Best of 2025

Along with my year-in-review post (coming next week!), this annual superlatives round-up is such a fun way to remember each year. The things we wear, eat, read, listen to, and do repeatedly mark us, don’t they? Especially because several of these favorites were gleaned from a savvy and/or wise acquaintance, I’m happy to pass them on to you. I hope they can serve as an opportunity for a little reflection on your own 2025, if you haven’t had a chance for it yet! Drop a few of your best memories, finds, and favorites in the comments, if you’d like. As always, I can’t wait to hear!

Best adventure, travel, or trip: Easy – Acadia! After a lifetime of adventuring in Maine, it was a treat to visit her national park for the first time (and to do it with dear friends!). We also spent a rainy long weekend in Wilmington, and though a recap didn’t make it on the blog we loved staying in this downtown mansion (yes), trying Britt’s for the first time, and eating dinner in the lush garden of Indochine.

Favorite outfit: If your kids joined mine on swim team this year, you already know the answer: the Lululemon mesh tennis skirt and light-as-air lavender tank I wore to literally every meet, and plenty of days in between — my only hope of looking cute and staying cool(ish) in the dog days of summer.

Milestone celebrated: Our beloved long-term babysitter graduated high school, and to celebrate, John and I took her and her older sister (already in college, also a long-term babysitter of ours) out to dinner. Sitting around the table with them for 3+ hours, asking questions and offering encouragement as they work their way into adulthood, was just the tenderest opportunity.

Best trend you tried: Watercoloring? Is that a trend? I loved trying my hand at a new-to-me craft, and especially employing it in two projects that mattered a lot to me: creating a pack of mini landscapes inspired by my favorite place in the world for a fundraiser auction and painting daily postcards to send to June at sleepaway camp.

Best new podcast listen, newsletter subscribe, or blog follow: It is rare for me to follow people on Instagram I don’t know in real life; when I make an exception, I want it to be worth my time and attention. That being said, I have so enjoyed following both Shelby from Pretty in the Pines and Stef Turner. Everything they create feels like stepping into a Nancy Meyers movie – cozy, calming, and beautiful without feeling pressure-filled or overly consumption-based. (Both are big thrifters and DIY-ers!)

Best book: I read 28 books on my own this year (16/24 from my 2025 reading list), plus 16 read alouds with the two big kids. The absolute best book I read was a re-read (Peace Like a River), but of new-to-me reads, Gilead, Table for Two, Seabiscuit, and Code Name Helene rose to the top.

Best movie or TV show: Andor! John and I watched both seasons this year and I’m still thinking about it months later. You do not have to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy it, though it helps if you love a political thriller. The world-building (Chandrila!) is particularly incredible.

Best memory: Our 20th high school reunion with dear friends. More on the philosophical side here and the logistics here.

Best album, song, or artist: It was a Jess Ray year for me! “Day for Singing” became Annie’s and my drive-to-school song, and “Lilies and Sparrows” was another favorite. I am not an anxious person, but when AI gives me the heebie-jeebies, the line “don’t waste today being scared of tomorrow” reliably reminds me of the hope we have as Christians. (So much so that I bought the shirt.)

Best beauty purchase: It’s unnerving when a reliable product goes MIA, isn’t it? I was happy to find a replacement concealer from Kosas when Beauty Counter went dark, and to switch to this (refillable!) deodorant when my previous one was discontinued.

Best meal: Acadia for the win again. Our final dinner at Sweet Pea lives on as the glowiest memory, in no small part because we only ended up there due to a last-minute pivot. Beautiful setting, great company, delicious food – the perfect capstone to a memorable vacation. Otherwise, these chicken piccata meatballs were my favorite new addition to our meal rotation.

Best life or mom hack: They say if you want to change a habit you should make it as easy as possible. That’s what I did with converting from Amazon to Bookshop.org for all book purchases, and it has been a delight: I ship all orders (for free!) to the cutest little bookstore, and because it’s on the way to Annie’s preschool, it feels no more difficult than Prime.

Best new tradition: Working from the library on TCF days. I love my little routine, which involves checking my email at home (while standing up, to keep me from dallying!); driving to the library in silence while ruminating on my topic for the day; and then spending 2-3 hours in undistracted deep work, surrounded by my fellow patrons. It has been both productive and soul-filling.

Best kiddo milestone: Annie learned to ride a big-kid bike! After three such transitions, I can say it feels like magic every time. (Though I think much of the magic is due to training for a few years on a balance bike and John’s calm and encouraging coaching!) Also, June got her ears pierced!

Best faith grower: Spending time with our friend Jason at our high school reunion. Sadly, it is rare for John and I to encounter someone we knew in childhood whose faith is still as vibrant as it once was, but that is Jason. It was so encouraging to talk to him about life, faith, ministry, and what God is doing.

Didn’t have that on my 2025 BINGO card: Being interviewed on a local news segment in support of a county bell-to-bell phone ban. I am so gratified that our state legislators actually enacted tighter regulations than our county, though there is still work to be done!

Most surprising goal progress: I don’t exactly know if this counts as progress, but the most surprising aspect of a goal this year was finally going to a PCP and getting less-than-ideal bloodwork results. I suppose I expected to pass with flying colors, and that was not the case. Though disappointing and a bit frustrating, I was and am grateful for the insight.

Best home improvement: Well, we got an entirely new home this year, so there’s plenty that could go in this category. Our larger backyard and flat cul-de-sac feel like the biggest improvements in terms of lifestyle, but I also want to give a shout out to our new salad plates (we finally replaced the ones we got for our wedding, which we loved but had worn into the ground over 12+ years of daily use) and the cleaning spray that makes swiping counters a joy.

Best habit you created: This is an easy answer but also a bit of a frustrating one. After receiving my bloodwork results in June, I immediately began a habit of a daily 30-minute walk: brisk, hilly, first thing in the morning. It worked perfectly while the kids were out of school – I kept up an unbroken streak despite sweat-drenched summer temps – but the timing just didn’t work once school was back in session. I LOVED this habit, though, and am contemplating how to best incorporate it year-round. Stay tuned to my 2026 goals 👀

While we’re on the subject of fitness and wellness, a few other small and large upgrades worth mentioning:

1) With the move to the new house, we were able to move our “gym” out of our bedroom and into the garage. Incredible.

2) On the recommendation of a doctor friend, John and I both started taking magnesium and a multivitamin with Vitamin D and fish oil. It might be coincidence, but neither of us have had a cold since and my restless leg syndrome has abated almost entirely. (The latter is definitely not coincidence – magnesium is known to help with RLS!)

3) I stopped bringing a folding chair to kid soccer games and instead stand or walk for the hour. I’ve also been known to do calf raises to strengthen my knees :)

4) Two things have helped me be more consistent than ever with my strength workouts: I chose Wednesday and Friday, the days I don’t work, as my CANNOT MISS strength days and do my workouts as soon as I get home from dropping the kids at school, before anything else. (I also try to do strength on Saturdays and Sundays, but am less consistent.) Also, John used the new Peloton Strength+ app (included with a Peloton membership) to program eight workouts for me. I rotate between them and never have to waste time thinking about what I’m doing each day.

Favorite blog post written: I’m grateful that so many of you stick around for what I have to offer in this season! Each Disc a Day was easily my favorite post of 2025.

Best little luxury you’ve enjoyed: The Eby Relief bra! I have completely abandoned every other option in my drawer in favor of this one. It’s comfy, it lays smoothly under shirts, and it’s shaping even without an underwire. I’m so happy I gave it a try!

And now, just for fun, here are the top ten most popular posts from Em for Marvelous in 2025:
1. Our Google Docs family packing list (May 2023)
2. One woman’s beginner intro to rucking (May 2024)
3. How we handled summer as two working parents (September 2022)
4. Marvelous Money: The Financial Implications of Having a Third Child (May 2023)
5. How to host a book swap (June 2023)
6. Tips for hosting large groups of houseguests (February 2023)
7. March 2025 goals (March 2025)
8. What we’re actually giving our kids this Christmas (November 2025)
9. My takeaways from Habits of the Household (July 2023)
10. Reading Harry Potter with our children (February 2023)

And the top ten most popular newsletters from The Connected Family in 2025:
1. Does home size affect family culture and connection? (free)
2. 21 views of the village (free)
3. 10 things to do when you’re bored instead of reaching for your phone (free)
4. 5 digital-to-embodied swaps to consider (free)
5. ChatGPT, our favorite parts of the new house, how to give kids independence, and more (paid)
6. How to raise independent and confident kids (free)
7. My tech-related goals for 2025 (free)
8. 7 things on my November holiday checklist (free)
9. Friendship before social media (free)
10. Let’s talk about the village (free)

As always, I’m ending the year so grateful for the delights, big and small, that filled it. I’ll be sharing more in my year-in-review post soon, but in the meantime, please do share: what are some of your “bests” from 2025? Can’t wait to hear!

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