Top 10 Smorgasbord of 2024
I love a Top-10 list, don’t you? No matter if it’s cars (which I don’t care about at all) or movies (which I care about medium) or coffee shops (which I care about A LOT), I always want to read the “end of year” lists.
But mine’s a little different this year. Instead of one category, I’m giving you:
Adriana’s 2024 Top of All the Things!
Podcast: Stolen. This is a Pulitzer and Peabody Award-winning podcast that breaks your heart and mind wide open. Listen with care.
Book: Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. This is the follow up to one of my favorite books of all time, Under the Cerulean Sea. It’s overtly political, but doesn’t make you feel like crap. It’s fantasy fiction to snuggle up with.
Christmas Movie: I started watching nothing but Christmas movies on… oh gee I think it was right abouts November 5… and I am absolutely smitten with the newest animated contribution to the canon: That Christmas on Netflix. From the creators behind Love Actually (watch for the cameos!), this is pure delight.
Brand Designer: If you’re looking to rebrand a little or a lot in 2025, you need to check out Bethany Works. She did some incredible work for me this year (including what’s in the sneak peek below!) and I loved working with her so, so much.
Business Resource: Mary Williams (aka Sensible Woo) does a weekly Tarot reading specifically for what’s up in the business ether. A very cool combo of left & right brains.
Public Speaking Coach: It me. 😉 But in all seriousness, if you’re not local and you want to work with someone in person instead of online, reach out to me for a rec. I know people hither and yon and would be happy to connect you with someone in your area!
Helpful Instagram Account: Do you love plants? Do you want to not kill your plants? Then you need to follow my friend Foss Curtis @fossandfern. She gives weekly plant tutorials and you can send in pix of your dead ficus or whatever and she’ll tell you how to fix it.
Monthly newsletter I always read: Modernist Financial, run by the insanely brilliant Georgia Lee Hussey, is a queer-owned, B-Corp financial planning firm. Her writing is fantastic (she went to Sarah Lawrence just like me!) and her newsletters always end with a “song that’s really about money” which means I learn about $ and hear new tunes. Hover over the Modernist University tab to sign up and also get a ton of great free resources.
Most Popular Courses of the Year: How to be a Successful Podcast Guest and Stand Up, Speak Out: Actors’ Secrets for Powerful Public Speaking were shining bright this year as more people found themselves in need of some simple and effective ways to show up publicly in their work.
Where I’m Putting My Money in 2025: After being in the nonprofit space for a loooong long time, I’ve become a big fan of giving circles. There are a few different models, but the basic gist is this: come together in community and get money to the people doing the good work now. This is a really “of the people” system that I really like. I am a member of 99 Girlfriends here, but you can look up “100 Women Who Give” or similar orgs in your area. Local to SW Washington? Check out Ripple Impact NW.
