Solar Recommends 🎬🍿🎧 [December 2023]

Hello again, my shiny stars! 💖

I finally got a moment to sit down and remember all of my favorite December picks that I wanted to share with you guys. Here's the list of things that inspired me or simply made me smile or stop and have a moment to think about life in December! I hope that you find it useful and maybe even pick up something for yourself to enjoy 😌✨

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✨💭 Quote:

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde

I have a notebook that has this quote on its cover. This was a gift from my mom. Last month I accidentally looked at it when I really needed to hear something of the sort. And I feel like this can apply to anyone. Maybe someone needs to hear that too 🫂

✨🎧 Music:

Here's what I was listening to this month (lots of sad songs):

60s 🎶 Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Summer Wine

70s 🎶 ABBA - Dancing Queen

80s 🎶 Sade - Smooth Operator

90s 🎶 Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus

00s 🎶 Britney Spears - Everytime

10s 🎶 Adele - Someone Like You

20s 🎶 Duncan Laurence - Arcade

✨🎞 Movie:

Think I mentioned this already, but here's a little fun fact: each year I make a "playlist" with my favorite "Christmassy" movies and have them on in the background while we cook holiday dinner or simply are getting ready to celebrate. And these aren't your usual Xmas movies, sometimes the story just takes place around Christmas holidays 😊 And yes, these will be mainly romantic comedies this time, but I'm not ashamed haha. Blame the season! 🙈

"While You Were Sleeping" (1995) - comedy, romance.

"Lonely transit worker Lucy Eleanor Moderatz pulls her longtime crush, Peter, from the path of an oncoming train. At the hospital, doctors report that he's in a coma, and a misplaced comment from Lucy causes Peter's family to assume that she is his fiancée. When Lucy doesn't correct them, they take her into their home and confidence. Things get even more complicated when she finds herself falling for Peter's sheepish brother, Jack."

"The Family Man" (2000) - comedy, romance.

"Jack's lavish, fast-paced lifestyle changes one Christmas night when he stumbles into a grocery store holdup and disarms the gunman. The next morning he wakes up in bed lying next to Kate, his college sweetheart he left in order to pursue his career, and to the horrifying discovery that his former life no longer exists. As he stumbles through this alternate suburban universe, Jack finds himself at a crossroad where he must choose between his high-power career and the woman he loves."

"Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) - comedy, romance.

"After the death of his wife, Sam Baldwin moves to Seattle with his son, Jonah. When Jonah calls in to a talk-radio program to find a new wife for his father, Sam grudgingly gets on the line to discuss his feelings. Annie Reed, a reporter in Baltimore, hears Sam speak and falls for him, even though she is engaged. Unsure where it will lead, she writes Sam a letter asking him to meet her at the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day."

Yes, I seem to be a fan of older movies, BUT ☝️ to be fair, I tried watching a couple of newer movies this year and honestly... let's just say, I'd rather stick to these oldies instead 😆

✨👂 ASMR:

ASMR 3D AUDIO - Tingles All Around Your Head! - Sleep & Relaxation (No Talking)

If you're a fan of good quality ASMR with stunning visuals, this is for you. Extremely creative yet criminally underrated creator JaySMR is seemingly going for that asmr zeitgeist vibe in terms of visuals and audio quality (and I simply LOVE this latter channel myself btw, and the visuals and thumbnails alone make my jaw drop). And you know what? I think one day JaySMR will blow up just like that if they keep making these amazing videos.

I know someone who would greatly appreciate this one in particular, so here it is 😏:

ASMR ULTIMATE MIC BRUSHING - Extra Tingly Brushing & Scratching 😴 [No Talking]

✨🎙 Podcasts:

I didn't really get a chance to watch any new series lately but have listened to a couple of podcasts while running errands and getting ready for the holidays.

Keep in mind please that even if I recommend something, this doesn't mean that I'm 100% in awe of the episode, or that my views are totally aligning with the mentioned content. I know it's quite easy and tempting to just fall into a habit of judging someone's character and beliefs by what they consume, so guess I just wanted to let you know that I'm a pretty open-minded person in general and would watch or listen to stuff simply out of curiosity (and I just prefer having these on whenever I'm cleaning around or setting up my filming space haha 🤷‍♀️).

Andrew Huberman - What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health

It's been a while since I've listened to this one actually, but I wanted to mention it too in case there are people who want to start being healthier in 2024 😉 And it's just a fascinating listen, I had a blast while cleaning around my place 🤪🧹

The Diary Of A CEO - Esther Perel: The Trick To Fix Desire In ANY Relationship!

I'm not obsessed with relationship-themed podcasts, I promise. Most of the time I have a pretty skeptical view on these as well, but this conversation was surprisingly insightful. Simple ideas that we often don't pay much attention to due to being wrapped up in our everyday routine and worries.

The Diary Of A CEO - Jordan Peterson: STOP LYING TO YOURSELF! How To Turn Your Life Around In 2024!

To be completely honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to share this particular episode with you. Mostly due to how opinionated people can get when it comes to big public figures with "controversial" views. I am pretty open-minded and non-judgemental person by nature, and I like to form my own opinions on people and different matters. One thing I can say for sure is that you can always tell when a guest is competent in their area of work/study, and this is certainly the case here.

The Diary Of A CEO - The Money Expert: From $0 to Millions In 2 Years Without Any Hard Work!: Codie Sanchez 

Another instance where I found myself being super skeptical about the guest but decided to give it a go anyway. And certainly was not disappointed by the end of this video. Some things discussed in this episode might not be that easy to apply in just any professional area, but I could still get some nice insights even for my creative field. So, I figured there's a chance of it ending up being useful for some of you as well.

✨🤪 Fun:

Alright... *tries to gather up some courage* would you totally get disappointed in me if I told you that I've been binging SNL skits to lift up my spirits during that annual "holidays mood dump"? 🙈 Sometimes you just need a really silly joke to make your day brighter, so here's a couple of skits that almost brought me to tears:

Taboo - SNL

Sofia Vergara and Penelope Cruz Sell Pantene Shampoo - SNL

Intuition - SNL

The Corporal - SNL

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Obviously, these are just things that I like, and if for some reason you don’t like them too... that’s absolutely okay. We're all different and it's beautiful 💖 If you feel like checking any of those out and talking to me about it, I'd love that, really. But you don't even have to discuss those with me or anyone else at all. Even the fact that you can find something here that might interest you is more than enough for me to make it worth sharing 🫂

If you feel like recommending something you've recently found/watched/listened to, please feel free to do that in the comments below. I'd love to check it out if you do!

Love,

Solar ✨💫