2025 was a year of discovery! I am still overwhelmed by the idea that, in January of this year, I had not yet signed a contract with my publisher, but in May, I’d handed over a complete first draft. The book-writing process was eye-and-heart-opening, thrilling, humbling, challenging. It was the first time I’ve worked with an editor, and the manuscript is far better for it. Talk about ego-dissolution, though — had to check myself at the door. Meanwhile, I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder on something, and I mean that narrowly: long, long hours; a rigorous schedule accompanied by hyper-specific rituals designed to clip me into a generative head space; the brain fatigue of zooming in and zooming out on a project over and over again, going from comma placement to “which essay makes more logical sense next to this one?” to “what if I switched from the word cardinal to passerine?” If I did it again, I’d put myself on at least two week-long “sabbaticals” to make big pushes and then work in smaller increments to finish. It was really hard to wedge this work in around the normal flow of my daily writing and home life. I felt like I was living in a vise for a few months there: the due date at one end and my ambition at the other. Maybe not in a bad way? Hard to say. After all, one thing I know about myself: I always get it done. I learned this while staring at the thousand to-dos on our list when moving from NYC to Bethesda. I thought to myself, “Jen, do not let yourself be intimidated. You always get it done. Trust yourself.” And I did! One excel cell by one excel cell. That’s how it happens, isn’t it? Word by word — or, per Anne Lamott, “bird by bird.” Anyway, we’re through that intensity and I am proud of the shapely writing born of it. I just heard from the publisher that the book will be available for preorder early in 2026, and will be published on April 14!!! What a moonwalk…
Anyway, the book was my true “favorite thing” of the year, an apotheosis of the creative work I’ve been involved with since I was a child. (A friend asked: “how long did it take you to write this?” and I said, “Oh, I’ve been writing it since I was six!”). I cannot wait for you to see it!
But a couple of other discoveries and obsessions from the year:
+Music: Olivia Dean! Where has she been all my life?! I listened to her album over and over again in the fall. Landon and I also loved the new Sabrina Carpenter album. I have really fond memories of a fall trip we took — we played it on repeat in our hotel room, drinking red wine from water glasses.
+Undereye care: Finally found a solution that does something to my undereye areas (I have dark undereye circles). I use undereye masks/patches most mornings; my favorites here. (I’ve yapped a lot about this general concept and have now received a number of DMs/emails asking which are my favorites, so have them all detailed out here!) I think it’s something about really saturating and hydrating the area for 20 minutes each day — it’s made such a huge difference. I then layer this incredible brightening eye cream after I remove the pads. It’s almost like hybrid between skincare and cosmetics — it brightens/conceals/color-corrects!
+Books: We read a lot of great titles this year, didn’t we? Trespasses and Heart the Lover took my breath away / changed me / left me in awe of their writerly talent, but I think the most gripping read of the year was Wild Dark Shore. Cinematic! Thrilling! When will this be made into a movie?!
+Mantras: Found myself repeating the phrases “strive to be the lowest heart rate in the room” and “actually, I do have the time” a lot this year.
On the product side of the house, none of these will come as surprises to you. I’m basically a walking cartoon of this mood board:
HEART THE LOVER AND TRESPASSES
LESET POINTELLE (40% OFF IN THE PRETTIEST PINK) — I ONLY WANT SOFT COTTON AGAINST MY SKIN NOWADAYS; ONE OF THE WEIRD THINGS I’VE NOTICED ABOUT MYSELF IN MY 40S
BEST SWEATPANT LEVEL SOFT JEAN (USE CODE JEN15; MY MOST-WORN WORKIN’ JEANS THIS WINTER)
HATCH RESTORE — HAS CHANGED MY SLEEP HYGIENE
ICONIC BRUSH — OBSESSED WITH THE SCALP MASSAGE AND GENTLE DETANGLING
FLOOR LAMP — THIS PURCHASE KICK-STARTED MY VISION OF TRANSFORMING OUR BEDROOM INTO A SOFT, NEUTRAL, TEXTURED LUXURY HOTEL ROOM
BOMBAS — I FINALLY TESTED (AND ROUNDLY AGREED WITH) THE HYPE
ALEX MILL WEEKDAY TOTE — LOVE THIS OVERSIZED CANVAS BAG SO MUCH! CARRIES A LITERAL TON, CAN FIT MY LAPTOP, AND SO CHIC WITH THOSE BLOCK LETTERS ON THE SIDE!
OUR BEDROOM RUG — CANNOT TELL YOU HOW IMPRESSED I AM WITH THE QUALITY, ELEGANT DESIGN, PLUSHNESS FOR THE PRICE! (USE CODE JEN15)
*My favorite piece to layer with everyday gold jewelry or dress up with cocktail attire! I love the round shape of the stones — a little more feminine and sweet to my eye than square cut. Note that Dorsey is offering free overnight shipping this week in case you’re still hunting for a special piece to wear for Christmas/NYE OR are looking for a fab gift. I get a lot of wear out of their drop earrings — I have a few styles, but these are my most-worn at the moment. Delicate, just a tiny bit of sparkle, a little more interesting than a stud.
**I created a shoppable collection of these “favorite things” plus a few other bonus additions here.
What have been your favorite things this year?
P.S. Listening for the magical in the mundane.
P.P.S. Favorite winter athletic wear.
P.P.P.S. Signs you’re becoming an expert in yourself.
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Your habit tracker for one!! This year I focused on my wellness and went ghost mode. The saying disappear for 6 months and watch the magic happen is true. Slowly started building new habits with small, attainable goals. Eventually working myself to cleaner eating, cutting out alcohol and a more consistent fitness routine and what a difference it has made! Another one of my favorite things in 2025 besides the tracker is Spenga fitness studio. I’ve taken a lot of fitness classes in my life and the Spenga experience is truly elite. If anyone has a studio in their neighborhood, I’d highly recommend. Cheers to good health!
Oh my gosh – I’m so delighted by this! And inspired by your steady, attentive work on yourself. You don’t know how motivating it was for me to read that, and also to remember you have to take a few months to really make a difference. Thank you.
xx
Let me just manifest that a 2026 favorite will be your book!!
Clothes-wise, the major change is Stripe & stare for my long sleeve layers and daily underwear, displacing several decades of Uniqlo. I remain attached to SiLRiver’s side-tie lace bikinis, aubade bras, and anything Max Mara. I’ve been wearing fewer big labels and more Zara, but I will say, if Quince shipped here I might wear nothing but quince!! The linen vest was my hero piece of the summer.
Tussah silk fill duvet, incredible. It’d be a regrettably worth it except they’re also relatively affordable, so zero regrets.
Making my own sashimi plate for lunch.
Aran Goyoaga’s exceptional gluten free bread book, truly a class above the rest. Incredible for any bread book, frankly.
Alchemia perfumery’s C24 pheromone: “Conviviality.” I can’t tell you if it actually works to make people like you but I can tell you consciously affirming before an event “I am going to be friendly and warm even when I feel awkward” is a gamechanger for me, personally. I’d bought it a few years ago and only recently trotted it out. I like to layer it with Replica Maison Margiela’s Autumn Vibes.
13 desserts of Provence for advent. I’ve written about it already here but I’m inordinately pleased with myself.
Pomegranates everywhere as a talisman. I used to write for a magazine called Pome which is now shuttering. End of an era.
Using Bring! to organize my grocery list and Paprika 3 Recipe Manager for my recipes.
Skincare: good ol’ Belif crème, caudalie serum, pure squalane. I’m in a bit of an eczema flare so keeping it simple.
Fragonard diffusers all over the house. Sometimes I flick them onto the carpet in the living room.
Having said carpet (Ruggable blush pimpernel) professionally cleaned every two months!!! With my children an food involved it’s a no-brainer.
Tech, it’s my AirPods. It’s a disaster if I can’t find them. And the Off Menu podcast has often made me laugh so hard I wake people up!
Books nonfiction:
Phillipa Perry: The Book You Want Everyone You Love* to Read. She’s a therapist and an agony aunt and more importantly seems actually impactful.
Books fiction:
After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian: Achingly wonderful found family narrative in the Village.
Audrey Lane Stirs The Pot: The 3rd in Alexis Hall’s GBBO fictional universe. I was already loving it when (fairly unimportant spoiler) a plot point necessitated a trip to Monaco, and I was delighted anew.
Oh. What. Fun. By Chandler Baker (Very short, very worth reading if you’re the mom making holiday magic).
Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander: Technically also a Christmas book! I just bought a copy for my brother in law.
Copper Script by KJ Charles: Such a good crime novel with what I would argue is magical realism-adjacent and I love it for similar reasons to why I loved Poker Face with Natasha Lyonne? Truth telling as a narrative device is soooo good.
Cinder House by Freya Marske is an excellent Cinderella retelling! She has a knack for fantasy world building. Great October read.
Rules for Ghosting by Shelley Jay Shore: a poignant romance intertwining grief, ghosts, gender, Jewish tradition, family and found family. One of the best of the year, and perfect for spooky season if you want to add it to a list for next fall.
The Fast and the Dead by Anuja Chauhan is an engaging murder mystery in a tight-knit neighborhood in India. Good for anyone who’s way too into their Nextdoor group.
The Henchman of Zenda by KJ Charles is an older passion project she clearly undertook largely for herself, as it’s not remotely commercial, but the character work is incredible and introduced me to the genre of Ruritanian romance.
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older may be set on future dystopian Jupiter, but they’re the best solution for anyone craving Sherlock & Watson, and the mysteries kept me guessing in a way that didn’t feel forced.
There is nothing I can write about Trespasses that hasn’t been written here, but that and A Ghost in the Throat are my top recs via Magpies of the year!
Children’s Book: Bathe the Cat remains hilarious after infinite readings.
Kids: Meow Baby play couch. Mi Canesu clothes for my daughter and vertbaudet for my son. Condor tights and socks.
Mantras: “It takes the time it takes.” Plus leaning on the concept of breath prayers and often reference Sarah Bessey’s lists. Most basic is “Lord Jesus Christ/ have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Gorgeous, as always – several recommendations you’ve mentioned in the past that bore repeating but some new ones, too! Thank you!! And thank you for manifesting my book in the 2026 list 🙂
xx
I cannot believe you wrote a book in between all your beautiful, thoughtful daily writing here! We are so lucky!! Cannot wait to preorder!!!
Thank you so much, Kelly!!! :). I appreciate the encouragement and generous sentiment more than you will ever know. I’m the luckiest –
xx
So excited for your book!
Thank you, friend!! So lucky to have my Magpies around me!!! xx
Can’t wait for your book, Jen!!!
Thank you, Mia!!! xx
Oooh, my birthday is on April 15th, so I will be preordering your book as a birthday gift to myself! So looking forward to reading it!
This is so sweet – thank you, Lisa!! xx