Favorite things I bought in 2024
As every year, I write some recaps before the new year. I thought I’d do it a little earlier this year and do it before Christmas. And also, split the post in two instead of one really long one.
Over the past 2-3 years, I’ve done fewer decorating posts and more DIY and crafts. The reason for that is that I’m mostly pretty content with what we have and how things look in our house. I haven’t felt the urge to give rooms a full makeover but I have added a few things to the house, and here are my favorites.
Favorite home decor purchases of 2024
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- Rechargeable led cordless table lamp – I bought this lamp for our kitchen bistro table because the wall doesn’t have an outlet. We love it so much and have been also using it outside in the summer on our patio table. For next summer I will get a second one. I’ve seen them more and more at restaurants in the center of the table as well.
- Scalloped rattan baskets – I added these baskets above our kitchen cabinets to store some things like cloth napkins that I don’t use too often. They look so cute!
- Retro-style coffee maker – This is a small-scale coffee maker that only makes 6 cups, which is enough for my husband and me. Since we have a really small kitchen this is a much better size and look than our old large coffee maker.
- Scalloped pillow cover set – I love this pillow set and how it looks in our dining room. It comes in other colors and I adore them in combination with my old leopard pillows.
- Multilayer nonstick, high-performance cast construction pan – Last Christmas I treated myself with an always pan that was so hyped up but I ended up not loving it all that much because it got ruined so fast. They even gave me a second one for free and it happened again. So I ended up trying this pan because I love the look of a pretty pan sitting on the stove and I’m much happier with this cheaper colored pan. It is so much better!!!
- Upholstered round fringe ottoman – I’m surprised that my cats mostly leave the fringe of this ottoman alone and they love hiding under it. It’s been a great new addition to our living room.
- Square woven pouf ottoman – I recently bought this one since my old one was deflated and not so pretty anymore. I could have restuffed it but we are using it on our porch for now and I love this unique pouf with a modern twist so it doesn’t get too traditional in our house.
- Disco ball pillows – I originally bought one for our daughter’s room but then went all out for Christmas with more of them for our living room. They are so fun and affordable!
- Queen upholstered channel tufted wingback bed – Our daughter needed a bigger bed since she outgrew the French antique that I love so much. We bought this white upholstered bed in January, and I’m surprised to report that it is still white. However, the white desk chair that isn’t on this list isn’t looking so good anymore.
Favorite things I bought for our cats
Now that winter is here, I am trying even harder to keep our one feral female, who we call Pixie or Pretty Girl, happy. But I haven’t just bought things for the outdoor cats and some things for our indoor fur babies, too.
When I had Pixie and Frank spayed at the beginning of the year, they were both too scared to use the small heated house. Below, you can see a photo of her finally using the house, but she wants the flap open so she can see who is coming.
Frank is happily sleeping inside my son’s bedroom whenever he wants to thanks to the ladder to the roof that I built for him. We work in there too on our computer and when my son is at college, I sleep in there with him almost every night. I should say I move from my bedroom to my son’s room when my husband starts to snore. Our indoor cats still hate him and the feeling is mutual unfortunately. He hates them too!
So here are my favorite cat-related items I bought this year.
- Breakaway cat collar with removable bow ties (plaid combo & red and black combo) – Just look below at how cute Willy and Maya look in their bow ties. Frank and Walter are wearing the other two but I didn’t get a good photo yet. I simply added the bow to Frank’s AirTag collar.
- Heated water and food bowl for cats – Frank and Pixie love drinking the water from this bowl. However, giving them wet food on one side is a bit iffy since it dries out too fast from the heating element if they don’t eat it right away.
- Small heated insulated heated cat house –
- Silvervine sticks – All our cats are obsessed with these sticks. I tried buying just the Silvervine balls or powder, and the sticks are preferred by all.
- Medium heated insulated cat house with two exits – I bought a second house for Pixie (or whoever else wants to use it) that is larger and has two ways to escape and those flaps are clear so she can see. So far she hasn’t used it yet besides taking treats inside and then getting out right away again. I think I need to find a different spot for it.
- Outdoor food shelter – I bought two of these for our yard for the dry food that I have out for the kitties at all times. It keeps the food dry during the summer and the winter.
- Elevated outdoor cat (and dog) bed – I bought this cat bed for Frank and Pixie during the summer and they both use it all the time and sometimes even sleep in it together.
- Outdoor/indoor electric heated pad for cats and dogs – I placed this heating pad in the elevated outdoor tent and they love it. It’s not super warm but still better than no warmth during the cold months.
- Rattan doll bed –
And that’s it for today.
Tschüß,
