guests. And now, you have to host! If you start with the menu and logistics, you risk brooding so long that you abandon the idea altogether. Just send the invites, then start the planning.

The best part of hosting is how it forces you to be creative. You must create an experience, a menu, and a feeling for your guests. And I love having people over, even for a simple dinner, because of the opportunity to be creative with how I pair plates, how I plate food, what drinks I serve, the scent of my home, and even the music I play.

Some hosting prompts for January:

• Vision board night: have everyone bring scrap paper and print-outs, and craft a vision for 2026

• Creative Café: Brew coffee and invite everyone over to work on a creative project on their own.

• Coffee & Jazz: If dinner is too big a task, make a simple dessert and some espresso for a night of games, jazz music, and cappuccinos

Craft Everything

This year, dream of what items you could make yourself that you use all the time. I have a goal of making my space feel so custom and unique to me by making much of it myself. Some ideas:

• Taper candles (easy!)

• Custom matchboxes

• Personal stationery sets

• Custom journal covers

• Knit scarves

• Tote bags

• Reusable Calendar

• Weekly menu board

• A signature candle scent

• Knit hot water bottle cover

Wishing you a year of creativity and JOY! XO Jenna O.

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