Whimsy might just be the word of 2026. Whimsy is playful, unusual, and lighthearted, driven by imagination rather than strict reasoning. In my brain, it’s a cousin to nostalgia, a wistful or sentimental yearning for a return to a romanticized past period. This list encompasses both. Does it make logical sense for me to bring some of these things back into my life? Not always. Are they nostalgia-driven? Some of them.
In truth, I’m trying to neatly categorize something that can’t be neatly categorized. This is simply a list of things I used to love, haven’t loved in a very long time, and have discovered I still love (at least for now).
1. Coca-Cola
While hiking with my sister in Switzerland, I noticed she always had a cold bottle of Coke at the ready for after our hike. I haven’t had a sip of soda in years. Probably decades. I was never a big soda person, and I’m certainly not big on sweet drinks. But one day, I asked her for a sip… and the angels sang. It was crispy! Sweet! Delicious! I only wanted two big sips, but those sips just hit different after a long, hot, sweaty hike.
So when I got back home, I found myself at the grocery store adding a 6-pack of mini-cans to my cart. (!) They’re in my little outdoor fridge, and yes, I cracked one after my last SLC paddle session, and it hit just as good. Note that I’m drinking straight-up Coke with sugar, not Diet Coke. This has nothing to do with “chemicals” (please, you know me better than this) and everything to do with taste preference. If you’re going to drink soda, you might as well drink the stuff that’s really worth it, right?
2. 90s movies
Last year, Brandon and I watched the 2024 television series Presumed Innocent, with Jake Gyllenhaal. I casually mentioned this series was originally based on a book, and there was also an old movie with Harrison Ford (1990). When we finished the series, we decided to watch the movie, and it was so good. That got us into a wicked 90s movie kick. We watched (I’ll star my favorites):
Hunt for Red October (Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, 1990)
Patriot Games (a Jack Ryan movie starring Harrison Ford, 1992)*
A Few Good Men (Demi Moore, Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, 1992)*
Clear and Present Danger (same, 1994)
Heat (Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, 1995)
Seven (Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, 1995)
Primal Fear (Edward Norton, Richard Gere, 1996)*
Air Force 1 (Harrison Ford, 1997)
Devil’s Advocate (Pacino, Keanu Reeves, 1997)*
Enemy of the State (Gene Hackman, Will Smith, 1998)
Spy Game (Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, 2001—technically not 90s but one of my favorite movies of all time)*
I’m sure I’m missing some, but (a) Harrison Ford had it going on, and (b) these movies truly hold up and deserve revisiting. We’ve got even more in our watch queue, and like to throw them in every few movies.
3. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Y’all, food in Switzerland was expensive. We ended up at the Coop (the local grocery store) every single day buying “girl dinners” and snacks for our hikes. Our first grocery store trip, I gravitated to a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jelly, and a loaf of bread, thinking it would be good to have some “emergency food” on hand. I don’t know where this came from, as I haven’t had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in at least a decade.
Then I went on to make us the best PB&J sandwiches every single day for our hikes and train rides. We packed them in Ziploc bags with another baggie of salty chips, and this lunch was everything on the trail. So of course, I made myself a PB&J for my first hike back in SLC (and the second, and the third…) and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon.
Since I’ve hit menopause, gluten-related breakouts are a thing of the past (unexpected benefit!) so I’m using plain old white bread, like we had as a kid. The key is fresh bread, far more PB than you might imagine, cutting them into triangles (obviously), and packing them gently at the very top of your bag so they don’t get too squished.
4. Classical music (ish)
I had a boyfriend many years ago back in NH who loved listening to movie scores while he worked. Howard Shore and Hans Zimmer were his favorites, and I recall him listening to the Gladiator score on repeat when the movie first came out. He got me into movie scores too, and for a few years, I also played them in the background. Without lyrics, it was easy to avoid distraction, and I could pick a mellow score or an energetic one based on my mood.
When we broke up, I moved away from movie scores to other background music. Recently, however, I discovered an album from Ludovico Einaudi in my Spotify downloads. I have no idea where it came from or when I downloaded it, but it’s not new—the album came out in 2013. Curious, I popped in my headpones at a coffee shop, and was immediately entranced. (At one point, I actually teared up, the music was so moving.) It reminded me a lot of the Interstellar score, though that was Hanz Zimmer as well. I played it so often that I began to anticipate the opening of the next song as the current one ended. Then, I asked ChatGPT for other albums in a similar vein.
Since then, I’ve been listening to The Blue Notebooks and The Leftovers by Max Richter, Living Room Songs by Olafur Arnolds, Glass: String Quartets and Mishima by Phillip Glass, IBM 1401 a Users Manual by Jóhann Jóhannsson, and many albums by Clint Mansell. (He did the score for Requiem for a Dream, a drug-themed movie so messed up I will never be able to watch it again, but the score is DIVINE). Some are more mellow than others. Some (like The Blue Notebooks) do include some random speech, which is a little startling, but it’s Tilda freakin’ Swinton so how can you mind?
Most streaming services call what I’ve been listening to lately “neo-classical,” although the specific sub-type I like is called “modern orchestral.” This style sits adjacent to film scores, with some overlap, which is why I’m considering this a return to classical-ish music.
By the way, ChatGPT came in clutch here. I fed in the two albums I found on my own and asked how you’d classify them. I then asked for similar artists and albums, and it spit out a long list. I don’t use AI for much, but this was an appreciated application.
5. Thriller novels
This isn’t brand new, but the amount of thrillers I’ve consumed in the last two years is 100% more than I had consumed in the five or six years prior. I’ve never been a huge thrilled fan, TBH. Like everyone else, I read Gone Girl, and it ruined me for others in this genre. I tried other thrillers after that—The Girl on the Train, The Silent Patient, and don’t get me started on Frieda McFadden. It didn’t help that every book was described as, “If you loved Gone Girl…” Nothing lived up to the hype, so I basically gave up on the genre.
Then I discovered audiobooks, and everything changed. It started with Wrong Place, Wrong Time (which I’ve written about a few times). There was something about listening to it, needing to pay attention, waiting for the shoe to drop that kept me highly engaged. I listened to this one on a solo road trip, and gasped out loud more than once at the twists. I moved onto Listen for the Lie, The First Lie Wins, and Sometimes I Lie. (We don’t listen for the title creativity, okay?) Even Freida McFadden became marginally tolerable on audiobook; I didn’t hate The Housemaid. (But I’ve DNFd the next three from her—I’ve officially given up.)
Would I have enjoyed reading these books with my eyeballs? Doubtful—but on audio, I popped them candy and loved every second. (It helped that all of these narrators were phenomenal.) While my audiobook tastes run far wider than thrillers, it’s been fun to add these back into rotation.
6. Cereal
Yes, half of this list is food-related. Yes, 100% of the food-related entries are from my childhood. Who doesn’t love the warm, cozy hug of childhood nostalgia? I haven’t touched a bowl of cereal in more than 20 years. I’m not drinking milk like I used to as a kid, when I started working out I needed a breakfast with far more protein, and sugary cereals was never my jam, even as a kid. (I preferred Mini-Wheats to Lucky Charms even as a 10-year-old.)
About two months ago, my husband brought home a high-protein cereal by Premier Protein. It was chocolate flavored, and chocolate at breakfast is gag-worthy, but I was intrigued. When I went to Harmon’s to replace it for him, I noticed they had a Mixed Berry flavor and bought it on a whim. I had some Mooala Whole30 Approved almond milk at home, and figured I’d give it a whirl.
I have since gone through four boxes of this cereal, and three cartons of Mooala. By myself. Because I hide it from my husband and child. And I like a LOT of milk in my cereal.
Part of it is that Utah has been experiencing an extreme heat wave, hitting as high as 109F in July. Nobody wants to cook in this weather, and the cooling hydration of the almond milk is highly appealing. Part of it is that cereal can act as a blueberry delivery mechanism, and I will take any opportunity to eat more blueberries. Mostly, it’s just fun to pour a bowl of cereal, and I really like the flavor and texture of this stuff. Also, it’s got enough protein for a legitimate mid-afternoon snack! (The first ingredient is literally “wheat gluten,” putting my, “I tolerate gluten much better than I used to” to the test. So far so good!)
Is there anything you’ve “rediscovered” and are loving right now? Got a thriller audiobook or 90’s movie recommendation? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below.
XO, MU
P.S. The September Whole30 starts September 1st! Our new Weekly Check-In email series is free, and packed with resources, timely advice, and “what to expect” at each phase. Sign up now and we’ll also help with all the planning and prep.
We eat cereal for "dinner" every night! (Caveat: we eat our main dinner meal as our first meal - we basically swapped meal timings). It has been nostalgic and comforting like I did not expect!
Ive been into sending letter mail these days, often including stickers. It feels so "write gramma a letter" and I love doing it!
And lately when im painting in my art room, I have cartoons on my phone....not to watch but I just listen and it feels safe and like the real world is gone, just for a bit.
I love movie scores while I work! I put them on for the kids too while they play, and they seem to stay 'in the zone' a lot longer. Win-win.