Disco Miffy

Plus a Subject Line Smackdown, recently published stories, and more odds and ends.

Just look at this gorgeous, glittery addition to my collection. Jealous? You should be.

After a whirlwind couple of weeks spanning a move to a new apartment; my outline due for 100 Haunts; and a girls’ birthday trip to Barcelona that ended with a trip to the emergency room for a hideous stomach bug … it’s now two days before Thanksgiving and I’m the least prepared for this holiday than I can ever remember.

We had tentative plans to attempt a full-on meal in our new apartment, but alas, the oven is even smaller than the one in our old place, which requires some serious prep — cooking stuff ahead of time, Tetris-ing dishes in said tiny oven. And y’all, after these last couple of weeks, I just don’t have the energy. So we’re headed to the Hard Rock Café for their much-loved Thanksgiving dinner and calling it a day.

I haven’t set foot in a HRC for at least two decades, but I’m kinda excited to pay the trusty classic another visit after all these years — after all, it says something that it’s still around — and I’m even more grateful that someone else is handling the heavy lifting for this must-do meal, which I just didn’t feel right about skipping. Gratitude, indeed.

And speaking of which: I’m eternally grateful to my husband for a truly epic birthday gift, which I have dubbed Disco Miffy: a glorious, glittering, limited edition addition to my growing collection of all things Nijntje. Apparently, you can’t buy these in the store anymore, so he had to track one down from an independent seller and make a winning bid to score this beauty. I couldn’t have asked for for anything more.

Recently Published Stories

Afar:

• Europe’s Most Exciting New Museum Is an Innovative, Architecturally Thrilling Ode to Human Migration

• A reel on The Witchery, one of the eeriest and most elegant hotels I have ever stayed in

Robb Report: What It’s Like to Stay at France’s Hôtel Royal, a Belle Epoque Beauty With Europe’s First Evian Spa

A word on this one about the long game: I visited this property in summer 2024 then was assigned the review a few months after that. But a backlog of stories and who knows what other behind-the-scenes hurdles I wasn’t privy to, plus that assigning editor moving on, resulted in one of the longest delays between my visit and publication that I can remember in recent history. The moral of the story: This process can take an obscene amount of time, almost all of which is completely out of the writer’s control.

Subject Line Smackdown, Black Friday Edition

I’m way overdue for a Subject Line Smackdown, so here’s a Special Black Friday edition ready for your perusal. For the new subscribers in the group (thanks for signing up, by the way!), here’s how SLSs work: I analyze a batch of subject lines straight from my inbox (with identifying details redacted as much as possible). This way, you can see firsthand just how strong this firehose of information blasted to journalists’ inboxes is; what works and what doesn’t to catch a journalist’s eye (at least, this one’s); and how you can tweak your own subject lines to make them enticing and on point enough for your recipient to open the email already.

Let’s dive in.

1. Hotel XYC Announces 2025 Miami Art Week … I don’t really cover arts, so this isn’t a fit. I’m not exactly sure what the news value is anyway.

2. Miami Art Week … See above.

3. Hotel ABC Launches Ski with an Olympian … Cool idea, well done with the hook for the Olympics, plus plenty of lead time. If I lived closer, this is something I’d love to try in person, as that has the best opportunity for a fun, authentic story.

4. Unique Wintertime Holiday Pop-Ups: I’m always up for a festive holiday pop-up, especially if there’s an ugly sweater involved. But I’m also wary of these roundup pitches because they are almost always curated only from publicists’ client lists. A few key details would be super enticing, too, but the biggest red flag here is the date: Nov. 20. By Nov. 20, most holiday stories have already been pitched, assigned, and often, published.

5. Follow-Up INVITE: Hi Publicist, Sending a gentle reminder that I’m based in Amsterdam, so unless you’re providing round-trip airfare to your event in the States, I’m going to have to pass.

6. Following up: Top international travel destinations: I don’t have a ton of use for pitches like this unless I am working on a story specifically about 2026 destinations, so this isn’t really a fit. But I’ll keep it floating around in my inbox in case I do have a need for this kind of commentary at some point.

7. Automatic reply: Spring Collection Launch: I don’t really cover fashion (unless you count this review of the best jean jackets for travel), so I don’t have any need for the latest spring collection by this or that brand. But bonus points for plenty of lead time, however.

8. A Must-Visit: Cool idea, very catchy. I’m intrigued to know why this destination is the Christmas Capital! But alas, I’m not working on any stories where it would be a fit. Also, it’s getting pretty tight for enough lead time. A few extra weeks would have been most helpful.

9. Black Friday Sale: I haven’t written a travel deals column for Traveler for years, and sounds like this has a fashion hook regardless. Pass, alas.

10. 2027 Voyages: Straightforward, to the point, effective. Good for those short-hit news stories that I write sometimes for Afar, but I probably won’t have time to respond unless I decide to pitch it.

11. Announce Festive Partnership: It sounds fun and festive, sure, but like so many of these partnership announcements, I don’t think there’s a story here.

12. Travel Tuesday 2025: Nope, not working on any travel deals this holiday season … or really ever anymore.

For me, a glaring omission from so many pitches in my inbox is that so many publicists still don’t seem to realize that I live in Amsterdam (by way of Berlin), and that I’ve been in Europe for over five years. I still feel like I’m waving my hands over my head, screaming into the void, just to get people to notice that I’m based here! No need to fly me over from the States for hotel or restaurant openings, or cruise launches, or anything else you’ve got cooking … I’m a short flight or train ride away. This isn’t to stay I don’t cover things with a US hook, of course … but it sure would be nice if more of what I was pitched on a regular basis was more in line with my geographic coverage area.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk!

And That’s a Wrap!

Ok, everyone, back to the boxes, and then yet another trip to IKEA. Wish me luck.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving full of friends, loved ones, and all the culinary treats and trimmings. And thanks, as always, for being here.

With gratitude,

Blane