Kayla’s Favorite Things from 2020

Happy Friday 🙂

Today I’m switching things up on the favorite front and rounding up some of my all-time favorite things from this past year. I did a similar post to it last year. These are the things I’ve been obsessed with in 2020. The things that got me through this strange strange year. And the things that brought me simple joy.

PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Vincent Parks

 

Kayla’s Favorite of 2020:

The Align Pant from Lululemon

The Align Pants from Lululemon are the true MVP of quarantine. I pretty much wear them all day, every day. Although let’s be real, I pretty much only wore yoga pants in pre-pandemic times as well.

In my opinion, Aligns are the comfiest and coziest yoga pants I own. I wouldn’t recommend them for a super super sweaty workout like hot yoga (not that anyone is going to hot yoga anytime soon) but I adore them for barre, yoga, strength training, and just straight up lounging.

So thank you, Aligns, for keeping me comfy in 2020.

 

Reading

I’ve always enjoyed reading, but this year I really fell in love with reading. At the beginning of the year, I set a goal for myself to read 52 books this year. About a book a week. Obviously, I had no clue that things would go down this year as they did. For me, reading became the perfect escape. And somewhere for me to focus my attention that wasn’t social media or the news.

I know for many reading has been difficult this year, so I don’t want anyone to take this as me bragging about how much I read, but more so that I’m just grateful for the escape and joy it’s given me this year.

 

The Idea Of You by Robinne Lee

Are you sick of hearing me talk about this book yet?

It’s strange to say a book that’s sort of Harry Styles fanfiction changed my life… but honestly, it kind of did. I read this book in March when I was at my all-time low. While this book emotionally destroyed me, it also turned me into a Harry Styles and One Direction fan in the process. More on that obsession below 😂

This book was hands down my favorite of the now 50 I’ve read this year. I joined a Facebook group full of other passionate The Idea of You fans… and a second group for fans of the book that are also now obsessed with Harry. These Facebook groups have been an odd light during this dark time and such a delightfully positive corner of the internet when so much of social media feels like a trash fire.

 

Harry Styles + One Direction

I joked on Instagram in April that everyone gets one “Quarantine Obsession.” It can be a movie, TV show, book, or band that they otherwise would not have liked. But because of the circumstances, they are oddly into it.

My Quarantine Obsession? One Direction and Harry Styles. If you follow me on Instagram, this should come as no surprise. After The Idea of You gave me the worst “book hangover” ever, I felt compelled to start listening to music from One Direction and Harry Styles as the book is sort of based on them.

As I walked around the empty streets of NYC this spring, this music provided me with so much joy in a time that otherwise felt super dark.

 

Zoom Workouts

I’ve always hated working out at home. But now it’s been the only choice for the last few months.

I am so so so grateful for Zoom workouts, especially the classes from the Bar Method studio I teach at.

Sometimes these classes are my only human interaction during the day that’s not via text or social media. There’s something powerful about still being “seen” even when you can’t be in the room with the instructor. I’ve also found a lot of comfort in taking a class that’s so familiar and knowing that everyone is working out at home, too. We are all making it work.

 

Circles by Mac Miller

This album will forever remind me of early 2020. It came out while I was in LA in January and I listened to it on repeat. It’s still a favorite of mine to listen to while working.

 

Sushi Thursday

Sushi Thursday has been a long time tradition for me. Every Thursday, I get sushi from my favorite place, Japonica. It started as a way for me to curb my expensive sushi habit — I made my own rule that I could only get Japonica on Thursdays and special occasions — but Sushi Thursday has become so much more. It’s my little reminder that I’ve just about made it through the week.

In recent months, Sushi Thursday has been one of my favorite simple joys. Every week I say a little thank you to Japonica that they’ve remained open through this all.

 

Brunch from La Palapa

I have to give another shout out to a favorite restaurant of mine. I’ve always loved going to La Palapa for brunch and getting takeout from there (or sometimes dining outside when the weather is nice) has brought me so much joy. Every weekend I look forward to walking over there to pick up some tasty brunch.

I highly, highly recommend the huevos rancheros Verdes. I get it with no dairy (but I imagine it’s even better with dairy if you’re not lactose intolerant!)

 

Long walks

Ah, the thing that got me through the early pandemic days. Since I haven’t been taking the subway or Ubers/taxis, walking has been my only mode of transportation since March. I’ve loved these long walks, especially in the early days of the pandemic when I wasn’t up to much. Finding Starbucks that were open and getting my favorite soy, vanilla, iced latte felt like such a treat.

Glossier’s Lash Slick Mascara

99% of the time, both in normal times and now, the only makeup I wear is mascara. Glossier’s Lash Slick has remained my favorite. It stays put — I used to wear it while teaching hot yoga but is easy to remove with warm water.

 

this sweatshirt from Reformation

I wear this sweatshirt almost every day both with yoga pants and with jeans. The fabric is SO freaking soft.

Side note: I did buy a second sweatshirt recently and realized there are two different fabrics. I prefer the brushed terry variation but still like the 100% cotton one too.

 

RuPaul’s Drag Race

I don’t watch all that much TV, but I do watch a whole lot of Rupaul’s Drag Race. This show has been my favorite for a while, but I’ve been rewatching old seasons more than ever lately.

 

My 30th Birthday Sculptacular Class.

One of my absolute favorite things in 2020 was hosting a big Zoom workout for my 30th birthday.

Even before the pandemic, I had wanted to teach a class of sorts for my 30th birthday that would bring my community together but also raise money for a great cause. While I always envisioned this class would happen IRL, having to host this class on Zoom ended up being a blessing in disguise. It meant that people from all over could join — and it was definitely nice that I didn’t have to pay to rent out a studio somewhere.

Turning 30 in a pandemic sucks. It definitely wasn’t the 30th birthday I ever imagined, but being able to teach a Zoom room full of people I love while also raising money for Fuel the Fight was really special.

When I look back on this year, so much of it will be a pandemic blur. But I want to always remember how freaking amazing that night was.

Your Turn: How about you? What were some of your favorite things that got you through this year?

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