The Property Brothers, Peloton, and "Now That We Don't Talk (TV)"
Fall 2023 Round-Up
Happy 2024, and welcome to your Fall 2023 Round-Up!
Every three months, I put together a list of all of my favorites from the most recent season across a handful of categories, including what I’ve been listening to, watching, purchasing, and more (note that any affiliate links will be clearly marked with an asterisk).
It was a busy fall and holiday season, and I have plenty to share. So, without further ado, let’s jump into my final recommendations from 2023.
Music I’ve Been Vibing With
I don’t think I’ve listened to any full albums recently, so I only have one-off songs for you this round-up. These are the ones I’ve had on rotation:
“my friend’s toyota” - asiris
“Steal My Clothes” - Kito feat. Bea Miller
“Pretty Girls” - Reneé Rapp
“Eras of Us” - FLETCHER
“Everything is Boring” - The Beaches
“Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version)” - Taylor Swift
“Boys Like You” - Charlotte Lawrence
“It Is What It Is” - Jenna Raine
“Figure You Out” - VOILÀ
“Dress” - Charlotte Sands
What I’ve Been Watching
One of the best shows I watched in the last three months was The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix (here’s the trailer). The show was made by the same people who did The Haunting of Hill House, and it has that same spooky vibe. There is definitely some gore involved, which is not my favorite—I usually look away—but the storyline is incredible and the show incorporates a ton of Edgar Allan Poe references (more on those here if you’re curious).
As always, we indulged in plenty of reality TV as well. We are Survivor watchers, and we have a group chat with a few friends to discuss the episodes each week. Some of the seasons are duds, but the one that just wrapped up, Survivor 45, was an entertaining one. We watched the most recent season of The Great British Bake Off too, of course (what a heartbreaker of a semi-final). And on the reality TV love front, we kept up with The Golden Bachelor (which started off really sweet and then reminded you by the end why The Bachelor franchise is irreparably awful) and a new show on Prime Video called Twin Love where sets of identical twins date one another (an absolute trainwreck).
I also finally got Jessie into the Property Brothers (she was very skeptical about them at first 😅). We watched every episode of Celebrity IOU, the two most recent seasons of Brother vs Brother, and now we’re working through Property Brothers: Forever Home. At this point, owning our own home feels like a pipe dream or at least a far, farrrrr away goal, so we make ourselves feel better by judging and gushing over TV houses.
For My Book Nerds
I read a total of 52 books in 2023, exceeding my goal of 35 significantly. Definitely the most books I’ve read in a year in a long time! I also DNFed at least six books (and possibly more since I didn’t start recording that until I switched to StoryGraph 🤔). If you want to see every single book I finished in 2023, you can find a graphic with those here.
More specifically, these are some books I read and enjoyed in the last few months:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz* - This is a classic queer novel I’d been meaning to read for awhile, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Lin Manuel Miranda was the audiobook narrator on this one.
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell* - The storyline was batshit bananas and left me with so many questions (as was clearly intended), but this is one of the most immersive audiobooks I’ve ever listened to due to the multiple narrators and use of sound effects.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides* - I finally got around to this bestselling thriller, and it was a fun ride with a lot of twists and turns.
Products I Recommend
I have notoriously been known as a cardio hater (with a few exceptions, like hiking or kickboxing). Despite that, we now have a household Peloton bike and I’m actually . . . kind of glad? Don’t get me wrong, I still grumble and curse through almost every single ride. But it’s been nice to break up my regular weightlifting with something else, and it’s a lot easier for me to get through cardio with a set class schedule and fun music.
I recognize that Pelotons are unaffordable for many people even with their rent-to-buy programs or the option to buy refurbished (we got ours on major sale for Black Friday), but one hack is that I know several people who purchased cheaper, non-Peloton bikes and pay for the Peloton app so they can still do all the classes.
If you do have a Peloton bike, I purchased the following accessories for mine which have made the user experience more seamless:
This disco fan. Turning on the colored lights is optional, but I do it every time! The fan is compatible with the phone tray, but you have to put it on slightly differently than the instructions say.
A second weight rack (I keep sets of 2 and 3 lb weights on the back of my bike).
Other products I’m loving right now include:
Our new AeroGarden*. This was another Black Friday purchase, and I decided to get it after my sister got one and proved they actually work. I love the idea of growing fresh herbs for cooking in the house, and I’m considering purchasing a second one for tomatoes, jalapenos, etc.
Cut-resistant gloves* for the kitchen. Any time I’m slicing bagels or using my mandolin, I pray to the cooking goddesses to keep my fingers intact. Wearing these has decreased my anxiety about that.
We added this clamp-on LED desk lamp* to our puzzle table setup, and it has made it a lot easier to puzzle at night without straining our eyes.
I recently learned about the existence of bath thermometers, and they blew my mind so much I made a video about it. I love taking baths, and having a thermometer allows me to get the temperature exactly where I like it. Mine is this adorable stingray*, but they make all kinds of animals and shapes.
I bought these cake strips* at the end of the summer that are meant to help your cake rounds bake evenly. I finally had the chance to test them for my last bake, and hot damn! They really work! My cakes got such a great and even rise with no cracking or splits.
When I’m traveling, I hate how wrinkled my clothes get in a suitcase, so I went on the hunt for the perfect, lightweight travel steamer. After doing a lot of research and trying a couple, I settled on this Nesugar one* that only weighs 0.8 lbs. I’ve already taken it on two trips, and it’s working great.
In the past, I have purchased multiple inexpensive milk frothers/steamers, all of which crapped out within a year and a half. After the most recent one died, I decided I would be better off investing in a really great milk steamer that would hopefully last longer—the Breville Milk Cafe Milk Frother*. Holy shit I love this thing. It has two different discs—one for latte foam and one for cappuccino foam. You can even make hot chocolate directly in it! And it’s way easier to clean than the previous ones. Sometimes investing more up front is totally worth it in the long run.
My office is the room in the house that’s the hottest in the summer and the coldest in the winter, so I had to invest in a space heater to get by. There are a million different options out there, so in case you also need one, I’m saving you the trouble by letting you know that this Vornado one* has been working great for me.
I made the switch to candle warmers last month, and while I was worried I would hate them, I’m a big fan. I changed over for a few reasons, including that your candle scent is supposed to be able to last at least double compared to lighting the wick, not having an open flame is less dangerous (especially when you’re forgetful like me), and not having the smoke and soot from lighting candles is supposed to be better for your health and indoor air quality. I bought this style* and this style* from Cozyberry because I like how they’re top warmers (some warm from the bottom, which gets more complicated).
Lastly, since it’s the new year, I often get asked about what brand of notebook I use. I’ve been using this Lemome notebook* for over five years, and I have had it in every color except “natural cork.” I use this as my journaling notebook, and I also have several more around the house for different purposes.
Miscellaneous
Anything that doesn’t fit into the other categories has a home here:
I loved this episode of The Daily about whether you should buy or rent. It made me feel a lot better about the fact that we will be renting for the foreseeable future.
I saw a TikTok that said to line your hot chocolate cup with marshmallow fluff, and that person is doing the Yasss Queen’s work. It’s delicious. Someone else suggested putting it on top and torching it, and I will definitely be trying that next.
That’s all for this round-up, folks! If you have questions or want to chat about anything I included, don’t hesitate to comment (if you’re a paid subscriber) or reach out via email. You can also find all of the past round-ups you may have missed here.
Thank you for all of your support of The Queer Agenda and me in 2023! The transition to Substack has been more than worth it, and I’m excited for all that’s to come in 2024 (read more on that here in case you missed the last edition of The Queer Agenda before this one).
Queerly yours,
Shohreh
*Links with an asterisk are affiliate links. If you purchase items using those links, I may be eligible for a small commission which helps support my writing and other content.
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