Top 3 for 2023

It’s a tradition now! Here are some of our favorite things from 2023:

Top 3 Fav Books of 2023
Maddie’s Picks:
1. Hello, Beautiful by by Ann Napolitano– I haven’t cried this much reading a book in a long time, but OMG the story and characters were epic. LOVED IT!
2. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – A cozy read with a hint of mystery in the story! My favorite parts were the narration from the octopus.
3. Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon– Emily and I were huge Superstar fans growing up and this book made me love her even more! Molly Shannon has an incredible life story and and incredible outlook on life.

Emily’s Picks:
1. The Enchanted Sonata by Heather Dixon Wallwork. A retelling of The Nutcracker. A perfect Christmas read! Cozy atmospheric vibes and fun action.
2. The Bookwanderes by Anna James. A middle grade read with lots of fantasy elements. This is also a 5 book series. I’ve read the next 2 and each book offers something different and fun.
3. Momfluenced by Sara Petersen. A very insightful thought provoking look at motherhood, social media, and comparison. This is a book that I want to reread which is rare!

Top 3 New Recipes of 2023
Maddie’s Picks:
1. Protein Baked Oats– These have been my meal prep on repeat since having Wiggler
2. Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole– When you need something just plain tasty!
3. Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers– Low Carb and delish

Emily’s Picks:
1. Quiche – Not really a recipe to link but I’ve been getting premade pie crust, bushing with Dijon mustard (my mom’s tip!) and adding whatever we have. Delicious and great for meal prep.
2. Spicy Pork Dan Dan Noodles -My Postpartum Doula made this while I was recovery after birth. It was amazing and I think about it weekly. Hello Fresh recipes are generally all very delicious.
3. Hulk Smoothies. Again no real recipe. Chocolate protein powder, frozen banana, peanut butter, milk, and spinach (to make it Hulk green). Add yogurt if you got it. These have been the unsung hero these past few months. The boys love them. They are easy to make and easy to clean up. Also a low mess meal since it’s all in a cup.

Top 3 Purchases of 2023
Maddie’s Picks:
1. Merlin’s Magic Sleep Suit– Wiggler used this from 4-8 months and you can’t put a price on good sleep!
2. All Birds Sneakers– I’m loving wearing these in the office, cute and professional-ish looking
3. Barre3 Online Membership- I didn’t technically buy this because my work does a fitness reimbursement but I absolutely LOVE Barre3! They had an amazing postpartum series that helped me regain my strength after Wiggler and I do their regular classes whenever I can fit it in!

Emily’s Picks:
1. The Five Minute Journal. I have kept a journal since I was in the 5th grade but recently I’ve lost motivation to write. Mostly because my days look the same and I don’t want to rehash them at the end of the day. This has been the perfect solution. I quickly allows me to record key moments while also practicing mindfulness.
2. H&M 3 Pack Slim Fit T-Shirts. I got these right after I had Gal and I have been wearing them ever since. They fit perfect and wash easy. Also not see through like most women’s T-shirts. I proceeded to buy 3 more packs. So I now have 9 of these.
3. Kindle. Loves it! Isn’t so hash on my eyes (like reading an ebook on my phone) and light weight.

Top 3 Watches of 2023
Maddie’s Picks:
1. House of Villains– I’m so sad this show is over, it was the perfect reality show IMO
2. Girls5Eva– I love the premise of this show and all of the musical numbers, can’t wait for Season 3 on Netflix
3. Mrs. Davis– This was a thrilling watch that really made me think about AI!

Emily’s Picks:
1. House of Villains – Amazing show! Loved it so much I rewatched it with my husband.
2. Abbot Elementary - A rare show my husband and I could agree on.
3. Hook – I had never seen this before and don’t know what took me so long.

Top 3 for 2022

Emily and Maddie here for a joint blog post. We wanted to wrap up the year with some of our fav things from 2022!

Top 3 Books of 2022

Emily’s Picks:
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. This book no joke changed my life. I couldn’t read another book for like 3 months after. I still think about it everyday. It was inspiring, eye opening and heartbreaking. I didn’t see the ending coming and those are always the best books to me.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna. The book was such a cozy delightful read. Perfect for October-December. I loved all the witchy talk of potion making and in a way felt like a very modern Circe.

I’ll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife and Motherhood by Jessi Klein. This was hilarious. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in like 2 days. Jessi nails so much of motherhood and made me laugh out loud and cry as well. She this book talks a bit more about the toddler phase so if you’re a mom with a baby I would say to wait until you have a toddler to really “get it”. But again so funny!

Honorable Mention: I couldn’t finish this post without mentioning Wintering By Katherine May. I read this book at the beginning of the year and I’m currently rereading it right now. (Maddie jumping in here to say SAME!)

Maddie’s Picks:
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Wow this was such an amazing and profound read! The story was epic, exploring multiple generations, and what I loved most was how the author managed to show the perspectives of so many different kinds of people, even those who were not necessarily important to the story. The family in this book and all that they experience has stuck with me long after reading it.

Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe. I listened to this on audiobook read by Anderson Cooper, which I highly recommend. The Vanderbilt history is in many ways the history of America and it was extremely eye opening to learn about the story of this iconic family. Would you believe it made me cry? This book is definitely unexpected in all the best ways.

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Mass. I love me a good fantasy series and have torn through 4 of the 5 books in 2022 (currently reading the 5th book as I write this in 2023). I was immediately drawn into the characters and storyline of this book about high faeries and humans and have not stopped reading it since!

Top 3 Recipes

Emily’s Picks:
Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. Okay this one feel like I’m cheating a little but I got this cookbook last Christmas and about halfway through the year started using it. Everything I have made from it turns out perfect and amazing. This is something everyone (and I mean everyone) should have in their kitchen.

Oatmeal Cookies (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Cookbook). My husband’s one and only cookbook is this adorable If You Give a Mouse A Cookie Cookbook. I started making a few cookies from it with Pal and discovered the most delicious Oatmeal Cookies recipe in it. I think the secret in the heavy cream. It’s also very easy to put together. (I assume the book is now so expensive since it’s out of print.)

Cottage Cheese Pancakes. Maddie sent me this recipe when she was going ham for cottage cheese this Christmas and this has been a hit with everyone in my family. It’s not common that I find a recipe that everyone will eat. Love that it is low in sugar and has great protein!

Maddie’s Picks:
Emily’s Pizza Recipe (Sister Hack) After visiting Emily in Oregon and getting an in person tutorial on how to make her famous dough, the hubz and I upgraded our home pizza accoutrements and have been making this almost weekly with delicious results.

Pasta Fagoli Soup (Taste of Home) Healthy, cheap, tasty: check, check, check! This is a simple but oh so yummy recipe that I found on Taste of Home in early 2022. Perfect for fall or winter nights.

Turkey Meatball Subs (Six Sister’s Stuff) This recipe is a light and perfect for game day! I also like how I can use the leftovers for spaghetti later in the week.

Top 3 Purchases

Emily’s Picks:
New Dining Table. This was the best purchase of the year. Our other dining table had fabric seats which were getting destroyed with children learning how to eat. It was also a hand-me-down which we have used for 5 years. We were ready to purchase something specific for our space and agreed that this table would be perfect. (Bonus we reused our old dining table as a play table for our children. My husband just shortened the legs.)

7 Pack of Black Leggings. I kept telling myself that I couldn’t wear black leggings everyday. Idk why I was so set on it. But once I let myself it was so freeing! I bought a pair for each day and they have really held up! I’m currently 5 months pregnant and still wearing them!

New Water Bottle. I had been using the same water bottle for many years and anytime it got knocked over it leaked no matter what (and it gets knocked over a lot). So I bought this new one and its been so nice!

Maddie’s Picks:
Hot Pop Microwave Popcorn Maker. I was influenced to buy this after seeing it in a Youtube video from See Mindy Mom. I love that it is so easy to use and we can control all of the ingredients in our popcorn. We use it weekly for movie night.

Dining Room Rug from Wayfair. We bought this to replace our old dining room rug and I got the 8×10 size on sale for $164. It’s an indoor/outdoor rug, so very durable and the subtle pattern adds a little something to the room without being distracting.

Ever Go Blazer from Maurices. I bought three of these blazers in different colors for my new job that I started in April and I wear them all the time. They are so easy to dress up or down! My favorite way to wear them is with a v-neck tee, jeans, and loafers.

January Reads

Emily’s Pick
A Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber
Oh yes I did read another Debbie Macomber book this month. What can I say? I enjoy the books. They are easy enjoyable reads okay? This book specifically was pretty good. The plot was actually a lot heavier than I thought (family death), and the sub plot contained two abusive situations (people and animals). I almost stopped reading it because of this but I powered through and finished it. I will say the author never went into great detail about any of the abuse. It was more “this person is abused” and then just kind of moved on. The fact that there wasn’t a lot of detail made it easier for me to finish the book. I will also say I loved the beach my vibe of the book.

Maddie’s Pick
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
This book was an amazing January read. It is part memoir and part study on winter and those who cope with it best including animals and humans in certain parts of the world. Katherine May stresses the importance of dealing head-on with both the season of winter and our personal winters (challenging seasons in our lives). I listened to this as an audio book while walking my dog in the worst of winter on the East Coast (also, side note, my dog’s name is Winter so there is already some synergy there). We had several weeks of 10-20 degree weather days and it STILL gave me all of the cozy vibes. After those long, cold walks I was inspired to bake bread, cakes, warm up with tea, and really REST on my weekends at home!

November-December Reads

Happy New Year friends! Maddie here! Emily and I are defs glad to be through the holiday season and moving onward and upward into the new year. While we did not feel totally in the spirit this year, we did enjoy some good reads. Here is what we read this holiday season:

Maddie and Emily’ Pick
The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
This lovely book was our November pick. Ross Gay reflects on small delights in his world the form of “essayettes” from one year of his life. I loved the journey of this book which was a peak into the small joy’s of a person’s life for one year. It was just as often often thoughtful as it was laugh out loud funny- usually within the same essay. Gay is a poet and the style can take some getting used to- Emily ended up not finishing this one but I really enjoyed it. The book made my smile and tune into the small delights around me. It was a great pick to work on developing gratitude for the month of November.

Maddie’s Pick
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
Okay, this was another book that had me laughing. This book was actually based on historic events of a woman in 1618 Germany whose children help to exonerate her of witch accusations. It weaves in verbatim testimony from the trial with a fictionalized account of the players. It sounds like it would be very serious (and sometimes is) but the characters that Galchen creates are all so unique and funny with the best being the accused witch, Katharina, who DGAF. I loved this for a fall read, but it would be great any time of year.

Maddie and Emily’s Pick
Jingle All the Way by Debbie Macomber
This was the first time that Emily or I had read a Debbie Macomber book and we were in for a treat! Were there plot holes? Yes. Do I believe that this story could ever take place in the real world? No. Was it still amazing? YES! This was an easy, breezy, Hallmark-y book that hit all of the romantic Christmas notes. Emily and I had fun recapping the book together at our sister book club and would definitely read another Macomber book. With all of the craziness around the holidays, we just wanted something that we didn’t have to think too hard about and this totally fit the bill. Also a bonus is that the dog in the book is a Great Pyrenees and I also have a Great Pyrenees- this added to my personal enjoyment but likely has to value to anyone else…but I just had to say it.

October Book Pick

Emily and Maddie’s Book Pick
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
Emily’s Review: Overall I really enjoyed this book! It was a fast paced read that kept my attention and was hard to put down once it got going. The story took quite a turn that I wasn’t expecting (like at all). It got a bit more gory that I preferer but like I said I still really enjoyed it overall and a great spooky Halloween read. Also there we a few details in the book the bothered me a felt forced. I just went along with it though cause I ain’t over here trying to write a book. I’m just along for the ride.

Maddie’s Review: This was the second book we read by Riley Sager (Home Before Dark was our first), so it was fun to go in knowing her style of writing. Because of this, I was looking out for clues as to what was going on with the plot that might not be as it seems. But even going in with this knowledge, the twist took me TOTALLY by surprise just like Emily. It was a great read overall and once you got into it, the book was hard to put down. Definitely recommend for a spooky read, but overall preferred Home Before Dark because, as Emily said, this one got a bit gory!

September Book Picks

Emily and Maddie’s Book Pick
Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Emily’s Review: This month Maddie and I decided to read the same book and I’m so glad we did! This book was a great read but felt slow to me in the beginning. Knowing Maddie was reading it gave me the push I needed to keep reading. This was a great fall read and felt very atmospheric. It is also a genre that I don’t usually go for but I really enjoyed escaping to another world. There was enough action to keep me interested but not so much that I was stressed out. Highly recommend this book especially for fall.

Maddie’s Review: LOOOOVVVEEED this book! It is one of those books that the characters and atmosphere stick with you long after reading it. It was such a wonderful escape each night. There was a good amount of intrigue throughout that made you want to keep going and I thought the ending was perfect. It also made me really want to eat a caramel apple! The perfect fall read!

January Book Picks

Emily’s Book Pick
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
This book honestly took me two months to read. It felt a bit slow going and I finally was able to finish it by listening to the audio book. I wanted to read it because I hoped it would be similar to Circe. It for sure had the God and Goddess aspect but it just wasn’t as exciting as I hoped it would be. But I did enjoy the cultural aspect of it. Also hot tip: I have been looking on The Book of the Month Club’s website for my latest book picks and that’s how I came across this book. Then I just check it out from the library!

Maddie’s Book Pick
Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown

OMG I loved this book so much I think about it all the time! It is all about being your authentic self and making peace with the discomfort of never 100% fitting in. Brené’s acronym for Braving (Boundaries, Reliability, Accountability, Vault, Integrity, Nonjudgement, and Generosity) which she applies to several kinds of situations and relations is something that I will often look at before I have to have difficult conversations at work to put me in a place of understanding and openness. I listened to this on audiobook which Brené narrates and definitely recommend it. It is a book that I will definitely come back to in the future. Also I want to share this quote because it is amazing and I also think about it all of the time:

“There will be times when standing alone feels too hard, too scary, and we’ll doubt our ability to make our way through the uncertainty. Someone, somewhere, will say, ‘Don’t do it. You don’t have what it takes to survive the wilderness.’ This is when you reach deep into your wild heart and remind yourself, ‘I am the wilderness.“

November Book Picks

Emily’s Book Pick
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

I got Maddie’s hint from our September Book pick post and checked out Home Before Dark for November. It was SO good. Like Maddie said a real page turner. Usually I am pretty good at guessing the ending of mystery books/thrillers but I had no clue with this one. The book it written in such a great way that I finished it in a week. That is VERY fast for me. I really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.






Maddie’s Book Pick
Zen and The Art of Happiness by Chris Prentiss

This month I read one of Emily’s picks! I absolutely loved this book- it was a quick read but exactly what I needed to re-frame my mindset around everything that has happened this year. I immediately recommended it to my husband and he loved it as well. We even used several of the quotes from the book for our advent calendar. Like Emily said, this is something I want to re-read every few years.

September Book Picks

Emily’s Pick
Zen and The Art of Happiness by Chris Prentiss

I was looking for a bit of a pick me up with this book and it came through. I think a lot of us right now are feeling more down than usual. This book was the mind shift I needed. It is a quick read and gave practical advice on how to feel and find “happiness” and joy. This is a book I plan to reread every few years or so I loved it that much!

Maddie’s Pick
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

This was a fun, spooky read! Maggie Holt returns to the house of her father’s bestselling horror memoir to renovate and flip the property but mostly to determine if there was any truth to her father’s book. The book alternates between Maggie’s story and her father’s book which makes for a compelling page turner. There are several twists and turns throughout that keep you guessing until the very end. I want Emily to read this so we can talk about it…HINT.

August Book Picks

Emily’s Book Pick
American Royals by Katharine McGee

This has been a book that has been on my to read list for a while. I love the Royal family and the thought of an American one seemed like so much fun. I will say I did enjoy the book and it was really fun and enjoyable to read but…the ending drove me nuts. There was NO resolution! I am still mad about it. I probably think about it 3-4 times a week. I know there is a second book coming out (in September) but I almost don’t want to read it because I can’t go through a whole book again just to have no resolution. I don’t need everything wrapped up but one character would have been nice!

Maddie’s Book Pick
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

Not since reading Circe has a book captivated me this much! Sue Monk Kidd imagines the story of Jesus’ wife and why she was not included in the bible. While the book touches on few historic events as we know them in the bible, it centers around the life of Ana, a rebellious and ambitious woman who falls in love with Jesus after a chance encounter. The story takes lots of twists and turns and has an incredible ending (unlike Emily’s read above). The historic detail in this book enabled me to really picture the time period in a way that I had not before and it was fascinating to read Sue Monk Kidd’s notes about the research that went into the book. I loved the story and would definitely recommend!