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A Few of My Favorite Things | 2024

December 27, 2024 by jessica Leave a Comment

I feel like I say this every year, but goodness, I can’t believe we’re on the cusp of another new year and that it’s already time to share my favorite products that I bought over the past 12 months. These are the items that brought the most joy — either because I simply love using them or they made our lives easier — that I think you might enjoy, too.

Jenny Bird “Chunky Doune Hoops” – 2024 saw a resurgence of bold sculptural jewelry in sleek metals. Jenny Bird makes the most beautiful pieces and these quickly became one of my most-worn pairs this year.

Dansk “Bistro Cafe Flatware” – Prior to this year, I had been using Walmart flatware that my parents bought for my first apartment. They were fine, classic-looking enough, and serviceable, so it wasn’t high on my list of priorities to buy a new set. However, I’m so glad I saw this Dansk set earlier this year and decided we were past-due for an upgrade. These are gorgeous! They have a nice weight to them and it’s so nice to have a set of flatware I’m not embarrassed about when we host guests. I splurged on two 43-piece sets so that we have 16 of each utensil and two sets of serving pieces.

Paravel “Main Line Duffle” – I had this on my wish list of years and finally treated myself during a sale earlier this year. It’s beautiful and much lighter than my leather duffle bag. I’ve accumulated quite a Paravel collection and each item surpasses my expectations. Plus, Paravel has wonderful customer service and a commitment to sustainability that makes me feel good about supporting the brand.

OXO Good Grips 8″ x 14″ organization bin – The top shelf of our fridge was a black hole for small items and jars that were pushed toward the back. I’d forget what was there, only to unearth it when it was past its expiration date. Two of these bins solved that problem. Now I can just slide the tray forward to get what I need and keep those smaller items corralled.

Margaux “The Demi” ballet flats – I bought my first pair of Margaux’s ballet flats in 2023 and loved them so much that I added the brown and red pairs to my closet this year. The footbed is cushioned making them comfortable for all-day wear, and the adjustable cord can be cinched so your heel doesn’t slip out. I wear a pair just about every day to work.

Nearly Natural artificial ferns – I love how ferns look in a hanging basket. After two years of trying — and failing — to keep real ones alive on our porch, I threw in the towel and bought artificial ones. Worth every penny, especially because real ferns aren’t exactly cheap to begin with. These come in a set of two and I put both in a hanging basket with some floral foam to keep them from falling out. They definitely pass for the real thing, especially from the sidewalk. I’d suggest buying them before spring, though, as the price seemed to creep up as we got closer to nice weather.

Phoenix Down pillow – We slept on these when we stayed at the InterContinental in Chicago last December, and I thought they were the most comfortable pillow I’ve used in years. I peeked at the tag and bought a set shortly after. The older I get, the more committed I am to a blissful sleeping experience, which brings me to the next product…

Casper “The Dream” mattress – We purchased one of the original Casper mattresses when we first upgraded from a Queen to King bed. We had been very happy with it, but realized that ours was past its prime when we bought “The One” for the guest room and found it to be much more supportive than ours. We ultimately selected the hybrid “The Dream” mattress for ourselves. It’s softer than its all-foam counterpart, but still supportive — and I’m happy to report that the back aches we were both chalking up to old age went away once we bought a new mattress.

Undo Hairware claw clips – These are the best claw clip that I’ve tried. It doesn’t dig into the back of your scalp while you’re wearing it and it stays put all day. They’re expensive for what they are, but I’ve found it to be worth it the splurge.

SpaceAid bamboo drawer dividers – I had a flatware organizer in our large utensil drawer, but the rest of the space was a jumbled mess that would shift around each time the drawer was opened and closed, inevitably making the drawer difficult to open when things got wedged between it and the bottom of the counter. And I could never find what I needed without rifling through the drawer to see where it went. It annoyed me for years. I don’t know why it took me so long to address the problem, but I finally decided to do something about it and found this adjustable drawer divider set in January. Everything now has a home and the drawer stays tidy. Honestly, this is probably my absolute favorite item of the year thanks to all of the headaches it has saved me.

Amazon mesh beach tote – This mesh bag was all over Instagram this year and for good reason. It’s lightweight, cute, packable, and generously sized for all of your beach essentials. I bought it before we went to Barcelona thinking that it’d be easy to bring to the beach or pool with us, but it ended up being more useful than that. I used it to carry our umbrellas for the inevitable light rain shower we’d have midday and as a reusable shopping bag. It held up well after a week of heavy use, which I didn’t expect for a cheap Amazon purchase. It’s now coming with me on every warm-weather trip.

I’ve been sharing my favorites for several years. Find them here: 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2023

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: best of, favorite things

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Jessica Hamm
Hello there! I'm a first-time homeowner updating a 1920s house in Madison, Wisconsin. I have a penchant for travel and a love of costume jewelry.

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It’s so nice to be home after a whirlwind week. It’s so nice to be home after a whirlwind week. We flew out to Philadelphia last Friday for a few days of exploring. It was our first time in the City of Brotherly Love and we loved every minute of it from the architecture to the restaurants, and most of all: the welcoming and friendly people. After that, we had one night at home before a flight to Denver to celebrate my cousin’s wedding. We got back to Madison late last night and have spent the day puttering around the house, getting caught up on laundry, grocery shopping, harvesting the season’s first tomatoes from the garden, and admiring just how much the hydrangeas have grown in the course of a week.
I always get a kick out of comparing views of our I always get a kick out of comparing views of our home today to the photos I took during our home inspection. (Swipe to see our main bedroom then!) While I knew the house had potential, it was hard to look past some of the owner’s “design” choices. Though, it looks like the room was destined to have a warm-toned quilt. 😂

P.S. @schoolhouse just released new colors of their popular Stillwater Floral Quilt!

And, for those interested, I’ve linked my bedroom items here: https://liketk.it/5iC8R

#SchoolhouseLiving #InteriorInspo #SlowDecorating #BedroomDecor #MainBedroom #CenturyHome #StillwaterFloral #HomeReno #HomeRenovation
Back in December, we booked @therobeychicago for a Back in December, we booked @therobeychicago for a couple nights in the summer and our long awaited anticipation of lounging by the rooftop pool was finally fulfilled last weekend. It also inadvertently became the weekend I made Dave eat a cheeseburger every day, between @redhotranchchicago, @eatmottst, and @smallcheval. There are worst ways to spend a weekend.

#chicago #visitchicago #therobey #therobeychicago #duckduckgoat #mottst #artinstituteofchicago #chicagoeats #auchevalchicago
Our guest room wasn’t a design priority until la Our guest room wasn’t a design priority until late last year when we finally bought a bed, mattress, and a set of sheets. We used some of our own extra bedding (tucking in the generous overhang of our king blankets under the queen-sized mattress) and old bedside lamps from our bedroom: functional, but not quite the charming space I’d envisioned.
 
That started to change when I purchased the Popcorn Grid Coverlet from Schoolhouse — an item I’d been eyeing for years — plus some graphic floral pillows. Then came a bright blue round cushion and the sweetest Teig lamp, both generously gifted by Schoolhouse, and the room finally started to come together. You can shop my picks here: https://liketk.it/5f322

#Ad #SchoolhousePartner #SchoolhouseSpringStyle #SchoolhouseLiving #InteriorInspo #SlowDecorating #GuestRoom
Growing up in northern Wisconsin, lilacs always hi Growing up in northern Wisconsin, lilacs always hit peak bloom right around my birthday on May 30. My mom would fill a large crystal vase with fresh-cut stems, and their scent would waft through the house. 

Now that I live a few hours south and lilac season wraps up earlier, the blooms actually mark the start of my birthday month.

#Lilacs #LilacSeason #SpringFlowers #InBloom #BirthdayMonth #MayBirthday
Snapshots from the past week: • Spent quality t Snapshots from the past week:

• Spent quality time with my favorite cat

• Biked for Pacificos, chips and quac, and tacos at @bandit.tacos 

• Loved how the rain collected on the Lady’s Mantle I planted last year

• Dipped my toes (quite literally) into this year’s mesh shoe trend

• Snapped a lot of Lily content

• Drove home with a new lilac in the passenger seat
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