Things I’ve Been Into and Would Recommend from 2025
Shout out to @brolin for the inspiration to make this list.
If you would like to see a version of this with kid products, you can find that here!
1. Kizik shoes
I am so glad I discovered these when I was pregnant. They are built to be stepped into with no hands, so they were wonderful when I had a big belly and it was difficult to reach my feet. They’re also great to slip on when my hands are full with a toddler and bags.
I specifically got a pair of Vegas 2’s, which have become my everyday shoe that are comfortable and go with almost any outfit. Any new shoes I ever buy moving forward will probably be Kiziks, since they have so many different styles.
2. Smoothies
I’ve consumed so many smoothies this year. I was making them pretty much every day for breakfast in my little Magic Bullet for myself and Rosemary until it died. Once that happened, I decided to upgrade us to a Nutribullet Rx. It has the ability to heat what it is blending so that you can make hot soups and sauces in it (a feature that has been a dream of mine to own since we watched a Vitamix demo at the IX Center’s food convention in 2016).
Anyway, I’ve been making a lot of smoothies because it’s a great way to hide vegetables and get extra vitamins and nutrients for both myself and Rosemary. It was especially helpful when I was pregnant and not in the mood to eat anything else.
3. Homemade soup
I have made a lot of homemade chicken noodle soup this year. It’s really good and probably the best thing that I make. I’ve experimented with a few other homemade soups too. It’s wild how much better it is the canned soup. I’m excited to try to make some homemade soups with my Nutribullet Rx this winter. Soup soup soup.
Here’s my recipe for the chicken noodle soup.
4. Flounder
You are reading this list on founder. You should join flounder. I avoided it a lot this year because the pressure of journaling was too built up in my head. I had said that “guilt” was out for 2025, but despite that resolution last year I felt a lot of guilt for not journaling. So I’m going to try to use flounder more casually this year without so much pressure on myself.
5. Type Help
Joseph recommended this game to me and I got a lot more into it than I thought I would. It’s a murder mystery that you have to solve by discovering and reading through digital files in a fictional archive. I’m still not done with it because it’s been hard to find time since having the baby, but it’s very fun and I still think about it a lot. I’m looking forward to picking it back up. It was especially fun to play during spooky season this year too.
6. Discord
Discord was my main source of digital social connection this year instead of social media. I wish all my friends were more active on it because it really does help make resisting Instagram and Facebook easier. Interacting on there feels like a personal conversation, whereas anytime I post on Instagram it feels like fake showing off. If you came to this list via Discord, thanks for being a part of our little community.
7. Museum memberships
We were gifted a lot of really cool memberships for Rosemary‘s birthday and for Christmas both this and last year. We have had memberships to the Zoo, the Aquarium, the Children’s Museum, Holden Forest & Gardens, and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH).
I feel like we only outgrew the aquarium membership because it is so small, and so you can only really spend 1.5hr max there; now that Rosemary is on one nap, I prefer going places that can fill a whole morning. But I do really love the aquarium; if I had to work from home, I would get a membership there and bring my laptop to work in front of the shark tank every day.
If we had to only have one membership, it would definitely be the zoo because of how much Rosemary and I both love it. We go a lot.
Now that Rosemary is older, our Children’s Museum membership is really wonderful; that place is built for a kid her age.
I personally love the CMNH and Holden Arboretum/Botanical Garden memberships, just because I love going to those places.
In general, a membership is so nice because it gives you an excuse to go as much as possible in order to make the membership worth it! It forces you to be cultured. I think even after we’re empty-nesters, I would like to be members at different cultured places like this because it would let us go without feeling guilty about spending money on tickets each time.
8. Cleveland Museum of Art
CMA has been a fun place to take Rosemary to let her roam for a toddler-led tour. She really loves the statues. I signed her up for a “My Very First Art Class” series there that is for ages 2 to 4. It was a really nice class, but I think a little too old for her because it required a lot of quiet sitting and paying attention. I would love to sign her up again when she is older; it was fun to go to the art museum every Friday.
Our friend who used to work at CMA also led some casual, private, unsanctioned art tours this year that were really wonderful; they made gallery art feel much more accessible to me.
Overall it feels good to be in that beautiful place and I would like to go more. Plus it’s free!
9. Amba
Joseph and I went to Amba twice this year—once for my birthday dinner just me & him in January, and once as a surprise thank you dinner for the CALLBACK core production team in October.
The vibes in there are so moody & cool, and the food is fantastic. Going with a big group of friends the second time, we were able to try pretty much the whole menu. My favorites are the pilau, crispy puris, and clay bread. The lentil donuts were also incredibly delicious, which was unexpected.
10. “A Calf Born in Winter” by Khruangbin
Joseph showed me this song. It’s really beautiful. An instrumental that is somehow perfect both if you are in a good mood or in a bad mood. It makes you feel like you’re the main character in a movie. It makes whatever mundane thing you’re doing feel beautiful and meaningful.
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