Kayla’s Favorite Things From 2019

I’m switching things up today and rounding up my favorite things from ALL of 2019. The things I was obsessed with. The things that will forever remind me of 2019. And the things I can’t get enough of.

Kayla’s Favorites of 2019 

TRAVEL

By my standards, 2019 was the year of lots of travel. And I loved it.

Sometimes I go a few years where the only place I go outside of the Northeast is LA. It’s an easy trip for me: My best friend is there. I have a lovely place to stay for free. It’s safe. I even leave my favorite shower products in the bathroom in the guest room there so I don’t have to buy new stuff every time I go 😂

But I also love the opportunity to go to new places. And in 2019 I went to a ton of new-to-me places: Ireland, parts of England I’ve never been to, the Outerbanks and Portugal. And, of course, I still went to LA 🙂

When I think of my favorite memories from the past year most of them were moments when I was traveling. Or exploring other parts of NYC like Coney Island with the fam, Governor’s Island with Jeremy and a day trip to the Rockaways with my friend Kelly.

I’m excited that I already have a trip to Italy booked for 2020 (!!!) I’m heading to LA next month for a long-overdue breakup trip to the West Coast. I also think I am about to bite the bullet and book a trip to Nicaragua, eep!

 

FAMILY

I’ve always been close to my family, especially my parents, but this year I’ve felt extra close. This might be because I spent 3 whole weeks traveling with them in the spring (and we came back all still getting along!) but also because of how they’ve been my rock during this emotional fall.

I feel really lucky to have them as people I can call at any time of the day for help. I also feel lucky that I get to see my parents most weekends for a meal or two. Their apartment in the city is 2 blocks away from me.

 

FRIENDS

This past week has been an incredible reminder that I have a lot of extra special people in my life. I might not get to see everyone as often as I’d like — some of my friends are scattered around the country and it’s tough getting together with nearby friends when we’re all crazy busy. But this past week I’ve gotten to catch up with a lot of friends from different corners of my life. And it’s been the best. There’s nothing quite like belly laughs with your people.

 

ICE SOY VANILLA LATTES from Starbucks

My go-to drink at Starbucks was always soy chai tea lattes. Well, summer 2019 changed that and now I’m an iced soy vanilla latte girl for life. I’ve officially become one of those people that drinks iced lattes ALWAYS. Oops. But to my defense, I like that I can drink them pretty quickly right before teaching plus I’m always overheated.

 

COOKING LUNCH EVERY DAY

I might SUCK at meal prepping. And cooking. But almost every day this year I made myself lunch. I look forward to the 15 minutes I spend sauteeing chickpeas and kale while listening to a podcast. I’m boring and make the same thing every day but it means I’ve truly mastered the recipe (aka I can’t fuck it up!) and I find it to be one of the most relaxing parts of my day.

 

SUSHI

On the flip side of my vow to make lunch every day, my sushi obsession reached new heights in 2019. Just when you think Kayla couldn’t eat any more sushi, somehow she does. If you would’ve told me 10 years ago that raw fish would become my comfort food, I’d be horrified. But alas, here we are. I’m on a first-name basis with my nearby sushi place. And I’ve recently fallen in love with the delivery boxes from Kazu Nori.

Also… I’ve already had sushi 3 times this week. Oops.

 

EVERLANE

I’ve been doing a lot of shopping at Everlane lately. I love their commitment to transparency and have found their products to be really great quality for the price.

My favorite items? Their simple cotton t-shirts (they look effortless with jeans), this short but not too short jean skirt, these rain boots, the day boot, the tank bra, and their super comfy thong (my favorite undies I’ve been able to find! I bought a bunch so I can wear them every day.)

 

PETITE JEANS from Madewell

For all my short friends, I cannot get enough of Madewell’s petite jeans.

 

NESPRESSO MACHINE, FROTHER + CHIARO ESPRESSO

I’m trying to curb my Starbucks habit. And by that I mean I’m trying to limit my Starbucks addiction to just 1 latte in the morning. In the afternoon I’ve been using my Nespresso machine + frother. Oat milk lattes, I love you so.

 

LESSER EVIL POPCORN

I’ve always craved salty vs. sweet when it comes to snacks. I eat this popcorn as a snack almost every day while drinking my afternoon latte.

 

RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE

My love for this show is nothing new, but I think it reached a new height in 2019. I’ve really enjoyed going back and watching old seasons, it lets me fall in love with a whole new batch of queens even though I know who wins. I’ve also been rewatching seasons that I watched live years ago. There are so many things I missed and things I totally forgot.

 

GLOSSIER

Yes, I’m shamelessly obsessed with Glossier makeup. Especially the priming moisturizer, skin tint, and lash stick. As someone that doesn’t wear makeup beyond mascara most days, I’m grateful to have found a makeup routine that’s easy peasy to do on days I do wear some make-up.

 

THIS MAGICAL DRESS from Lulus

I swear this dress receives more compliments than anything else I’ve worn in 2019.

 

PODCASTS

I’m still deeply obsessed with podcasts. I probably listen to over 2 hours worth of podcasts every day between cooking and walking around the city. My favorites this year? From Where She Sits, Gal Pals, Alright Mary, Let It Out, Bad On Paper, and Armchair Expert

 

THE BAR METHOD

I love this workout so damn much. It’s crazy to say but I think I fell even more in love with The Bar Method through instructor training. The process taught me so much more about the method. It’s the only workout I do these days, plus a yoga class here and there. I’m grateful for this workout, for the community at the studio and to be able to take class for free (best work perk!)

 

LIZZO

2019 was no doubt the year of Lizzo. I was already a fan of hers previously, but man did that blow up this year. Seeing her live (the day after the break-up nonetheless) was one of the most powerful moments of 2019 for me. She’s truly something else.

 

MAC MILLER

My most played artist in 2019 (besides the artist I always play in savasana in my yoga classes 😂) was Mac Miller. Jeremy and I became mega obsessed with him at the end of last year and are kicking ourselves for not knowing about his greatness sooner. I could write a whole essay on why Swimming was the best album of last year, it’s just perfection from top to bottom.

 

GLOSSLAB

2019 was the year I got ALL the manicures and pedicures thanks to my membership at Glosslab. I get that it’s not super cheap and it’s a nice treat to myself. I’m always self-conscious to admit this, but I really like it when my nails are done and look perfect…. but I do NOT have the skills or steady hand to do my own nails.

I may feel like a hot mess, my hair might be greasy and I might not have an ounce of makeup on my face, but I feel put together when my nails look good.

For the last 9 years, I’ve been getting gel manicures every 3 or so weeks. I’ve been lucky that they didn’t totally wreck my nails, but I always hated how long the process was. Since I joined Glosslab I’ve been getting weekly 20 minute manicures and a pedicure every other week. I look forward to this little moment of self-care every week and it’s been well worth it for me.

 

FICTION READING

I think I only read 1 non-fiction book in all of 2019 — and it’s the book I finished this week (Three Women, incredible.)

I used to feel really guilty that I wasn’t reading more self-help type books like I used. But now I say fuck it, I’ll read what makes me happy. Right now that’s cutesy rom coms and books you’d bring to the beach.

Your Turn: How ’bout you? What were some of your favorite things this year?

✨

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