I’m thrilled to share my first gift guide of the season with you all today. You all requested a TON of guides this year and while I won’t be able to grant all of your wishes, since this is not my full-time job, I’m excited to share at least a few with you. Ever since starting my blog, I’ve enjoyed sharing gift guides with readers as I always receive great interaction on social media and comments during the holiday season. Whether it’s sharing that you purchased an item on the list for yourself or someone else or hearing about your favorite items, these are something I look forward to each year. But, you know what I don’t look forward to doing? Comparing my gift guide to other gorgeous, clickable guides that are created by professionals. So, if you are looking for beautiful gift guides, then you’re on the wrong blog. But, if you want a few fun and helpful gift guides to make shopping easier this season, then I hope you’ll join me this holiday season as I have fun curating a few guides for you. Based on the requests, these are the gift guides that I will DEFINITELY create over the coming weeks:

• Favorite Things
• Babies and Children Under 18 months
• Runners
• Under $25
• Guys

This gift guide could be titled a number of things, such as the best purchases of 2018, over $100 gift guide or my version of the Oprah’s Favorite Things. These are the items that I use on a daily basis and love. In fact, I wish I could afford to buy everything on this list and send them to my closest friends. Each one has brought me so much joy this year, each for very different reasons.  But, since I’m not Oprah, I’ll instead get to the good part, where I share my list of favorite things and a link to buy.

I had a great time putting together this list and can’t wait to hear about your FAVORITE things.

• Lake Pajamas – Once upon a time, I wore 20-year old boxers and old t-shirts to sleep every night. But, then I discovered Lake Pajamas. These are the first set of pajamas that made me look forward to changing into pajamas after a long day of work. Furthermore, it turns out that the company was started by two girls from Savannah with whom we want to high school. The Pima cotton material make these the most comfortable pajamas I’ve ever owned. I have two pairs and am asking for a third, long-sleeve version, for my birthday or Christmas.  Whenever I talk about these pajamas on Instagram stories, people ask how they run and whether they are worth the price tag. Considering that I wear them for at least eight hours per night, multiple times a week, I think that they are definitely worth the investment. In regards to the $100 investment, I’ve rotated my two pairs since buying them six months ago and they still look and feel brand new!  Based on the quality, I have no doubt that I’ll have these for years. Also, in regards to sizing information, their website recommends sizing up if you’re in between sizes. Therefore, I ordered a L and am happy with the fit as I would always prefer my pajamas to be a little loose versus tight.
• Dudley Stephens Fleece Turtleneck – Last year, I remember seeing Julia, Sarah and few of my other favorite bloggers and influencers share their love for Dudley Stephens on blog and Instagram posts. The brand, which was started by two sisters in 2015, features multiple chic items that all share one thing – they are made of cozy fleece material. Two months ago I finally invested in one of their fleece turtlenecks and have already bought two more. It has quickly become my go-to for working from home and hanging in the neighborhood as it is cozy, chic and comfortable. I love that the longer style, Cobble Hill, features pockets and is long enough to cover my hips and backside which makes it perfect to pair with leggings. The shorter version, Park Slope, is perfect with jeans. Since raving about the cozy fleece tops to friends and readers, I’ve had multiple people text and message me saying THANK YOU as they are now loving the fleece tops.  If you’re curious about sizing, I believe they run a little small, so I recommend sizing up. For reference, I wear a large as I prefer my tops a little loose.
• Dyson Cordless Vacuum – Bo and I first discovered this vacuum at my parents house. After baking cooking last Christmas, there was flour all over my parent’s kitchen floor. I remember gasping when I realized that this vacuum was able to clean the flour up in just seconds. Historically we’ve had a larger vacuum which is more suitable for carpets and rugs but this Dyson was able to replace those and works incredibly well on multiple surfaces throughout our home – kitchen floor, hardwood, rugs, sofa – you name it! We both wish we’d invested in this vacuum years ago as it makes cleaning easy and enjoyable. The cordless design means that we can use it throughout the house without having to constantly unplug and unwrap the cord. Last but not least, we appreciate the wall mount feature since we have such limited closet space.
• AirPods – When these first came out, I laughed at Bo and others who wore them. The small white buds coming out of people’s ears looked slightly ridiculous. But, then, one day, I was on a video conference call, straining my neck to hold my iPhone and type at the same time. One of the directors on our team immediately recommended that I invest in a pair of AirPods. She swore that after just one conference call I’d email her, saying thank you. She was right. I’ve used these non-stop for the past six months and love them. The sound quality and sensitive speaker means that I can wear these for lengthy conference calls without missing a thing. When I’m not using them for work, I often use them during runs and commutes. Even though I’m one of the sweatiest people you’ll ever meet, these stayed in place for hot runs this summer. The small case makes them easy to carry in my running shorts or in my purse when commuting. The only downside is that I tend to misplace them once a week. So far, I haven’t lost a pair, but I do wish there was a way to find the individual AirPods using the app on my phone.
• SONOS Play – We love music, especially since welcoming Katie into our home. Whether it’s morning play time when we all wake up for fighting through an evening meltdown, we tend to have music playing non-stop. Our Sonos Play system, which we have in three rooms throughout our home, enables us to enjoy high quality sound with just the touch of a button. The speaker is small enough to hide behind a photo but strong enough to produce impressive sound quality.  We often use it to play relaxing classical music throughout our home, but sometimes, especially on the weekend, Bo may have one song playing in the kitchen while Katie and I are dancing to her favorite Disney song ,Under the Sea, in the living room. You can link the speakers to Alexa or you can use the app to search and play music on any of the music apps like Spotify or Apple Music.

What was your favorite thing that you discovered in 2018? Or, what would you include on your own version of this gift guide? Any gift guide requests in addition to the ones I listed above?