• Mike Cavanagh bought a 10-foot-wide skinny house in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, in 2024
• It's a spite house because its developer decided to build what he could given city restrictions.
• Cavanagh said he's glad he bought the skinny house even though it attracts some curious onlookers.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mike Cavanagh, a 51-year-old regional manager for a medical device company, who purchased a skinny house built out of spite in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, in 2024. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I realized it was time to downsize once my kids got older and moved out.

In 2020, I sold my 3,700-square-foot home and moved into a townhouse. I spent about four years renting, hoping the market would adjust, but it never did. I eventually decided it was time to buy something.

In June, I called a real-estate agent friend in Jacksonville Beach and said, "Hey, I'd like to see a few properties." We toured three homes — one was a townhouse, and the other two were three-bedroom houses. None of them felt right.

Later, they called and said, "I've got something you need to see. It's really unique."

The moment I walked into the house, I turned to my real-estate agent and said, "I'll take it."

The home is 10 feet wide and 1,547 square feet, with two bedrooms and 2½ baths. Despite its narrow layout, the exterior has great curb appeal. Inside, it has a modern feel, with beautiful flooring and tile work throughout.

The same day I toured the home, I made an offer. It was accepted, and we closed in just 30 days. I purchased it in early June for just over $600,000.

The home feels like the right size for me

At first, I didn't know much about the home's history. What drew me in was the neighborhood — it was quiet and peaceful, which I liked. The house is also the perfect size for me since I'm single. If I were 40 with young kids, it wouldn't have worked.

Eventually, I met with the home's builder. He explained that he had owned the lot for a long time, and while neighbors wanted to buy it, he wasn't willing to sell.

Originally, he wanted to build a 15-foot-wide home, but the city said no. So, he decided to do it his way and make the home 10 feet wide. That's how its unique design came to be.

I've definitely acclimated to the home. It doesn't feel small; its bumped-out walls give the house an almost container-like feel, reminiscent of an RV from the outside.

One of the home's unique features is its built-in nooks. The upstairs bedroom has a built-in platform where my mattress sits, so I don't need a bed frame.

Another important feature of the home is its natural light. The builder did an excellent job positioning the windows to create a bright, inviting atmosphere.

I hired a local designer, and together we developed a vision for the space.

I do entertain sometimes, but I don't have massive dinner parties. I just wanted to create a great environment for working from home.

We added a built-in white oak couch in the living room with custom cushions. It was a bit pricey but totally worth it because it's incredibly comfortable and has an artsy vibe. By the TV, we also installed built-in shelving and cabinets made from white oak.

I think the skinny house is a good investment

I think the fact that my home was featured on Zillow Gone Wild and that there used to be a "For Sale" sign in the yard both drew a lot of attention.

It's more subdued now, but I occasionally notice random people driving by or walking past and making comments.

I still get jokes, too. Some friends introduce me socially as "the guy who bought the skinny house."

Sometimes, when I meet my neighbors, they mention that they thought the house would be bought and turned into an Airbnb since there are plenty around Jacksonville Beach.

Compared to other cities in Florida, Jacksonville Beach has been slow to develop, which helps keep it affordable — especially relative to other beach towns.

As more people discover it's a fantastic place to live, there's been an influx of movers from the Northeast, some from California, and many from the Midwest.

My real-estate agent and I agreed that the house wouldn't lose equity with Jacksonville Beach's population growing.

If I change jobs or decide to move, I'm confident my home will attract enough interest to sell quickly. I could also rent it out on Airbnb. So I have plenty of options for the home in the long term.

But I plan to continue living in the home. It's my only property, and my job is based in the area, for now at least.

Overall, I do think buying the home was a good decision. Smart people just don't buy real estate to make money; they buy to have a great place to live — and to avoid losing money.

This home was definitely a solid investment.

• Student-loan borrowers are entering the new year with uncertainty on their payments and debt relief.
• Ongoing litigation with the SAVE repayment plan makes it difficult for some borrowers to plan financially.
• Biden also officially withdrew his broad debt relief plans, and any future relief under Trump is unlikely.

Wade Burt, 67, is entering the new year without knowing when — or if — he'll be free of his nearly six-figure student-loan balance.

Burt first took out just under $20,000 in student loans for an associate degree in avionics that he earned in 1988. However, he had periods of unemployment through 1998, during which he could not afford student-loan payments. Over the years, the interest on his loans ballooned his balance.

He eventually earned a bachelor's degree in information systems management, which has allowed him to secure a well-paying job. Burt said he hopes to retire in a few years, but he doesn't see an easy route to getting a handle on the debt.

"I don't have any confidence that I'll pay the student loans beyond 72 because I just won't have that kind of income," Burt told Business Insider, saying that his Social Security checks won't be enough to help. "The reality is that I'm in the last third of my life, and I don't know if we will be able to make those student loans go away."

Millions of other Americans holding student loans are facing similar uncertainties. President-elect Donald Trump is taking office in less than a month, and he's made clear that he opposed President Joe Biden's efforts to enact incremental and broad student-loan forgiveness.

Plus, Biden's Education Department recently withdrew its unfinished broader debt relief rules, citing a limited amount of time to implement them before the end of Biden's term.

With Republican opposition to student-debt relief, some borrowers told BI they don't feel confident about significant balance reductions over the next four years.

"It feels like we're in a pretty hopeless situation," Burt said. "It's a weight on us, and we don't get very solid answers, so it's pretty hard to plan with all those conditions in place."

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

'We're in this waiting game'

Aimee Cooper just wants to know when — and how much — her next monthly payment will be.

Cooper, 53, has been enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program since it started in 2007, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years of qualifying payments. She went back to school over the course of the 10-year period to earn two master's degrees, during which her loans were put on in-school deferment and pushed back her forgiveness timeline.

Her student-loan servicer estimated she's less than 10 payments away from reaching forgiveness through PSLF. But she's not sure when that will be achievable because the student-loan repayment plan she's enrolled in — the SAVE plan, created by Biden to make payments cheaper and shorten the timeline for borrowers to reach debt relief — is paused as a result of a GOP-led lawsuit to block the plan.

All borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan have been placed on forbearance until a court issues a final decision, which means that even if Cooper does choose to make a payment during this time, it will not count toward her PSLF progress.

"We're just in limbo, wondering what's going to happen," Cooper told BI. "We're not asking for special favors, none of us are. We're just asking for someone to tell us what to do."

The Education Department recently reopened two income-driven repayment plans that would give borrowers the opportunity to switch from the SAVE plan and enroll in a new plan to make payments and get credit toward PSLF. Borrowers would likely see different, and possibly higher, payments on those plans, so some might choose to wait until the fate of SAVE is decided.

Malissa Williams, 40, has found herself in the same boat. Working as a nurse, Williams is also enrolled in PSLF, and through the SAVE plan, she was making steady progress toward forgiveness. She's now in forbearance due to the SAVE litigation, and she said she's attempted to contact her servicer's customer service representatives, but the long hold times have rendered it nearly impossible for her to get clear answers on what her next steps should be.

"I'm terrified because there's been the discussion of the income-driven repayment plans going away," Williams told BI. "And when I looked at what my payments could be, it was back up to almost a thousand dollars a month, and that would be a significant blow that would put my student loan payment almost at what my mortgage is."

Some higher education experts previously told BI that regardless of what a court decides on the SAVE plan, Trump's administration is unlikely to continue Biden's repayment and relief efforts. It's also possible that Trump could work to rescind existing regulations, but doing so through the rulemaking process could take at least a year. Trump has also previously suggested eliminating PSLF altogether, but that would require congressional approval, and there has not yet been sufficient support among lawmakers to make that happen.

The uncertainty with SAVE and the actions that Trump's administration might take leave borrowers in a bind as they try to plan for their financial futures.

"We're in this waiting game," Cooper said. "Who knows what's going to happen."

'It's a feeling of anxiety, but also defeat'

With Republicans holding control of both Congress and the White House, GOP-led higher education legislation has a greater chance of being signed into law over the next four years. A key bill, the College Cost Reduction Act, could benefit borrowers by requiring pricing transparency in college programs to limit the amount of debt students have to take on. It would also aim to limit the education secretary's authority to enact debt relief for borrowers outside existing repayment programs.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, the top Republican on the House education committee, said in a recent statement that Biden's debt relief efforts have tried to "foist student loan debt onto hardworking taxpayers."

"The result? A broken student loan program and false hope for millions of borrowers," Foxx said. "Thankfully, on January 20th, Americans will be able to trust the information that's coming from the White House again."

Molly Valentine Dierks, 44, said she's worried that ending relief programs would jeopardize her future investments. Dierks, a college teacher, is enrolled in the SAVE plan, and if the GOP litigation succeeds, she expects her payments to surge, and it would impact her ability to buy a house.

"There's reverberating effects for my financial future," Dierks said. She added that if it comes to it, she has the fortune of falling back on her family for financial support, but she's concerned for her students and other borrowers who don't have that as an option.

"It's a feeling of anxiety but also defeat," Dierks said. It's unclear what's in store for millions of federal student-loan borrowers in the new year. A court decision on SAVE is still pending, and it's unclear how Trump's education department will choose to manage existing repayment and forgiveness programs, including PSLF and the borrower defense to repayment for defrauded borrowers.

Burt, the 67-year-old borrower, said he hopes that the incoming administration will consider assistance for those who have made good-faith efforts to repay their student loans.

"There has to be some empathy for the person who went to school to get a degree to improve their life and never achieved what they expected that degree to achieve," Burt said.

• Engagement ring trends evolve year after year.
• Private jeweler Anna P. Jay said elongated stones and thicker bands will be popular in 2025.
• Colorful stones and personalized details are on the rise, too.

The holiday season is in full swing, which means engagement season is, too.

And as the first proposals of the year roll in, we'll get a peek at the engagement rings that will be big in the coming months.

Business Insider spoke to private jeweler and jewelry store owner Anna P. Jay about the engagement ring trends that will be everywhere in 2025.

Elongated shapes will be popular in 2025.

Jay told BI that elongated-shaped stones, including emerald, oval, pear, and marquise-shaped, are becoming more popular.

"Elongated shapes are great because they visually trick the eye into appearing larger," Jay told BI of their appeal.

"I've started to do a lot of pear engagement rings all of a sudden. They're kind of the next step from oval," she said. "And then I think marquise is going to follow."

Recent celebrity engagement rings match Jay's predictions. For instance, in December 2024, Benny Blanco proposed to Selena Gomez with a marquise diamond.

People are embracing color in their engagement rings.

Diamonds will always be popular for engagement rings, but other stones are also becoming go-to's, Jay told BI.

"People are not shying away from diamonds, but I think that we're starting to see more color," Jay said.

Sapphires, rubies, and emeralds are often popular for colorful engagement rings because they're durable. Jay said people are getting more creative with their tinted stones, too, particularly with toi-et-moi rings.

"Over the summer, I did a toi-et-moi where I said, 'Bring me a color that you like,' and we matched the stone, which ended up being a tourmaline, to the color of eelgrass for a client."

"We're allowing ourselves a little bit more creativity, a little bit more flexibility to get the look that we want using colored stones," she added.

Bands are getting thicker.

"The 80s are back in a very big way," Jay said, which she said means many people are opting for "bigger and chunkier" bands.

Thicker bands are as stylish as they are practical. They are typically more stable than the thin bands popular in 2023 and 2024.

"The conversation I have with my clients is like, 'You're going to wear this for the rest of your life. While we love a dainty band now, it's going to be a headache long term,'" Jay said, adding that making a band even slightly thicker can be beneficial.

"If we can add tenths of millimeters, you're visually not going to be able to tell a difference, but structurally, it's going to be much more sound," she told BI.

Yellow gold settings are still popular, but you might also see more white gold.

Yellow gold has become common for many people's engagement bands, but Jay anticipates white gold and silver will be on the rise in the coming year.

"I think it's going to take two or three more years, but I think we are edging toward more white and silver," Jay said. "Gold is becoming…expensive."

She added that the increase in the cost of gold had led people to wear sterling silver for day-to-day jewelry, making it more likely to select a white gold, platinum, or silver band for their engagement rings to match.

People are gravitating toward hidden details.

Jay told BI that she's still seeing people embrace small details in their engagement rings, like hidden halos or personalized engravings.

"One of my favorite things to do is birthstones in a band," Jay said, often "discreetly" tucking a couple's birthstones into the setting.

She also told BI that these details are becoming more popular because couples design parts of their custom rings together, and the details allow the proposer to still give their partner an element of surprise in the ring.

"We're involving our partners more in this process," she said. "Maybe we talk about the shape of the stone, but they're not aware of how it's going to be set, when it's happening, or the budget."

And no matter the design, people will prioritize their center stones.

Jay also told BI that people will invest their money into a center stone rather than selecting rings with multiple stones, which she said gives them the flexibility to reset the setting over time.

"If you ever did want to reset it, you could add side stones or put it in a chunkier setting or something like that," she said.

Jay told BI that it's also easier for people to stack other rings with their engagement and wedding rings down the road when they're simpler.

"Consider making your wedding band just a gold or platinum solid band so that you do have that flexibility in the future to stack and play with and make it a little more fun and playful," she advised.

As NATO member states struggle to meet their defense spending goals and war rages on Europe's eastern front, officials are struggling to agree on a plan to shore up hundreds of billions of dollars to bolster defenses. 

Eight NATO countries did not meet their 2% target for defense spending in 2024. And as many member states struggle with chronically stressed budgets, calls to meet those goals are not being heeded quickly. 

The European Commission estimates about 500 billion euros, the equivalent of $524 billion in investments, are needed in the coming decade to defend Europe against evolving threats. 

NATO LEADERS PREDICT ERA OF 2% DEFENSE SPENDING 'PROBABLY HISTORY' AS TRUMP REPORTEDLY FLOATS HIGHER TARGET

The EU's budget cannot be used to fund defense directly, and some European officials and NATO experts are proposing a global defense bank to dole out funds for military modernization. 

A defense, security and resilience (DSR) bank would issue bonds backed by AAA ratings for financially strapped countries to upgrade their defenses and would provide guarantees for commercial banks to offer credit to defense suppliers. 

"This is not a substitute to raising defense spending in each of these countries. I think it should be a supplemental tool," Giedrimas Jeglinskas, chairman of the national security committee in the Lithuanian parliament and a former NATO official, told Fox News Digital. 

His remarks echo those of incoming President Trump, who has long threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO due to the number of nations missing the mark on the 2% goal for defense spending. 

"I think we have to look at it also as an opportunity for the U.S. as well," Jeglinskas added. "I understand the skepticism by Donald Trump of the World Bank and then the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and IFC [International Finance Corporation] and other institutions. I think there's been a lot of capital deployed and a lot of investments that these banks or institutions do. The real impact is, at best, questionable. So, I think we have to have very clear KPIs [key performance indicators]. We need to build defense." 

The United States' $824 billion defense budget in 2023 equaled half of total defense spending by all NATO member states combined at $1.47 trillion.

PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA READY TO COMPROMISE WITH TRUMP ON UKRAINE WAR

The return of Trump to the White House, coupled with a U.S. push to refocus on China, has left Europeans wondering whether the U.S. will have less of an appetite to defend Europe in years to come. 

More EU defense chiefs and foreign ministers have pitched the idea of issuing joint debt through bonds to finance military projects. 

But some countries like Germany have voiced concerns about maintaining their own sovereignty and a disproportionate financial burden on some countries. 

The DSR bank idea is explained at length in a new Atlantic Council report by defense fellow Rob Murray.

"For allies across both the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions, the bank could go beyond offering low-interest loans for defense modernization to facilitating equipment leasing, currency hedging, and supporting critical infrastructure and rebuilding efforts in conflict zones like Ukraine," Murray wrote. 

"An additional critical function of the DSR bank would be to underwrite the risk for commercial banks, enabling them to extend financing to defense companies across the supply chain."

The goal would be to offer financing to small and medium-sized defense companies that often struggle with access to funds. 

"By providing loans with extended maturities, the bank would offer predictable and sustainable funding for defence modernisation. Its governance structures would align funding with collective security goals, such as upgrading arsenals and investing in emerging technologies," Jeglinskas wrote in a recent op-ed for the Financial Times.

Asked how the DSR bank would get countries to agree on defense funding priorities, Jeglinskas likened the idea to the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force, a military alliance that includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Jeglinskas noted the 33 trillion euros in European assets under management across the continent. 

"There's really no political will, no risk appetite to move them anywhere besides the kind of bond markets where they rest now," he said. "But several nations need to build that initial capital, and then, by using the sovereign rating to get to hopefully AAA in capital markets, raise that money from bond markets and to start funding defense programs."

The European Investment Bank has doled out long-term loans and guarantees to European nations' projects that align with EU policy goals. 

"But even they are struggling with kind of shifting their mandate towards more dual-use technologies is still not allowed in their funding package," said Jeglinskas. 

"Of course, every other bank in Europe is looking at EIB for their signals. That signaling hasn't been there yet. So, that's the point. We need to create some sort of mechanism, and that kind of global defense bank would be one of the tools that we could use to rally the capital and really direct it toward defense. So, it's really creating another multilateral lending institution."

Companies that previously feuded with President-elect Trump are now making seven-figure donations to his 2025 inauguration.

Trump has butted heads with several Fortune 500 company executives over the years, but following his presidential election victory in November, some of those same big-business leaders are dropping major cash on the incoming president's exclusive inaugural festivities. 

"In the first term, everyone was fighting me. This time, everyone wants to be my friend," Trump recently said at Mar-a-Lago, according to The Washington Post.

Meta, the world's largest social media network headed by Mark Zuckerberg, suspended Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in 2021 after the events of Jan. 6 — which Trump called an "insult" to his voters. In his new book, titled "Save America," Trump accused Zuckerberg of "plotting" against him in 2020. 

DOJ SEEKS TO BLOCK JAN. 6 DEFENDANTS FROM ATTENDING TRUMP INAUGURATION

"He told me there was nobody like Trump on Facebook. But at the same time, and for whatever reason, steered it against me," Trump wrote. "We are watching him closely, and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison — as will others who cheat in the 2024 Presidential Election."

Trump, in his book, also accused Zuckerberg of "always plotting to install shameful Lock Boxes in a true PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT."

However, the relationship appeared to change course as the election drew nearer. After Trump's Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt in July, Zuckerberg said Trump's fist pump in the air after suffering a bullet wound to the ear was "one of the most bada-- things I've ever seen in my life."

Shortly after Trump won the election in November, Zuckerberg met with the incoming president at Mar-a-Lago. Just weeks later, Meta donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. 

JOHNSON ALLIES URGE TRUMP TO INTERVENE AS MESSY SPEAKER BATTLE THREATENS TO DELAY 2024 CERTIFICATION

"Mark Zuckerberg has been very clear about his desire to be a supporter of and a participant in this change that we're seeing all around America, all around the world with this reform movement that Donald Trump is leading," Trump adviser Stephen Miller said during an appearance on "The Ingraham Angle."

Despite a yearlong clash between Amazon's billionaire founder, Jeff Bezos — who also owns The Washington Post — and the incoming president, the e-commerce company recently pledged to donate $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund.

After Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity in 2016 that Amazon was "getting away with murder, tax-wise," Bezos fired back at the then-presidential candidate.

Bezos, appearing at a technology conference, said that Trump's comments were "not an appropriate way for a presidential candidate to behave."

"Washington Post employees want to go on strike because Bezos isn’t paying them enough. I think a really long strike would be a great idea," Trump wrote in another hit at the billionaire on X, then Twitter, in June 2018. "Employees would get more money and we would get rid of Fake News for an extended period of time! Is @WaPo a registered lobbyist?"

The mood appeared to have shifted following the 2024 election, when Bezos said he was "very optimistic" about Trump's regulatory agenda.

"I’m very hopeful — he seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation," Bezos said at the New York Times DealBook Summit. "My point of view is, if I can help him do that, I’m going to help him."

When Ford agreed to make a deal to meet California's efficiency standards, the company defied then-President Trump's plans to push back on the state setting its own green energy standards for automakers. 

Trump voiced his opposition to the auto giant's decision, saying that Henry Ford, the company's founder, would be "very disappointed if he saw his modern-day descendants wanting to build a much more expensive car that is far less safe and doesn’t work as well, because execs don’t want to fight California regulators."  

Ford, one of the world's largest automakers, recently announced it will be making a seven-figure donation to Trump's inauguration in January. 

Other major automakers, such as GM and Toyota, will also make individual donations of $1 million to Trump.

Trump will also receive a $1 million inauguration donation from Intuit, whose stock recently dropped in November after it was reported that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was considering creating a free tax-filing app.

• Melissa Hemsley's cookbook offers recipes to reduce ultra-processed food intake.
• Ultra-processed foods are linked to health risks like cardiovascular disease and cancer.
• Hemsley's recipes include white chicken chili, noodle salad, and no-bake peanut bars.

If cutting down on ultra-processed food is on your 2025 goals list, finding tasty new recipes is a big help.

Melissa Hemsley is a chef whose latest cookbook, "Real Healthy," is designed to help people "unprocess" their diets.

The recipes are packed with vegetables and designed for those who are short of time.

Ultra-processed foods have come to the fore of public health consciousness in recent years, as research increasingly points to the potential health risks of UPFs, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Hemsley recommends dishes including a white chicken chili with peppers and beans, a zingy vegetarian noodle salad, and no-bake peanut butter chocolate oat bars.

White chicken chili

Hemsley said: "A tomato-less chili, hence the name 'white chili'. I use yellow peppers here to keep the chili 'white' but use whatever color you can find. I like to serve the toppings separately and let everyone help themselves. In terms of the beans, use whatever white beans you like, such as cannellini or butter beans. I find sweetcorn is always worth keeping in the freezer, but if you've got canned corn, then drain, rinse, and add it right at the end."

Serves: Four

Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra if needed
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 yellow peppers, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or chile flakes, to taste
• 1.2 litres vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 x 400-gram tins of white beans, drained and rinsed
• 200 grams frozen corn
• Juice of 1 lime, plus a little zest if you like
• Sea salt and black pepper

Optional toppings

• Soured cream or yogurt
• Fresh cilantro and/or scallions onions, sliced
• Sliced avocado
• Sliced radishes or cucumber
• Lime wedges
• Jarred jalapeño slices or chile flakes

Method

1. Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and, once warm, add the chicken thighs, skin-side down. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes over a medium-high heat until very well browned, then turn and cook on the other side for 2 to 3 minutes. Lift out of the pot and set aside on a large plate.
2. The chicken should have given out plenty of fat but if not, add a splash of olive oil to the pot and, once warm, add the onions, peppers, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for about 12 minutes over a medium heat until very soft, stirring every so often. Add the garlic, fry for a minute, then add the cumin, oregano, and cayenne or chile flakes and fry for 2 minutes, stirring regularly.
3. Return the chicken thighs to the pot and pour in the stock. Simmer for 25 minutes, then add the beans and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
4. Remove the chicken thighs once cooked through and take the meat off the bones and shred. Set aside, discarding the chicken skin if you wish. Use a potato masher or the back of your wooden spoon to crush roughly a third of the beans (this will help thicken the chili).
5. Add the frozen corn, then cook for 5 minutes or so until tender. Remove from the heat, add the chicken, lime juice, plus a little zest if you like, and taste for seasoning.
6. Ladle into bowls and finish with the toppings you like.

Big veg noodle salad with lime, ginger, and peanut dressing

Hemsley said: "Even in the colder months, I think a big noodle salad is always a great thing to have up our sleeves. In the depths of winter, in and among all the cheesy bakes and big soups and stews, I crave fresh, zingy, crunchy salads like this. Use any noodles you like, even spaghetti would work if that's what you've got. I love buckwheat (soba) noodles. Swap the peanuts and peanut butter for cashews or almonds if you prefer. Do the lime trick to release more juice by rolling the limes on the kitchen counter before you slice them in half."

Serves: Two

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 nests of noodles
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 big handfuls of raw peanuts
• 1 large carrot, cut into ribbons with a peeler or cut into thin strips with a knife
• 1⁄4 sweetheart cabbage, very thinly sliced
• 1 small apple or pear, cored, and cut into matchsticks
• 1⁄2 small cucumber, diced

For the dressing:

• 2 tablespoons smooth or crunchy peanut butter
• 2 big limes: zest of 1 and juice of both
• 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• Thumb of fresh ginger, finely grated
• Pinch of chile flakes
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• Sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl or shake in a jam jar. Taste for seasoning.
2. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, then drain and rinse immediately with cold water. Toss the noodles with the sesame oil and set aside.
3. Toast the peanuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan every so often, until golden.
4. In a large bowl, toss together the noodles, carrot, cabbage, apple or pear and roughly half the dressing. Slowly add more splashes of dressing if you like, tossing as you go, until everything is nicely coated. Top with the cucumber and peanuts.

Chocolate peanut butter (no-bake) bars

Hemsley said: "A no-bake family favorite treat. Pretty irresistible but if you don't devour them over a few days, they will keep for a week in a sealed container. Store in the fridge in warmer months. If catering to any nut allergies, swap the ground almonds for more oats and switch the nut butter for pumpkin seed butter. If you have a preferred nut butter, try that — I love a cashew butter but keep it to the smooth variety for a silkier texture. Look out for 60% minimum cocoa solids for your chocolate."

Makes: 16

Time: 20 minutes, plus setting time

Ingredients

• 250 grams smooth peanut butter
• 100 grams ground almonds
• 100 grams porridge oats
• 6 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A little pinch of sea salt

For the chocolate layer

• 180 grams dark chocolate, roughly broken
• 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

Optional topping

• 2 handfuls of toasted peanuts

Method

1. Line a small baking pan or dish (about 15 x 8cm or square equivalent) with greaseproof paper, making sure it comes up high enough on the sides so that you can lift the mixture out of the pan once it's set.
2. Mix the peanut butter, ground almonds, oats, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt together in a bowl. Transfer to the lined pan, pressing down with the back of a spoon or spatula to make it even and compact.
3. For the chocolate layer, melt the chocolate in a bain-marie (a heatproof bowl set over a pan of very lightly simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water). Once melted, stir through the peanut butter and pour this evenly over the base. If topping with the whole peanuts, scatter these over the chocolate layer. Sprinkle over a little pinch of flaky sea salt.
4. Set in the fridge for 1 hour or until firm, then cut into 16 pieces to serve.

• A new "Knives Out" movie, "Happy Gilmore 2," and a new Cameron Diaz film come to Netflix in 2025.
• They are some of the highly-anticipated movies for the next year.
• Here's what to know about Netflix's most exciting upcoming movies.

2025 is shaping up to be a great year for Netflix.

Three films from 2024 broke into Netflix's all-time top 10 movie lists, which is on par with the year before.

But Netflix could beat that record in 2025, with highly-anticipated films like "Happy Gilmore 2," "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery," "Back in Action" and "The Electric State."

The first two movies are sequels to popular films, while the last two star big names like Cameron Diaz and Chris Pratt.

Here are 9 movies that Business Insider's entertainment team can't wait to watch .

"Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl"

Premiere date: January 3

Aardman Animation, a British stop-motion animation studio, is resurrecting its most popular franchise, "Wallace & Gromit."

The latest film, "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl," is a sequel to the 1993 Oscar-winning short "Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers."

In that film, the lead pair brings a new lodger into the house who attempts to frame Wallace for a crime.

Now Feathers McGraw, the lodger, is back to try to take down Wallace again, using the help of an AI-powered gnome.

"Back in Action"

Premiere date: January 17

Cameron Diaz is literally back in action as she returns from a 10-year acting retirement for this new Netflix film.

Diaz and Jamie Foxx, who previously worked together on 1999's "Any Given Sunday" and 2014's "Annie" movie, star as former CIA operatives who return to a life of espionage after starting a family together.

McKenna Roberts and Rylan Jackson play Diaz and Foxx's children, who are brought along on their espionage journey.

While the plot isn't anything special, many film fans will likely tune in to see Diaz's return.

"The Electric State"

Premiere date: March 14

Before they tackle the next "Avengers" movie, directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo have another comic adaptation coming in 2025.

"The Electric State," an adaptation of Simon Stålenhag's graphic novel, is a retro-futuristic sci-fi adventure movie about a young woman (Millie Bobby Brown), a drifter (Chris Pratt), and a group of robots who set off on a journey to find the woman's younger brother.

Many well-known names and former Marvel actors star on-screen or voice the robots in the film, including Ke Huy Quan, Giancarlo Esposito, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Brian Cox, and Anthony Mackie.

Netflix seems to be betting big on the film, with reports from the Telegraph and Puck, citing unnamed sources, that the streamer spent over $300 million on it.

"Happy Gilmore 2"

Premiere date: Unannounced

29 years since its premiere, "Happy Gilmore" is getting a sequel, thanks to Netflix's multi-million deal with Adam Sandler.

In the first film, Happy Gilmore (Sandler), a failed hockey player, becomes a golf tour champion to settle his grandmother's debts. The plot for the sequel has not yet been revealed, but Sandler will reprise the role alongside Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald, two other stars from the first film.

Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican rapper and singer, will also star in the movie.

While Sandler's Netflix movies have had low ratings from critics, many of them have become hits, including "Murder Mystery," which was the most-watched film of 2019.

"The Thursday Murder Club"

Premiere date: Unannounced

Richard Osman's novel "The Thursday Murder Club" was an instant hit in 2020, selling over a million copies that year in the UK alone.

Now Osman is bringing his murder mystery to Netflix with an all-star cast that includes Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie. They play a group of murder-mystery fans in a retirement home who stumble on a real case.

Chris Columbus, the director of the first two "Harry Potter" movies, will direct the film.

Murder-mystery shows and movies like "Only Murders in the Building" and "Knives Out" have become hits in recent years. With its popular cast and pre-existing fan base, "The Thursday Murder Club" could follow in this trend.

"Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery"

Premiere date: Unannounced

The highly-anticipated third "Knives Out" movie is due to premiere in 2025.

"Wake Up Dead Man," written and directed by the series creator, Rian Johnson, is the second and possibly final "Knives Out" film produced by Netflix under a $469 million deal with Johnson and Ram Bergman, his producing partner.

The plot has not been revealed yet, but Daniel Craig will, of course, reprise his role as the southern detective Benoit Blanc.

He is joined by a new cast, including Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church.

"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" is currently the 10th most-watched English Netflix film of all time, setting big expectations for the next installment.

"Frankenstein"

Premiere date: Unannounced

Guillermo Del Toro, a director known for movies about creatures and monsters, finally brings his dream "Frankenstein" movie to life as part of his multi-year deal with Netflix.

Del Toro wrote the adapted screenplay of Mary Shelley's novel and directed the film.

The film stars Oscar Isaac as Doctor Victor Frankenstein, a scientist whose attempts to create life birth a monster, played by Jacob Elordi.

Rounding out the cast are Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, Christoph Waltz, David Bradley, and Christian Convery.

"The Twits"

Premiere date: Unannounced

Netflix is capitalizing again on its acquisition of the Roald Dahl Company with an animated film based on "The Twits."

The film follows two brave orphans and a family of magical animals as they try to save the city from Mr. and Mrs. Twit, a mean, smelly couple who have somehow risen to power.

Phil Johnston, Todd Demong, and Katie Shanahan directed the film. Emilia Clarke, Natalie Portman, Johnny Vegas, and Margo Martindale star.

"Fear Street: Prom Queen"

Premiere date: Unannounced

In 2021, Netflix tried releasing a trilogy of films based on R.L. Stine's horror "Fear Street" over three weeks. It paid off, with all three movies sticking in Netflix's weekly top 10 most-watched English films for over a month.

Netflix will break away from this model next year when they release "Fear Street: Prom Queen," a solo movie based on R.L. Stine's work.

The film is set in the town Shadyside, like the other films, but the year is 1988, between "Fear Street: 1978" and "Fear Street: 1994."

Ahead of prom at Shadyside High, an outsider is nominated for prom queen, and other girls mysteriously disappear.

The film will have a new cast that includes David Iacono, Ariana Greenblatt, Suzanna Son and Chris Klein.