Favourites || My 2016 Non-Beauty Favourites Round-Up

Hi guys! Today's post is going to be round up of some of my favourite things from the past year that have nothing to do with makeup and beauty! Last year I included this at the end of my 2015 favourites post, but this year I figured it deserved it's own post! I thought about doing this in video form, but the timing didn't work out fort hat this yea, so hopefully this works just as well for you!

So I have a few categories and I made no real attempt to limit myself to one thing per category, so you're gonna get a couple of mini-lists. =P So here are my favourite things of 2016 in Movies, TV, books, music, food, drinks, games, and apps! Let me know if you have any category suggestions for future years or future posts.

Favourite 2016 Movies:

1. Moana — Recent, yes, but so so good! Exceeded my expectations both just with the story itself and with the great music! It's been so long since we had a really great, musical Disney Princess movie, and I definitely feel this was one.
2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them — There was never any doubt that I would love this movie, and I really did. Eddie Redmayne is brilliant as Newt Scamander, and I can't wait to get even more in depth into the history of magic in the movies to come. And I need a niffler.
3. Suicide Squad — I was so excited for this movie as well, and I loved it! DC movies never quite hit the mark as hard as Marvel, for me, but this one did a much better job than other recent DC films, and I hope to see more of the Suicide Squad, especially Harley and Deadshot.
4. Deadpool — This movie was hyped up hard on the internet, but it lived up to it! Ryan Reynolds was fucking fantastic, funny, interesting... this movie was so different, and I only hope the Deadpool film(s?) to follow will be as good as this one was.

Favourite Shows/Series I watched in 2016:

1. Gotham — I mentioned this one in my recent post about all the great shows available on Netflix, but this really was one of the best things I watched this year!
2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine — Also mentioned in the recent Netflix post, but again worth your time! Who knew I'd love a show featuring Andy Samberg so much? But I really do.
3. Yuri!!!! On Ice — Wait, is that an anime? Yes, yes it is. While I do watch anime from time to time, none usually gets to me like this one has. The season isn't quite over as I'm writing this post, but I'm looking forward to it, and honestly hoping there will be another season to come! It's a beautifully animated show about figure skating, and it's clear the writers and artists are passionate about getting shit right! It's technical and realistic, the animation of the skating routines is smooth and convincing, and the characters are loveable. If you have any interest in figure skating or anime, I recommend this one.
4. Game of Thrones — I cannot make a list of my favourite shows of the year without including Game of Thrones. Each season is fantastic, and the recent one was not different! And now that I'm done the books (that are out thus far), I can't wait to see where the show takes us all next!
5. Gilmore Girls — and finally, Gilmore Girls, as well as the new Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. I watched both this year, and I fell in love with the show. As I mentioned in my Netflix post, I didn't get to follow this one when it was airing, but I always wanted to watch it, and it is such a heartfelt, beautiful show.

Favourite Books I read in 2016:

1. A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin — I didn't get to read a lot this year, but I did start and finish this huge tome! Honestly, it's 1,125 pages! But it was fantastic! Once you get into the ASoIaF books, you will want to read them all.
2. The Twilight Tetralogy (I refuse to call it the "Twilight Saga") by Stephanie Meyer:
   • Twilight
   • New Moon
   • Eclipse
   • Breaking Dawn
   — some of you are judging me for reading Twilight, but I loved this series in highschool, and defended them pretty fiercely (for me) when people attacked them in University. No they aren't deep, and you can probably squish problems out if you're a picky bitch, but I love vampires, and I love the characters in these books, though most of them are flawed. If anything, I love them more for their flaws and quirks. For those of you who still love or like these books, good for you! I loved them just as much on my second read through, and was so happy to find them undiminished by time and other people's complaints.

Favourite Music released in 2016:

1. 13 Voices by Sum 41 — My favourite band since middle school, when I was probably too young to be listening to a somewhat political punk band... haha! This is their first album in YEARS and the first with Brownsound back in the band. I'm so glad, because he brings a sound I hadn't realised I'd seriously missed from Sum41's last couple albums! I also got to see them live for the second time this year, which was amazing!
2. Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco — at this point, somehow, Panic! is mostly just Brendan Urie, but that's totally okay because he is clearly all that is needed! This album is on point and beautiful, and I really wish I could have made this concert when they were here in the summer! Maybe next time!
3. Yellowcard by Yellowcard — bitter sweet, because this is a fantastic album from one of my favourite bands of all time... but it also supposed to be their last ever! There's a lot of pain in the songs on this one, but the music is beautiful and unique and classically Yellowcard, and there are lots of great lyrics. I'm even more sad that Yellowcard didn't even bring their farewell tour to Vancouver, because I've never seen them live, and now I guess I never will =(
4. Taking One For the Team by Simple Plan — I love this band, and I love that this album tries to be angsty sometimes, but mostly you can feel how happy they are with their lives. I also love some of the weird sounds they tried this time... happy dance-y reggae...? Really Simple Plan? But it's fucking great, and their concert at the PNE this year was so good and so much nostalgia it was insane! These guys are another middle-school band for me <3

Favourite Foods:

1. Butter chicken & rice — I feel like I fall in love with this stuff more every time I eat it. It's one of the most comforting foods I can think of, and I swear I could eat it every week.
2. Avocado toast — The internet seemed obsessed with this, and eventually this year I broke down and tried it to see if all the fuss was worth anything. And oh my god, its so simple, but so good. It's creamy, tasty, spicy (if you shake on some chilli flakes and lots of pepper), and healthy. I mean, it's still kinda fatty, but with good fats and lots of nutrients!

Favourite Drinks:

1. Iced Americano (with or without cream) — found this out kinda by accident this summer when I didn't want something milky. I love black iced americanos...
2. Pumpkin Spice anything — anything, latte, frap, coffee, iced coffee... gimme plz.
3. Caffe Misto — basically a latte but cheaper and maybe more coffee, less milk?
4. Starbucks Doubleshot on Ice — like an americano, but its espresso, syrup, milk, shaken with ice.
5. All the tea — I just really love tea.

Phone Apps (Android)

1. Carrot Rewards — I think this only works in a couple of Canadian provinces, but you can get scene points for movies for doing health surveys and quizzes, and step challenges. They might also do other loyalty programs, but I use the scene points.
2. Flickr — I use this mostly as an automatic uploader for my phone pictures. It has like 5 tb of space for free, so I have almost all my pictures auto-backed up on Flickr.
3. Instagram — I just love instagram, but I feel like I've gotten better at it this year, with my 365-day challenge.
4. Snapseed — I don't use it a ton, but this photo editor from Google is great, and has options that allow you to make really pretty, pro-looking edits I use for IG posts about my recent blog posts
5. Words With Friends — a silly scrabble-like game you can play online with friends whenever you have a minute. It's fun, basic, and not time consuming, unless you are both sitting there answering your turns right away.

And I think that's all! Make sure to let me know in the comments some of your favourite things in these categories from this year in the comments!

Thanks for reading!