10 Things That Delighted Us Last Week: From Mail-Order Cakes to Cherry-Red Coats

If you, like us, are already brainstorming gifts for everyone on your list, here’s one for the person with a sweet tooth, courtesy of Strategist contributor Margaret Eby: amail-order cake. And they’re not just for the holidays, either. “Birthday? Send them a cake. Engagement? Go ahead and ship a cake,” writes Eby, who adds that the cakes — which you can send from places like Magnolia Bakery, Barefoot Contessa, and Milk Bar — work well for commiserating breakups and celebrating new babies, too.

In this week’s edition ofStrategist Brain, our deals editor Sam Daly told us about the Forever Stamps she’s eyeing for her collection ahead of holiday-card season. In the running:a set paying homage to early Shakers,a pack with speckled sea turtles, and these, featuringone of TikTok’s most wholesome obsessions: Strega Nona. So far, Strega Nona is looking like the winner. “She isthe‘It’ girl this fall, after all!” says Daly.

A few recognizable New York nuisances: rats, train delays, and, perhaps most annoying of all, noisy neighbors. If you’ve found yourself in a not-so-quiet building, Strategist contributor Laura Fenton has plenty of solutions forsoundproofing your apartment. At the top of the list (other than having a delicate conversation) is this rug pad, which, when “installed in the apartment above, could absorb some of those structure-born vibrational noises.”

Whether you’re celebrating Halloweekend this weekend, next weekend, or both, here’s an easy costume to add to your lineup: Ellie the Elephant. “Now that the Liberty have secured the WNBA championship, she is even more of an icon — as we were writing this, she was riding a championship-parade float through the streets of Manhattan with Chuck Schumer,” say Strategist Halloween correspondents Liza Corsillo and Ambar Pardilla in this year’spop-culture-costumes guide. To get the Ellie look, they advise, “You’ll need a set of elephant ears, a tail, and a trunk. Then add a Liberty jersey dress, a green Statue of Liberty crown, and a pair of Ellie’s signature white Nike Air Jordans.”

Strategist contributor Diksha Basu needed some new fall pants, so she took to strolling through Muji, where she found theseeasy corduroys. “The waist is elastic, so the pants are incredibly comfortable and feel like loungewear while working from home but look polished enough to wear out and about,” she writes. So comfortable and practical were the pants that she bought two more pairs in different colors. Just note: “They run a bit large, so I’d suggest sizing down if you’re in between sizes,” Basu says.

Abigail Price, the owner of embroidery brandAbbode, aims to evoke an “old-world, elegant feel” whenholiday entertaining. To do so, she always places “a pop of silver” on her tablescape and lately, that pop has been these little ice-cream cups. “We all know butter is having a moment, so I love spooning a huge mound into one of these silver cups,” she says. “I sprinkle some flaky salt on top so my guests can dip crusty bread or radishes into them.”

“My doctor is always telling me to make sure I drink enough water, and they say, ‘If you think you’ve drank enough, you haven’t,’” says internet personality and soon-to-be momCampbell “Pookie” Puckett. To ensure she’s staying hydrated, she always carries around her Stanley water bottle and fills it with water and nugget ice from this ice-maker, which she says makes ice similar to what you’d get at a Sonic.

New York Knicks shooting guardJosh Hartdescribes his ideal fall vibe as such: “Think about wearing a turtleneck by a fireplace with a glass of wine and a cigar.” To emulate this yourself, you’ll need his favorite wine — an $1,800 bottle of red from theHarlan Estate in California— and this cashmere turtleneck from Todd Snyder. “They have great cashmere sweaters. In cold weather, I love wearing turtlenecks and Chelsea boots,” Hart says.

Over the summer, J.Crew caught our attention with itsMaryam Nassir Zadehcollaboration — and now its done it again with its latest Christopher John Rogers collab. “In true CJR and J.Crew fashion, the collection is full of color, from a color-blocked knit dress to a maraschino-cherry-red vinyl topcoat,” writes Pardilla inour weekly roundup of newly released products. Said coat is playful, sleek, and the perfect contrast to an otherwise cozy fall outfit.

This year marks a decade since “Liberty London took the Advent calendar — a time-honored tradition of daily chocolate eating and twee Christmas scenes — and beautified it, swapping out candy for a selection of its best-selling products,” says Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst. Though many brands have since followed in Liberty’s footsteps, itsbeauty Advent calendarstill stands out for its inclusion of the year’s most coveted and luxurious beauty products, including Paula’s Choice mandelic- and lactic-acid exfoliant, a bottle of Sunday Riley Good Genes, and a full-size Augustinus Bader moisturizer.