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Suzanne’s Favorite Things of 2018

Outdoor Voices Rec Shorts
I was a late bloomer for Outdoor Voices. While countless women were singing the praises of the company’s famous leggings, I was certain that within the casual shorts genre, nothing could surpass my love for classic Patagonia Baggies shorts. But Outdoor Voices Rec shorts, so comfy and perfect for slipping on in the hot summer when decency laws require you to wear something to leave the house, come really close.

Lucien Albrecht Cremont Rosé
All rosé is not created equal. Thanks to my wife, who suggested we serve this delicious sparkling beverage to our wedding guests in 2018, I know that now. My wine education has only just begun and while I still struggle to tell a chardonnay from a Riesling, I’ll be coming back to this Lucien Albrecht sparkling rosé for years (and anniversaries) to come. Cheers!

No.6 Pull-On Shearling Clog Boots
Weird things happen in New York City. The neighbor you’ve lived next to for a decade turns out to be a hoarder; the dry cleaner closes without warning and holds your sweaters hostage. But the weird things can be good things, too. I noticed my first pair of No. 6 Pull-On Shearling Clog Boots walking up Madison Avenue on an early Fall day. Oh, those are cute, I remember thinking while turning to get another look. From there, the flood gates opened and it was impossible to venture anywhere in the city without seeing No. 6 clogs in every neighborhood, on the subway, at work, and of course, on those very clever Instagram ads. All of a sudden, they were everywhere. It was as if the universe, and New York City, was trying to tell me something: buy the clogs. Weird. But also wonderful, as they are the most comfortable pair of boots I own. And where nature failed to give me an extra inch of height, No. 6 clogs make up for the shortcomings of my DNA.

Sphen and Magic
This list wouldn’t be complete without a touch of gay fairy dust, and in 2018 there was a lot of gay fairy dust to go around. In India, same-sex couples were granted the right to marry and in Colorado, Jared Polis was the first gay man elected governor in the history of the United States. The fairy dust also spread to Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia where Sphen and Magic, two male gentoo penguins, took part in the ritual of building a nest made of pebbles for each other. When their caretakers noticed Sphen and Magic’s budding romance and how bonded the two birds had become, they gave them an egg to incubate together, spreading the gay fairy dust even further and making “Sphengic” the first known same-sex penguin couple.

J.Crew Cashmere Boyfriend Sweater
Finally, J.Crew made an affordable cashmere sweater that doesn’t pill, shred, molt or otherwise fall to pieces after wearing it twice. I never thought they’d get it right, but they did and I’ll be wearing this sweater in multiple colors (and with a monogram, fyi) all winter long.

Green Smoothie
This was the year I finally started to juice things and make drinks that look gross, but taste amazing. My favorite recipe calls for kale, cucumber, apples, ginger, and celery blended together with water and then passed through a strainer. Delicious!

Accidentally Wes Anderson
For anyone who needs to be transported to a peculiar world of symmetrical buildings, colorful interiors, and architecture that delights in the faded grandeur of real-world places, the Instagram account known as @accidentallywesanderson is a must follow. What started as a subreddit by Wally Koval is now its own Instagram handle with over 570,000 followers and daily posts that cover the globe, showing all things twee, precious, and carefully curated in that signature Wes Anderson style.

Apple AirPods
My sincerest apologies to anyone I may have mislabeled as a robot for sporting AirPods. I maintain that they make us look more like droids and less like, well, humans, but they’ve also completely amped up my workouts, changed my commute, and made it possible to tolerate the noise of everyday life by blocking it out.

This is Life With Lisa Ling
Longform journalism is hard to pull off. Budgets are short and attention spans are even shorter. But as someone who first discovered a love of storytelling through news magazine shows, the format of researching a story, embedding, and getting to the truth of an experience or an issue, there’s nothing more compelling than watching a story take shape for an hour. Lisa Ling’s CNN show “This is Life” took me there this year, into the heart of the heroin epidemic, through the deep south, and to Asia for the world’s most celebrated transgender beauty pageant, just to name a few topics she covered. Ling’s show has renewed my love for longform journalism and discovering more about everything I don’t know yet.

Fort Tryon Park
When I told people that my wife and I were moving to Inwood, most responded by referencing the fabulous dog park there. They were right. The Sir William dog run in Fort Tryon Park is amazing and has done wonders for our small pup. In the spring and summer months, when the sun doesn’t go down until 8pm, it’s easy to spend 90 minutes watching him fetch sticks, kick dirt, and make fellow dog friends in the park’s huge expanse. For some, it’s just a park, but for dog owners, it’s a community.

A Little Life
I was warned about this book. “You’re really doing it,” asked the person who sold it to me. And “oooh, that’s a tough one,” said many others who spotted my paperback and were compelled to talk to me about their experience with Hanya Yanagihara’s novel. 700 pages later, I get it: the concern, the warning, confiding in a stranger about the deep wound that this book leaves its readers. The story is heavy and heartbreaking. And it’s also one of the most the most incredible books I’ve ever read. I don’t regret reading “A Little Life” like some warned me I would. I only regret that I can’t read it for the first time again.