My Favorite Things of 2020

My 2020 Favorite Things

All year long I’ve been trying to look at the bright sides of things. I’ve done a lot of “counting blessings.” My kids have heard it at least a hundred times now. Some days I’m giving thanks for the internet, even. Or for clean water, fresh air, sunlight.

2020 has definitely made me appreciate the essentials in life; health, food, safety, loved ones. I hope I never forget the lessons I’ve learned.

But let’s be real. I also acknowledge the privilege of all this. Of having the safety and security that leads me to be able to count my blessings.

As of the date of this post, only one member of my family has been stricken with SARS-COV-2.  In no way do I ever want to minimize this year to something trivial or petty when there have been such hardships for so many.

But I also can’t deny that some things have made my life better this year. So, know that I make this list from the very best place of my heart. These are some of the things that brought me joy, peace or sanity this year  and maybe you’ll find something that brightens your day too…

Music

Folklore – Taylor Swift. This probably won’t even end up being my “favorite” Taylor Swift album but it has rocked my world. The fact that she created such a beautiful, haunting album in the middle of a pandemic. The audacity of her creativity was like an arrow to my heart and deeply inspiring to this author.

Gaslighter - The Chicks – I’ve always been a fan of The Chicks, and their unapologetic return to music in a new divided political era was also inspiring on so many levels. I think MARCH MARCH will be a time capsule of 2020 and TEXAS MAN… well. It immediately went onto a writing playlist for me.

Chris Tomlin & Friends - On a different note (and going back to the counting my blessings thing), this album was what I put on when I needed to reset and remember how to do that. In some of the most stressful times this year, the song Tin Roof brought me back to a place of peace. (And Thank You Lord is another great track for Thanksgiving.)

 Books

I’m going to do a longer post on my reading in 2020, which wasn’t normal in any way. But just as a quick note, these are the books that I kept thinking about all year long, as a human, a reader and an author.

Atomic Habits – James Clear

Her Last Flight – Beatriz Williams

The Splendid and the Vile – Erik Larson

A Most Extraordinary Pursuit – Juliana Gray

Manhunting – Jen Crusie

Who Rescued Who - Victoria Schade

Where the Lost Wander – Amy Harmon

Your Body is Not an Apology – Sonya Renee Taylor

Podcast

Because it’s 2020, my podcast listening changed A LOT but this one I gobbled down and still haven’t stopped thinking about it: Winds of Change. It’s about the CIA, the Cold War, and rock and roll.

Television/ Movie

I was pretty strict with myself about shows I would watch this year. But again, these are the ones that inspired me, got my creative juices running or just made me HAPPY.

Schitts Creek - a story about love and loving others, despite their flaws. At least, that’s my take.

Ted Lasso - a positive story about living a joyful life that’s not naive or shallow. So much to love here I blogged about it separately here.

Sweet Magnolias - a cozy series about family, friends and a perfect small town was a tonic for my soul in 2020.

#Relatable

Songland - a show about creativity and the creative process. LOVE.

My imaginary best friend Shane.

Enola Holmes - I love a good intrepid heroine and historical mystery. Add Henry Cavill in period clothes? Damn right I’ll be thinking about it.

Succession - amazing writing that makes you simultaneously hate and feel sorry for each one of these awful characters.

Oh Cousin Greg.

The Great - great performances and writing and a historical political satire. Something unique and smart that didn’t get enough love.

Knives Out - honestly a perfect film.

Miss Americana - a Taylor Swift documentary. Y’all know I’m inspired by her process.

Personal Items

The things I couldn’t have lived without.

Peppermint oil – became part of my soothing nighttime ritual. Just worked for me.

Silicone straws + Yeti cup + True Lemon – to help me drink ALLLL the water

This Boots Mascara – it’s a tubing mascara so it really holds up to crying jags/ late night doomscrolling and all the makeup I need while wearing a mask

Airpods / good headphones. For walks, zoom calls and drowning out all the people in my home.

Breville coffee maker – this was a Christmas present last year and it seemed over the top but little did we know that my husband and I wouldn’t go to a coffee shop for 8 months and would enjoy this hardy machine multiple times a day. Plus, there was something so soothing about the ritual of making an Americano ourselves everyday.

And that is my list of things that helped me get through this trying year.

I hope we’ve all survived 2020 the best way we can and that 2021 will bring us joy, peace and security.

 Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which means I could receive a few coins for posting them. As always, thank you for your support and encouragement!

You Need to Watch Ted Lasso

We Need to Talk About Ted Lasso

This is the number one thing I’ve been telling people to watch lately. (And I’m NOT alone)

It’s a story about an American football coach who moves to London to coach an English Premier League football (soccer) team.

It’s a comedy, but it’s got the heart of Schitts Creek, the community of Parks & Rec and the quick wit of The Good Place.

It’s got incredibly supportive female friendships.

It’s about sports, but without the toxic masculinity. 

It’s about the culture clash between the UK and the US but without any false superiority.

It’s about relationships, platonic, romantic, community.

It’s about joy.

It’s about finding a new way to look at life.

It’s my favorite thing right now.

Watch it.

It’s on Apple TV. and you (all of us) deserve something this good in 2020.

Here’s a podcast about it because Brene Brown agrees with me (OF COURSE SHE DOES).

And when you’re done watching it, come find me on Instagram and let’s talk about how much you love it.

Three Months of a Book No Buy - What Worked, What Didn't

Brief Recap:

I decided not to buy books for the first three months of 2020. I talked about it a bit here, in January’s Best Books To Read Now post.

Why? I bought a lot of books in December and one day, I was scrolling through the hundreds of other unread books in my Kindle and thought, “I really want to read some of these things in here. They look really good. But I keep getting distracted by the new shiny books that I keep one-clicking.”

Temporary solution: Pause book buying for 3 months so I could re-discover my TBR pile.

We’re almost at the end of the quarter so let’s see what happened…

What I’ve Bought:

You didn’t think it would be ZERO, did you??

Well, I’ll admit, I REALLY thought I could stick to it. But I didn’t.

I’ve bought four books since December 31, 2019. I will say, they were all on sale. Two were backlist books that rarely go on sale; September by Rosamunde Pilcher and Paradise by Judith McNaught. These are two books that I’ve read many times, that I own the paperbacks of and the paperbacks are falling apart. They shouldn’t even count as new book purchases, TBH. Think of it as updating my bookshelf with new technology.

Then I bought one of the books in Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness series. I’m trying to acquire them all, so when one goes on sale, I pinch it. And then I bought another Rhys Bowen book, because (1) it was on sale and (2) I’m a sucker for WWI stories.

Still. Four books in 3 months, four purchases that were (mostly) well-thought out, not that impulsive? Is a pretty good success for me.

What I’ve Read (aka How did that TBR pile work out for you?)

So how many books have I finished from the TBR pile?

One.

How many have I started and DNF’d (Did Not Finish) from that TBR pile?

Three.

How many free books have I finished from the library/ review copies from NetGalley?

Uh… a lot.

What the heck, Lindsay?

Here’s what I’m thinking.

My Kindle is essentially a compilation of three piles: Books I’ve Read, Books That Were on Sale, and Books I Probably Should Read (Because someone said so/ asked me to / recommended it). But that doesn’t mean that the Book I WANT To Read At This Moment is in any of those three categories. So. That’s a problem.

Also, in the past three months, I have to recognize that the Thrill of a New Book is a great high, whether it comes from the library or a publisher. It’s that same dopamine hit that feels so good when we shop online at 11:30 pm. Finding something new at the library is so fun and cheaper than the bookstore but it’s still not helping my bookshelf issues.

Also, I declared this the Year of Hell Yes.

In 2020 I’m trying to apply the maxim, “If it’s not a Hell Yes, it’s a No.” And it’s come up a lot when I’m scrolling through my Kindle, looking for something to read.

Hard truth time: If books are still sitting in my TBR pile… they were a “NO” at some point.

OUCH, right?

Still, I have this stubborn belief in The Myth of an Undiscovered Favorite Book. That one day I’ll decide to open up Yadda Yadda Yadda and it will be the best thing I’ve ever read and OMG where has this been my whole life. It does happen. I still believe. Also…

Will I continue the no (low) buy for Q2?

Yes. Surprised?

I’ve enjoyed a more thoughtful approach to my reading in the past three months. The combination of Hell Yes and No Buy has resulted in me being picky, but in the best ways. I do think there are still treasures buried deep in my bookshelves, virtual and real, which I really want to discover. And if this also means I’m frequenting the library more (and the library app while I’m self-isolating), I have no complaint about that.

So stay tuned for three more months of book discovery! I’ll still post my Best Books blog posts here and go into the blind details of my DNFs in the secret posts of my Inner Circle Newsletter. Get on the list if you haven’t yet!

The 2019 All Purpose Gift Guide

The 2019 All Purpose Gift Guide

Stocking Stuffers/ White Elephant/ For Everyone, Young and Old!

It’s baaaa-ack! 

Here’s this year’s version of the super-convenient, pretty-affordable, Prime-ready, one-stop shopping list. Almost everything on this list has been tested/ approved by me or someone close to me.  Enjoy!

For the person in your life who’s almost ready to bite the Botox bullet but also wants to try all the miracle products first:

Snail Mucin

For the brilliant coworker who spaces out in meetings but somehow pulls it all together in the end:

Visual notebook

For the neighbor who had their Christmas lights turned on November 1:

Christmas Lights charger

For your friend who hibernates from November to March:

Comfy



For the uber organized traveler who shows up three hours before flights and still prints out travel documents:

Multi charger

For new parents who are too busy to finish a cup of coffee before it cools off:

The picture is of this nice copper but that seems to be going in and out of stock, so the link below is for a black one. FYI.

Ember

For the proto-hipster who insists on sleeping with their phone outside their bedroom because of electro-magnetic-whatevers but spends the other 18 hours a day scrolling…:

Blue light glasses

For the nieces/ nephews when you forget how old they are/ don’t know what they like :

Mechanical color pencils

For the fashionista who has everything, darling:

Airpod case

For the prepper/ parent/ crafter that needs to corral their stuff but also make it look good on Instagram:

Organizer

For everyone, seriously:

Flashlight:

For the freelancer who spends 10 hours a day at their desk:

Elliptical

For the teenager who thinks she likes Bob Ross because it’s ironic but secretly loves feeling comforted in a world of strife and turmoil:

Bob Ross Mug

For the person who would rather cook at home than put their nice bag on the bathroom/ restaurant floor:

Purse hook

For the hyperactive child/adult who always needs to move:

Tangle Twisters

And if you still can’t find what you’re looking for, check out some of my other lists!

2018 Gift List
Hygge List

Winter Beauty list

If I don’t get a chance to see you in person, I hope with all of my heart that you are able to celebrate whatever holiday makes your heart happy with whoever makes you laugh and brings you peace.

See you in 2020!

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which means I could receive a few coins for posting them. As always, thank you for your support and encouragement!

What to Pack for a Writing Retreat/ Girls Weekend to England

A Writing Retreat - what to pack and what to leave behind.

If you have followed me on Instagram this month, you’ll have seen two types of posts: #readwriteplan challenge photos and pictures of my glorious writing retreat in England with my friends.

How it came about: My amazing friend Julia Kelly is an Anglo-American author who now lives in London {you must read her debut historical fiction The Light Over London and her upcoming release, The Whispers of War}

Click and Pre-order now!

Anyway, Julia graciously invited us to London and her family manse in the countryside and five of us eagerly accepted her hospitality.

And I’ll just skip to the part where I tell you that it was magical. A big part of that is the retreat location, of course. England is so historical, so verdant, so charming (to us Americans living in suburbia, especially) that it can’t help but inspire ALL THE STORIES in my head. But another big part of this is the amazing retreat effect - getting out of the day-to-day #momlife, the feeding of humans and animals, car pool and same old scenery. I love my life, and I am blessed in thousands, if not millions of ways. But a change like a walk down the Thames (or Seine or Hudson or Nile) can excite lots of neurons for months, if not years.

So now you’re convinced (I think you probably already were….) You want to go on a girls’ weekend/ spiritual / writing retreat. Great.

First you need a suitcase. I picked an ancient yet indestructible canvas LL Bean duffel and a Dakine rolling suitcase.

What to pack:

This list may or may not work for you, but maybe it will be a good starting point. After all, I spent weeks thinking deeply and strategizing this suitcase selection so if it helps someone else, that would mean all my mental effort went to good use.

Then you pile everything you might want to take in a big heap on your bed.

*Carry-On Packing for a Week in England in September*

Clothes (in 20 inch rolling suitcase)

1 pair of jeans

1 pair of leggings (I love the Zella Live in Leggings) (LINK)

1 pair of “other pants” (this is whatever you like best. I picked a pair of black sweatpants that would be comfortable but chic on the plane)

1 cozy cardigan (I wore this one on the plane for warmth and to save space in my bag) (LINK)

1 lightweight jacket (rain proof if possible)

3 long sleeve shirts

3 t-shirts

3 lightweight scarves

Pajamas

Underthings/ lingerie/ socks

Packable Hunter boots (LINK)

Birkenstock clogs (can double as slippers in a cold 500 year old house) (LINK)

Adidas Superstars (or other comfortable and cute walking shoe) (LINK)

Pro tip: ROLL. ROLL. ROLL.

*Now, since we were staying at a house, I knew we had the opportunity to do laundry. But I still think this list would be good for a week even if you weren’t planning to wash any clothes.

Now you start your next pile of essential items. Yes, a chocolate bar is always an essential for travel.

Non Clothes (in carry on sized duffle)

Medicine/ vitamins/ glasses

Small toiletry case with all the minis: shampoo, conditioner, curl cream, shower gel, toothpaste, toothbrush, face cleanser, lotion, etc.

Face spritz / moisturizing balm for travel (I brought both, but this was the first time for me to use a moisturizing balm stick and I think this one will be my go-to for now on. It was so convenient and really made my hands/ face/ elbows nice and dewy) (LINK)

1 extra pair of earrings, 2 necklaces

Paperwhite Kindle (I adore mine - so many books can fit in a pocket!) (Link)

Bluetooth headphones (noise cancelling help you sleep on the plane) (LINK)

[And because this was a work/ writing trip:

Computer/ cords/ chargers/ converter

Notebook/ planner/ pens]

So all that in 2 bags + a small crossbody purse (with my phone/ wallet/ lipstick/ hand sanitizer) that I could stash inside the duffle while flying.

My iPad mini + bluetooth keyboard was perfect for writing in an English garden.

Things I Left Behind:

Water Bottle - at home in the United States I am virulently anti- plastic water bottle. It makes me physically sick to think of all the plastic we’ve littered this planet with because we don’t want to wash a glass. #sorrynotsorry. BUT. I can’t justify the weight and bulkiness of my stainless steel bottles when I’m flying carry-on only internationally. So I accept that I will buy a plastic water bottle or two on the trip and try to refill at the house/ hotel.

My usual laptop - This was another tough decision. Writers have an attachment to their computers which makes sense given all the time we spend with them and, frankly, all the intimate things that we put on there. But I ultimately decided to leave the laptop at home and just bring my ipad mini / bluetooth keyboard. This wasn’t really an issue of space/ weight (I have a very lightweight laptop and the ipad combo, while smaller, isn’t much lighter.). This was a practical decision based on how many chargers/ cords I’d have to bring. My Ipad obviously shares the same charging requirements as my iphone and air pods and the keyboard uses the same cord as a Kindle. It made sense to me to streamline all this technology as much as possible but of course, your (airplane) mileage may vary

Travel blanket - I love the idea of a travel blanket, but again, I can’t justify the space/ weight when wearing a chic shawl/scarf and cozy cardigan will keep me warm enough anywhere.

Extra notebooks - ah, a writer’s heartbreak. It was hard deciding which babies to leave home, which ones had ALL THE GOOD THINGS already written in them. But again, I went with weight and practicality and just brought one cheapie notebook from a conference.

More sweaters - When we scheduled a writing retreat - in England, in September - this Texas girl day dreamed for months about strolling through moors in all sorts of cashmere and knit. Alas, the weather was a bit warmer than my daydreams which was probably best for my space issues. One beloved sweater, one practical jacket and layering with scarves kept me warm enough.

New country, who this?

Where to go next?

I’d go back to the UK in a heartbeat… Maybe travel to Scotland? France? Or somewhere closer to home? I’ve been wanting to do a beach trip for forever. Where would you go?

Fancy a getaway that’s a little easier/ cheaper than a week in Europe? You could, of course, check out my books: The Royal Runaway and the upcoming The Royal Bodyguard which will first be published in the United Kingdom and around the world!

Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive details about The Royal Bodyguard here: INNER CIRCLE NEWSLETTER.

And if you want more packing tips for a business conference, I have posts on that HERE and HERE.

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which means I could receive a few coins for posting them. As always, thank you for your support and encouragement!