The Best Bits: My November 2025 Favorites
The Best Bits is a monthly series where I tell you what I’ve been up to! What I’m doing, media I’m loving, and products I recommend! Here’s a fresh batch of favorites for your reading pleasure!
READING | The Hounding
I read some really unique books this month, starting with Bunny by Mona Awad which was a totally wild ride. It felt like a mix of Mean Girls and The Craft, but it was more disorienting and vague due to the unreliable, unstable narrator. I’m not sure if I’d even recommend the book, but I know this book has a cult following and those who love it really love it!
The standout book this month for me was The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis in which a group of sisters in a puritanical town are accused of magically turning themselves into dogs. Not entirely a new idea (it is vaguely reminescent of The Crucible), but I found the writing to be captivating, and the story kept me engaged the entire time. This was a quick read and a nice literary departure from some of the other historical fiction I’ve read recently.
WATCHING | The Nanny
The Nanny was one of my all time favorites growing up, and I was so excited to see it was finally available to stream! I’ve loved seeing Fran’s outfits, the 90s celebrity cameos, and the snarky remarks from Niles the Butler. The show is over 30 years old at this point (can you believe it?!) and it still mostly holds up! It’s been such a fun nostalgic watch for us!
WEARING | All Things Comfy
Earlier this month I was able to get the most glam I’ve ever been, I had my bridal hair and makeup done professionally and I was so pleased with how it turned out! The walkback to “normal Jess” (especially the hair!) took quite a bit of effort and detangling. Since then I’ve been in all-out comfy mode and focusing on rest! I’ve been living in comfy pajamas, slippers, warm clothes and using products that are gentle on my skin and moisturizing for my hair. We’re kind of in hibernation mode over here and I’m not mad at that one bit!
EATING | Sushi
David and I took a northern Virginia “mini moon” after our wedding and revisited some of the old stomping grounds from early in our relationship. We went back to the brewery we had our first date, drove past our old apartments, and had dinner at the sushi restaraunt from our second date. We had some incredible tuna nigiri that I’m still thinking about! We are glad we’ve moved out of the area from a cost standpoint, but we do miss the food! Central PA has a long way to go if it ever wants to compete with the DMV when it comes to the culinary scene!
SIPPING | Signature Cocktails
One of our favorite things about wedding planning was trying out recipes for signature cocktails. After much deliberation, we landed on a barrel-aged old fashioned (featuring bourbon that David aged at home on our back porch!) and a pear and vanilla martini!
INDULGING | Rest, Relaxation, and Shark Tank
I was not lying when I talked about going into hybernation mode earlier in this post! Post wedding, all we’ve wanted to do is lay around and recover from our year of planning and prepping! We had the best wedding day we could have possibly imagined, but even the best day ever can leave you feeling zapped! Over the past few weeks we haven’t been up to much. Lots of naps, a tiny bit of knitting, and quite a few hours of watching old seasons of Shark Tank!
ADMIRING | Short Hairstyles
After the wedding I chopped my hair to the shoulders, something I was looking forward to doing for quite some time. I loved my long hair, but it was getting so annoying to brush! I wasted no time, booked an appointment, and now I’m feeling so much lighter!
OBSESSING | Christmas Crafting
Every year I plan a holiday crafting weekend with my friends Emily and Clair. It’s one of my favorite traditions and it really kicks off that Christmas feeling. We’ve met up the Saturday after Thanksgiving three years in a row now, and this year we made Christmas tree skirts! We spent the entire day sewing, and now we have adorable tree skirts to use every single year!
CELEBRATING | Holidays with Family
The holidays are here and it’s so nice to have family in town! It’s been a busy season in our lives and having a reminder to slow down and enjoy spending time together has been really great! Cherry is eating it up too, she’s loving having her grandparents around and all the extra attention!
What are your favorite things this month?
Check out all my monthly favorites posts here!
