Another year over, and a new one just begun–all over again. Time is such a relative thing, a concept that was invented for human ease but one that doesn’t exist outside of our own heads. I can’t believe the best year of my life to date is already over! May 2024 be even sweeter in lessons, sacrifices, beauties, memories, and wonders. Already it begins to show such delightful fruits…
Let the 2023 breviary commence!!
My year in numbers
65 // books I read this year, see: my 2023 Reading Digest
949 // hours of music listened to (or 56,980 minutes) (40 hrs less than last year, weird!)
98 // hours listened to taylor (up 14 from last year LMAO) (as a speak now girly it was my time to shine, also the 1989 vault tracks were THE BEST BATCH SO FAR i could wax poetical but shall restrain myself)
1 // amazing incredible trip to NYC, absolutely did not expect to love it, but i am so so happy that i did, and i really can’t wait to go back!!
5 // wonderful-lovely-sweet trips to Pismo
2 // 1 overnight trip with my girls to Pismo + 1 day trip to Morro Bay with them a couple weeks prior
? // amount of PBs I hit in my first whole year of the gym being an absolute staple in my life — super proud of myself & so happy I finally made it non-negotiable
Entertainment favs/discoveries
thrillers/historical/etc
Films: The Zookeeper’s Wife (first film I can recall watching last year, incredibly moving.) // Munich — The Edge of War (an incredible war thriller replete with suspense and capped off with a redemptive & satisfying ending.) // Operation Mincemeat (another suspenseful film w/a great cast; matthew macfayden, colin firth, & johnny flynn were excellent in this.) // The Wonder (florence pugh THE ACTRESS THAT YOU ARE. a great concept for a film, set in the 19th century irish midlands. so many great moving parts.) // Operation Finale (yet another great ww2-thriller w/yet another stacked cast. oscar isaac, ben kingsley???) // The Resistance Banker (one of the first foreign films i’ve seen in a long time! well worth following along in the subtitles.) // Oppenheimer (OHMYWORD??? my words will not do it justice. an instant favourite. chris nolan you did it YET AGAIN. CILLIAN AMOR DE MI VIDA. RDJ YOU STUNNER. what. a. film. what. a. story.) //
rom-coms/drama/etc
A League of Their Own (something of a rewatch; i’ve never actually properly sat down and watched it all, but had seen most of it as a kid here and there. such a beautiful story of The Sisterhood.) // The Wedding Date (fake-dating trope slay. dermot mulroney hot.) // My Big Fat Greek Wedding (my first time!! loved it!!) // Maid in Manhattan (another first! had meant to see this absolutely years ago but never got round to it. LOVED it. norah jones on the soundtrack made it EVEN BETTER.) // Klaus (been meaning to see this since audrey talked ab it when it came out, such a darling film!) // White Christmas (started this a few years ago when wrapping presents but was too distracted so i dnf’d. shame that i did, but glad that i got to really enjoy it this xmas season!) // Crazy, Stupid, Love (also dnf’d awhile back & i can’t believe i did??? it’s got one of theee funniest scenes everrrr. such a feel-good one.) // Barbie (THE YEAR OF THE GIRL. a stunningly–yet not so bc hello greta gerwig–moving film that i did not expect to enjoy and appreciate as much as i did. those final scenes had me IN BITS. i dressed up as fit barbie :’)) // Watching the Detectives (cillian i love u. lucy liu u rock.)
fantasy/dystopian/etc
Harry Potter (as mentioned elsewhere: read a book, watched a book, each sunday evening with my brother–SUCH fun! want to continue this tradition always.) // Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (finally got round to it after finishing up the films & it was so sweet.) // The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (tom blyth looked so nice, had to see it twice! def enjoyed this over the book, oopsies.) // The Hunger Games (all 3 films, had to rewatch after Ballad; reignited what had become a latent desire to reread the books! this year!) //
Shows: Celebrity (my first k-drama ever, & i really really liked it! binged it during the first couple of weeks with aquiles <3) // Beckham (have always wanted to know the full scoop as an enjoyer of the english, the football, and becks & posh. really lovely, authentic doc!!) // Ted Lasso (TEAR JERKER. did not expect to be BALLING that much throughout. such a beautiful, moving, raw story with an incredible cast.) // The Crown (final season and what a final it was. could not have asked for a better ending myself, and it had me so emotional as well.) // Peaky Blinders (final season. not enough emotional capacity or mental wellness to write about it in any length, happily still keeping my affection to myself.) // Pride & Prejudice (BBC, watched this after rereading it in the year and really liked it! ’05 adaptation remains my fave but this one is v sweet.) // Jonas (…i can’t lie sometimes you just have to go old school disney & this one was always my favourite.) // Parks & Rec (currently still watching but watched the bulk of it last year & quickly fell in love!) // Everything I Know About Love (gorgeous adaptation of one of my top reads of the year, fingers crossed for s2!) // Daisy Jones and the Six (another great adaptation imo, loved the cast, loved the way they told the story!) // The Summer I Turned Pretty (s2) (justice for conrad and i know my time cometh hehe.)
I’m so pleasantly surprised by the amount of films I enjoyed here (not to mention the ones that were great but just didn’t make the list. I kept feeling like I wasn’t watching enough films throughout the year, but that didn’t end up being the case, yay! I rewatched Seinfeld, JTV, & New Girl this year, so that explains the lack in the shows dept, but I’m okay with that, especially considering how many quality movies I got into!
Music favs/discoveries
Genres: My taste, according to my Spotify Wrapped, was vampire-esque this year, and I tuned into more atmospheric, emotional music. I def think that was accurate as my top genres contained rock, stomp and holler, and pov: indie. (Also obsessed with the fact that rock was my top genre for the year <333) I really enjoyed many iterations of it this year, like surf rock, indie rock, alt rock, etc.
New Artists: (I feel like this was definitely a year of note-worthily falling back in love artists that I’ve loved long before, so I’m going to asterisk any artists that fit that criteria in this list.)
Dido // Norah Jones* // Franki Valli & the 4 Seasons* // The Cranberries // The Smiths // Lana Del Rey // Houndmouth // Wilder Atkins // The Strokes* // Del Water Gap // The Moss // Beach House* // boygenius* // Bleachers*
Moments sweet and precious to recall
this year, i only did well with somewhat sporadic updates here on the blog, so this is likely to be a tad wordy. (there’s still so many moments from the first half of the year that i want to document at some point :’)
quarter 1
i did actually write about this one, but i just want give a bit more airtime to the way the start of the year felt. it was wonderfully another january that i very much enjoyed. early starts for the gym, lots and lots of basketball, very sweet coffee dates, and replenishment. i felt so full and energised by the people around me and the simple things we were doing. i touched on it briefly back in november, but the final night of january was joshua’s senior night–the last time he would play ball on his home court in his final year of high school, and what a final round it was. it was so special, and it is truly something that we will all treasure and carry with us for the rest of our lives.
quarter 2
again, i did write about april and may & june, but here’s more of the general feeling, satisfaction. my continued consistency with the gym, the deepening of friendships, the welcome enjoyment in my heart toward spring (what is no longer a novelty for me!! yay!!), and the bittersweet news of my pastor leaving which turned to true soul comfort in knowing we had to–and would–become members at grace presbyterian before he left—all of this was so soul-satisfying. so much of me was healing at this time, in a variety of ways that i am still marvelling over and learning about, even now.
quarter 3
summer was sweet <3 i did already write a little bit about june, and its late trip to san diego, but so many more treasures awaited. we went to pismo early on in the month, and that was so divine.
((i’m currently working on a piece regarding 2023 as the year of the girl, and i might publish it here eventually, but one of the main reasons why i enjoyed pismo so much this year is because (and i realised this retrospectively) it was the very first year that i did not once think about my body or my face self-consciously. though i have always had a true and deep sense of self-esteem based on my walk with Christ, i am but a girl, and i am certainly not immune to moments or periods of a lack of confidence. it might seem a little thing, but this was something i had wanted for myself for years, and i finally had it, during my favourite week of the year. what a sweet blessing.))
upon return from pismo, i went to pick up aquiles the very next day :’) HE WAS SO BABI AND SO SMOL I REALLY CANNOT DEAL WITH IT. what a TREASURE and GIFT he has been since he became a part of the family. i am so grateful to my mom for being on board: when i talked to my dad about it (who grew up with many cats that were his sisters, mind), he and i agreed that it might be hard to convince my mother who grew up with dogs and has never been a cat person. but wonderfully, she is the reason why we have aquiles, and she fell in love with him immediately. i love him so much, and he has been the best first pet i could have ever asked for.
july was full of joy, the sweetness of girlhood dreams, aquiles <333, sunbathing, pool days, and barbie!!
playlist: shining sea mist 2023 breviary
the rest of q3
august and september were a bit different. august remained sweet as long as summer was here, and then it was back to school and work. it was not fun to leave aquiles behind everyday, and it was less fun when i thought he was getting sick (bro i just fumbled with the litter box and for some reason did not do the math properly on full replacement. idiot.), but if there is one major joy that he and this situation gave me it was this: a deepened trust in Christ. when things go amiss, my first instinct should be to run to my Father in heaven. my first comfort should be to know that any hardship, whether truly big, or something a bit more trivial, is intended to glorify God and better me, moulding me further into the likeness of Christ, and that it is happening because He has decreed it so.
so in some moments of suffering (aquiles + personal), there was still sweetness. i did not have a fantastic time in the last part of august nor in the majority of september. but knowing that the Lord i serve is sovereign was sweetness indeed, and i am grateful to have emerged with a better relationship with my Saviour.
playlists: warm evenings & the before, crisper air & dreams of you
quarter 4
the warm months. again, saw some personal frustrations, failings, and other such things seep into this quarter a bit, but i am so grateful to be on the other side of them now, to have learned some difficult lessons, and to have renewed strength and hope for the future. overall, this quarter felt warm and safe and full of restoration. i spent so much time with family and friends, celebrated my birthday in pismo this year, but also went out with my girls the week before (ENTERED MY SWITCHFOOT YEAR LET’S GO, see: twenty-four), enjoyed and anticipated thanksgiving extra this year, and as mentioned before, did a lot of film watching with josh–harry potter each sunday evening throughout oct & nov, and then christmas movies most nights in december. as the year was drawing to a close, i reflected on all that had been given to me within it, and i cherish the whole of 2023 with a fondness that shall be hard pressed to be replaced. the holidays were joyous and full of cheer, and there was much revel all around!
playlists: steal the air outta my lungs, twenty-four hearts, and of course — CHRISTMAS, coffeehouse christmas, & west coast xmas
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Fin
2023 was, undoubtedly, the best year of my life so far, and i am so eternally grateful to the Lord for it. again, there are still some moments i’d like to revisit and document before it gets a bit too late for them, but in any case, i know i will carry this year with me as one of the most fulfilling, nurturing, healing, and enlightening i will ever have. happy new year!! happy 2024!! let us hope i can be better at updates this coming year :’)