It took all of two weeks for those final mellow days of 2018 to feel like a distant memory – the new year is HERE and it’s busy as all get-out. But 2018 still deserves a proper homage, a proper highlight reel. My favorites, in no particular order…
Favorite book:
I didn’t read nearly as much fiction last year as I hoped to, but the few I did pick up were very solid choices. 4.6 stars out of 5 to The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd for breaking my heart and putting it back together again.
In the non-fiction category, 4.7 stars for Educated by Tara Westover, which had me hooked from page 1.
I’ve been trying to leave more poetry laying around the house on our coffee and end tables to be picked up in a free moment and had my literary mind blown by Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, which was such a beautiful mix of poetry and memoir. 4.8 stars.
Favorite movie:
I made it to the movie theater a whopping THREE times this year! I think that’s three times the number of new movies I saw in 2017, so I’ll take it! Award goes to Mary Poppins Returns for positively exuding creative energy. Juliette carries her umbrella with her everywhere now.
Favorite TV show:
By about a thousand points, the new Queer Eye on Netflix takes the prize. I tuned into an episode on the recommendation of a friend and was immediately smitten with Jonathan, Karamo, Tan, Bobby and Antoni. This show was a much-needed, light-hearted reminder that in these divided times, people can still come together with vastly different perspectives and weave something beautiful.
(Honorable mention to Better Call Saul!)
Favorite podcast:
This one’s tough, as I didn’t venture much outside my usual fare of Reply All and The Daily. But there were a couple of Oprah Super-Soul Conversations that really had me Amen-ing on my lunchtime walks (favorites include her chats with Cheryl Strayed, Julia Roberts, and Steven Pressfield). Also, muchas gracias to The Story Pirates for capturing Juliette’s attention on many a long car ride.
Favorite song:
I just scrolled through my latest Amazon playlist in search of any standout faves and had a hard time finding anything that rocked my world. However, I have dozens of happy memories of Jules and I bopping our heads along to Jack Johnson’s I Got You. This tune’s a few years old, but it’s gotten its second wind in our house on cozy Saturday mornings when we’re making breakfast and reading books in our pajamas.
Favorite purchase:
I started typing about the delicate gold stacking rings I’ve been wearing every day since I picked them up in Paris, but couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something bigger and better. Duh. Our house!  Golly, we feel like we hit the real estate jackpot. I mean, this place isn’t perfect – the toilets are pink and there’s a portion of the basement that inexplicably smells a little footy, but it’s home through and through and I feel a little buzz of gratitude every time I walk through the front door.
Favorite personal pastime:
I bought a package of classes at my local Barre3 studio right after Thanksgiving, hoping that would jump-start me out of my fitness slump. It felt like a splurge since I already had access to the online workouts and could do those at home, but my living room exercise sessions were lacking a certain focus and energy. And…wowsers – the studio classes are kicking my butt in the most fun way. The music and the pumped-up teachers and the presence of 15 of 20 other bad-ass women moving along-side me – total fitness game changer. Plus, it gets me out of the house on these dark winter evenings, when I’m tempted to go to bed at 7:30 pm.
Favorite family pastime:
I could populate this field with camping each and every year, but I’ll give it a break and talk about our family bike rides. Bicycle Sundays are so fun with all three of us on wheels and with Juliette’s big new bike, I’m expecting we’ll venture to new paths this coming year. (Seriously, though, camping for the win.)
And, favorite moments…
CHEERS TO THE NEW YEAR!
