Leah & Charlee’s Tried-and-True Recs

This isn’t a gift guide (we’re not influencers). It’s 12 recommendations of things we genuinely love from your two favorite midwestern designers!

From cozy winter recipes to desk staples to Indy & Chicago small business these are the things we actually love, and can't stop thinking about.

As we wrap up 2025, we hope you have an especially sweet, restful holiday season filled with the small delights that make winter feel cozy.

Welcome to Leah & Charlee’s 2025 favorites list!

1. Lapis Lily Trinket Market Super fun new trinket store at the Stutz in Indy. I got the cutest little handmade bunny ornament for my 4 year old niece who lovesss bunnies. They also host trinket swap meetups I’m adding to my calendar!

2. Primrose Candle Co. My fav to have burning at my desk when it gets dark at 4pm! Small Indy-based candlemaker. You can smell them IRL at any of these small business that carry PrimroseW

3. Desk heating pad for cold fingers! Honestly maybe my most used item on my desk from November → April. We gifted these to ourselves 3 years ago and haven’t looked back! My cats also can’t get enough, which doesn’t always help with productivity but is super cute.

4. Anything handmade! I’m currently knitting 4 projects for family from DROPS, my go to for thoughtful and beautiful knitting patterns. Some past years gifts I’ve made baskets, framed photos and pottery from a workshop I took. ​
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5. Pots & Pans Pie Co. Indianapolis women-owned bakery. If you don’t want to bake but want some really delicious baked goods! Oh, and they also ship nationwide.

6. No Bake Cookies My go-to recipe for easy-peasy, always-good cookies. I’ve been using it since college and basically have it memorized at this point!

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1. Papermate pens It’s this felt tip pen or BUST. I exclusively use these for note taking as well as sketching out ideas for clients.

2. Photobooth Frame Magnets One of my favorite things are analog photobooths! They make everyone look good! This magnetic frame is sized specifically to fit analog film photobooth prints. For your digitally printed photobooth photos you can layer them behind the magnet.

In Chicago my go-to photobooth spots are Rainbo Club, Holiday Club, Village Tap and maybe Quimby’s Bookstore (last time I went it was out of order, hopefully it’s fixed!). A good resource to start your search for analog photobooths is photobooth.net.​

3. Intuit Art Museum Visit the newly reopened Intuit Art Museum for self taught, outsider art in Chicago. I was convinced to go after seeing a beautiful ad on the Blue Line (Intuit’s rebrand was by Span Studio). It’s a small and approachable museum with a great gift shop!

After your visit I recommend going across the street to the Gangnam Market for a great asian food court or walk to Bari’s Foods for an excellent prosciutto mozzarella sub.

4. Alison Roman's Spiced chickpea stew This recipe is my winter fixation meal. It’s so yummy and doesn’t require that many ingredients.

5. Nuts.com I used to be super allergic to pistachios, cashews and sesame and after treatment (learn about my OIT journey here) I am no longer allergic(!!) I do still need to eat them regularly to maintain my immunity, so I typically order in bulk!

I’ve tried buying bulk bags from Jewel and other places and I noticed the nuts were often stale! Immediately switched back to nuts.com. Also they ships super quick and in really cute branded boxes.

6. Kibbitznest Books, Brews & Blarney The ultimate third space! It’s the coziest used bookstore, coffeeshop and bar. No wifi or laptops allows, so it's a great spot to meet for a board game hang or date!

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Links

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✐ Make any image or video into ASCII art​

😂 Historically accurate tour of a 2025 woman's car​

💆‍♀️ An unhinged marketing "strategy call" to promote Timothée's latest movie Marty Supreme, 100% recommend watching the full 18 minutes! Cinema!

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