✨ My Favorite Things (Right Now) ✨

What's bringing joy in Spring 2026 + the hit holiday gifts 6 months later

This is Secret Stuff, where we stay sane in these outrageous times by reading, noticing, journaling, and sharing. This Secret Post has all of those elements!

Back when I was podcasting weekly on 10 Things To Tell You, I would do a Favorite Things episode every quarter to share all the things bringing me joy in that season. It was always a mix of actual things (beauty products, apps, tech gadgets) and things that aren’t things (trips, moments, etc).

And the best part of making those episodes every few months was that it took a lot of noticing all the time - jotting down in my Evernote app what I was enjoying - so that when it came time to narrow the episode down to 10 Things (to fit the structure of the show), I actually had quite a little list going.

Making little notes to yourself of your Favorite Things is an exercise in gratitude. Sometimes I think we give GRATITUDE too much solemn weight - like the answer to what we’re grateful for must always be our loved ones or our health or something big like that. But it’s also really fun to keep a running list of things that we’re simply enjoying. It’s also sort of a time capsule for what we’re into at this very moment.

A lipstick

A recipe

A tv show

An influencer

So I’m going to share some of my Favorite Things (Right Now) and I highly encourage you to share, too! Click through to the comment section, or make your own list in your journal, or start up a text thread with your besties as a connection point.

If you want to share with the whole Secret Stuff community (and hear other people’s recommendations and joys), this is also the theme for this month’s Symposium and we’d love for you to join us:

SYMPOSIUM May 2026: Favorite Things

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Okay, on to the Favorites!

I’m going to start in an unusual place, but only because it might be extra helpful for you if you’re thinking about graduation gifts or summer birthdays or just a really Type A holiday planner.

*some affiliate links are used

The Christmas Gift Hits

My big gift to my husband Jeff this year was a coffee table book of my photos from our summer African safari. It was a huge hit.

I used to make photo books all the time, it was kind of my love language. But in the last ten years or so, this hobby has lapsed since it’s so easy to pull up photos on our phones (even the nostalgic ones). We still have all those old photo books stacked in the den, but truthfully we never look through them. However, our photos from Botswana were SO beautiful, and having the heavy, nicely-done tangible book to hold did feel like a special gift.

I used Artifact Uprising to make this book, but there are lots of good options out there.

A not-so-surprise hit was the Tik Tok famous Lola blanket that I got for my teenage daughter and we all fell in love with it so I had to buy another one for my son. (These aren’t cheap, but they do go on sale!)

Puzzle-loving Jeff highly recommends the Cross & Glory puzzles (and they have several different weird alien varieties)

I bought this coffee warmer as a stocking stuff for myself after a reader submitted it for the annual (Not A Gift Guide) Gift Guide and loved its simple functionality so much that I bought a couple more to keep in my favorite reading and working spaces.

Lastly, my sister-in-law Kris gave the BEST gift to the kids that was just what every teenager wants, but still felt really personal - a Gift Card Book!

I’m actually not sure where she got this exact one, but you could easily DIY this and customize it to your recipient. This was huge hit and an idea I totally plan to steal.

(This would be especially great for your favorite grad)

Favorite Things That Aren’t Things

If you haven’t heard yet, my husband Jeff is releasing the final installation in the franchise he created that has shaped our last 25 years. You can watch the jackass best and last trailer HERE.

Jeff and I met on the set of jackass in 2002, it was his first movie and I was fresh out of the sorority house. This summer the adventure concludes. Rest assured I have a lot to say about this in the next month or so. We have a lot to look forward celebrating these years of laughs, and also the world needs laughter more than ever.

As usual, volleyball has also taken over our schedule. My daughter Lucy plays indoor volleyball where we’ve traveled to Vegas, Philly, and Salt Lake City for tournaments in the last two months (where I’m also the co-team parent, so, IYKYK). This year she also continued (and got more serious about) her beach volleyball journey, and her varsity team went all the way to the championships! It has been a ride. As she finishes up her sophomore year, I am constantly doing the mom math countdown and treasuring every second with my girl.

Last month I hosted the second Secret Summit for the Secret Stuff community and it was AMAZING. This is my favorite work I’ve ever done and I can’t believe I get to call this my job. You can read more about that weekend here:

⚡️Secret Summit⚡️RECAP

And finally, my morning routine has become paramount to my mental health and energy. I’ve been doing my daily morning pages and reading (book recommend below), and most of the time the weather is warm enough to sit outside, even in the early morning, which is so nice. In this enormously busy season, my mornings are my anchor.

Favorite Things Spring 2026

A little heavy on the beauty products right now and I’m not sorry!

Okay, I bought these fairy ball pool light floaty things way back in October for a party we hosted and they were way better quality than I expected even at the time. They’re solar powered and looked so good in the pool that I never took them out and here we are 8 months later and they still look and function great.

We bought two sets (so 8 balls total) which is about right for a medium-sized pool. I love the ambience they bring - very festive but not in a cheesy way. They’re actually sort of formal. If fairy floaty pool balls can be formal.

Trust Your Vibes by Sonia Choquette is my favorite morning read of the year so far and I put a copy in every goodie bag at the Secret Summit. (She’s also great on Instagram)

I’ve been served ads for these viral sweatpant jeans for like two years. I finally bit the bullet and bought the pair with the blue stripes down the side and I have to say that the price tag is totally worth it. They really look like jeans! They are very baggy though, and if I could do it again I would size down. (They do shrink a little after washing.)

Speaking of price tags…the Dyson Air Straight is ridiculously expensive, so I recommend waiting until the next Sephora sale (or something similar), but I will also say that it’s the only hair tool I need now, which is especially great for travel, since it functions as both a hair dryer and straightener.

If you have really thick or unruly hair, the hair dryer part might not be strong enough, but for my fine hair it works well in a touch up. Otherwise if you’re using it as a straightener, you use the “wet” setting and straighten from damp to perfectly smooth and dry.

I bought this gold snake ear cuff for ponytail days and have no regrets. It’s become a real staple.

Look, I have foundations and blushes for every occasion. (I have, in particular, gotten very into blush in the last couple of years), but these pictured are the two I’m reaching for the most often right now.

The huda beauty easy blur foundation looks like you have the best filter on AND it’s long lasting. This has been my go-to for the aforementioned volleyball tournaments because nothing makes you look worse than the fluorescent lighting of a convention center, and this makes me look a lot less ghoul-ish.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the rhode blush! Creamy and foolproof, it’s the main thing I’m wearing on my cheeks daily.

I just bought this fenty gloss bomb gloss stick in the recent Sephora sale, so I haven’t had it very long but the color donut is neutral and the perfect amount of shine and moisture. (Use a lip pencil with it if you want a bit more color.) I liked it so much I went back for another shade!

Do you ever watch Angie Hot & Flashy? Her line of makeup brushes is so soft and made me realize I’ve been using a lot of precision eye shadow brushes that might be a little harsh. These are so soft and blend beautifully.

Finally, (disclosure) InnBeauty Project sent me some of their eye cream and I have been using it regularly to great results. I’m not someone who thinks eye creams can work magic, but they can minimize dryness and make your makeup look a lot better and the extreme eye cream does both. I’ve already added a new one to my cart.

Okay, that was a LOT of Favorites and a LOT of fun. I’d love to hear about some of your Favorite Things (Right Now) - please share with us all.

Lest you think this is a frivolous thought as the world spins madly on, I challenge you to sit down and make a list of your current favorites just for yourself and see if you feel any differently when you’re done. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.

Sending you love and sanity in these outrageous times,

🚨 PS - I’m hosting an “emergency” MUST DISCUSS Secret Stuff meeting to talk about the book everyone is reading right now: YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke. Want to join us? More details here ⬇️