Happy New Year! I always love to look back on the year and think about the things I bought that I loved the most and/or were the most useful. Below are all my favorites from 2024.

Books

I have already shared reviews of my favorite books from 2024 so I don’t want to repeat myself, but my favorite books I read in 2024 are Song of Achilles, The Only One Left, and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Not only am I an avid reader, but I also enjoy collecting books (specifically classics) so I want to give an honorary mention to the Harper Muse Painted Classics. I have five of these editions in total and I believe they have released 12, so I’ll definitely be buying more this year. I don’t feel like pictures do them justice, they are beautiful in person and I love how whimsical they are. Special edition books can get pricey but I feel like these are priced fairly.

Cooking/Kitchen

I’m pretty sure I made a recipe from the America’s Test Kitchen Mediterranean Cookbook at least once a week in 2024. You can learn a lot of technique from this cookbook, they have lots of great recipes that suit my palate, and as someone who takes medication before each meal the nutrition breakdown for each recipe is arguably life saving.

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I ordered the King Arthur Better Cheddar Cheese Powder 5 times in 2024…clearly I love it. I’ve used it in cheddar biscuits to enhance the cheddar flavor, in cheddar broccoli soup (again to enhance the cheddar flavor), but I most frequently use it on popcorn. I’ve tried other cheese powders but they are quite disgusting in comparison.

These Le Creuset Ramekins have come in handy in so many ways in my kitchen. I sometimes use them for portioning snacks or making individual desserts but they mostly get used for mise en place.

I originally bought these Kitchen Tweezers for removing bones from seafood. They can get a firm grip on the bone to remove them as cleanly as possible. I found so many other uses for these tweezers though. They are great for handling chicken that has been dredged in flour or bread because the tweezers come into less contact with the chicken, therefore you are less likely to remove the dredging or breading, and if you do remove some it will be significantly less than if you were to use traditional tongs.

Makeup & Skincare

I’m pretty set in my ways when it comes to makeup and skincare so I really didn’t try a lot of new stuff in 2024. When I was looking back on my favorite products from the year, it occurred to me I only used one eyeshadow palette the entire year, every time I did my makeup. I think this Chanel eyeshadow palette could be used for more elaborate eyeshadow but I usually keep it simple and stick to just one shade across the entire eyelid.

A313 has a bit of a cult following amongst French pharmacy lovers and I can see why. It’s an over the counter retinol so it’s the best ingredient for anti-aging. I personally get a prescription retinol for my face so I don’t use this on my face, but rather on my neck and decolletage for anti-aging. I’ve noticed a big difference with my tech-neck lines.

The Avene Cicalfate+ is my go to cream in the fall and winter. It hydrates my dry skin so well and also soothes it. I even used it occasionally in the Spring and Summer when I felt my skin needed a soothing product.

Fashion/Style

For my birthday this year my husband got my the Gucci Boater Hat. This has some metallic fabric woven into the straw material that is subtle but beautiful. I love a boater style hat because they are timeless, practical because they provide a decent amount of sun protection, and I like the look of them.

Almost every time I left the house over the summer I wore these sandals from Sarah Flint. They don’t currently have the color I got mine in, which is a camel brown color that looks good with all my summer clothes. For a flat sandal they are relatively comfortable and didn’t take any time to break in.

I have this Sezane jacket in the cream shade that is currently unavailable. This is the perfect weight jacket for the Spring and Fall. It can also be layered easily. It’s a casual jacket but helps an outfit look put together.

Home

I wanted this Libraries Coffee Table Book for such a long time but waited for it to go on sale. It’s a stunning book and piece of home decor.

The cat art is unfortunately not something I can link. It is something I inheretied from the late grandma that finally went up on a wall last year. I cherish it, it might be my favorite piece of home decor in our home.

The Great Nebula in Orion print is actually something I got for my husband for his birthday last year. We had a stray cat we took in who is sadly not with us anymore but we named him Orion so this piece has a lot of sentimental value.

I can be very particular about furniture so it took me literally years to find a dresser I like. I got this one from Green Row which is a great company to shop for furniture. I not only like the style of it, but it’s also sustainably made and good quality.

2024 was the year I made more of an effort to print an frame photos. I bought a ton of frames last year to hold photos that capture of our favorite memories but the Shagreen frames from The White Company are my favorite. I have them in a creamy beige color which is currently not available. I love the texture on the frame because it add some interest amongst other frames of a similar color.

The holiday season has officially started! It’s now time to start shopping for all the loved ones in your life. Below is a gift guide geared towards women, but these could be great gifts for anyone in your life. I tried to include some more premium gifts and some affordable ones.

Missoni Cookbook This would make a great gift for someone that loves to cook and the perfect gift for someone that loves to cook AND loves fashion.

Meal Planner & Grocery List This would make a great gift for anyone who wants to get more organized and wants to cook from home more. This is a great affordable gift on it’s own or it can be paired up with a cookbook or garlic braid.

Humidifier As someone that lives in a dry climate-having a humidifier is a must. This would be a great gift for anyone in a dry climate or anyone who is into skincare and self care.

Hair Towel Once I started drying my hair with a hair towel I couldn’t go back to using a regular towel. This would also make a great gift for anyone into skincare, haircare, or self care.

Pride & Prejudice Blanket This is such a beautifully blanket and would make the perfect gift for the book lover in your life.

Beis Tote This is my ideal tote to use as my personal item when flying. It would make a great gift for the traveler in your life.

Non-Alcoholic Drink As someone who very rarely drinks alcohol and doesn’t drink sugary drinks, this is right up my alley. While I haven’t tried it, I have heard so many good things about this brand. This would be great for anyone who is health conscious, likes special drinks, or anyone doing dry January.

Wallet Wallets are a very personal item, so in general I don’t always recommend buying it as a gift but I think in this case, this wallet is great for anyone that travels frequently or anyone who doesn’t always want to carry a handbag.

It’s pumpkin pie spice season! I’m personally not a huge fan of pumpkin spice flavored things, with the exception of pumpkin pie and my recipe for pumpkin pie chia seed pudding. You can absolutely have this for a healthy dessert but I like to have it for breakfast in the morning.

Makes 2 Servings

Ingredients

1 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Cottage Cheese

1/3 Cup Pumpkin Puree

1/3 Cup Chia Seeds

1-2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Directions

In a blender combine milk, cottage cheese, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, and maple syrup. Blend until the cottage cheese it smooth and there are no clumps left.

In a small mixing bowl combine the wet mixture with the chia seeds. Whisk occasionally until the chia seeds are gelatinous.

Refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve in the morning give it a quick stir. I like to top mine with pumpkin seeds and hazelnuts. Enjoy!

Notes

I personally use nonfat milk but you can use whatever milk or milk alternative you’d like…it just might change the consistency making it a thinner or thicker pudding.

I know it can be frustrating to open a can of pumpkin puree just to use 1/3 cup of it, so I suggest planning accordingly and making some pumpkin bread or muffins with the rest. I toyed with the idea of creating the recipe to use the entire can but it would turn out overwhelmingly pumpkin, or it would make a huge batch. Make sure you use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.

I personally prefer white chia seeds which I order online. I find regular chia seeds to sometimes have a slightly fishy taste.

It’s important to continuously whisk the chia seeds until they become gelatinous because it will leave them suspended in the mixture rather than sinking to the bottom.

Amazon Prime day ends tonight and below is everything I have ordered from the sale.

Tights My husband and I are going to NYC in December and I am already planning my outfits. One of the outfits I’m planning requires tights, which I do have but I wanted to get some fleece lined ones for added warmth.

Churu Cat Treats These are Anthony’s favorite treats so I stocked up on them.

Jewelry Trays I have quite a bit of jewelry and I want to be that person that always accessorizes with jewelry, but I’m not. I think having my jewelry on trays will encourage me to wear it more often.

Flameless Candle Set I bought this candle set during a flash sale yesterday. I can’t remember who recommended them or where I saw them but I remember thinking they look so much better than the flameless candle set I have.

Tinted Sunscreen This is one of my favorite tinted sunscreens. I figured I’d order a backup while it is on sale.

Body Butter This brand makes one of my favorite perfumes so I have been wanting to try their body butter for a while. This is technically not part of the prime day sales but there is a 25% off coupon for it right now.

Premier Protein My husband and I both like Premier Protein. I have not tried this flavor but it was the most discounted one at the time of order so hopefully it is good.

Since so many of us are shopping on Amazon today, I think it is worth mentioning that there are tons of organizations that are providing hurricane disaster relief that have Amazon wishlists. This one that I am linking is prepping to provide pet supplies to the Tampa area after hurricane Milton passes. This is just one of many organizations, and there are some that have wishlists that would go to both victims of hurricane Helene and Milton.

I absolutely love to decorate for Halloween. Over the years I have amassed quite a large collection of Halloween decorations, but that doesn’t stop me for searching for more each year! I tend to gravitate towards cutesy Halloween decorations rather than anything gory or something out of a nightmare. Below are the best Halloween decorations I found this year.

Black Cat Old Fashioned Glasses This is one of the items I added to my collection this year. I try not to buy holiday specific dinnerware, but I made an exception for these. As a crazy cat lady, and previous black cat mom, these will be a year-round item in my home.

Potions Dish Towel This is another item I added to my collection this year. Dish towels are such an easy and affordable way to add a touch of the holiday you are decorating for, and they store away so easily the rest of the year.

Rattan Bats I love these rattan bats. If you stray from tacky Halloween decor these would be a great way to decorate in a more refined way. These would look great hanging on a porch or off a chandelier.

Spider Spikes This is another item I added to my collection this year. I put pumpkins on my porch every year but I don’t carve them. I thought these pumpkin spikes would be a great way to decorate the pumpkins.

Palmistry Tray I am such a sucker for any palmistry decor.

Crystal Ball This is another item that would be great for someone that finds most Halloween decor to be tacky, or someone that wants to just subtly decorate. This would look great on a dining room table or you might be able to use it as a bookend.

Boo Spikes In addition to the spider spikes, I also ordered these boo spikes to decorate the pumpkins I put on our front porch.

Illuminated Vine Pumpkin These pumpkins would be a great way to add ambient light to your front porch. These would be perfect for anyone that lives in a warmer climate where you can’t put pumpkins out. These would also make a beautiful centerpiece on a dining room table.

I love a salad that utilizes in season, fresh produce and the one below definitely does. This salad embraces one of my favorite autumnal foods- apples! While this salad recipe doesn’t contain any meat, it does have a couple different protein sources and some healthy fat which makes it satiating enough to be a meal or a side.

This salad makes 2 large entree size salads or 4 side salads.

Salad Ingredients

Approximately 6 Cups Kale

4 McIntosh Apples (or whatever apple you prefer)

5 oz Goat Cheese crumbled

1/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds

1/2 Cup Sweet and Spicy Pecans (I buy these from Trader Joe’s but you can also make them yourself)

1/4 Cup Pickled Red Onion (I follow this recipe)

Dressing Ingredients

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

Instructions

Combine all dressing ingredients until it has emulsified.

Add the dressing to the kale (you likely will only use half of the dressing but start with a quarter and add more if needed). Massage the kale…this is crucial to making a kale salad pleasant to it. It tenderizes the kale. You’ll know when the kale has bee massaged enough when it starts to feel more tender.

Strain the pickled red onion.

Crumble the goat cheese on the salads evenly along with the pumpkin seeds, pecans, and pickled onion.

Slice the apple thinly and top it on the salad.

Enjoy!