Issue #5: Best of 2022 and a New Year's Resolution
A Whole Big Roundup of Favorite Books, Movies, Music, and more
I hope you’re in the middle of a quiet winter break where you’re either frolicking on a beach or wearing the same pajamas for days in a row. I am doing neither this week as I rush to complete my to-do list before the end of the year, but I’m excited about a three-day weekend. I’ve been working on my list of favorites for the year for a few weeks now, and it’s finally time to share with all of you.
If you want to see some of our travel photos this year, I recapped 22 of my favorite photos on The Tumbling Nomads.
Highlights of 2022: What I’m Recommending
To Watch
It was a great year for television. I saw a few movies and have a collection of movies I’m excited about, and finally, I feel like I have the patience to sit down and watch. Hopefully, I’m not the only one who just couldn’t find the motivation to watch many full movies this year.
Glass Onion
This follow-up to Knives Out was just fantastic. Daniel Craig’s weird accent seems to have everyone split, but I think it’s funny and odd. Also, Kate Hudson has not aged even a second in the last ten years.
Harry & Meghan
I do not understand the hatred in this world for these two humans. I find them to be fascinating and lovely. We watched this right after watching the most recent season of The Crown, so it was interesting coming off the Diana storyline. I kind of wish there were more than six episodes.
Blackbird
This was the most underrated show of the year. No one was talking about it, but I blame Apple TV and its low membership numbers. The story follows two inmates (based on a true story) in prison. One of them gets a deal for a shorter sentence if he can elicit a confession from the other prisoner, who they believe to be a serial killer. We watched it on one of the smoky days when we couldn’t be outside and binged the entire series in one weekend. Absolutely fantastic!
House of the Dragon
Loved this story and the characters in the Game of Thrones prequel. There was a bit too much gore, especially in the first few episodes. I’m just mad that I must wait so long to see more and avoid reading about the storylines.
Read my full list of movies, TV, and documentaries here.
To Listen
Midnights
I love Taylor Swift unapologetically. I love this album and listened to it on repeat. I’m pretty pumped to see the rest of Taylor’s Version albums as well because you know there’s a ton more new music to come.
Maintenance Phase Podcast
This podcast is fascinating. They cover diet culture and food topics in depth. I love hearing the history and peeling back the layers of these strange diet obsessions.
My Random Spotify Playlist for 2022
I always add random songs to a playlist throughout the year. I love going back to see what songs caught my attention at that point in history.
To Read
Lessons in Chemistry
Elizabeth Zott is a woman before her time. She fights her way through a male-dominated science field while ignoring the nay-sayers as much as possible. Follow her story while she fell in love, suffered loss, and found her group in the world. They are turning this into a TV show, and I cannot wait because the characters are just lovely.
Midnight Library
If I could only recommend one book that I read this year, it’s this one. I think about it often. When I first started it, I was worried that it would be depressing because it covers suicide as a topic, but I was wrong about the direction it went. I will gift this book and probably reread this book again and again. I can’t wait to read more by this author.
The Power of Ritual
With more and more people moving away from organized religion, there’s a need for structure and rituals. This book covers some beautiful ways to incorporate rituals into your life without following a religion. I wrote so many notes and took so many ideas away from this book, and I’m going to work to add some of it to my 2023 goals.
Read my full list of favorite books from 2022 here.
You can shop the list here using a local bookstore.
Purchases I Loved
The Herbivorous Butcher Cookbook
Our favorite vegan butchers put out a cookbook this year sharing their favorite recipes. Not only can we recreate some of their fake meat, but there are also fantastic soup, sandwich, and main course recipes that we have loved. If you need other veg-friendly cookbooks, here is a list of my favorites.
Our Joybird Sofa
We made a big purchase this year. After settling for a couch at Ikea that we didn’t love for over a year, we upgraded to a giant comfortable couch from Joybird. They sent a box of fabric samples, and we chose an olive green color. It’s perfect for hiding the dog hairs and is big enough that we can all sprawl out a bit. We passed our couch on to a family that needed it in the neighborhood, so nothing went to waste. After years of having no furniture of our own, it feels good to have a nice couch that will last us a while. But FYI, don’t shop unless there’s a sale. We used the Memorial Day sale.
Chelsea Rain Boots
I love my Hunter Boots (currently on sale). But if I’m just taking the dog outside on a rainy or icy walk, I like something that is a little easier to slip on and off. I bought a pair of green Chelsea rain boots, which are short, from Old Navy on clearance, but here is a similar pair (on sale). They are super convenient and come in handy during the gray season in Seattle.
Olive + June Nail Polish
I do not spend much time on makeup or manicures, but when I want to paint my nails, I will only use Olive + June. It stays on longer than other brands and is free of nasty chemicals. I own eight colors right now and have my eye on a few others for springtime.
Get 20% off one of their systems if you want to try it.
Traveling Coffee Mugs
While I have always loved this brand, their retail space/coffee shop in the neighborhood recently closed down. We use our travel mugs all the time and love to have a few on hand for walks, short road trips, and even when we just want our coffee to stay hot longer. We were recently gifted some Stanley mugs from a friend. They are quickly becoming our new favorite. Because no one should drink cold coffee.
Stanley also makes these famous “influencer cups” which they now carry at Target. I don’t own one yet, but maybe I should?
Other Fascinating Things from 2022
Pete Davidson - Am I alone in being fascinated by Pete Davidson? His dating life is fascinating, and I cannot look away. It’s so unpredictable. I am pretty sad that he’s gone from SNL. Even though he was never the funniest, I loved him as a guest on Weekend Update.
Actual color on walls - Colors and fun, colorful wallpaper are featured in all the home decor magazines. I love to see it.
Conversations about women’s rights - While the Supreme Court ruling was extremely disappointing, it has provoked a lot of conversations in this country about what abortion is and how much the system ignores women's health needs. I have too many people in my life who have required these kinds of health services, so I’ve been donating to ensure others receive the same life-saving care. Here’s a list of great organizations to donate to.
Sanna Marin, Jacinda Arden, and other young female leaders - It’s exciting to see women in my generation taking leadership positions worldwide. I’m cheering for them and hoping for more in the near future.
The Return of Delia’s Catalogs - Well, not the real Delia’s from my formative years, but the Gen Z kids are fully embracing all the cool trends just a few decades ago. While I am not interested in participating in these trends, I love seeing them everywhere.
Chef José Andrés - This man has been busy this year. His organization, World Central Kitchen, is one of our recurring donations because he works to feed people and give them that basic need when everything else is hard. Between the natural disasters and the War in Ukraine, there has been a lot of need this year. Consider throwing a few dollars toward this organization.
The Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings have been so fun (and nerve-racking) to watch this year. We tuned into the 6 AM game when they were in London and saw the crazy overtime wins throughout the year. Being a Vikings fan has been fun this year, regardless of what happens in the playoffs.
Mental Health Awareness - This topic is becoming more and more mainstream, and it’s about time. The rollout of 988 this year was huge. I hope more people work to understand the importance of mental health and help to encourage those they love to seek help when they need it. I love therapy and cannot recommend it enough.
Megan Thee Stallion - I think she is just the coolest. Putting out hit songs, going to school, and working to fight against injustice.
What’s Ahead in 2023
I love New Year’s Day. Not because there are usually fun drinks and a day off of work. I love anything that provides fresh starts and clean slates. I love turning the page in a planner, the change of seasons, milestone birthdays, and anything that remotely falls into this category. Resolutions have always been something fun for me. I keep them simple and give myself lots of grace, but I usually have goals for the year (month and week, and sometimes days).
This year, I’m revisiting the same resolution I had in 2015. After a few years of desiring comfort and stability, I want to get out of my shell a bit this year, and I’m taking you on the ride with me.
I’m setting the goal to try 365 new things in 2023. This includes books, movies, TV shows, albums (not counting songs), restaurants, recipes, products, hikes, podcasts, life hacks, destinations, clothing, or anything else I’ve never tried. I plan to document each thing on the Instagram account that goes with this newsletter (which has lied a little dormant for a while.) Follow along for the daily adventure.
The plan is to do some giveaways throughout the year, including a few of my favorite new finds, so follow along. I’ll also do a roundup each month of the highlights. I’m open to ideas too, so if you have a suggestion you think I should try, reply to this email and let me know.
Other Internet Things I’ve Enjoyed
Check your flexibility with these simple moves. I shared this Justice for Todd and Margo article on Instagram about the Christmas Vacation movie because I really feel like they are relatable at this point in my life. Is anyone really wearing these boots? This weekday travel newsletter covers good deals and fun travel facts, and it’s perfect if you’re planning big things for 2023. My January horoscope tells me that January will be about reflection, and I love that for me. Put these YouTube backgrounds on while you work, it’s delightful.
Congrats if you reached the bottom of this email. It was a long one. I love a good yearly recap, and I spent a ridiculous amount of time putting this together. Sending you all the good vibes for the turn of the calendar.
And please, forward this to anyone you think would like to follow along for 2023.
Happy New Year!
Steph (with a little help from friends)