Top 10 Moments that Made 2024 Unforgettable

Laura Gassner Otting with text "top 10 moments that made 2024 unforgettable."

If you caught last year’s ​Access Hollywood segment​, you know I usually dive headfirst into talking about New Year’s resolutions around this time. But this year? I’m hitting pause on that hustle. Instead, I’m pulling out the highlighter to reflect on the moments that made 2024 unforgettable, both for me and for all of us … Read more

Want a perfect holiday? Here’s how.

It’s Christmas Eve! It’s Chrstmas Eve! And everything’s perfect in Storybook Christmas perfection. Well, maybe not exactly. Let’s try that again. It’s Christmas Eve! It’s Christmas Eve! And everything isn’t perfect. But it’s perfectly *your* story. How do I know this? Because meaning matters, and I was taught about meaning in the very best possible way: … Read more

That’s Ms. Jackson, if you’re nasty

Picture me, dancing around my office, singing, “That’s Ms. Jackson, if you’re nasty.” Yes, my friends, we’re talking about control. (And, go ahead, play this little ditty while you read on… Ms. Jackson would want it that way.) This time of year, control feels like the ultimate luxury. Between the wild pace of holiday commitments, … Read more

The Queen Of Control: Martha Stewart

Last weekend I found myself entranced by the Martha Stewart documentary. I am, you see, a female entrepreneur, well on the other side of what my mother once called the “F*ck You Forties,” and in possession of exceptionally high standards which seem to me to be obvious and, really, table stakes at the barest minimum. … Read more

Hey Hot Stuff, Here’s What I Think…

Well, I wasn’t going to tell this story…but it’s just too good. And after last week, I think we could all use a little lightness. So, it turns out that my husband—my wonderful, endearing, and apparently very confident husband—signed up for my newsletter ages ago to support me (thanks, honey!). You know the drill: you signed up too. … Read more

I Propose a Solution.

I am from Miami, I’m think it’s cold when it is 65 degrees outside. Because my son was raised in Boston, he thinks it’s warm when it’s 65 degrees outside. The fact is that it’s 65 degrees outside.But our personal truths are a different matter entirely, and those personal truths determine how we internalize actual … Read more