Recently Enjoyed Things | June 21, 2024
Bubly's Target-exclusive new summer flavor, becoming a "big cup" gal, and enjoying the small things.
Holy heat wave - just in time for the official first day of summer, too! This is my kind of weather and I am living for it. I love that delicious feeling of going from a freezing office building, to a hot car, and basking in the heat while my fingers unthaw. And then when I’m sufficiently overheated, going back into an obscenely air conditioned building and feeling satisfied all over again. Truly one of my favorite dichotomies.
Anyhoo! It’s been an uneventful, but full week. I spent last weekend with my big sister, helping setup a graduation party for my oldest niece. It was bittersweet! She was the first baby among my siblings, and I was 17 when she was born, so it feels so full circle to see her heading off to her own life. In that stupid cliche way, I feel like I’m still her age and my brain is having a tough time reconciling that no, actually I’m not. But she is. I came home Sunday evening exhausted and also well behind on my own house chores, so this week has felt like playing catch-up in 95º weather while trying to work and also supervise the kid that is out on summer vacation. It’s been a party! Grateful for Friday and a nice, empty weekend to finally tackle the laundry basket.
But first, some housekeeping: there’s some affiliate links in here. But aren't they everywhere? Anyway, if you click on something and buy it, I might earn a commission at no cost to you.
Recently Enjoyed
Reading
I’m passionate about reading and sharing books that are readily available at your library and don’t feature a waitlist 47 people long. So these are rarely new, hot releases, but if you’re intrigued, there’s a good chance for instant gratification at your library.
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris // The writing is very elegant and sometimes I reread to indulge in a line, and sometimes I reread because my brain is not sophisticated enough for this. The story follows two brothers, recently freed from slavery, in the final days of the Civil War, along with George, an aging landowner who believes his son has been killed in war. Their lives converge and they wind up helping each other in surprising ways.
The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls //A strong B+ and probably unfairly so because I loved her previous work, The Glass Castle (A++++), so I had high expectations. In 1970, sisters Liz and Bean are abandoned in California by their flighty mother, so they hop a bus to the only family they can think of: Uncle Tinsley, who is living in their mother’s childhood home, and all they know about him or the town is that their mother fled right after Bean’s birth. It’s not perfect, but the book is a comfortable, warm hug.
Shopping
⭐ Bubly Melted Ice Pop - Target - $4 // If this isn’t summer in a can, I don’t know what is. I have never added anything to a pick-up order so fast.
elf Power Grip Setting Spray - Target - $10 // The search for setting spray continues! I’ve tried Charlotte Tilbury, Benefit, and Iconic and found them to range from meh to not for me and frankly all three are too expensive to land in the “meh” range. And so I carry on experimenting. “Power Grip” seems like a good one to try during sweaty season.
Hydrapeak - Amazon - $21 // I did not plan or expect to become one of the giant water vessel girlies, but the efficiency is unmatched. I got the 32oz one and figure if I drink one a day, I’m well on my way to being hydrated. A big step up from drinking no water a day, anyway.
Boring utility purchases I made this week: a new vacuum (yawn), a grooming kit for my dog (we’ll see how this goes), and solar outdoor string lights (vibes).
Recent Saves
It’s the small things, no?
3 Things
Shoes I am v v v passionate about this summer.
The elite. The daily driver. The shoe that, imo, goes with everything: The J Crew Flip Flop. Currently $14 and almost always on sale, so don’t you dare pay full price ever. I get a fresh pair every couple of years and don’t relish the week or two they take to break in, but once you do…chef’s kiss.
Purchased for the beach, but these have snuck up on me, taking their rightful place as my go-to shoe around the house, or whenever standing for 8 hours at my standing desk in the office. The $28 MUK LUK slides have made me a believer in the Birk double strap style. These are rubber, so get ‘em wet, and so soft and squishy in the heel. I wear them to take my daily walks too.
If there were a Summer Camp Barbie, these are the shoe she’d be wearing. I have loved Reef for a good long time, particularly for their hidden can openers in the soles of their flip-flops, but these, especially in Malibu pink, take the cake.
Sending You on Your Way
(Interesting things I found on the internet this week)
Camp Chateau: a women’s only summer camp in the French Countryside - well, I’m sold.
⭐ Closer to home, enjoying a Boring Girl Summer a la
Haha. Every family with two dogs…
Last Week - In case you missed it:
I’m a millennial. I look like one. I dress like one. I have the most 80’s name of all time. I’m not fooling anyone.
Recently Enjoyed Things | June 14, 2024
Buckle up, because I have a bone to pick with the internet and I’m about to go all Karen and elevate this straight to management. Why am I being told so often to “stop doing this” or “stop wearing that” because it suggests really obviously that I am a millennial?
PS -
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You described a dichotomy I dislike so much SO WELL that I almost loved it 🤣 also, the “little things” made me chuckle. Thanks for sharing your recs—gonna have to try that Bubly melted ice pop!
Wow that summer camp sounds DIVINE.