One minute I was eating pumpkin pie with Halloween candy still in my pockets. The next minute my kids’ rooms looked like the North Pole. Christmas trees fully lit, ornaments everywhere, like Elf on the Shelf invited his entire family over and then vanished. I blinked twice and suddenly I was living inside a Target holiday aisle.
Thanksgiving wasn’t even cold in the fridge before we moved on.
Let’s not bullshit here. Life is moving fast. We swipe through holidays the same way we swipe past social media posts… next, next, next.
Brutal, but true. Tell me I’m wrong.
Which got me thinking: my past newsletters have been… let’s call it “novella length.” And I refuse to become the Thanksgiving of newsletters… politely acknowledged and then forgotten under a pile of cold stuffing.
So today we’re going short… or at least short for me. Micro. Snack-sized. A Love Issue you can finish before your coffee gets cold. (Or, in my case, before I forget where I put it.)
✨
Oh! And on November 29th, Lovecore had her FIRST birthday.
A whole year.
My baby has teeth. Cue the tears.
Thanks for being here.
I’ve been sitting here trying to articulate how I feel about it, but… I can’t. Not fully. It’s like asking a Deaf person to describe a sound they’ve never heard. Some things refuse to translate. Pun absolutely intended.
Remember the word articulate. It’s about to haunt you too.
Here’s what the first year taught me:
1. It’s never about me.
It’s always about you. You don’t care what I love. You care how you feel. You’re here because you relate, it hits, or you just want to support someone who feels like your people. When it clicks, you stay.
2. Nothing grows without passion.
Love builds even when you don’t know WTF you’re doing. Effort without passion is like biting into a chocolate chip cookie… and realizing the chips are raisins. Betrayal at first bite. Who wants that?
3. Purpose shows up when you move.
You think you know your why… until you’re actually doing it. And then it hits you. Watching YOU respond to Lovecore gave my why back to me. It’s always been the Deaf community. Creativity. Collaboration. Love. That’s the whole point.
Now it’s clear to me. Lovecore is the hub for ILY hand designs and Deaf creatives. We’re building this together. But no spooning, okay? I kick in my sleep.
✨
And yes, the Halloween candy is still in my pockets. Don’t judge me. Someone needs to banish Elf on the Shelf while they’re at it.
But something else sucker-punched me harder.
Not physically, don’t worry.
This one hit differently.
I went to a book talk for Articulate and met the wildly articulate Rachel Kolb (told you that word would come back), who was in conversation with the sharp-as-hell Noah Buchholz. Listening to her talk about voice, speech, and identity connected dots I didn’t even realize belonged to the same story.
Her book is described as “a journey to reclaim her voice,” and I love that for her and for so many others.
My journey didn’t follow that route. I went off-road from the start.
I’ve always known who I was. I accepted my Deafness early. It never felt like something to fix, just something to work with. I never carried resentment about it, either. I built my own tools and moved forward. Lipreading, humor, stubbornness… all of it.
I could go deeper, but then this really would turn into the novella I promised you I wasn’t writing.
When I hear other Deaf people share their stories, a pattern jumps out. So many have wrestled with identity… resentment, insecurity, or both. The struggle is real, and it shows up in different ways.
And that fascinates me.
👆 (Rachel Kolb in blue, me on her left. Pretty sure I got smarter just being in this group.)
I told Rachel I hadn’t finished the book yet, but I still said:
“I need to book office hours with you once I do. I have SO many questions.”
Because here I am: building a brand about love, identity, and communication… and still can’t fully articulate the thing at the center of it all (yes, that word again, feel free to roll your eyes). Suddenly I’m face-to-face with someone whose entire body of work is about exactly that.
The timing? Uncanny.
✨
Sometimes you don’t have the words. You just live it, and the vocabulary shows up later like, “surprise, bitch, I was growth.”
Maybe that’s the lesson. Progress doesn’t always announce itself. You only notice it when you look back and go, “oh shit… that worked.”
Takeaway
Yeah yeah, fake it till you make it. We’ve been doing that since middle school. Some habits pay off.
Do one tiny thing you’ve been putting off.
Mine is updating my LinkedIn profile, and it’s been side-eyeing me for months.
Lovecore HQ: Quick Dopamine Hits
I vended at the NJRID conference for the first time and the highlight wasn’t sales.
It was this man strutting around in the BANANA BOXERS he bought from me (in the shop now).
👆 (This is the 2026 energy. A man of culture. My kind of person.)
Other highlights:
• Dr. Bill Vicars reminding us failing is part of the deal.
• Keith Wann making my cheeks hurt from laughing.
• Met awesome vendors (shoutout to Ronnie from Universeways).
• Got featured in Leila Hanaumi’s (@todayiawaken / @hifi_deafie). Holiday Gift Guide for the Mass Economic Blackout (Thank you, Leila. Honored to be included 🤟🏼).
• Lovecore turned ONE, and my emotions are in full teething mode.
• Still reeling from the Raise the Volume Fashion Show… so I made her a reel. Worth a peek.
What I’m Loving Right Now (because I refuse to enjoy things alone)
🍿 Binge: The Beast in Me on Netflix. Addictive. Feral. Completely unhinged. I can’t stop.
👓 Read: Read Your Mind by Oz Pearlman. I swear this man crawled into my brain and rearranged things.
💆🏻♀️ Skin: Medicube Zero Pore Pads. My pores said “thank you” and disappeared.
✨ Look: Melissa Nepton Huston Top (sample sale steal). Stylish and tough. Makes me feel like the cool girl in the room.
🍸 Drink: Ghia Non-Alcoholic Aperitifs. Tastes fancy without the hangover. Mocktails are cool. My brain loves me now.
What’s Next?
Holiday distractions incoming. I’ll probably forget where I hid the gifts, or who I bought them for.
Here’s what I’m taking into the new year: you don’t need the perfect words or the perfect plan. Just move your butt. The meaning catches up.
Now I’m curious…
Are you a New Year’s resolutions person, or do you just hit autopilot?
Hit reply and tell me. I love this stuff.
Baby teeth or not, we’re growing.
XO,
Nickie
P.S. I’m rolling into 2026 with the same energy as Banana Boxer Guy. Bold, unbothered, fully committed.
P.S.S. I really tried to keep this short. We both know I failed. 🫶🏼