Top Tier Shit

My best recommendations in every category

Apr 27, 2025

After having spent the last three days in a flurry of packing, cleaning, unpacking, and sneezing from all the dust, I’m physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. But I’m still posting a blog today, because that’s showbiz, baby!

We are officially in the new house, and I can’t wait to decorate and make it my own. I’m so grateful for this house and for the incredible friends I have who have helped me move and get settled. I truly have some of the most generous people in my life, from the friend who offered to help me move without my even asking to the group of people who dropped what they were doing to help us maneuver our new fridge over the countertops, to the friend who spent hours of her Saturday helping me rearrange my furniture several times to find the way that made the most sense, I love you all and can’t thank you enough!

Today’s post is about my top recommendations for basically everything. These are things I’ve been obsessed with lately as well as some I’ve been spreading the gospel about for years. If you’d like my recommendations on any specific topic, let me know in the comments!

Podcasts:

So True by Caleb Hearon

I am regularly laughing out loud and smiling to myself at the gym while I’m listening to this. It’s an interview style podcast, which maybe doesn’t sound that exciting, but Caleb is the funniest person alive, and we should all be enjoying his work. He has his friends on, some of whom I’m sure you’ve heard of, and they just chat, but it’s so funny and often thought-provoking.

Specific episode to start with: Paul F. Tompkins is Happier Than Ever

David Tennant Does a Podcast with…

If David Tennant has no fans, I’m dead. His Scottish accent, his genuine interest in learning about his guests, his wit! This is the perfect podcast. And he interviews some megastars too, so I guarantee you’ll be able to find at least one episode you want to listen to.

Specific episode to start with: Ben Schwartz (great intro for the newest season, but there are two older seasons with tons of good episodes like Judy Dench, George Takei, and Jennifer Garner [my personal fave episode to date]).

Books:

I could – and have – recommended dozens of books, but I usually try to cater to the person I’m recommending books to. For instance, if the person I’m talking to loves thrillers, I’m not going to recommend a dense literary fiction novel. But these are books that I would recommend to nearly everyone and feel relatively confident that they would enjoy them.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller – This should be required reading for everybody everywhere. The content is difficult (check your trigger warnings), but her writing is so eloquent and raw. I’ve never heard a man talk about this book, but they’re the ones who should be reading it the most!!!
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore – Okay, maybe this one isn’t for everyone, but I’ve been trying to get more people to read this for like 10 years now. It’s about the missing years of Jesus in the Bible, but from his friend’s perspective. I’m not going to sugarcoat here, it’s potentially sacrilegious, BUT it’s really funny, and if you can have a sense of humor about Christianity, I think you’ll really like it.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman – Or honestly any of his books, but this is the blueprint. I know this book really had a moment a few years ago, and even got turned into a movie starring Tom Hanks, but in this case, the book really is better.
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women – I recommend this one on audiobook because it’s a lot of information, and it’s easier (at least for me) to digest it this way, but even if you never read nonfiction, I think you’d like this one. It reads more like a podcast than a book, imo, and I was so fascinated/captivated/horrified by it that I couldn’t stop listening. It’s about the girls and women who worked at a watch factory using radium-based paint who ended up falling ill and dying from the chemicals.

Skincare/Beauty:

Honey Halo moisturizer by Farmacy: This is a god-tier moisturizer, coming from someone who has chronically dry skin. I had to start using moisturizer in seventh grade because my skin was quite literally peeling off my face (but hey, I’ve never had acne issues!), and this is the best one I’ve found. They regularly have 20% off sales, so don’t pay full price.
Olaplex shampoo and conditioner: Yes, it’s expensive, but my hair has truly never felt healthier. I alternate between this and the Bondi Boost hair growth line (also incredible), and my hairdresser always compliments how long/healthy my hair looks.
Stop spending so much on face wash, it’s not necessary. I get something different every time, and I’ve never noticed a difference. But maybe that’s not true if you have acne-prone skin idk!

Food/Drink:

Rooted Fare black sesame butter. This is a recent discovery of mine, but I’m hooked. I got the trio pack, which included the black sesame butter, a pineapple cake cashew butter, and a Chinese almond cookie butter, all of which are delicious, but the black sesame is just plain addictive.
If you know me, you know I am a coffee girl through and through. Iced, hot, sweet, not sweet, I love it in almost all forms. It’s hard to recommend a coffee product though because everyone’s tastes are so different but let me at least try to deinfluence you. You do not need a Nespresso machine, or really anything that uses pods. It’s wasteful, the pods are way more expensive than buying your own coffee, and you can get an espresso machine for relatively inexpensive these days. Honestly though, should we just go back to traditional coffee makers? I’ve been tempted lately. The only thing that’s stopping me is knowing that I would probably start drinking a full pot every day.
Vista Hermosa tortillas. I get these at Whole Foods and they are kind of expensive, like $6 for eight of them, but I’m fully addicted. They’re so simple but so so good.

Misc.

Get a financial advisor. Seriously. If you’re not great with money or numbers or stocks (none of these things are any of my business), I can personally tell you that the weight that this took off my shoulders is worth whatever I’m paying them. I have a Roth IRA, and I definitely recommend opening one, especially if you’re in your 20s or 30s and are just starting to save for retirement (assuming that we actually get to do that one day). I’ve been with mine for a little over a year now, and they handle everything, which I greatly appreciate as someone who’s never understood finances.
Find a hobby that requires you to use both hands. Look, I’m fully addicted to my phone. It’s a problem, and I hate it. This year, one of my top goals is to reduce my screen time, which I’m embarrassed to admit is only going okay. Something that’s really helped though is finding hobbies that I have to use both of my hands for so that I physically can’t pick up my phone. I’ve been doing cross stitch and pottery, which I LOVE, but there are a lot of hobbies that would work for this. Coloring, knitting/crocheting, painting, gardening, jigsaw puzzles – the options are endless. And as a bonus, it feels like doing arts & crafts and you get the satisfaction of creating something with your own two hands.
Sneak peak of what I’m making in my pottery class!
Walk more! I know that most of us don’t live in walkable cities, but when the weather permits, I go outside and walk around my neighborhood every chance I get. It’s a great opportunity to listen to podcasts or audiobooks and connect with nature (or urban sprawl I guess). You don’t have to go far, or walk for very long to get the benefits. Start with just 10 minutes!. It’s also great for your physical and mental health. Bonus: it also keeps me off my phone!