Hello! As we wrap up the year, I thought I’d share my favorite possessions over the past twelve months. I love all these things, so I thought I’d share. Maybe there’s someone on your list they’d be good for, or something you could treat yourself with.

Let’s start with the household stuff, shall we?

1. Mini Flexible Chopping Mats.  Remember back when we had a small, furry, disarmingly adorable house guest? Well, his arrival necessitated some swapping out of our kitchen gear, including the chunky cutting board we kept on the counter. I know. Gross. Anyway, we still had a few plastic cutting boards that we were constantly using, but spied these small mats at our local co-op, I was inspired and snapped them up. These little guys are amazing. It’s a small thing, but pulling one of these guys out for a little pre-k lunch prep, or to slice a quick lime for our Pacifico, just feels so much more appropriately scaled. And they take up no space and are a breeze to wash. Would make an amazing stocking stuffer or something for someone with a new place.

2. Evo Oil Sprayers. For a while now, I’ve used Misto sprayers to spritz olive oil or vegetable oil on veggies, baked fries and so forth. I love the concept, but I wasn’t loving the performance. After another Misto broke earlier this year, I saw these Evo sprayers and thought I’d give them a go. They are a little pricey (though I believe I got two for $20), but I love them. They spray oil in a steady, constant stream. A bit heavier than the Misto, perhaps, but still a light application. I use them constantly and am really glad I made the investment.

3. Roomba. I think we talked about this before. I love it. I know not everyone is super impressed, but I love this darn thing. And though they are pricey, there are lots of good deals out there.

4. Acrylic Wine Rack. I’ve wanted an acrylic wine rack for a long time. Years? Possibly. They’re not even that expensive or anything, but it’s also certainly nothing urgent, so I’ve never bought one until recently. As I was sprucing up our little bar area and receiving an impulse wine delivery from our favorite winery in California, a wine rack suddenly did start to feel urgent. I LOVE this one. It’s so sleek and modern and I’m hooked. The units are stackable, too, so you can make quite the display if you’ve got the space.

5. Skogsta Stools. Ikea, you’ve freaking done it again. I just bought two of these versatile stools from their new Skogsta line to serve as side tables, plant stands, and as extra seating when we host all our peeps tomorrow (ack!). These are new and part of an entire line of acacia goodness Ikea is selling right now. I want the whole damn line. All of it. Crates, cutting boards, coffee tables, dining chairs. I just love it.

1. Insulated Thermos. For a few brief, glorious weeks, Lou was “buying” lunch (turns out it’s free) at school. They also serve breakfast, so all we were responsible for was throwing some cheddar bunnies in a baggie for snack and calling it. Those were the days. It became clear that what I thought was a daily vegetarian option was just a lot of French fries and chocolate milk, to the point that even Lou got sick of it. She also doesn’t like the breakfast, (“It’s just sugar cereal, mommy. It doesn’t even have nutrients.”) so now I’m back to actually cooking for my child. Lame. It is a little challenging though, to provide a meat-free, allergen-free, four-year-old approved lunch every day. But this Thermos has been a game changer. Soup (Miso and tomato are her favorites), leftover pasta and rice dishes, pretty much anything can go if we can heat it up for 30 seconds before we pack it. I have no idea why I didn’t think of this sooner.

2. Zutano Cozy Booties. These are, hands down, the best baby booties ever. For some reason, I thought they were super expensive, but they’re like $20 and actually stay on your kids feet, which makes them priceless. They’re also super adorable. I remember hearing about Charles Schulz’ work once that the genius in his drawing was the characters’ “dinner roll feet.” These make the babies’ feet look like dinner rolls, and it’s just so stinking cute.

3. BOB Revolution Jogger. I already waxed on about this BOB jogger a bit, and it’s still a winner. I’m just mostly grateful, honestly: Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to train for the Philly Half at all, and I’m so, so glad I did that. It’s huge and bulky and heavy, and I couldn’t have it as my only stroller, but I do love it for running and for conquering the Brooklyn sidewalks like buttah.  

4. Kidsme Food Feeder. I used to use these mesh feeders, and I freaking loved them. When I broke them out for West, I was really, really struggling to get them clean, and it took me a while to realize my lack of dishwasher was (once again!) really bringing us down. Thankfully, there are silicone versions, like these kid feeders. West is obsessed with them. Mostly, he gets frozen chunks of fruit or some peanut butter and banana, but anything works: a hunk of my sandwich or whatever else I’m eating, plain old water ice, or even frozen breastmilk (which I personally don’t do because I’m not into removing the breastmilk from my body unnecessarily this time around, but that’s a thing people do).

5. Ergo 4 Position Baby Carrier 360. I used to have a Bjorn. It killed my shoulders. Then I got a cheap replacement, this Infantino model, which honestly, for $25, sis not too shabby. But it still wasn’t offering quite the support I wanted, so I made the leap to the 360 after trying on all my mama friends’ carriers one day at the park. Thanks mamas! I LOVE this thing. Easy to put on. So secure feeling. I can wear it for so long before it becomes painful. I wish mine was in a cute pattern, like the one pictured…but then again, the amount Westley spits up on it, I guess it’s good I got one that’s less cute. If you know a mama in waiting, consider this for her.

1. Asics Gel_Nimbus. I am in love with these shoes. I am so glad I treated myself before my race; I wasn’t totally sure how broken down my old shoes were, and it turns out they were really in need of replacing. These Gel-Nimbus are the NYC 2015 Marathon version. Are they awesome or what? I bought them, but by the time I got them home I knew I couldn’t keep them. I was running the Philly half, not the NYC full. So I exchanged them for a plain old regular pair. But still, I fly like the wind in them and can leap several sidewalk cracks in a single bound.

2. L.L. Bean Women's Maine Hunting Boots. I went on and on about my love of duck shoes, and all my other key “fashion” finds in this post. Enjoy!

3. Sakroots Smartphone Wristlet. This thing is the jam. The only downside is that, if I ever lose it, I’m screwed. Pardon the French. But otherwise, it makes getting out the door incrementally easier, and that, friends, is the goal.

4. Bluetooth headphones. These things are great. Mine aren’t even fancy and they make about one million times difference when you’re running and don’t keep yanking your earphones out of your ears on accident.