Saturday, December 31, 2016

My Favorite Discoveries of 2016



This year has been kind of crazy.  I finally moved out of the terrible apartment building I was in, despite all of the stressful obstacles in the world trying to stop me.  Jordan and I moved into a nice apartment with a kitchen and a bathtub and a balcony!  I stopped being able to walk again, but this place is handicapped accessible.  I also found out that dairy makes me sick, so after trying to only eat it rarely I have cut it out completely.  So without further ado, these are a few of my favorite things that I've discovered in 2016.

Food:

Daiya Mac n Cheese: I want a lifetime supply of this.  So far I've only had one box and I immediately wanted more.  If you're not a big fan of sharp cheese this is like the perfect mac and cheese taste.

FeelGoodFoods Vegetable Dumplings: I found these at Safeway and bought one box, because gluten free foods are extremely hit-or-miss.  I devoured the whole box and the next time I went shopping I bought four boxes, because I don't want to run out!

Ben and Jerry's Dairy Free Chunky Monkey: I actually never tried Chunky Monkey flavor when I was eating dairy but this is the one dairy free Ben and Jerry's flavor at my grocery store that I can eat.  It's also a delicious flavor.  The almond milk base makes it super creamy and I doubt I could tell it was dairy free if I didn't already know.

Books:  I didn't do a ton of reading this year because my arms are super sore at the end of every day now that I'm in a wheelchair.  I did do the month trial of Audible and I loved it so much!  I really wish I could afford a subscription, but at the moment all of my money is for medication.  Thanks to Audible I was able to listen to

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: I knew that I would love this book series from the first time I heard of it and oh, boy, was I right!  I was able to listen to the first and second book on Audible and I really want to read book 3.

Aside from Audible I haven't done a ton of reading this year but I have loved:

Drinking the Rain: during my brief time in the Inspired by Reading Book Club I loved this book pick about foraging for food and one woman's journey to find herself with the help of nature; I had to quit the book club because I was only able to afford to buy two of the books

Cabinet of Curiosities: got this one by judging a book by its cover and it did not disappoint; this book is chock full of stories and pictures of the curiosities in the collection of Thackery T. Lambshead

Youtube:

Twiggy Vittoria:  After having a seizure and hitting my head really hard on the bathroom floor Jordan insisted on not letting me sleep in case I had a concussion.  I discovered this channel that night and her videos easily kept me entertained all night and distracted from the pain in my head.  Twiggy is so nice and down-to-earth and I trust every one of her product recommendations.  She makes hair videos, makeup videos, story videos, videos about her dreams, and occasionally vlogs.  I had the luck to find her channel early enough to see it grow immensely this year :)

Rob Dyke: This guy's spooky videos are always well-researched and super interesting.  He does great top 10 videos, videos about strange things, and serial killers.  He also does comedy videos but I am here for the spooky.

Cayleigh Elyse:  Some would call her the female counterpart to Rob Dyke but Cayleigh has her own unique and wonderful things to offer, including: unsolved cases, spooky fun, creepy story narrations (including some stories she wrote herself), and videos about monsters and hauntings.  She does it all in beautiful dresses and with the occasional humorous bit thrown in when not talking about serious topics.

Good Mythical Morning:  In case you've been living under the same rock that I apparently was until this year I'll tell you about this channel, one of the most subscribed channels on Youtube.  Two guys named Rhett and Link host a show where they compete in different made-up games, eat weird food, and are just hilarious best friends.  Every episode has me cracking up from start to finish, and they even have extra videos like the show after the show and Good Mythical Crew.

That's all that I can think of at the moment but I'm sure there's a lot more I forgot.  What are some of your favorite discoveries of 2016?