A list of what has helped make my year easier! What are yours?
- Connections. Move over, Wordle, this game is way more fun! Something small to look forward to every day.
- Uniqlo fleece jacket. Really useful for those weeks when the weather is between seasons, and really cozy.
- A pair of sunglasses I picked up in CVS. I never usually wear sunglasses (although I should) but I wore them for hours every day in New Orleans and Austria.
- The bag that I bought because I put it on my 2023 list. This was especially helpful in Israel and on my day trips.
- Book darts! Love these.
- Checking a bag. This makes travel so much easier (in my humble opinion 🙂 ). This year I didn’t use carry-on luggage at all!
What are yours?
1. Apple Airpods.
Game changer. I use them almost every single day.
2. A cool pair of sunglasses. (Sorry, don’t have link.)
This was a total spontaneous splurge but wearing my sunglasses sparks so much joy.
3. Thriftbooks.com
This is my favorite way to buy books. Some books I bought this year: a book of Dickinson poetry, some old Gordon Korman favorites; a few books by Rabbi Dr. Twerski; and A Bad Case of Stripes. 🙂
4. a Lululemon fanny pack
I finally gave into this trend and haven’t looked back. It’s the perfect size for everything and I use it constantly.
5. redbubble.com
This is my favorite site for snarky notebooks.
6. This neck light from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WNRN9WQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
7. Packing cubes! I never go anywhere without these anymore.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XLFXJ7D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
8. Planning more trips — both big and small.
Having something to anticipate makes my whole year work better.
Wow, this is a fantastic list! So many great items! Love that you treated yourself and please do tell which older Gordon Kormans you bought! Have I ever mentioned that I MET Gordon Korman in person? My whole family are super-fans, we quote his old books at each other.
NO WAY!
Please spill the beans! Better yet, write an entire post about meeting Gordon Korman :). We are huge Gordon Korman fans here.
I most recently bought The Twinkie Squad (one of my favorites, up there with I Want to Go Home and the MacDonald Hall series).
I Want To Go Home is the first book that made me cry actual tears of laughter. We are big fans of No Coins, Please, as well – “If you’re not at the Pretzel, you’re nowhere”!
A cousin follows Gordon Korman’s events schedule https://gordonkorman.com/author-visits/travel-schedule and he posted on our family chat that GK was speaking on a panel at Books of Wonder in Manhattan. So I went! I went up to him after and told him about how my family members are all huge fans, including my uncles (one of whom met him as well many years ago). It was so, so fun.
P.S. On our family chat we have argued about whether The Twinkie Squad is original canon. Definitely a gray area.
That is actually awesome.
We’re also huge Gordon Korman fans here (my family stills laughs out loud from his books) and I’m totally jealous that you met him in real life. 🙂
I Want to Go Home is the best! Did you ever read Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag? It wasn’t my favorite book but Jardine is an iconic Korman character — totally crazy! And yes, thought No Coins, Please was really clever!
I have actually not read A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag but have been urged to do so. Will get on it!