By far, this has been the best year of my life! I got to explore Italy and France over Spring Break, spent July in New York City for FIT Precollege, got a job at my favorite boutique, started this blog, and solidified my sense of self. Luckily, this was all with supportive, wonderful friends and family by my side!
In June, I did an all-time favorites post, but my goal for this one is to share the things I have especially loved in 2015. I love reading posts about what other bloggers enjoy and trying out their recommendations, and I hope you guys are just as inspired by this list!
In June, I did an all-time favorites post, but my goal for this one is to share the things I have especially loved in 2015. I love reading posts about what other bloggers enjoy and trying out their recommendations, and I hope you guys are just as inspired by this list!
Obviously, Europe was a huge favorite! This trip was my first time out of the country, and everywhere we went was absolutely stunning. Italian espresso changed me for good. (full post here)
FIT Precollege was by far the best month of my entire life. I was living my dream in my favorite city, and I couldn't have asked for more. I miss it so much, but I can't wait until it's my life for real in a few years. (posts on that here, here, here, and here)
I wanted to make separate albums and songs their own points, but then this post would never end, so I'm going to try to keep it brief. Though just released, Coldplay's A Head Full of Dreams is up on my list because they just never disappoint, and this album sounds like heaven and makes my heart feel so good. I've discussed my love for Halsey here, but I just want to reiterate my love for her as a human and a musician. Bleachers' Strange Desire was on repeat this year and resonated with a lot of what I felt. I also got really into Fleetwood Mac and Simon & Garfunkel, and I think they'll be permanent favorites. And of course, Kanye is always there when I need some power.
My top 10 favorite songs from the year are:
1. Fall Into Place by Apartment
2. Colors by Halsey
3. Weight of Love by the Black Keys
4. Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl by Broken Social Scene
5. Still Sane by Lorde
6. Holocene by Bon Iver
7. I Wanna Get Better by Bleachers
8. Violet Hill by Coldplay
9. The Truth by Foster the People
10. Always in My Head by Coldplay
For the past few years, even though I love reading, I just didn't take the time for books besides required school reading. This year I made up for lost time. All of the books from this post had a large impact on me. Besides those, I adored This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, and The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides. Those are all ones I would read over and over, and I recommend them to you all.
In 2015 I finished Infinite Jest, my favorite book of all time, and became obsessed with David Foster Wallace. I could go on and on about IJ because it's a piece of art/ it made me feel so understood/ it's just so worth the time and effort. DFW's writing style is my favorite, and reading his work has helped me improve so much as a writer. I've been really into his essays lately, especially the ones in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. Reading D.T. Max's Every Love Story is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace gave me an incredible amount of insight to DFW's life and how what he dealt with contributed to his work.
Beverage-wise, I diverged from my traditional vanilla latte and consumed a lot of London Fogs and lavender lattes this year, via Arsaga's, Onyx, and Puritan.
I watched considerably less on Netflix this year than last year, but I still watched way more than I should have, which just gives me more to share. Parenthood is SO good. I always try to watch American Horror Story in as short of a timespan as possible to get the most out of the story, and Freak Show didn't make that difficult. Wet Hot American Summer, Moonrise Kingdom, Jurassic World, Almost Famous, and Trainwreck were my top movies of the year.
My blog post that I liked the most was becoming, a personal essay in which I talk about how everything I've gone through has contributed to who I am now. That includes anxiety and all of the other crappy stuff that has made me work to be better.
In terms of fashion, I wore my Brandy Melville t-shirt dresses way more than I probably should have, but they're just the best. My Birkenstocks were part of nearly every one of my summer outfits, and my Docs have covered the rest of the seasons. I've been leaning more towards the boho/ free flowing side of fashion than last year, when I loved edgier pieces the most.
What were some of your favorite things this year?
