Notes from 2025
Things I loved, lessons I learned, and the small discoveries that quietly shaped my year
This year really took me by surprise. In January 2025 I had wide eyes and a very hopeful heart that this would be the best year yet. Instead, I learned that the calm after the storm comes with its own mix of highs and lows. Picking up the wreckage took a toll and tested me physically, emotionally, and spiritually in ways I didn’t quite expect. There were other fires, both literal and metaphorical, that sparked in my life when I least expected them.
But here we are, at the end of 2025, and I’m looking back feeling wiser and more grounded, filled with so much gratitude for the lessons that came disguised as chaos. Sometimes you really do have to walk through it to get to the other side, and I’m thankful to be here, standing at the finish line with a notebook full of things I don’t ever want to forget.
Speaking of notes, my online friend Ashley posted a “Things I Loved in 2025” list and it inspired me to follow suit. Thanks, Ashley.
Below are my notes from 2025. Little quotes I saved, products I loved, ideas I scribbled, things that made me feel alive, and a few random gems gathered along the way. I hope something here lands with you too.
We sometimes get so focused on what is happening on the inside vs. the outside that it creates an emotional loop. Focus on physical creation. (April 30, 2025)
My most worn and loved cozy pants of the year are the Baby Rib Scalloped pants by Donni. I love them so much and am currently questioning why on earth I haven’t purchased them in additional color ways. Fixing that now.
I took some pretty incredible trips this year. From Lake Como to Big Sur, Tuscany, New York, Texas, Paris and more.. it’s hard to pick a favorite but the winner goes to…
Okay so it’s a tie: Traveling to Bhutan was a bucket list item for me and little did I know that I’d check off not one but two bucket list trips this year when Andrew invited me on his 40th birthday celebration with the gorillas in Rwanda. All I can say it WOW. What an incredible (two) adventure these were. I’m still speechless.
A few products I used the heck out of in 2025:
My all time favorite undies. I am so obsessed. They’re all I wear.
Seems simple, but this super affordable memory foam bath mat that I swear by.
You don’t see it make the feed, but I carry this water bottle around with me 24/7.
My most lived in ballet flats.
For two years in a row, these are my most worn denim.
When it comes to what camera I use most, this one is the easiest to snap and lightest to carry
My two incredible grandparents passed away this year, months apart. First we lost C.R. and then a few months later, Meme joined him. It was a massive blow to our family, the kind of grief that rearranges the room you walk into. They were both such grounding forces in our lives, and losing them so close together made everything feel a little more fragile. Their absence has shaped this year in ways I’m still finding the words for.
On a positive note, about half way through the year I started getting dressed again. Okay, so I was always getting dressed but I started posting daily outfits to my LTK page and surpassed the 100K follower mark which felt super inspiring!
As if she didn’t get enough use last year, my boat tote remains my most carried bag in 2025.
Take ownership for my new awareness. I know what this is and I’m not doing this anymore. I am going to love myself through this. (July 2, 2025)
One of my most worn sneakers of the year are my Onitsuka Tigers. I have them in white on white and they go with everything!
Your favorite “Basic” Substack posts:
My favorite Substack reads:
Things I’m restocking for 2026:
A fresh pair of New Balance sneakers
The Skimms tank for less that I live in
Thank you for such a gentle reminder that hope and heaviness can live in the same year. And that both can teach you something.