I don't have many words to say. It's Thursday night, the LA fires are still raging and I feel completely and utterly hopeless. I feel helpless, exhausted and unsure of how we as a society are going to survive this. I don't know how much more humanity could take. 

If you're looking for resources to help the people in LA, Vogue has a great list of resources and honestly, most brands and organizations are posting lists on social media so you could find them easily. I've donated to the LAFD Foundation via Instagram fundraisers and honestly, they make it so easy to just click a few buttons and submit your pledge.

I don't really have much else to say; I'm a little burnt out so let's just get into the roundup.

My shopping addiction has been well documented over the years on this blog, as were my failed attempts at a no buy. I've succeeded in no buy months but I've never really kicked the shopping habit altogether. 

As I've gotten older, my shopping has definitely improved. I'm less impulsive, I don't feel the need to buy something every single day, and I can let things sit in my cart for a while before I buy them. However, over the past year, I've seen the error of my ways. 

This past year there was an adorable house for sale in my neighborhood. It was literally picture perfect for me and it was a reasonable price. I of course, didn't have the funds for a down payment. It was at that moment, at 31 years old, where I realized how much money I have wasted over the past ten years that I've been working.

I have thrown money away, lit it on fire, for the sake of a dopamine rush that lasted until the shipping box was thrown away. It's embarrassing and it's irritating; I've gotten mad at myself for my shopping problem before but this one lasted a little bit longer than usual.

Here we are, folks...the first round up of a new year. It always brings me such joy to write 'Week 1' as the title of this blog post. It's a fresh start, a new page; there's hope in the air and a pep in our step. I'm sure that will last only until next weekend but a girl can dream, right? 

This week was weird. I don't think I'll feel normal until Tuesday when I'm on my commute to work. Monday felt like a Friday, Wednesday felt like a Sunday and Friday honestly felt like a Wednesday to me. Christmas feels like it was 100 years ago, not less than 2 weeks. 

As much as I enjoyed this extended break, I'm ready to get back to reality. I want structure, routines and my regular Bravo TV schedule back. 

The new year has been weird so far; it doesn't feel brand new, it doesn't feel much different (some years I can feel the change in the air but right now, it feels kind of the same), yet, at the same time, everything feels different. I was very unhappy on New Year's Eve, thanks to my period and I think it threw everything off for me. 

Enough babbling, let's get into the first roundup of 2025! 

This year was the year I was going to stop shopping, but of course, that didn't happen. I do think I made some improvements -- I didn't spend as frivolously or impulsively as I have in previous years. I was a little more wise with where my dollar was going and with what was coming into my house. 

This might go down as the year where I came to the realization that I do not need as much as I think I do. It was the year where the big purchases I made, made an impact. 

It sounds so much more poetic and deep than what it actually is but it's true. The items on this list, while not a comprehensive catalog of everything I spent money on in 2024, are items that I loved and truly used on a consistent basis. 

Let's get into it, shall we? 

I was in a reading slump this year. I didn't read as many books as I wanted too, and the books I did read, I didn't really love. I don't know if I was choosing the wrong books, or was just too distracted to really immerse myself into the story, but it wasn't a great year of reading.

I'm writing this on December 26th and I've read 39 books. I'd like to fit in one more before New Year's Eve, even if it's cheating and it's a super short book... I'd just like to have an even number.

I set a goal of 50 books, and while I thought that was low enough, I knew by at least April that I wasn't going to hit it. I could make excuses -- I traveled more, work was busier than usual, or I couldn't find the right book but realistically, my attention span decreased. I scrolled a lot more on my phone and found myself watching more television. Reading wasn't my priority but I want that to change and go back to 'normal' in 2025.

Despite all of that, I did find some books I really loved and that will stay with me for a long time.

 Well friends, another year has been completed and we're mere days away from ringing in 2025. It sounds like a fake year, something you hear in an episode of The Jetsons, but believe it or not, it's real. I don't really know how I feel about 2025 yet -- I think it's going to be a great year for me personally but for the collective world, I think we're in for some trouble. I hope I'm wrong! 

2024 was an interesting year, and I need to make the time to really reflect, but I think I had a good one. My mental health was better in a lot of ways, I traveled, I celebrated, I rested and I conquered some fears. Maybe I'll do a blog post or substack about my year, but for now we're here to talk about beauty products. 

2024 was the year of hair & skin for me; I went through some struggles with both but I think I'm ending the year with a decent rotation of products. While I still hit VIB Rogue this year (and pretty early in fact), I don't think I bought a lot of unnecessary products; the products I did buy became quick favorites and I also realized that most of my favorites were in my collection all along and I didn't need to try something new.

2025 is going to be a year of less stuff, so figuring out what I love and sticking with that. I don't always need something new to satisfy a craving and I need to get comfortable with wanting things versus immediately letting myself have them.

All of that being said, let's get into the products that made up most of my 2024.

*I think it's important to say that everything that I mentioned in my 2023 beauty favorites are still used on a daily basis for me...aside from maybe the Bobbi Brown foundation stick which I still love but found something I like even more. 

 Would you look at that...it's the final week of the year! I can't believe the year is over in just a few days; it doesn't even feel real but I've already said that many times. The last week of the year is honestly one of my favorites because it feels like an eternal weekend. I worked yesterday and today, and I'll work on Monday so I have some semblance of a routine, but I could hardly call it actual work.

This week feels like a time to reset, to relax, and to unwind. It's time to reflect, indulge, read and watch movies. It's like a cozy and cold summer vacation and it brings me so much joy.

It also weirdly makes me sad, because it means the best months of the year are over and I have to wait so long for September again. Christmas Day is more depressing than anything because the Christmas season is over; I felt like that when I was a kid and I feel like it now.

I don't want to dwell on the sadness so let's get into the last roundup of 2024!