The 2019 highlight reel! These are a few of my favorite things…
Favorite book:
As per usual, I fell short of my annual reading goal, but finished 17 books and liked most of them.
Favorite fiction was Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson. I grabbed this one from the library on a whim while I was waiting for Juliette to pick out her books and it surprised me the very best way. Woodson has a way of bringing you up close and personal with her characters in so few words.
Favorite non-fiction was Shameless by Nadia Bolz-Weber, because it challenged ideas of mine that I didn’t even know were up for debate.
And favorite of favorites, in a category all its own, was Devotions by Mary Oliver, because…Mary. I lugged this book around on nearly all of our camping trips and have the fondest of memories of reading about nature and beauty and solitude while the waters of Priest Lake shimmered in the distance.
Favorite movie:
I was a year late on watching this one, but I caught Bohemian Rhapsody on one of my flights to San Diego and YOWSERS. Totally brilliant. I never really loved Queen, but suddenly found myself with a profound appreciation for Freddy Mercury’s creativity and talent. Five stars.
Favorite TV show:
Again, I’m late to the party, but helloooooo Stranger Things! I initially passed on the first couple of seasons, put off by the sounds of shrieking girls and screeching creatures as Shane binge-watched this show downstairs, but he finally convinced me to sit down and give the show an honest shot before Season 3 dropped this summer. So we watched Season 1. And 2. And then 3. And it was good. So ridiculously, outlandishly good.
(Honorable mention to Succession!)
Favorite podcast:
I’m still faithful to my tried-and-true trifecta of The Daily, Reply All and Heavyweight (Heavyweight! Listen to #27 Scott and try not to cry). But I’ve got a new favorite, and it’s got very little substance, but WHATEVER. I’m loving Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend when I want…a friend! So light, so funny, so easy to imagine you’re in the room with Conan and his assistant Sona. Best episodes include his chats with Malcolm Gladwell, Steven Colbert, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Favorite song:
Oh boy. This one is hard. Especially now, when it feels like we’re stuck in an endless loop of Frozen 2 tracks. We listened to a lot of Taylor Swift this year. Hopped on the Billie Eilish bandwagon. Juliette and I instated a Dixie Chicks revival. But the song that probably got the most play is Some Type of Love by Charlie Puth – it’s poppy and sweet and perfect for belting out when Jules and I are cruising in the Subaru.
Favorite purchase:
We have a concrete pad in our backyard that’s been screaming for a fire pit since we moved in. After searching high and low for something not-too-big and not-too-ugly, we landed on the Solo Stove and it’s been great! Compact, burns crazy-hot, and the perfect reason for the kids to gather on the backyard on a summer evening.
Favorite personal pastime:
Totally stumped on this one, as I feel like 2019 was the year of “painfully minimal personal time”. Work kind of sucked me dry last year. But. BUT! The work travel that zapped me was also dotted with some pretty incredible beachfront evening strolls. How lucky am I that my project site is a mile from here?!
Favorite family pastime:
Juliette has recently graduated from mind-numbingly simple games like Candy Land to board games that I actually want to play. Ticket to Ride! Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle! Quirkle! We’re in such a good game groove right now – I’m loving winter weekend mornings when we can crank up the fire place, pour a couple of mugs of hot chocolate, and open up the game cupboard. (Again, though, as I say every year, camping ultimately for the win.)
And, favorite moments…
Show me whatcha got, 2020.
