Suzanne’s Favorite Things of 2017
2017 just wouldn’t have been the same without the discovery of something fizzy, new shoes, an incredible book, a lazy lawn game, a baby hippopotamus, a new app, women empowerment, running shorts, prescription meds, and a love story.
1. Celery Soda
I’m not a big soda drinker. And I’m not even a celery super fan, so I was as surprised as anyone that I found the unexpected marriage of carbonation with the subtle hint of something green to be so delicious. I won’t be popping the top off of a Coke anytime soon, but I’ll gladly keep stock of celery soda for a fizzy refresh.
(Tip: Doc Brown’s Cel-Ray is great, but if you can make it to Made Nice in NYC, they’ve got the best celery soda fountain drink.)
2. Pons Sandals
I wasn’t expecting a lot. All I needed was a pair of leather sandals that could stand the test of a sticky hot summer in the city, so when I found Pons, a super simple sandal that fit my basic requirements in a Chinatown pop-up, I gave them a chance at being my summer go-to. Pons, with their uncomplicated, straight-forward design – a result of 72 years of handcrafting in Spain – translated to an easy, painless and blister-free break-in and my favorite sandal.
(Notable mention: The Camper Oruga Heel Strap Sandal is equally versatile and with a throwback look to the original Teva sandal.)
3. All The Light We Cannot See
My daily commute got longer this year and with it so did my reading list. I called it my Reading Renaissance because I fell in love with stories again and the feeling of not wanting to leave a world captured within the pages of a book. Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning All The Light We Cannot See, a compelling and often heartbreaking story of morality, survival, and love told through the lives of two young Europeans on opposing sides of World War II, held me close for all of its 530 pages, and turned my daily treks across Manhattan into an escape that always ended too soon.
(Also check out Shoe Dog, the incredible memoir of how Nike founder Phil Knight conceived, launched and almost lost one of the most influential brands in the world)
4. Cornhole
How did it take me so long to fully discover the joy of cornhole!? Sure, I’ve been a casual player for a few years, but my brother-in-law made me a custom cornhole set for my birthday, thus taking my love for the game to a new (and slightly competitive) level. It’s the ultimate summer-time hang out game!
5. Fiona The Hippo
Between planning escape routes in case of a North Korean missile striking New York City, wringing my hands, and yelling at our current president for pretty much anything he said, I tried to find happy news that had nothing to do with possible nuclear war or politics. I found was 29 pounds of exactly what I needed to smile: Fiona the Hippo. Born six weeks early at the Cincinnati Zoo in late January, Baby Fiona, with her chubby hippo body and gigantic smile, was my daily moment of news joy this year.
6. Transit App
Year after year, I keep saying that I’m working on being more patient. But waiting for a bus in New York City can be the ultimate test. Enter the Transit app, a real-time location tracker of subways and buses with up-to-the-second accuracy that has yet to let me down. I’m still trying to be more patient in other areas of my life, but with the Transit app, at least I know how long I need to try.
7. The Women’s Movement
Has there ever been a more empowering and exciting time to be a woman? Actually, yes. Women gaining the right to vote in 1920; Jeanette Rankin becoming the first woman to serve in the Senate in 1922; and Sandra Day O’Connor being sworn in as the first female Supreme Court Justice in 1981, just to name a few seminal accomplishments. But for someone who wasn’t alive to witness the legislative milestones of the 1920s and too young to remember when the glass ceiling of the nation’s highest court was shattered, the women’s movement of 2017 - from January’s epic march that spanned 680 cities and 137 countries worldwide, to the reboot of the Me Too movement - was the most inspiring and electrifying cultural shifts in years. And we’re just getting started.
8. Nike Modern Tempo Running Shorts
If you’re a woman and a runner who has never had a perfectly good run ruined by your shorts chafing the inside of your legs, you won’t understand the miracle that is the Nike Modern Tempo short. For the rest of the female athletes in the world, there’s hope. I almost gave up on running shorts altogether and resigned myself strictly to tights, but these made me a true believer in running without paying the price afterwards.
9. Clomicalm
This one is as much for me as it is for my small rescue dog, Dill, who has been working hard on overcoming his separation anxiety since October 2016. Sometimes, though, you just need a small pharmaceutical intervention to deal with the challenges of everyday life – even if you’re a dog who has it pretty good. Dill got on a low dose in 2017 and three weeks later life got a whole lot better. Thank you, Clomicalm (and Dill’s vet).
10. Call Me By Your Name
I’m not surprised that Call Me By Your Name made it onto my annual favorite things list. It does, after all, include some of my most favorite things: early 80’s fashion, Italy, director Luca Guadagnino, and gay themes. But it’s just how much I love this movie that’s surprising. The third in Guadagnino’s desire trilogy (I Am Love and A Bigger Splash are also among my favorites from years past), Call Me By Your Name is the delicate, subtle, and elegant story of Elio and Oliver whose unexpected love surpasses their time in history and is also limited by the fact that in 1983 being gay was simply not an option for many young men. The film is like a vivid, enchanted dream with dialogue that reveals entire characters in quick, but poignant and direct lines. And like a good dream, I didn’t want Call Me By Your Name to end.
