My 2023 Favorites
I think I need to start taking notes throughout the year, so I can remember things I loved because, trying to recall at the end of the year, isn't the easiest. I continue to go…wait…did that happen this year? That feels like it was 5 years ago! ha!
Should we start with food?
Best Meal Out
I realized we ate out a lot less frequently this year, which is so great. We have continuously spent way too much eating out, so I was really proud of us for eating at home the majority of the time this year. With that said, one spot really stood out, and it was a surprise to me too. Buddy Boy BBQ. It’s way out in Minnetrista, so it isn’t super well known. It isn’t a little bbq shack. It’s a nice restaurant, and every. single. thing. we’ve eaten there has been SO good!
Best Recipe I Made
Baked Sage Chicken Meatballs with Parmesan Orzo
We made this recipe for dinner with friends, and I was so impressed with this, and so were our guests. I want to make a whole batch of these meatballs and freeze them. They were SO good, and the meal felt so fancy. I was also surprised it turned out well on my first attempt! Click here for the recipe!
Media & Entertainment
Best TV Show: The Last of Us
I resisted this show. I do not like “end of the world” shows, but everyone kept talking about it, and Jake really wanted to watch it, so we did. AND I am so happy we did!
Best Movie: Barbie
This is obvious, right? I’m fully open to Mean Girls being my favorite next year lol
Best Album: Guts-Olivia Rodrigo
Some might argue I’m at the older end of her demo lol, but I love her music. I saw her here a couple of years ago, and yes, I did secure tickets for her upcoming show in March. I found myself listening to her album a lot this year.
Best Concert: Taylor Swift The Eras Tour
DUH! haha…specifically the Saturday night show in Minneapolis where her surprise songs were “Dear John” and “Daylight”.
Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Best Song: I went back and forth on this…So I’ll call it a tie with Renee Rapp “Talk Too Much” and Zach Bryan/Kacey Musgraves “I Remember Everything”.
Book: I looked back at my books this year, and I feel like it wasn’t the best year of books for me, so I’ll easily award Abby Jimenez “Yours Truly”.
Best Outfit
Since Covid, which is very close to my delivery of Olive, I haven’t cared about my clothing as much…probably because I lost a lot of confidence which wasn’t strong to begin with. I loved my Star Party outfit this year, mostly the top. I had it in my closet for a few years from House of CB. I finally wore it, and I loved it!
Best Purchase
The candle warmer…it was near the end of the year when I purchased this, and I love it. It adds very pretty ambiance to our dining room, and it works perfectly to fill my house with a great candle scent, but you can warm the same candle seemingly…forever! This is the exact one I have.
Travel
We took a lot of great trips this year, but Switzerland was unreal. Truly unreal. We visited all these spots in a very short amount of time, and it was all stunning! WOW! Zurich
Wilderswil/Interlaken
Kandersteg/Oeschinensee
Zermatt/Matterhorn/Riffelsee
Grindelwald/First/Lauterbrunnen
Lake Brienz
I hope you had an amazing 2023, and if you didn’t, 2024 is gonna be SO. MUCH. BETTER!