2024 Favorites & Goals (featuring the 2025 goals too!)

How fast has this year gone by? Anyways, I'm going to share what were the BIG favorites of this year- ranging from music, books, coffee, Netflix films and body care. I will also go into my goals I focused on this year (the In's & Out's we've likely forgotten about), and self-reflect on that, too. Including my 2025 Goals so it can maybe give you some inspiration on what you may want to work on for the new year ahead.

My Favorite Music of 2024:

Made a playlist for all of the songs featured- here's the Spotify link- https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5NOx10fdnIAEyz7UguHuIF?si=d33c0db552f94f6e )

• All My Untalented Friends (Ooh La La) by Games We Play

• Landmines by Sum 41

• Emergency Contact by Pierce the Veil

• Anklebiters by Paramore

• Fast in my Car by Paramore

• One Eyed Bastard by Green Day

• Bobby Sox by Green Day

• Hey Mario by Bowling for Soup

• Beautiful People (Stay High) by The Black Keys

• On the Game by The Black Keys

• Panoramic View by AWOLNATION

• The Glass by Foo Fighters

• Neon Pill by Cage the Elephant

• Everybody Knows I'm High by SHAED

• Cinderella by Remi Wolf

• What You Make It by With Confidence

• Got it Bad by Daisy Grenade

• Good Day by Bombay Bicycle Club

• Sad in Carolina by Dexter & the Moonrocks

• 45 by the Gaslight Anthem

• Kicks by Barns Courtney

• Make it All Right by the Offspring

• Liar (Truth Is) by Alison Eide

• Hola Canada! by Pinhead Gunpowder

• Honda Civic by Lauren Hibberd

My Favorite Coffee of 2024 (ones I would re-buy):

• Peet's brand Off the Grid Coffee

• Punk Bunny brand Soundcheck Coffee

• Punk Bunny brand Last Ride In Coffee

• Wintry Blend coffee from Trader Joe's

My Favorite Books of 2024 (ones I would re-read again- do add to your own reading list if you've not read any of these yourself):

• First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

• The Guest List by Lucy Foley

• People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

• The Wedding People by Alison Espach

• Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

• Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

• Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown

• The Last Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger

• We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

• Summer Fridays by Suzanne Rindell

• The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

Favorite TV Show and / or Movie(s) I've Either Watched or Streamed in 2024:

• Good Grief film on Netflix

• Woman of the Hour film on Netflix

Favorite Body Care and / or Skincare product(s) of 2024:

• Being Frenshe Palo Santo Sage Body Wash, Body Lotion/Cream, & Body Spray- this scent has become of my new favorites for a good reason! Can get this at your Target (online or in-store).

2024 In's & Out's- what can I do better for next year?:

In's:

• Buying fresh flowers weekly.

• Social media detoxes.

• Moving after each meal.

• Knee-Friendly / Low Impact workouts.

• Yoga & Meditation.

• Being more patient.

• Reading more books.

• Having 3-4 key habits to help me sleep well.

• Making healthier snack choices.

• Therapy.

• Classic / Old Timey Books & Movies (anything in black & white film wise I love).

Out's:

• Live plants.

• Mindlessly Scrolling.

• Sitting after each meal.

• Heavy workouts that don't make my body feel great.

• Impatience.

• Staying up past 12- 12:30am.

• Unhealthy snack choices.

• Taking your problems out on others.

• Watching / reading / streaming things that can trigger me in an unhealthy way.

Self-reflection portion here: There is a lot I felt I did good at (i.e.: social media detoxes, fresh flowers, reading- even the classic / old timey ones, knee-friendly / low impact workouts, etc) this year. But there are some things I wished I was a lot better about this year- staying up, taking out my problems on others, mindlessly scrolling, being impatient, etc. It always key to work on the most simple things like these items I listed. It just takes time to motivate yourself to do better at these things. Not to perfect / master them by any means. Taking the time does help! Definitely need to personally work on being patient part more next year that's for sure.

2025 Goals:

• Getting back into kick-boxing / boxing workouts. I backed off these workouts due to my knee issues and I've been craving it again. Makes me feel confident anytime I do any kickboxing / boxing workouts! I will still continue to implement the more gentle / lower intensity forms of exercise (ie: Pilates, Walking, Dumbbell workouts, etc).

• Stop drinking water late at night before bed. It's a terrible habit I got into years before and I want to listen to myself better about not drinking water late at night. Stop at a certain time really.

• Develop an easy at home nighttime routine- sleep is something I do struggle with- not severely thankfully. Maybe reading more before bed in lieu of watching TV?

• Continue to read more books. Try audiobooks out, too.

• Do even more puzzles.

• Implement hot or iced matcha's more often- especially on my very busy days when I need to slow down.

• Continue to do more social media breaks- so soothing & helpful for anyone's mental health!

• Opt for more plant-based / vegan meals for my health- high cholesterol runs in my family and having these meals more often may help with it!

• Get back into bullet journaling- I used to do this in 2019- and I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Do monthly spreads however I like and do add a TBR (to be read) list to each month. Love to do a creative project whenever possible!

• Listen to my body more often- when it really comes to needing to slow down and just rest.

That's all I have for this yearly favorites & goals post today! Let me know what you want to focus on next year and what you wanted to improve on for this year. Again, things take time! I will still continue these favorites post for next year because I know the awesome readers out there, like you for example, love to read them. See you in 2025! Have a great, healthy, and happy holiday season!

-Lauren-