Chrissie:
Best Hotel:
- Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, India. When it was 110 degrees out, and we entered this amazing palatial hotel with a direct view of the Taj Mahal, amazing service, lovely rooms, and a huge pool and grounds, it was like walking into paradise. Runner-up was the Kumarakom Lake Resort in Kerala, India, a wonderful way to begin (or end) a trip to India, with its calm, tropical lakefront location, amazing 200-meter wraparound lagoon pool, ayurvedic treatments, and the option to spend the night on a houseboat. (Our full trip itinerary here).
Best Household Purchase
- My best purchase this year was a new knee :), but for the most-used new household items, it was a new air fryer and the paper liner inserts that go inside when you cook, so you don’t have to wash the air fryer each time you use it.
Best Thing I Saw Traveling
- The wide expanses of Patagonia (full itinerary here).
Best Clothing Purchase
- Frame Le Slim Palazzo jeans. They are more $ than I usually spend on jeans, but on a cost-per-wear basis, these are by far my best purchase. They look much ‘nicer’ than all my other jeans and are really comfortable, too. They seem to look good on everyone!
Best Travel Purchase
- A faceted blue sapphire bead necklace from the Gem Palace in Jaipur. It can be worn daily, and it reminds me of a wonderful trip.
Best Shoe Purchase
- Donald Pliner brown knee-high boots (currently on sale). I got these during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, and I love them because they’re a great brown, they have a small heel but are SO COMFORTABLE, and the boot shaft is sort of like a sock in how it grips you, making the boots look really lean when worn with a dress or skirt.
Best Accessory Purchase
- I’ve worn a pink cashmere bandana that I got from The Sundance Company (RIP) much more than I anticipated! They have since gone out of business (but here is one in red on eBay), but other cashmere bandana options here (on sale) and here. And love this double-sided one in red/blue on eBay.
Best New Beauty/Skincare Item Used
- Biodance Collagen Face Masks. Put one of these on for 3-4 hours, or overnight, and you can really see the results!
Best TV Show
- The Diplomat, Season 3. Love this show.
Best Podcast
- The Daily by the NYT. Daily way to keep informed on what’s going on in the world.
Best Movie
- One Battle After Another. My kids encouraged me watch it, and at first I wasn’t sure about it, but by the end I thought it was terrific. It can be polarizing, for sure, but if nothing else, it’s unique, and Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn are amazing (Sean Penn in particular!).
Best Book
- The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I, along with everyone else this year (!), loved this book.
Best Meal
- A lot of India on this list, but dinner at Bukara in Delhi was my favorite meal in years! I dream of their buttered chicken… Runner-up was dinner at Ranch Aparte in Calafate, Argentina, where the amazing, fun chef Gabo prepares your private meal in his beautiful, eclectic home.
Best New Practice/Habit
- I’ve loved adding mahjong to my life this year, because I like the game but moreso because I love the two sets of women I play with and love having them as regular parts of my month due to the game.
Best Concert
- Dead & Company at The Sphere in Las Vegas. The Sphere is an amazing place to see/experience a concert!
Best Art Gallery
- The Frick Collection. It just reopened this year after a multi-year renovation and it’s beautiful.
Best Family Moment
- A week together on Martha’s Vineyard this summer, as it’s rare that we are able to align schedules to go on a trip together!
Best FabList Moment
- Whenever someone tells me they enjoy getting FabList emails as part of their week, or that that they read a book, watched a show, or made a purchase that they enjoyed based on our recs it brings me joy. Also, whenever Jo and I get to be in the same location (I am in the Bay Area and she lives in Seattle) for a work session, we have lots of fun, as we did when at our lake house this summer for a few days of an offsite.
Best Learning Experience
- Two this year. First, I learned patience while recovering from my knee replacement. Most of us are used to ‘get up and go and get stuff done,’ yet the body needs to heal at its own pace, and that made me slow down for a couple of months. Second, after always saying that I’d never want to work with my husband, this year I worked as a contractor at the company he runs, and it went well! I enjoyed getting to know the people he works with, learning to appreciate the ins and outs of the company, and being connected together in a new way.
Jo:
Best Hotel
- Hotel de la Plage/Biarritz. I avoid big hotels and searched high and low for a small hotel in Biarritz. I found this boutique hotel on the perfect, quiet, tiny swim beach in between the two big, more popular Biarritz beaches. The rooms were small and didn’t even have proper closets, but I didn’t mind. The quaint beach, close to town, delicious breakfast, rooftop cocktails, and great staff made this my winner for 2025.
Best Household Purchase
- Bagel Guillotine. I buy a dozen bagels a week and slice them for the freezer. I’ve sliced my fingers too many times, so I bought this, use it every week, and love it.
Best Thing I Saw Traveling
- I loved the water wells in India. We saw 2 – one in Jaipur (Panna Meena ka Kund, a step well from the 16th century) and Chand Bori, from the 8th – 9th century, off the beaten track at Abhaneri. Click here for the full India trip itinerary. Imagining people so long ago, not just building these architectural gems, but running up and down 3,500 steps, arranged in an intricate criss-cross pattern, to get water was a mind blower for me.
Best Clothing Purchase
- I did a lot of shopping, but not much buying, this year! Dollar-per-wear would be jeans like the Evereve Marni or the Gap 90’s Loose Fit. I’ll cheat a little and say my K-Way raincoat was my favorite thing to wear. I was reminded of this during our very rainy holiday in Santa Barbara, where I wore it every day, even though I bought it at the end of 2024!
Best Travel Purchase
- I bought a little rug at a rug shop in our hotel in Agra (The Oberoi Agravillas, the one Chrissie mentioned above). I like colorful rugs. I put it in front of the kitchen sink, so I see it multiple times a day, and it makes me happy! Our dog likes it too.
Best Shoe Purchase
- Tennis shoes! I love tennis shoes and wear them all the time. I love these Hogan sneakers that I bought in Paris. They are white, with beige and brown accents, and slightly more stylish than Nike or New Balance. That said, I wore these green Nike Pacific sneakers and these New Balance 574 in white ALL THE TIME.
Best Accessory Purchase
- I still can’t believe I bought this, but I bought a green emerald beaded necklace at Gyan in Jaipur, and although it was expensive and indulgent, I’m so glad I did! Chrissie bought the sapphire version (see above), and we rationalized the purchases as rewards for all the hard work and time we’ve put into FabList!
Best New Beauty/Skincare Item Used
- Theraplush Hand Cream: Chrissie gave this to me for Christmas, and I use it consistently (I buy a lot of items, try them once, and forget about them). I like the case it comes in, and it’s refillable. I also really like the Hanni Splash Salve I read about so much this fall. I finally tried it, and it’s now part of my shower routine.
Best TV Show
- The best new show I watched this year was The Last Frontier. The best new season of an old show was The Morning Show, Season 4. And Slow Horses, Season 5. And The Diplomat, Season 3.
Best Podcast
- The Good Hang with Amy Poehler. She is so funny, and she interviews other funny people, so it’s just fun!
Best Movie
- F1. I love movies with a lot of action and sports. Oh, and then there’s Brad Pitt 🙂
Best Book
- My Friends: A Novel by Fredrik Backman. I loved the combo of art, friendship, and a little adventure.
Best Meal
- Pancita in Seattle. We don’t eat out much in Seattle (I haven’t found my food groove here, even after 23 years), but this newer restaurant, only a few miles from our house, is so good. Small and cozy, simple Mexican food from tuna tostadas to brisket tacos to pork al pastor, to my favorite spicy caesar salad with corn chips mixed in. Yum.
Best New Practice/Habit
- Swimming! After a 50-year break from swimming as a kid, I started swimming again on vacation with Chrissie, who swims regularly. I’ve since joined a master’s team, and swim a few mornings a week.
Biggest New Practice/Habit Fail
- I signed up for bridge lessons. My mom played until she was 95 and encouraged me to learn because it gave her something enjoyable to do until the end of her life. I started lessons, and then quit when my schedule clogged up. I have to try again!
Best Art Exhibit
- I’m going to stretch the definition of “art exhibit” and say the best “art” I saw this year was the restored Notre-Dame Cathedral. It was jaw-dropping. That they could restore this after the tragic fire in just five years is truly inspirational.
Best Family Moment
- Christmas vacation in Santa Barbara with our two adult children took an unexpected turn when we had to move my mother-in-law into a smaller space within her retirement community. It wasn’t how we’d planned to spend our vacation, but we spent five days sorting, packing, making dump and goodwill runs, and eventually celebrating after getting her happily settled . . . with no whining or complaining. It was a Christmas miracle!
Best FabList Moment
- I love it when people realize I’m one of the people behind FabList. “You’re FabList? Oh my gosh, I love FabList.” My favorite moment this year was when I ran into someone I know in the swim locker room, who said, “You know I’m here because I read about your swimming on FabList”. This makes all the work worthwhile!
