I set up a notify group for each of us. I use notify.me and add/remove the devices as needed.

notify:
- name: me
  platform: group
  services:
   # - service: mobile_app_pixel_2_xl
    - service: mobile_app_pixel_6

- name: her
  platform: group
  services:
    - service: mobile_app_iphone

Then you can use it like any other service:

service: notify.me
data:
  message: Test
  title: Alert!

It’s probably a bit late for a new ESP32, but if not I’m a fan of the M5Stack Atom Lite. It’s a solid little device and comes in its own case.

The guided installer will resize your disk volume and set it up for dual boot by default. It’s Fedora based and uses KDE Plasma which is a great user experience IMO. Admittedly, I only booted into it to briefly kick the tires but the install was a pretty smooth process. This page details what features are still missing so I’d suggest looking there first to ensure you’re not missing anything critical. For me, missing USB-C monitor support is a deal breaker.

The Home Assistant team publishes the analytics they collect (for those that allow it). The integrations and add-ons pages might interest you if you haven’t seen them.