Five Friday Favorites: Summer Edition
Happy Friday!
We only have one more week of summer vacation and I feel like we have so many last activities I want to pack in.
Also, I really want to clean out our storage closet in the basement, but weirdly, no one in the family seems as excited about that as they about swimming, bowling, or going to the children’s museum.
Anyway, here are a few things I’ve been loving over the past few weeks (okay, the one food item on this list has not lasted us a few weeks, but it’s so good, you can hardly blame us):
- Laura Mercier Caviar Stick. A few weeks ago, my friend Lindsay (who is a former LA red carpet makeup artist) did a small makeup consultation night at her house and walked each of us through how to do our makeup better. I’ve always felt fairly inept in the makeup department (remember when I did a post with Bare Minerals years ago and had multiple nightmares about it beforehand?), but Lindsay is one of those people who is so good at what she does and has so much kind enthusiasm that you can’t help but feel excited about it and capable of doing what she shows you. She recommended a handful of new products to me which I immediately went out and bought the next day, and I’ve loved all of them, but my favorite has been this eye shadow stick. It comes in a bunch of colors, but she recommended Rose Gold for me, and I LOVE this thing. It goes on super smoothly, doesn’t crease or run (even when it’s 117 degrees outside), and, most importantly, it doesn’t make my eyes itch, which is usually the case for me with non-powder eye shadow. It’s a little on the pricey side, but I think it’s been totally worth it. It has 717 5 star reviews and last year won a Best of Beauty award from Allure. So clearly Lindsay isn’t the only one who thinks it’s awesome.
- Hooded Baby Bath Towels. You know you’re a mom of a bunch of little children when this is on your favorite things list. But good baby products make ALL the difference. We’ve owned a darn lot of baby towels over the years (mostly from Target or Disney) and I’ve been only semi-impressed. But then one of my friends from Texas gave me this towel as a baby gift when Tally was born and now all the girls ask for it when they get out of the tub. It’s nice and big – much bigger than any of our other baby towels – and higher-quality than any of the other ones. It’s not super-thick, so it’s easier to actually dry off your baby but it’s very absorbent. I had no idea I wasn’t happy with my other towels until I had this one but it’s ruined me for all other ones. Probably, I should just order three more so that each of the girls can have their own (I particularly like this watercolor rose one).
- St. Tropaz Bronzing Mousse. I’ve been using this for the past 6 or 7 months and it’s my favorite thing. My goal in life is not to look tan, particularly. It’s more like I just don’t want to be so blindingly white. I have never liked lying out by the pool, even when I was a teenager, because I don’t like getting really hot, plus I don’t want to get skin cancer if I can help it (as you can tell from this post). This mousse goes on super smoothly, makes me look more tan than I really am but not FAKE tan, and basically is a dream come true for me. Maybe I need better dreams. I just bought a second bottle (you can buy it at Ulta, Sephora, Nordstrom or Amazon) and I’ve worn more shorts and skirts this year than the last 10 years combined. Pretty sure there is a strong correlation there. Dare I even say causation?
- AG Jeans. Over the past couple of years, I’ve really started getting into higher-end jeans and found several brands that I really like (DL 1961 and Frame are some of my favorites). I’d heard amazing things about AG jeans, but I’d never tried them until this last pregnancy. Then I bought this pair and loved them so much that I bought a SECOND pair in black and wore the two of them non-stop up until the day Tally was born. They’re pretty expensive but they were worth every penny. I’ve bought two non-pregnancy pairs since then and they are hands-down my favorite jeans I own right now. They’re so comfortable I don’t even have that 7 pm urge to change into pajamas and they are so flattering that I feel like everything looks good with them. I have one distressed pair and one black pair. You can also usually find them for way way way cheaper on thredUP (which is where I’ve gotten both of mine – $30 or $40 is much better than $225).
- Salted Cocoa Truffle Spread with Natural Caramel Flavor. So, I’m the one person on the planet who doesn’t like Nutella. It’s never really appealed to me – I find the flavor really chemically and it kind of burns the tops of my mouth when I eat it. I don’t know if I’m slightly allergic or what, but I have zero interest in it. Then when I was at Merrick’s house for the Fourth of July, she had this in her cupboard and I was like “well, I would like to try that.” I had one taste and it was instant love. Merrick packed the rest of the jar in our lunch bag for our drive home and we’ve been enjoying it ever since, as an apple dip, for peanut butter pretzels, banana chips, or drizzled on ice cream. It’s SO ridiculously good. It’s part of the new Wickedly Prime line of snacks and foods that are only available to Amazon Prime members, and it’s so good I immediately had to check out the rest of the line. (In the spirit of full disclosure, Merrick didn’t think it was all that good, which is why she sent the jar home with me).
And if you’ve found anything great recently, you know I want to hear all about it. Preferably if it includes the words “salted” and “caramel.”
Love your post!
I recently ordered a Bosu ball during Amazon Prime day. It really is a favorite of mine!
Like you, I have been pregnant or nursing for the past many years and my last pregnancy put me on 5 months bedrest. Post bedrest and c-sections a quick early morning run was the best way to get in exercise and the perfect stress reliever in the shortest amount of time. I wasn’t, however, working with any weights or doing as much core strengthening. The last 4 months I borrowed my friends bosu and add 10 minutes of core and weights at the end of each run even if I have early morning side kicks. The bosu ball makes you engage all of your muscles and there are endless exercises on Pinterest you can refer to!
Have a great Friday!
I love these sorts of posts! I find all sorts of products that I wouldn’t have otherwise! Does that self-tanner last a long time? I’m painfully pale although definitely get some sun in the summer with the lake and vacations and running outside. But my husband works in cancer treatment so I am very conscious of the effects!!
I find that I get the best results if I do it two days in a row and then I can go 2-3 days before doing it again. So basically, in an ideal week (which never happens), I’d do it Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Generally speaking, though, I use it about twice a week.
I love this kind of post!! And this might sound silly, but one thing that’s bringing me immense joy lately is Radius Totz Toothbrushes…hands-down the best toothbrush I’ve ever used for my four munchkins! The handle & the head are FAB, and you can buy a pack of 3 on Amazon:) xoxo
Costco has these really good Sanders dark chocolate sea salt and Carmel bites. They’re delicious!
Costco has so many amazing things! I’ll have to look for these.