Hi Loves,
2023 has been crazy. From heartbreak to clothing launches, I’ve had many highs and several earth-shattering lows, but at the end of it all, I made it through.
TikTok has undoubtedly been a resource for me and a time-killing curse (for better or for worse) but one TikTok trend that I would love to roll over onto the blog is the weekly R.E.P.O.R.T. The concept is simple.
R is for Reading
E is for Eating
P is for Playing
O is for Obsessing Over
R is for Recommending
T is for Treating
For this specific blog post, I’m calling out a few favorites that made the annual R.E.P.O.R.T.
If there’s anything I wish I’d started earlier, it would have been my GoodReads account. Being myself, I waited to start my account until after Christmas! It’s been difficult to track the books that I’ve read this year, but the top 3 that come to mind are Paper Palace, Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Meet Me at the Lake. They’re all completely different genres but that’s all the more reason I loved them so much.
The Paper Palace is full of twists and turns. It’s about friendship, honesty and in some ways, forbidden love. The storytelling of this book is unmatched. You learn so much about the narratives the main character carries with each relationship. I will mention that at times it was very difficult to get through and I couldn’t read it at night. This book holds a lot of weight on the mind, but it’s a beautiful story to witness.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold was given to me by a fellow bookworm. I’d never heard of it before and honestly wasn’t sure about it. I’ll give anything a chance and boy, I am so glad that I did. Here’s a little synopsis from Amazon about the book:
“In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer’s, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.”
Meet Me at the Lake is the second book Carley Fortune has written and it’s very teeth-sinkable. I want to say that I finished this book in less than 24 hours. I wouldn’t necessarily consider this SMUT, but if you enjoy romantic-summery reads, this is the book for you.
It’s a toss-up between radishes with everything — especially butter and flaky salt — and the Half Baked Harvest winter pomegranate salad recipe. I made this salad for Christmas last year and swapped the oranges for apples. It was a hit! My family and I have made this recipe several times this year because we love it so much! I’m not sure if it’s the dressing or the sweet but spicy walnuts but it’s delicious.
I think one of the reasons why this year has flown by so fast is from the amount of playing that I’ve been doing. From creating content at Snow Creek and other brands to taking classes, teaching classes and sewing, my year has been packed with time for play. My two favorite playtimes from this year involved my sewing machine and my new camera. Here are just a few snippets of fun playtimes from 2023.
I’m a person who has a new obsession weekly. However, for the entire duration of summer into fall it was Eric Rohmer’s A Tale of Summer. This movie tells the story of a man who visits a beach town in France by himself, patiently waiting for a girl who does not wait for him. By the end of his Holiday, he has to decide between three women. I love how youthful and carefree this film feels. In a comedic, but serious tone, it encapsulates when your heart and head aren’t aligned. It’s filmed in French, so subtitles for non-french speaking viewers are a must! I’ll be adding this to my list of favorite films.
A large portion of 2023 was spent curating pieces for my clothing line at Lucca Collection Boutique in Kansas City’s River Market. Each clothing item and accessory was hand-selected by me. The process of moodboarding, the boutique going to market, making final selects and shooting the campaign was easily one of my favorite things about 2023. To this day, I’m still obsessed with my collection and wear so many of the pieces on a weekly basis. I’ll forever be grateful for Lucca Boutique for giving me such a unique opportunity.
This time last year, I made a big decision for myself — to go to therapy. As a person who’s always trying to understand why things are happening or asking, “Is this normal?” I finally realized that maybe the answers aren’t hiding in an article or Reddit thread that I’ve spent hours searching for. Being in therapy for a year has taught me a lot of so-called “whys” and how to handle the unexplainable. 2023 was my year of healing. I can’t put into words how much therapy has been an asset to my healing journey. I don’t put as much pressure on myself. I’m alright when I make human mistakes, and now I know it’s okay to just feel and be within that moment. It’s also taught me how to be a better communicator. My therapist is my sounding board once a month and I look forward to each session, no matter how difficult it may be.
2023 was the year of self-care for me. Everything from my mental health to the food I ate to my skincare, was prioritized. I had countless facials, chemical peels and mirconeedling done at BareMedSpa. I’ve been moisturizing my skin every morning, lotioning every inch of my body and wearing less makeup.
My ride or die skincare favorites:
Until next time or next year (wink, wink), spread kindness.
HW
by Twofold Media 
