Best of 2025 Awards

I love hearing people’s ride-or-die product recommendations. While I had aspirations of doing this monthly (who knows in 2026!), I’ve decided to do a quick roundup of my favorite finds of last year across categories ranging from beauty to clothes to new hobbies. Enjoy!

BEST OF CLOTHES

1. Darling Loungewear Sweet and Short Sets – These sets are the BEST throw-on and go outfits for warm weather. It looks like a dress, but surprise! There are matching shorts underneath. After outfit repeating a few too many times with my initial blue gingham color way, I acquired a few more. Sizing: I feel like they run TTS or slightly small. I’m pretty petite at 5’2″ and it looks pretty short on me as a dress, but there are the shorts underneath, so I don’t mind. I do feel that they shrink a little, so with my newer sets I follow the actual directions of laying flat or hanging to dry.
   
2. Matching Sets from Quiet Culture – This is a new-to-me brand (and newer brand in general, I think they’re still under two years old) and my goodness am I obsessed. Think comfy, roomy sets that feel like pajamas but can totally be dressed up to go out and about in. I bought two sets for a recent trip to Hawaii as the prints screamed resort wear, but I have since gotten some solids as well. I’ve even gone so far as to buy matching shorts for the long sets I have, so I can decide whether to wear them as a short or pant set come this summer. Quiet Culture Sizing: I feel like it runs TTS or slightly large. I have bought both XXS and XS, and I prefer the XXS, but sometimes XS is the smallest, depending on the set. These wear, wash, and dry wonderfully (I hang to dry). I hate when outfits don’t wear the same after washing – this is not the case! The fabric has a nice amount of stretch while still maintaining structure, making it look more polished than actual pajamas. Think performance poplin. I plan to do a whole rundown on Quiet Culture later!

BEST OF NEW HOBBIES

1. Mah Jong. I could write a novel on this – but long story short, I’m obsessed. I’ve taken lessons in Florida, Maui, and now back in Iowa, and am forcing anyone and everyone I know to learn so I can build a community to play with. Bonus: my husband has also gotten into it – we play frequently after my son goes down for the night. I’ve met some amazing women playing at our country club and even a nearby community center – it’s a great game to socialize while working your brain in a new way without a screen. I got this set from Sam’s Club and would recommend it to anyone looking to get started, as it comes with everything (minus the official card, which you need to play! It changes each year, and it is not included in sets).
2. Embroidery. This was a total if you give a mouse a cookie hobby as I thought the embroidery machine was all I needed to get started – turns out you need a LOT more, oops. But I am having SO much fun making custom baby clothes, gifts, towels, wreath sashes, cocktail napkins – you name it! I got the Brother PE900 and LOVE it. I will do a full rundown of the machine and what I got to get started later, but I think this machine is great if you’re looking to get started – it has a 5×7″ hoop size, which I would 10/10 recommend over the less expensive machines that limit you to 4×4″. You’ll outgrow your hoop quickly.

BEST OF BATHROOM/GETTING READY

1. This cosmetics bag. This makeup bag from Amazon has been a game-changer. It unzips to form a box (with a few pockets for organization), so I can stand up my brushes and products to see everything at once. Then I slide it into my bathroom tower and it’s all put away. My prior makeup bag I had to dig for everything through the different zippered layers and things were all falling out. Hopefully the picture above does it justice/explains why I’m saying a little better. Basically, I just get ready from this cosmetics case – it’s easy to pull out, work from, then put away. Works great for travel as well!
2. Elemis cleansing balm. It’s so good. I prefer the “naked” version, as I’m trying to remove fragrance from my product lineup, but otherwise it works wonderfully, removing makeup and leaving my skin feeling clean yet hydrated. Love love love. Haven’t met another cleanser I like more! I use these reusable makeup wipes to wash it off with after massaging. Tip: I have a travel size that I keep refilling with product from the bigger container – it fits in a makeup bag easier for travel.

BEST OF KITCHEN

1. MadeIn pans. We got the MadeIn stainless steel pan for Christmas last year, so we’re about a year in, and while it did take some getting used to at the start, we fully love it now. The key is to make sure it’s heated up BEFORE you add whatever you’re cooking so it doesn’t stick (and usually add some oil/butter/fat). Besides that, it cleans up nicely, is non-toxic, and durable over the long term, unlike nonstick pans that degrade. I hope to keep adding to our collection!
2. Ember Mug. In full transparency, I got mine secondhand off of Facebook Marketplace because I wasn’t sure I’d love it. Spoiler alert: I love it and would buy it again at full price if something happened to it. As a mom, my coffee almost always gets cold before I get to it. The Ember mug makes it so I can still enjoy my coffee while it’s hot, even if it’s over the course of an hour (or two). A warm hug in a mug all winter long.