Things I Like - July

Summer.  I love summer.  At one point that was our number one girl name for a future daughter (it is no longer on the list which is why I am telling you this...we are very much "keep names secret" people).   But that's beside the point, July always feels like the summeriest part of summer.  June just feels like a ramp up to July.  Preparing for real summer: July.  Kids aren't back in school and you can mostly pretend that's a long ways away (or in our case, 2 years away, thankfully).  The weather is usually hot (this year I swear every day has been high 80s-90s EXCEPT for any day we've been at the lake...where it's usually 70° and cloudy).  It's my birthday month.  It's the 4th of July.  It's the hot air balloon show, watching Matt's brother and nephews try not to drown in the river raft race, and riding our bikes downtown a lot.  It's the best part of summer.  So this is a pretty summery list, couldn't be anything else.

1) Australian Gold Bronzer Sunscreen (SPF 15)

This is now the only sunscreen Matt & I use for ourselves (obviously higher SPF for Luke, even though he probably tans the best out of all of us!). We like to pretend the "instant bronzer" does something to help our color although I'm not sure it's true.  But it does smell good and feels better than traditional sunscreen since it's a spray and not a lotion.  We will apply throughout the day if it's a hot, outside day at the beach or lake and, if we're good about it, we haven't been burnt yet.  Plus I was able to stack an iBotta deal with Cartwheel to stock up at the beginning of summer.  Woo-hoo!

2) Zac Brown Band - Jekyll + Hyde

This is my absolute favorite CD to listen to at the lake, not that I get much of a chance with other people (even just Matt and Luke) around and trying to give a certain little boy his requested "Everything is Awesome!" (his current favorite, for today).  But, when I am making up beds or doing dishes, or packing up beds, I listen to this.  So much that it's ingrained in my head as perfect lake/summer music.  I've liked all of his CDs (even saw them in concert 6 years ago!) but this one might be my favorite summer. "Beautiful Drug" is a perfect summer song. (And when I say "CD" I mean I own the physical CD but actually do all my listening via my phone.) 

3) Merona Striped Easy Waist Dress

 

Have you ever bought something and not been 100% in love with it but it fills such a hole in your closet that it goes into instant high rotation anyways?  That would be this dress for me.  I liked the pattern online (and that it was 40% off when I ordered) but then tried it on and wasn't completely sold.  Then I thought about it, how often I wish I had a second sundress for Mass in the summer, and realized this would work.  I've probably worn this to 75% of weekends this summer.  That's not an exaggeration (it helps that we've gone to 5 different churches since Memorial Day and the only people I've seen even close to every week are Matt and Luke).  I wear this all. the. time.  It's perfectly casual but dressy enough for church.  Comfortable and cool.  Even if I never wear it past this summer it's been completely worth the $12 I paid for it.  And don't be surprised if you see me at Mass and I am wearing this.

4) One True Love

I've read all the books by this author (even getting one for free as a promo through Goodreads last summer!) and this one is definitely her best.  It's the story of Emma who had married her high school sweetheart in their 20s.  Then on their one year anniversary, he disappears and is presumed dead.  She's, obviously, devastated.  She completely changes her life from a jet-setting travel writer based in California to running her parents' bookstore on the East Coast.  She slowly moves on, accepting a date and later a proposal from Sam.  Then Jesse turns out to be alive.  (This is not a spoiler, it's all in the first 5 pages as well as the official summary.)  The story starts with finding out Jesse is alive and then flashes back to tell how Emma and Jesse fell in love, how Emma coped with his "death", and to her falling in love with Sam.  I changed who I was rooting for every chapter and had no idea how it would end, even when getting close.  I mean, you can't even imagine the circumstances and how you'd react (at least I couldn't) but the author made Emma's journey seem completely relateable and justified.  Definitely one that stuck in my head when I wasn't reading it and since!

5) Sally Hensen "Coral Reef"
 

This is my current favorite nail polish for summer.  Blue will always and forever be my favorite color but lately I've had a thing for peach and coral.  (If I were to currently rank my favorite colors, something completely normal for someone in their 30s to do, it'd be blue, green, coral, peach, I haven't thought past that.)  Peach is better for spring and early summer (in my opinion) and coral for "real" (July) summer.  I'm trying to start buying better nail polish, treating myself as I'm getting old, and so once this bottle is out (which might be soon, as much as I'm wearing it) I have a nicer (more expensive) coral to try.  But for now, this is getting a lot of use on my fingers (My toes are almost always blue, in case you are concerned I'm forsaking my signature color!)  Perfectly summer!