2025 Favorites: 25 Things that Worked for Me This Year
Think of this as my Top 25 List of 2025
Since 2018, I've been listing my favorite things, experiences, and items that have impacted me that year. If you haven't read any of them, check them out:
Below are the experiences, products, and applications that affected me in 2025. I've done my best to exclude anything from previous years, but, needless to say, the items on those lists (for the most part) carry over for this year as well.
Remember, what may work for me may not work well for you. The wonderful thing about this article is that it offers new things to try and incorporate into your life.
2025 Experiences / Communities
1. Pregnancy- Let me put a HUGE disclaimer first and say that this experience is one that I’ve wanted and was trying to achieve in 2024. I would definitely not recommend getting pregnant unless you want to be, because pregnancies are life-changing and are different from person to person. For me, however, I wanted this pregnancy, AND it has been mostly smooth-sailing except for A LOT of fatigue. Being pregnant has given me a massive appreciation for my body and has made me even more pro-choice than ever before. It’s such a surreal experience, and I’m looking forward to meeting my daughter early next year.
2. Dungeons and Dragons- I mentioned Fantasy Bay last year and how I’ve been a more active member of their community. It’s through that community that I started playing a D&D campaign on Friday afternoons via Discord and then made the connections to join an in-person D&D campaign over the weekends. With the chaos of this year, it has been a welcome respite to play a role-playing game with my husband and step away from my responsibilities.
3. Pregnancy FB Groups & Reddit- I’m putting this under ONE umbrella because I use both Facebook and Reddit as a way to feel not so alone. I know I’ve also mentioned FB Groups in my Favorites of 2023, but this one is specifically about the pregnancy groups. It has been invaluable joining pregnancy groups for both FB and Reddit since I’m the first of my group of friends to get pregnant, and because I have literally zero experience when it comes to babies. It has made me feel less ‘crazy’ for feeling certain things and has been an invaluable resource for me to understand what others who are on a similar journey as myself are experiencing.
4. Caregiver Support Group- While I did mention FB groups above, this particular Facebook group has been invaluable to help me cope with being a caregiver for my (now) 85-year-old grandma. Similar to my point above, I’m the first of my friend group to be caregiving for an elderly person 99.9%. Now with a baby on the way, it’s been even more helpful to ask for advice from others who are either in the trenches or who have gone through what I’m going through. It's reassuring to know that I’m not alone in my experiences and feelings. It also helps me feel a bit less resentful of the hand that I’ve been dealt.
5. In-Person Educational Community- I won’t call out the name of the community. Still, there’s a community I've joined that I’ve found to be very educational. It’s about a topic I’ve been curious about for years, but never took the action to meet others who have been a part of it. Over the summer, my husband and I went to one of their educational events, and it was a great bonding experience for us. We’ve been able to learn things about ourselves and about others, which is always a great thing. I love being able to evolve as an individual, and I’m grateful for everyone who welcomed us with open arms.
Books and Movies
6. Sidetracked Home Executives- With all the new responsibilities that will be coming into my life in 2026, I’ve been looking into ways to try to manage all the different aspects of life that are on my plate. Caregiving, working at SGM, being a new mom, being a good wife, being a property manager (for my grandma), etc. So the “Sidetracked Home Executives” was a read and an audiobook that I went through to see if I could implement any lessons from it. What I love most about it is that it is such a forgiving system, which makes me feel less guilty about neglecting it for a few days, and it easily allows me to get back on track.
7. WebToons- Just like last year, I’m still reading several of WebToons; I’ve even written about them on my blog before. However, here are a few standouts that I haven’t listed before that I’ve liked: “Love Bites”, “Roots of the Heart”, and “Love Me to Death”.
8. Hazbin Hotel Season 2- Hazbin Hotel is an animated series that has been created by Vivziepop and animated by a studio called Spindlehorse (which I believe is owned by Vivzie). It’s a series that was niche and produced in-house, but it has exploded to the point where Amazon picked it up. It’s a success story of an artist from the DeviantArt era who turned her passion project into an animated series loved by thousands. The latest season came out on Amazon Prime, and I watched it weekly with my husband. It was certainly an interesting season, and I’ve grown to love several of their songs, such as “Gravity” (it was love at first listen), “Love in a Bottle”, “Losing Streak”, and “Brighter” (which admittedly took A WHILE for me to warm up to).
9. The Mighty Nein- As fans of D&D, my husband and I enjoyed watching The Legend of Vox Machina and are now going through The Mighty Nein. Personally, I’m enjoying The Mighty Nein a lot more, but I think that’s because there are two tieflings in the show (Jester and Molly), which are my favorite race to play in D&D. Also, I love the romance between Jester and Fjord.
10. Ranma 1/2- This is a series my husband introduced me to. It’s a romantic comedy, which is up my alley, and it’s been really fun to watch week by week as it comes out on Netflix. I think he thought I’d like it because the main character shifts gender, which is a gimmick that I’ve written for my twin characters, Iris and Rose. It’s a wild and fun series where apparently everyone and their mom loves jumping into magical lakes and knows martial arts.
Applications and Games
11. Scribe- Alongside Loom, I have used ScribeHow (Scribe) for step-by-step Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). While the ads will say that it’s magical and automatically creates beautiful SOPs, I’d say it does 80% of the work and you still need to spend some time to clean up the documents it produces. I’d still highly recommend this, though, and I’ve used it a ton to document some of the work I do in preparation for my maternity leave.
12. Janitor.Ai- I’ve dipped my toes in roleplaying with AI. It takes the fun and collaboration of roleplaying via text without the commitment of needing another human being to co-collaborate on a story with you. And with how crazy my 2025 has been with periods of time where I’m too fatigued to do anything, or too busy to set aside to be creative, it’s nice having a place where I can jump into a story when I have time. It’s admittedly not for everyone, and the creativity and intelligence of another human can never be fully replicated with AI. Many stories simply fall apart after reaching a certain message count. But it’s still fun and I’ve enjoyed browsing through the character selection in Janitor versus other similar platforms.
13. Mailbrew- I’m surprised I haven’t mentioned this. Still, Mailbrew has helped me maintain close to Inbox Zero but consolidating all of the marketing emails that I want to read into a daily digest that I can open whenever I want. It lets me know the weather, keeps me up to date with the Reddit threads I follow, and consolidates my newsletters. Want to hear the crazy part? I’m still using the free version, so it’s definitely worth a shot if you haven’t heard of it.
14. Focus Friend- This is an app made by Hank Green (Vlog Brothers) and it’s a pomodoro timer similar to BeFocused and the Forest App. It’s an app that not only acts as a Pomodoro clock to keep you focused and on track, but it also offers incentives to encourage continued use, as you can customize your ‘Focus Friend’ and the virtual space it inhabits. You can absolutely use it for free, but you can also buy additional skins and get the Focus Friend Pro.
15. AFK Journey- My cousin recommended this game for my husband and I to play. It claims that it’s a game you can play AFK (“Away from Keyboard”), but admittedly, to do their dailies and really benefit from the game, you do need to actively put time and energy into the game to reap any benefits and stay on top of new characters and get enough virtual currency for ‘pulls’. It’s most fun to play with a group of friends, because otherwise it’s a game that you can quickly tire of.
Pregnancy Products
16. Kizik Sneakers- In 2023, I mentioned how I loved Skeckers slip-ons. Well in 2025 I discovered Kizik through a family friend and I’ve been using them ever since. They have so far been longer lasting, but only time will tell. I got them for my grandma (85 years old), I got them for my mom (63 years old), and even for myself. And let me tell you… During my pregnancy, having quick and easy shoes that I can slip on and off has been ah-ma-zing.
17. Attelite Shoe Box Organizer—So I originally bought a set when we were in North Carolina to store my t-shirts and clothes. However, when I found out I was pregnant, I purchased another 6-count to store all the baby clothes that I had received during my baby shower. Each one is labeled, and it’s been really great to keep everything neat and organized in the closet while we are still working on the nursery.
18. MOON PARK Pregnancy Pillow- A friend of ours (outside of our ‘Pack’ friend group) mentioned that his girlfriend benefited a TON from her pregnancy pillow when she was pregnant. So as soon as my hips started to ache, I bought one for myself and I can’t say enough nice things about it. It has been my MVP for getting a good night's sleep. I’d definitely recommend this to pregnant mothers and single people who sleep on their sides because it feels like cuddling; you can slip your arm underneath. It’s awesome. The one downside to this pillow is that it does not allow for easy cuddling with your significant other. For me, I’ll probably stop using it once I no longer need it.
19. NatraCure Pink Cold Therapy Socks- During my first and second trimester (and rare pockets during my third), my feet were BURNING at night. So I looked on Amazon to see if I could get any relief. And these cold therapy socks are the jam. I tried so many methods before buying these socks. I would freeze my socks, go to the bathroom, wet my feet, and try to attach ice packs to them. It was all frustrating. But these socks solved a problem and helped me get through those nights when my feet would burn.
20. Yogibo Max- I bought this years ago, before I moved down to North Carolina (and then back to Jersey). My bestie helped me haul it from the mall to her car, and it’s come in handy during my pregnancy. Why? Well, during my first trimester, I was constantly passing out due to how tired I was. So I kept the Yogibo at the foot of my computer desk and would take naps on it in between my calls and work sessions. It wouldn’t be strange for anyone to stumble across my office to see me passed out on the Yogibo. I also used it extensively during my second trimester (and much less during my third). It’s a bit pricy, but it has been a lifesaver for me. Oh and you can get refillable beans either on the Yogibo site or on Amazon. Just a warning, it’s really, really messy and challenging to fill up.
Beauty Products
21. WYOS Shave Stick—I discovered this brand thanks to the Westchester Angels. Since I don’t think I’ve mentioned them in the past, I’ll mention them now. These sticks have been with me for about two years, and I adore them. I like how they are relatively eco-friendly. I appreciate that I can use them for both dry shaving and wet shaving, and they seem to last forever.
22. Redken Volume Injection- After a hair salon visit in North Carolina, I’ve been recommended to use Redken. It’s been about a year and a half since I made the switch. I use both the pink bottle (volume injection) shampoo and conditioner. It’s admittedly pretty frustrating to buy it directly from the Redken store, so I buy it from Amazon.
22. Dazzle Dry- In trying to streamline my life and while decluttering for my move early in the year from NC to NJ, I decided that I was going to stop having so many shades of nail polish in my collection. Ideally, I would have a minimal system, so I could put all my nail care essentials in a simple bag and not have to stress about what color to paint my nails or if the nail polish is drying out. That was when I discovered Dazzle Dry. It took me a while to make the purchase, but I’m glad I did. It’s not as amazing as the Instagram ads claim (they don’t last forever). However, it is significantly faster to apply than traditional nail polish, and it has slightly less chip damage than conventional nail polish. The nail lacquer color I own is Illuminate, a metallic gold that I receive tons of compliments for. I got it in the Build Your System Kit, which was pricy to start, but I haven’t purchased any nail polish since December 2024, so I’m thrilled.
Lifestyle - Miscellaneous Products
23. SodaStream- So I’ve had a SodaStream for the longest time, but I don’t think I ever shouted them out in these 20XX Favorites posts. I love my SodaStream, it makes all my drinks bubbly and has helped me cut down on the amount of soda I consume. While I’m still trying to figure out what the best flavor combinations are to use with them (because the whole market has ‘sugar-free’ options and I want delicious ones). The version I have isn’t on the site, but it’s definitely worth the investment if you can get one. Doubly so if you are pregnant because you’ll be sooooo thirsty. I have two bottles that I rotate throughout the day, so I keep one in the fridge with water so I can enjoy the fizz when I want, and the other is usually next to me. If I’m adding flavor, I’ll gradually pour it into a glass or another bottle so I don’t dirty up my SodaStream bottles too much.
24. Genki TurboCharger- I discovered Genki on Kickstarter a while ago, and when I Kickstarted their PocketPro (a Bluetooth controller) in August 2024, I added the TurboCharger to my pledge. Now, when you check out their main site, you don’t see the TurboCharger, but let me tell you… It’s great. It’s slim, allowing me to pack it in my bag. It features two USB-C ports, which have come in handy many times when I’ve needed to visit the hospital or other places. I use it to keep both my iPad and iPhone charged, or to charge my iPhone and my husband’s Android phone (here’s the reward page so you can see it).
25. My iPad- I have an iPad Air (5th generation), and it’s another purchase that I made before 2025, but it has been so great in 2025. I used it a ton in the past for virtual BuJo journaling and probably will get a Passion Planner 2026. I’ve also just used the GoodNotes app for writing Morning Pages (basically free writing), and for brainstorming, taking notes, etc. It’s been a great device to also review, sign, and send documents, and has helped me read PDFs and annotate on them on the go. You can do all things with a ReMarkable tablet, but it has also helped me have a second monitor, especially after moving from NC to NJ where I don’t have a lot of table space. So I wanted to give it an extra shoutout here.
What would be on your Top 5 List of 2025?
I'd love to hear about the experiences, products, or media that influenced your 2025 experience. Perhaps it was something small, such as a new pair of socks (like grippy socks) or an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime travel experience. Regardless of how grand or small your list may seem, I'd love to read about it! After all, maybe it'll show up on my Top 2025 list!
