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 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!
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!
Alternative post title: you probably already know this, but…
To whit: three recent revelations that have made a difference in my life, and might in yours, too.
Cottage cheese is actually… good.
Like many of our fellow Millennials, John and I are on a quest to add more protein to our diets. We’re drinking Chobani yogurt shakes, we’re eating grilled chicken, we’re switching to Banza, but it was only a matter of time before we came face-to-face with one of the most common protein-packing suggestions: cottage cheese. Pale, lumpy, suspicious-seeming cottage cheese.
Dubiously, I added some to my cart at the grocery store. We got it home, cracked open the lid, and set to experimenting.
In a surprising turn of events, we were immediate converts, and we both eat it almost daily now.
Some of our favorite uses: anywhere we’d have put sour cream (like on tacos). Anywhere we’d have put mayonnaise (like on a turkey sandwich or to bind egg salad). Mixed with hot sauce and spooned generously over grilled chicken chunks for a quick lunch. Mixed with everything-but-the-bagel seasoning or Hidden Valley Farms powder as a ranch-like dip for raw veggies. Blended with fruit compote and a little honey then frozen (seriously so good – it tastes like cheesecake!).
I know we are only at the beginning of our journey. Cottage cheese lovers, where should we head next?
If you want to move, wear athleisure.
While I know some of you would consider yourself recovering athleisure wearers, actively attempting to ditch the daily leggings and put on *real clothes* in the morning, as of this summer I’m a convert to the other side of the coin: ditching the jean shorts and underwire bras and embracing tennis skirts, tanks, and sports bras on a daily basis.
Why? Yes, it’s a bit more comfortable, but my main motivation was noticing how much more willing I was to move throughout the day when already wearing workout clothes: I was more likely to go for a quick walk in the morning or at lunch, to run some stairs, to squeeze in a quick workout, to do some squats and lunges on the sidelines of a soccer game, to go for that evening walk with John.
In a Southern summer, simply walking outside can cause instant sweating. Wearing a sports bra, in particular, makes it easier to accept this and move past it.
I have a sedentary job, and I know that’s not healthy. Moving throughout the day matters to me. Right now, it matters more than wearing a cute outfit and coordinating accessories. Opting for athleisure most days when it’s hot is a simple way to incorporate more of what matters on a daily basis.
And also, of course, it can be cute! You all already know about my game-changing tennis skirt and tank; my beloved Vuori tennis dress is also still going strong. My newest love is Eby bras, which marry the flexibility of a sports bra with the support and shape of a regular bra – no underwire required! I just ordered my second Relief bra yesterday and have signed up to be notified when the T-Shirt bra comes back in stock. Everything on their site is 25% off right now, too!
Packing is easier when you keep your electronics ready to go.
In the division of labor around traveling, John is the keeper of cords. He makes sure the devices that need to be charged are charged, and that both the devices and the chargers are then packed. In a modern household, this can be a lot, and gathering it all up each trip takes a small but not insignificant amount of time.
When I traveled for work this past spring, we unearthed some of our duplicate cords to ensure that both John and I would have a set when we were apart. I popped them all in a little pouch (shout out to a circa 2007 Vera Bradley number I unearthed in my closet) and tucked it in my backpack. When I got home — since these were all extras — I just left the pouch in my backpack. A few weeks later, when packing for a weekend away, it was a revelation to know that every cord was already accounted for.
Of course, I’m now scheming other ways we could put this revelation to use: duplicate toiletries that stay packed? Maybe some kid items? Let’s brainstorm in the comments.
And in case it’s helpful, here’s what’s currently in our electronics bag:
Now, over to you: any recent revelations in your life? Are you already a fan of cottage cheese, choosing athleisure on the daily, or keeping things packed for travel? I’d love to hear!
If you’re a Connected Family reader, you already know that our twentieth high school reunion was an incredibly memorable and completely delightful weekend. I waxed philosophical about it at length last month, so I won’t reprise it here — but I did want to share some of the logistical details in case you’re thinking of planning something similar! Much of what we did could be applicable to a girls’ trip, a bachelorette, or a special family adventure. I’d love to share a little bit about how it all came together and a few of the details that made it special. Let’s go!
Planning Timeline:
Noticing that our twentieth high school reunion was approaching and that our class wasn’t planning an official event (at least at the time — they have since gone on to hold a low-key get-together!), John and I sent an email to our group of 11 close friends to see whether they’d be interesting in gathering the following summer last September. We’re spread out around the country, so even though we love each other dearly we weren’t sure how feasible getting together would be. Happily, the enthusiasm was resounding, so my next step (in December) was to send out two possible weekends for a vote.
Once the responses rolled in, we chose a date. We were originally interested in staying at a communal property, as I’m of the mind that some of the sweetest moments in a group happen in the in-between times, but the place we had our eye on wasn’t available. Most folks opted to stay with parents who still lived in the area.
From there, I got busy drafting an itinerary that was full of nostalgia but updated for our thirty-something lives, many of which now include kids. Happy to take the lead but not wanting to move forward without any other input, I sent out my ideas to two members of the group who kindly gave me feedback. With their blessing, I booked what needed to be booked.
I sent out one more quick survey in March to nail down final details, confirming things like kids’ ages, arrival and departure plans, accommodation info, and what days they planned to participate in activities. Google Forms made this easy.
The week before we convened, I sent out a printed itinerary detailing the weekend’s fun. I also created a new text thread with all the attendees (original friends + spouses). This was super helpful for communicating details on-the-go throughout the weekend!
The Itinerary:
We were lucky enough to grow up in beautiful Southeastern Connecticut, and our schedule aimed to take advantage of all that we loved as teenagers — with a few concessions to our reality as thirty-something parents. Here’s how we spent our time:
Wednesday:
The Thomas family flew in late — we rented a car and got to my parents’ house after midnight.
Thursday:
With arrivals throughout the day, we had a leisurely breakfast at home and then drove out to my family’s farm to see several of my aunts, uncles, and cousins over lunch. The kids got to climb around in the hay barn and pet horses’ noses, always a hit.
After showering back at my parents’, we all headed to Tox Brewing in New London. Tox is owned by two of our classmates, Dayne and Mike, and though we didn’t see them when we were there it was fun to support their brand-new, larger location. We took over two long tables, ordered beer and wood-fired pizza, and chatted for 2+ hours. I brought original and preschool sticker books to help keep the kids happy. They also played several rounds of Go Fish and hit up the arcade games thanks to the benevolence of one of our childless friends (thanks, Uncle Jeremy!!).
Friday:
Our favorite beach growing up was in Rhode Island (New England states are so much smaller than down South!), so we once again crossed the border and drove the 30 minutes to Watch Hill. While we preferred the more remote Napatree Beach in high school, we opted for the more-accessible public entrance near the Ocean House this time to lug our chairs, canopies, and sand toys. We stopped for deli sandwiches at McQuade’s on the way (another very nostalgic move) and enjoyed chatting, swimming, and eating for a few hours on a windy but warm and sunny day.
After regrouping and showering at home, we drove over to Abbott’s for a seaside dinner. (The combo of beach day + quick shower + sunset seaside dinner are some of my very favorite days growing up — and still!) Longtime readers might recognize Abbott’s as the site of our rehearsal dinner, and it was fun to return there with so many of the friends who were with us on that happy day.
After getting the kids ready for bed and leaving them in the care of their grandparents, the grown-ups headed back out to the back deck of Jackie’s parents’ house. Our original plan was to gather around a fire pit and toast s’mores, but we never ended up striking a match — once we got to talking, we didn’t stop for almost four hours. (Don’t worry, we had plenty of snacks besides marshmallows.) This simple, uninterrupted time for deep conversation was one of my very favorite parts of the weekend – more here.
Saturday:
Another beautiful day and we started it with a short, flat hike at Bluff Point – perfect for little kids (we had 11 kids in our crew who ranged from age two to age nine), and nostalgic for those of us who ran cross-country (races were sometimes held there!).
From there, we headed to Mike’s parents’ house for a pool party in their backyard. My parents and his graciously provided lunch — pizza, fruit salad, cookies, and drinks — and we spent several hours splashing, eating, and chatting.
Later that evening the grown-ups met back up for our last major event, a fancier dinner out at Trattoria Amalfi. John and I got there a bit early to get the table set — see below — and it was once again the loveliest few hours of conversation and laughter. My cheeks hurt by the end.
Sunday:
We finished things off with breakfast at Sift in downtown Mystic, a very-welcome addition to town since our high school days. Our family had to scoot to the airport all too soon, but it was a happy chance for one more round of hugs and promises to not wait another twenty years to gather again.
A few ways we made this weekend special:
Of course, gathering with these dear friends was enough of a treat on its own — but you know me :) I couldn’t help adding a few extra details here and there, and I think they were both appreciated and really communicated that this weekend was an extraordinary experience — something to be savored.
First, I set up a communal playlist on Spotify. I seeded it with favorite songs from our high school years and encouraged everyone else to add to it, as well. We listened to it in the days leading up to the weekend and while driving along familiar roads, and it really set the mood.
I also designed, printed, and mailed a paper itinerary, and I think that helped communicate something special was in store. Canva made this super easy!
Finally, we added a few special touches to Saturday’s dinner. I chose a photo featuring each person, either from high school or the years since. I printed them all in black and white, attached them to thick white paper, and then watercolored each name on the bottom. On the back, I wrote a short note letting them know what they meant to me and thanking them for being here. These served as place cards at the dinner table.
At each place setting we also put a small box of chocolates from ATY Bonbons, a local treasure — just a little surprise to sweeten the journey home.
And there you have it! The nuts and bolts of a very special weekend. It exceeded my already-high expectations; I’d relive it a thousand times over if I could. We agreed to gather again in another five years, and it can’t come soon enough.
It was the best summer of our lives. We knew it at the time — I’ll always be grateful for that — even if those around us were inclined toward demurring, prevaricating. I’m sure it felt premature, to declare something “the best” when there were still so many opportunities to surpass it, when we were still so young.
But each day was a golden disc, luminous and precious, and they stacked lazily on top of one another for months – “each disc a day, and the addition slow.”
Everything was new. I had never had a boyfriend, of course, so that was new, but I mean everything. I drove on new roads in my old town – roads I’d never needed to drive on before, because nothing that lay at the end of them had ever mattered. I listened to new music on his mixed cassette tapes: The Arcade Fire, Iron & Wine, Wilco, Bloc Party. I tried new foods, overcoming my limited palette in the hopes of impressing him, or at least not disappointing him: guacamole, gazpacho, pavlova, sushi, hot buttered lobster roll, chicken tikka masala.
We got our Indian fix from a little hole-in-the-wall in the city next door, and after our many trips the owner began recognizing us. This felt important: a new acquaintance who had never known us apart from one other. We laughed as we were ushered to the table by the window week after week.
Who wouldn’t want to put love on display?
Our favorite days, the best days, went like this: wake up slow. Converge on the McQuade’s parking lot with the group. Order deli sandwiches, squeeze into fewer cars. Drive to Watch Hill, make a decision about parking (pay $20 for the lot or risk a ticket?), then hoof it past the marina and over the dunes to a slice of sand on Napa Tree Point. Unfurl a towel. Lie in the sun. Toss the football. Splash in the waves. Talk, talk, talk with whomever could come that day.
We got quite a few tickets.
Then home for a quick shower, pull on a sundress. A few minutes later he’d pull back into my driveway and we’d head out, just the two of us this time – to Abbott’s, for dinner, squinting, the low sun glinting off the sound. Another place I’d never been, even though I’d lived in this town my whole life, too.
Then to game night. Someone’s parents’ house, the whole group again, or whoever could make it that evening. Cranium, usually, or poker, or Rock Band. Home before curfew, usually just.
We were not completely without responsibility, that summer. He worked at a seaside market, slicing ham and scooping potato salad and toasting bagels for beachgoers. He’d bring me home an unsold chocolate croissant after closing, by this point knowing enough (and feeling comfortable enough) to pull one of my mom’s wax-paper-wrapped burritos out of the freezer for his own late-night snack.
I worked at a tiny beach shack, at a tucked-away cove frequented only by nannies and toddlers. He’d bike miles round trip with a friend or two just to see me, rounding the corner of the deck sweating and grinning. I’d give them a shaved ice, the sanctioned offering for friends, then go back to reading my book in the sun when they left.
A letter arrived from college with my roommate’s name printed neatly in small black type. She called me a few days later, urged me to log onto Facebook now that we could guess at our college email addresses. Intrusive, all of it, an unwelcome reminder that a world beyond this summer was lurking.
Never mind.
We hiked, we kayaked at the cottage, we watched movies, we laid in the hammock and read books, we dove in the pool, we walked on the train tracks, we went to the casinos for Krispy Kreme, we played croquet in my backyard, we hopped the fence and flew high on the beachside swings in Groton under the moon. And when we weren’t with our friends or alone, my younger sister inexplicably became our third wheel, a heretofore unheard of circumstance in our somewhat-frosty relationship.
It’s easy to be generous when you’re in love.
We went skinny dipping once, wading deep into the pond before tossing our suits back to shore, everyone laughing and shrieking in the moonlight, and that was the night of our biggest argument. “Are you just going to do what everyone else does?” he shot at me later, a slight tremor revealing the fear about what we’d find, who we’d become when throttled beyond this golden summer, plucked up and placed somewhere we weren’t seen and known and loved.
This was the only stumble.
Otherwise – and this is not just hazy hindsight, I remember this with clarity and certainty – we knew this summer was the beginning, knew we would pass into marriage, and children, knew we would last. We knew it as surely as we knew our names.
But who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years?
I have had many blissful seasons since, many golden summers, mostly because our lives only became further entwined – but none like that first one. Our love feels quieter now, steadier, deeper. It is on this love that the engine of our marriage is run: being in love that summer was the explosion that started it.
We celebrated the twentieth anniversary of our first date in late January, and I couldn’t let it go by without sharing a few thoughts. Astute readers will recognize that I wove in a few lines from one of our ceremony readings, with many thanks to C.S. Lewis, as well as a line from my favorite poem.
