I cannot believe it is only January 17th. This year has been 500 weeks long and we are only in the 2nd full week. This week was very hard, for a variety of reasons and truthfully, I just want it to be January 21st. I want to get the inauguration over with and I want to know what the hell is happening with the TikTok ban. 

It's a horrible game of limbo that we're all in, and my anxiety manifests itself when it feels uncertainty in the air. I also need to get better about protecting my peace and not seeking out the things that cause me anxiety. 

I'm going to do my best to relax and find some sort of peace this weekend. Lord knows I need it. 

 It's the first book review of 2025 and it's a good one! It's also one that is long overdue because it's been sitting on my shelf for a year. Fiona Davis is one of my favorite authors but whenever I get a book I'm excited about, I never read it right away. It's like I'm saving it for the right time.

Well, after Christmas was the perfect time. I wanted something that was wintery and holiday adjacent but not a romance or thriller. Enter a historical fiction novel about the Radio City Rockettes in the 1950s, The Spectacular. 

Fiona Davis writes the most beautiful books about New York City landmarks and their history, mixes in mystery, romance and brilliant, brave women are at the center of them. 

I've read every single one of Fiona Davis' books and this is definitely one of my favorites. Her new one, The Stolen Queen, came out last week and I need to order it, just as soon as my low-buy month is over or I have the extra money & need a little treat. 

 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.