no. 53: 24 things that made my life better in 2024

plus how they are impacting my goals and plans for 2025.

It’s that time of year again: resolutions and goals, resets and reflections.

I for one love the occasion for a recap, and in particular love a reflection on the year - how I spent my time, how I spent my money, and what things brought value to it all.

If 2023 was a rollercoaster, 2024 was a rebirth. It was a year of reevaluation, reprioritization, and readjustment. I learned a lot about myself, and how what I want has changed. At the end of the day, it’s a year that brought me surprising clarity and a peace I have been looking for in the turbulent season that is postpartum. I’ll save all those thoughts and feelings ™ for another time, but couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to do at least a short recap.

Without further ado, sharing a list of the 24(ish) things that made my life better in 2024, and how I’m planning to take them into 2025. These are the things I found myself defaulting to again and again: prioritizing, repurchasing, recommending, and valuing beyond anything else. Here’s hoping one or many of these bring you as much joy, ease, comfort, or satisfaction as they did me!

okay that’s it, love you!

Xx

editor’s note: I drafted and wrote this post. While editing, I compared it to last year’s version of this issue, and the items I reviewed and recommended in various “snooze button” segments this year. I found that there are a handful of things that make a repeat appearance. My initial instinct was to change them out to something new for novelty’s sake, but the longer I thought about it the more important I felt it was to also be able to emphasize the longevity and evolution of the things I choose to recommend. I find a lot more value in things that work in my day to day life, and evolve as life evolves, than just new new new.

from going to portugal to winning the enchantments lottery, to buying a new house to quitting my job, not a single thing this year went as I expected

for starters:

I can’t say enough how much I love and appreciate substack - the platform where I write this newsletter and subscribe to many others. I joined in fall of 2023 to launch my own newsletter (and in 2024 surpassed 100 issues!!!). In addition how much value I get from writing my own newsletter and connecting with readers, over the last year I have really found a ton of value in the newsletters I subscribe to from some truly amazing writers. I want to share a quick rundown of some of my favorites whose work I have loved over the past year:

• The Reset by

  Kate Eskuri, DNP
  - y’all should know I’m a huge fan of Kate’s – she is a registered nurse with a doctorate in integrative health, and her incredible newsletter was the first one I ever paid to subscribe to. She brings the perfect combination of woo and *science backed*, which is extremely my jam.

• Hmm That’s Interesting by

  Clara
  I originally found Clara due to her extremely funny, timely TikTok videos parodying PR reps for celebrities (a classic example, here), and I was delighted to find her longform wit and wisdom on culture and culture-adjacent issues via her newsletter. Anytime she starts with “I told myself I wouldn’t engage but here we are” you know it’s going to be good.

• Hung Up by

  Hunter Harris
  . I originally followed Hunter on Twitter (RIP) and have loved the evolution of her pop culture newsletter. It is one of the few places on the internet where I feel like I can still get academic-adjacent commentary on current events, TV and Movies (especially love the real-time subscriber group chats for awards shows, tv season finales, etc.)

• After School by

  Casey Lewis
  . Sometimes you just want someone to analyze trends and culture on your behalf (me, always) and Casey is out here doing it 5x per week (including the always exceptional Christmas Haul Analysis)

• Culture Study by

  Anne Helen Petersen
  . Are we sensing a common thread here? I love AHP’s newsletter and have for years. Whether it’s dissecting the very specific millennial vernacular of fatphobia or our relationship with social media and it’s impact on culture (like why no one is posting anymore).

• Diabolical Lies by

  caro claire burke
  and
  Katie Gatti Tassin
  : DL is a podcast / newsletter that tackles the way patriarchy, white supremacy and capitalism impact culture (and our lives). I originally followed Caro on Tiktok and made the lead over to their excellent substack when they tackled the pandemic of “brave independent thinkers”.

• Platonic Love by

  Aja Frost
  and
  Aliza Sir
  . Aja and Aliza are in a similar phase of life as me, and I find their approach to discussing realities of adulthood so refreshing. Their weekly link round up is my favorite thing to start my week with, and I look forward to (and am inspired by) their personal essays. (this one, y’all!)

health & wellness

2024 was a big year for me in terms of my own health and wellness – I stopped breastfeeding in 2024 after 15 months and recommitted to finding a routine with my first gym membership in years. In June I signed up for Ladder app, a progressive strength training app that functions a lot like having a team personal trainer. Each “team” has a different focus (classic body building, strength, endurance, prenatal, etc), and follows a six week on, two week “deload” cycle over the course of the year. The app is easy and intuitive, the workouts are a ton of fun, and I am amazed at the amount of strength and body recomposition that I’ve been able to accomplish. The new 2025 team programs roll out January 6th, and I’m excited to jump back into it after a hectic December.

A major feature of last year’s roundup was my commitment to “building the village” – pouring love and support into the people around you to build up your community. Whether that’s knowing how to never say “let me know if you need anything” again, or just spending more time with the people you care about, it’s continued to be one of the central joys of my past year. In particular, I have really found the joy in low-effort, unstructured hangouts where you don’t have to *do* anything. Weather its spur of the moment walks or casual playdates with kids, it’s just the best.

Moving forward, I’m feeling inspired by the trend on tiktok where people turn their house into a coffee shop. To keep it low-key, I’m planning to do a scaled back version once a month on Sunday mornings where I’ll have coffee and bagels and will just invite anyone and everyone to stop by. It’s not groundbreaking, but I have a feeling it’s going to be one of my favorite things about 2025.

one thing about us is that if we get the “are you free for a coffee and walk to the playground” text we are going to come runnnnnning

In addition to dialing in some strength and conditioning last year, I also worked hard on my own health and nutrition. I’m not one for a ton of supplements, but I found myself feeling extremely depleted post-breastfeeding and switched from my extremely basic post-natal vitamins to Perelel Mom MultiSupport, to which I credit with supporting my return to feeling like my old self (and an excellent bill of health and balanced hormone levels at my last annual physical).

• Other lightly woo-woo additions to my routine this year? After a rough bout of stress-related migraines last fall I also added in a magnesium gluconate and l-theanine supplement (in a yummy blue-lemon drink mix). It helped my migraines and my sleep so much I’ve kept it up a few times a week ever since. Similarly, I opted for these low-sugar electrolytes during the last months of breastfeeding while I attempted to keep my supply up, and liked them so much I’ve kept them on hand for high energy expenditure activities like long distance hikes or travel.

I also focused a ton this year on improving my quality of sleep — something that was constantly derailed by the fact that my phone was also my alarm clock. I regularly struggled with revenge bedtime procrastination or throwing off my whole morning by waking up and immediately jumping into socials or work emails. This fall I opted for a sunrise simulation alarm clock, and have started putting my phone on the other side of the room to charge at night. According to my fitness tracker, my sleep quality and consistency has improved significantly since October, and I’ve really been happier with the simple, calming routine.

fashion & beauty

I started 2024 with a no-buy month as part of a personal style challenge (that included tracking everything I wore all year until I fell off when I moved). I found it so ENORMOUSLY helpful in reducing impulse spending and in understanding and improving my own personal sense of style that I’m recommitting to an expanded version this year with a few additional adjustments:

• Low-Buy Year: I’m setting a personal goal to buy fewer than 10-15 new items of clothing in 2025 (based on the recommendation that consumers limit purchases to 5 new clothing items per year to stay in line with the Paris Agreement goals. Yikes!). I plan to prioritize sustainable clothing, and will do my best to defer to second hand shopping first via extensions like phia . I just know this is going to be a challenge that tests me, and am interested to see how I personally respond to it!

• Track it all: I loved tracking what I wore and seeing the patterns in what gravitated towards and how that changed when I put intention behind it. I imagine i’ll get similar benefits from tracking my spending in a more granular way. I’m planning to add tabs to help document wishlists, items I’m drawn to impulse buy, and actual purchases to dig in a little more.

• One in, One Out: If and when something new is coming in, something is going out via consignment or donation! I’m also planning to use my updated tracker to identify the things that aren’t getting worn season after season to pare them down.

outfit repeater x3: the bag, the jacket, and the trousers

Because of last year’s efforts to track and analyze what I wore on a regular basis, I was able to EASILY identify the highest value additions to my closet when it comes to price per wear, which is a metric I swear by and am delighted to have some hard data behind. It brought me so much joy to have style “go-tos’ and to be building a closet that reduces the feeling that I have “nothing” to wear. A few winners:

• I bought this lovely reversible three season green and navy floral quilted jacket last spring and it’s my number one most worn item of the year (and likely will be again next year). It goes with almost everything in my closet, it’s a perfect weight for Seattle weather, and the reversibility extends styling options.

• After debating hopping on the trouser trend for months (years?) I finally grabbed this easy, flowy, machine washable (!!), pair in advance of a work trip last winter and have been obsessed with them ever since. I find myself reaching for them for a slightly more dressy version of my usual jeans-and-a-sweater look.

• After longing for this beautiful leather cross-body bag for months, I purchased one after a big win at work. Despite (and I think because?) I so rarely buy any bags, let alone expensive ones, I am just so in love with this one. It’s beautiful, it’s insanely functional to be hands free as a mom with a speedy toddler, and the color just so *me*.

I have loved how seamlessly all three of these items fit into my existing personal style ethos (classic, minimal, whimsical), and they quickly became a staple for both workwear and everyday (mom) life. To me, this is the foundation of how I want to approach my low-spend year: fewer, better things that go together, and that will hold up year after year as “worth it”.

On the skincare front, in putting together this reflection it’s become apparent that while I significantly paired down spending on clothing in 2024, I did *not* make the same effort on skincare and I have a bunch of half empty products cluttering up my bathroom as a result. As part of a low-buy year and efforts to reduce consumption in 2025, I’m hopping on the project pan bandwagon and I’m committing to using down everything I have before buying ANY new or replacement items. Simultaneously looking forward to narrowing down my favorites and making an educated, planned decision about what, if anything, to repurchase.

• I will say: prior to this revelation, I was lucky enough to swing into the cult favorite City Pharmacy during my recent trip to Paris, and re-stocked up on some of my favorite products from my last trip in 2022. After a very involved discussion with one of the staff about the products on my list, she persuaded me instead to try the Caudalie Resveratrol Serum + Night Cream. After nearly six weeks straight of travel, my skin had been dry and so so so irritated, and I’m completely blown away by how well it’s responded to this combo. I’m highly confident that this will end up being the one thing I want to repurchase, and I’ll be saving every drop until I finish getting through all my backlog.

food & beverage

restaurant dropout mealplans x my local CSA were the dream combo in my kitchen this year

I know I already talked about my favorite newsletters, but this one deserved its own call out. (for only the… 47th time?). I subscribed to

Zoe Barrie Soderstrom

‘s Restaurant Dropout newsletter in May after loving her “meal prep line a line cook” series on tiktok. I have so so so deeply appreciated the weekly menu, prep and grocery lists, the education about different cooking techniques (including reference videos), and the way it’s turned week-night dinners into an much more accessible task. If you’re someone who loves to cook (but is occasionally tired out by the amount of energy it takes to decide what to feed yourself on a regular basis) I cannot recommend the newsletter enough. Even on weeks I don’t cook the full menu, I often refer to the recipe vault to pull some of my favorites for a quick and easy dinner.¹

I got even more into my local farmer’s market than I usually am this summer, and ended up with a biweekly CSA subscription from my favorite vendor in Seattle, Salmonberry Goods. Their subscription deliveries organic fruits and vegetables from small, independent farmers in Washington alongside a fresh sourdough bread and bottle of house-made kombucha and it’s been one of my favorite things this year. My toddler and I look forward to our box every other wednesday, and I have had a blast both introducing our little guy to new fruits and veggies and tailoring my cooking to include crazy fresh, seasonal produce. (If you’re not in Seattle, highly recommend you finding a CSA near you!)

Okay, extra alert: I have a major obsession with the “good” ice (perfectly crunchy and chewable, etc), to the point that it was my number one pregnancy craving. This year I had the opportunity to work with GE to create content around their Opal Profile 2.0 Ultra Nugget Ice Machine. I cannot express to you how much pure, undiluted joy this machine has brought me on a daily basis, from upgrading my at home coffee to making water more palatable. Silly, a little expensive, but if we’re considering price (and joy) per use, it’s a perfect 10.

Featuring on this list for the second year in a row: I tried out Cometeer right after our little one was born as a way to streamline my (previously protracted) morning coffee routine. I ended up falling in LOVE with the ease and convenience of a perfect black coffee in seconds, and continue to be their number one fan. It has majorly cut down on my time in the morning (and my spending on coffee outside the house), and is just an easy, simple pleasure.

technology

Last November I found myself really feeling like I was struggling to manage my own screen time, and I ended up downloading and paying for an annual subscription to the Opal screen time app - the answer to 2012’s “self control” app, Opal can block individual or groups of apps on a set schedule or after a certain amount of usage time. Over the past year I have been more and less strict with my restrictions (and have reduced my daily average screentime a whopping 46% since I installed) and find I’m happier and more productive the less time I spend passively scrolling.

Related: I’m currently contemplating a no IG, no tiktok January, and regardless will be returning my app limits to extremely stringent settings come the new year. I’m considering a post about it — lmk if you’d be interested in a deeper dive on digital boundaries and managing screentime effectively beyond just blocking it!

Part of why I’m so interested in reducing my passive scrolling time? I read SO MUCH MORE when I do: I read almost 40 books this year, and the star of the show is undoubtedly the Libby app for both ebooks and audiobooks. I have so much love for Seattle Public Libraries, both for the absolutely wealth of materials they have available, and for their incredible children’s book selections that keeps both me and Little Bear elbow deep in great books at all times. Bonus: if you are a ~tracker~ like I am, I can’t say enough good things about StoryGraph. I love the tracking and recap features, especially when it comes to pulling together issues like my Year In Books (2024 edition coming SO SOON!).

kid stuff

I shared before that 2024 was really the year my toddler turned from a baby into a PERSON with his own interests and preferences. A few things that absolutely crushed this year:

every day is zoo day

We received a local zoo membership from my parents for his birthday last fall, and I cannot TELL you how much value we got out of that dang thing. It is such a great and easy activity that gets us both outdoors (rain or shine!), and there are tons of learning and educational opportunities. It absolutely makes my heart sing to see him confidently running around, navigating to see his favorite animals in their habitats, or deciding where to go next.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I would like to give the inventor of Magnatiles a big smooch, because they are an absolute top tier toy. I initially bought some with the *desperate* hope that it would help give my child something to do for more than 2 minutes while I cooked dinner, and they quickly have become a central part of his day. They are endlessly entertaining, easy to clean up, don’t hurt when you step on them, and teach creativity, physics and resilience (when you inevitably knock them all over). Pro-tip: we have this lightweight set for on the go and it’s absolutely clutch on airplanes or at restaurants.

i took my toddler to europe and lived to tell about it, featuring these two products I will die for.

We have done a ton of travel with our kiddo since his arrival in 2022, and 2024 was the year where we really got close to perfecting the system. While we had a stroller and a diaper bag that we liked for everyday, this fall we opted to make a few upgrades to solve for a few very specific complaints. After nearly six weeks of constant travel, I’m happy to report that I have two gold-standard recommendations that I cannot believe we managed without as long as we did.

• We debated getting a Yoyo travel stroller after seeing them all over Paris in 2022 but eventually decided for a cheaper alternative that only succeeded in driving me crazy for two straight years. Prior to our Europe trip in December we took advantage of a black friday sale and I cannot tell you how amazing the Yoyo stroller is: fits in an overhead compartment on a plane, folds down and out nearly seamlessly (and is easy to carry while stowed), has good underseat storage, and remarkable maneuverability even on cobblestones.

• I received the Dagne Dover diaper bag as a gift from coworkers, and it’s a great bag for day to day life. However we found on longer travels (especially on airplanes) the DD bag quickly becomes a bottomless, disorganized pit that was overly heavy and cumbersome. After hours of research, my husband bought *himself* the No Reception Club Getaway Bag, specifically designed to make travel with kids easier with flexible organization, multiple top and side access points and pockets for not only kid stuff but parent essentials from keys up to laptops. I was skeptical but quickly became a believer after we were able to keep toys, snacks and diapers seamlessly organized during our trip to Europe. Highly, highly recommended

big life things

2024 was a year of Big. Life. Decisions. like the scary, exciting, major kind. The two biggest ones:

an old view, and a new one.

We moved in July, concluding nearly a year of looking and multiple experiences where we put offers on homes we didn’t get. The whole thing felt sysyphian, a pointless expenditure of time, energy, money and patience, until we found (and got!) the one. We’ve been in the new spot for almost six months, sold the old one without tooooo much stress and are feeling so relieved to be settling in. We are slowly but surely turning the new house into a warm, colorful home and it makes me happier than I can express to have brought this experience to a peaceful ending.

as I have repeatedly joked to everyone in my life: we’ll be living in this house until they have to bury me in the backyard because I’m *never* moving again.

To round out the rollercoaster, I quit my job this year, and y’all I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t one of the best and most stressful things I could have done for myself. I felt a bit like I ended 2023 and started 2024 sleepwalking a bit: keeping on the path I was on because it was easier than the disruption to make a major change (especially considering that we had been trying to move for almost a year, a process which famously does not love sudden changes in life circumstances) the second half of the year was chaos, but looking back with a few months perspective it feels like everything fell into place in a way that worked out perfectly and I could have never planned in a million years. I am so happy and proud of myself for having the courage to face facts, make the decision and follow through on it despite the discomfort (and endlessly grateful to my Mark and my friends for their guidance and support).²

Whatever else may come, I feel so lucky to be walking into 2025 in a place to make active, intentional decisions about how I spend my time and energy. I’m excited for the opportunity to reimagine what things can look like, and to bring you all along for the ride.

1. caesar salad and frites supremacy. a perfect meal!

2. Longer post on burnout and updates on the job search process incoming soon, and details on how I knew it was time to go in this post,