First Rodeo's Finest: 2024's Best Books, Good Decisions, Sartorial Slam Dunks & More

More than a few recommendations to make your 2025 sweeter.

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Hi and Happy New Year! I’ve been quiet, taking a sort of unplanned but very necessary break— truthfully, I’d planned to continue everything I could through the holidays and just felt like every second of my time has been claimed or scheduled. I’m envious of people who spent their holiday break reading on the couch or binge watching Christmas movies! It was a struggle to find time to squeeze even one in, which I guess is pretty consistent with the rest of my December. Go figure.

Scenes from my last week home in California.

I’ll also say, for a little inside baseball— readership in December is almost always a flop. You guys don’t open emails, I admit I barely skim the ones in my inbox too. Engagement is a flop until January, so I’ve been saving the good stuff until then and trusting the process, even if it hurts my marketer brain to see numbers dwindle all month.

I am doing several of those January vision boarding and personal reflection exercises, that I’m excited to share more after the New Year— I don’t know about you, but the idea that we’d squeeze time in the busiest few weeks of the year to do a year’s worth of reflecting, planning and digesting feels nuts. There’s plenty of time in January for that.

In that spirit, today’s reflection is all fun and frivolity: reading, shopping, recommending, and what you guys liked the most this last year.

If you don’t make it to the bottom, cheers to 2024. I’m glad to have spent it with you.

Money can’t buy happiness, but these are the purchases I’m most glad I made in 2024:

This does not include: dining, travel (always the best purchase), books (actually that might be always the best purchase— which is why it gets its own section below), or presents I got for other people (okay, maybe this is the best purchase of all). I have taken painstaking care to not duplicate anything here that is mentioned elsewhere below!

• My Suri toothbrush is a sustainable, very, very cute, electric toothbrush that felt like the best upgrade to my life I could have made. This sounds ridiculous, but I kind of hated my old crusty Oral-B, which had design flaws that seemed to breed bacteria and slop— this toothbrush has held a charge for well over a month, is so sleek and chic, mounts to my bathroom wall for no more messy sink counters, and comes with a UV cleaning case. Ugh!! I love her. I think lovingly about my toothbrush too often now! Like a freak!

• As a person who is perpetually sockless and stealing socks from my loved ones and wearing them until I get caught, I finally invested this 3-pack of Ralph Lauren socks in November (for a legendary price of $13, on sale!) and the price tag to extreme happiness ratio is absolutely perfect. Don’t sleep on shopping directly from Ralph Lauren, kind of a slay…

• I can’t link you this because it’s seasonal and is now out of stock until next fall, but Chobani’s pumpkin spice creamer changed my life and helped me break my coffee purchasing habit completely. The expiration date on these isn’t until January 28th, 2025, so I absolutely did go buy out every last container at my local grocery store. I have one left and then… I have no idea what my fate and future holds…

Best of beauty!

I had a chapter as the interim CEO of a beauty brand this year and found myself getting more immersed in that world than ever before. This was my first year where brands started gifting me product— not because of my day job, but because of First Rodeo!— and I also tested out a lot of beauty products. I paid for everything I’m recommending here with my own dollars, fwiw.

• Probably the most efficacious skincare product I’ve ever used, Topicals Brightening Under Eye Patches are the only thing I’ve found that can actually make the (genetic, tbh) dark circles under my eyes appear brighter. 15 minutes after you put them on and there is a stark and noticeable difference that packs more of a punch than just covering with concealer. I hate single use packaging and throw-away products, but this is where I will allow myself a concession— they’re my favorite beauty product of 2024.

• I spent way too much money on lip treatments and products in 2024. I’m not a big spender on makeup or skin care, but I like to have a moisturized mouth at all times! I prefer a peppermint or mint flavor. I tried Rhode’s Candy Cane Peptide Treatment (too grainy! I’m off their lip products for good after three dud peptide purchases this year…), Laneige’s Candy Cane (previously my all time favorite), and far and away my favorite has been the Topicals Fresh Mint. In a Black Friday Sale I was able to snag 2 for $16— an outrageous deal— but I’d gladly pay more. I’m very glad I have 2. I will not deviate from this slam dunk moving forward!!

• A recent acquisition, but the Soft Services scented Theraplush is what I didn’t know I wanted. I had the original Theraplush but thought it was the worst smelling thing on planet earth and gagged every time I put it on— when they announced there was risk of mold or whatever the semi-recall they did was about, I was not sad at all to toss it. Now, I actually love the smell, and am thrilled my dry hands are getting the benefits, especially now that I spend all day cooking, which means constant washing. If you have dry hands, this is the treatment for you— and yes, I kind of do think of it as a treatment vs. a lotion.

• I put a drop of Isle of Paradise’s self-tanner in my moisturizer every morning— it’s my frontline against the war on winter blues. I do not deviate from this strategy from October through June.

2024 Reader Favorites

Your most clicked links really delighted me this year, because they correspond to the things I actually love and wear the most. We share good taste!!

1. The most perfect navy cotton sweater, that’s no longer in stock but I am wearing as I type this. (Similar vibes but in crewneck here, I think I will snag?) This year I’m leaning away from cashmere— mostly for environmental reasons (this book has a phenomenal chapter on the true environmental and economic costs of cashmere and would probably make a good audiobook listen) and also because I’m sick of an insanely high dry cleaning bill. 100% cotton is thrilling.

2. The Clare V. bag that I was dying to have all summer and eventually bought. This was my trusty companion on my month-ish journey through Portugal! (Actually, João was my trusty companion. This was just a good purse.)

3. The snakeskin ballet flats that I told you I comfortably walked 8 miles in on a fall weekend. It seems we all want to walk 8 miles in a pair of smart shoes.

4. The thick, boxy, slightly cropped and overdyed tee that I wore to play beach volleyball, ride my bike to Dunkin’ and on the long car journey to Cape Cod this summer. (Conveniently very on sale right now— I’m not not open to snagging it in another color…)

5. The Bally/Miu Miu boat shoe dupes that I also walked miles across Manhattan in. (Here are the Ballys I coveted and here are the Miu Mius.) I’ve now worn these to the point they’re going to come apart soon if I don’t take a break! I adore them and get so many compliments on them on the reg— I think I’m going to invest in a pair of Sperry’s (inspired by Erika Veurink!) now that I know how regularly I reach for this type and color of shoe.

6. The fabulous Doen dress I told you I could never afford but still thought was classic and fabulous and everything I love. (Some of you lucky ducks did go and buy it!)

7. The understated white sapphire necklace from Dorsey that my boyfriend gifted me for my 30th. I wear it every single day.

8. My favorite sleep gummies that I am now hopelessly attached to. (I am scared of edibles/gummies— I once took one and got way too high at the San Francisco Zoo and felt I could speak to the animals, never again— but these don’t overwhelm me and instead take me to a silly, goofy, sleepy world.)

9. The genius non-stick pan with no PFAS, PFOAS, PFTES or ceramic coating that my brilliant friend Kristina Wasserman (a Food52 alum!) and her team designed over at Our Place. (More on why titanium > ceramic and why I loved this cookware innovation in this letter.) I got this for my dad for Christmas and it was a hit.

10. A kind of fabulous, New Year’s Eve ready silk slip skirt from J. Crew that would look killer with or without tights, in pretty much every season.

Favorite Books of 2024

These are the best books I read in 2024— not necessarily published in 2024— though admittedly I’ve yet to do my December reading recap!

• I loved Anderson Cooper’s audiobook editions of Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty and Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune. I’m planning to do a re-listen this winter.

• Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr was memorable in every way.

• I gobbled down The Magnolia Parks Universe, a sort of dark, filthy, YA series about a London socialite and a crime family.

• Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Long Island Compromise is not for everyone— but it definitely was for me!!

• Like everyone else on Earth, I loved Alison Espach’s The Wedding People.

• This was the year I finally joined the rest of society and read all 4.5 ACOTAR books along with the start to Sarah J Maas’s Throne of Glass series and Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing series. Yes, I loved them all.

• Ina Garten’s Be Ready When The Luck Happens was my favorite memoir of the year.

• Patrick Raden Keefe’s Say Nothing was a must-listen audiobook about The Troubles that I feel actually forever changed my perception of the world. I haven’t even finished it yet but it’s already merited a spot here. I’ve also just learned it’s a Hulu show that I will be watching!

Recipes to Remember

My favorite new recipes of 2024.

• Emma LaPerruque’s Pumpkin Crumb Cake is the stuff of legends. (I showed it off here.)

• Martha Stewart’s Mac and Cheese Recipe is the only one I need for the foreseeable future. Make this for a crowd! (Don’t read the comments on my TikTok video of the recipe, they actually made me want to quit the internet.)

• Martha Stewart’s Kale Salad with Breadcrumbs. Humble ingredient list, seems simple, but shit! Favorite salad of the year! Best news: it can and should be made in advance, so great for meal prep. (Recipe here!)

• Martha Stewart’s Lasagna. This turned out crazy good and pretty easy, the addition of sausage is kind of genius, it flavors the ground beef in the pan too and is a great short cut.

• Ina Garten’s Warm Roast Chicken and Arugula Salad is so fabulous. I’ve written about it here before and now I just riff on the basic structure of it— but I really recommend. (Video here!)

• Ina Garten’s Spiced Pecans which I have also riffed on probably 7+ times since I made them for the first time less than 2 months ago. I put these in mason jars which I decorated with a white sharpie, tied velvet ribbons around them and gave them as a holiday gift! Then everyone told me they don’t like pecans. FML. :)

• Ina Garten’s Pumpkin Pie— I made this recipe 4 times in the last 2 months (send help!) and I have also made other pumpkin pie recipes in that time period too. This one blows them all out of the water. It turns out perfect every time. And yes— I use store bought all-butter pie crust and I am man enough to admit that. I do plenty from scratch in the kitchen, I’m all in favor for eliminating one thing from the myriad of things on my plate. (Pun intended.)

Thank you for joining me for this link-laden edition of First Rodeo 2024 Favorites! More nuanced letters coming your way soon, but I hope this finds you somewhere low-key and relaxing.

Your presence and this community, especially my super-readers, have made my 2024 in more ways than you can possibly know or imagine. 🤍

xx

Zoe