My favorite things from June
Featuring: Swim dates, workout regimens, a sweater vest I can't stop wearing, beaded necklaces and some really good books!
Welcome!! Every month, I share my favorite things from the previous month, and a little personal reflection on the month. You can read all previous editions of my monthly digest of favorite things here.
Summer is *officially* in full swing and I couldn’t be happier about it. June was busy and packed with things in a wonderful way - in a, I can’t believe all of this happened in just one month kind of way. I went to Montreal with my two oldest kids, my dad, and my sister to visit family. My son graduated Kindergarten (how!?!?). My youngest turned one!!! I accepted a new job, put in my notice & had my last day of work at a company I had been at for 7 (!!) years (more on this soon!). We went to Nantucket to celebrate the life of a family member. We went to the Cape for an idyllic family weekend. I love writing down these little journals of my month - It’s a great exercise, and this month in particular, it made my heart swell with gratitude.
My husband and I started a new little date night ritual that I have been obsessed with. On whatever weeknight works, our nanny has been staying a little late, and we have been heading to our town pond with our books and beach chairs. We take a little dip (I love swimming in the pond for real - out deep to the dock - I’m trying to get my husband psyched up enough to swim all the way across, we’ll get there!), we read our books, then we head to a local casual restaurant and get a drink at the bar while we wait for them to prep a take away order. We’re home by 7:30 - we get a bedtime break, enjoy our meal at home either outside, or while watching our show of choice (still making our way through FNL!) and we can all go to bed at our preferred bedtime. It’s a nice way to get a night out without breaking the bank (our dinner choices have been super simple!) and it feels totally relaxing! If you have access to a pool/pond/lake/beach I highly recommend this as a fun date-night!
I also have gotten into a workout regime. There is personal training studio a couple blocks away from us that offers group classes in the morning and one of my friends finally convinced me to try it out, and I am OBSESSED. I go a couple days a week at 5AM (I know, insane, but it’s GREAT). I get my workout in. Someone tells me what to do for 45 minutes and I work hard and don’t have to think about it at all (other than think about how hard it is!) I feel amazing afterwards. I have a whole hour to myself once I’m home. Truly, incredible. Getting up at 5 is a little brutal, but it’s light out and warm out right now. It’s not too bad, I’m used to it now. It’ll be harder when the weather changes, but I’m hoping my habit will be so engrained it won’t be too terrible. A month in, I’m feeling stronger, I’m seeing muscle that I haven’t seen since pre-kids, and I’m feeling really, really good.
Related to my workout routine is a major effort to increase the protein I consume. One way I’ve been satisfying my sweet tooth, + adding some additional protein and having just a really delicious treat to look forward to at the end the day that isn’t eating a giant ice cream from the ice cream store in our neighborhood is having a yogurt (I like Siggis), with sliced up strawberries (they have been insanely delicious this year), plus a drizzle of hot fudge on top. Highly recommend. If I really need or want to add more protein, I will mix a scoop of protein powder into the yogurt!
Here’s the rest of the things I obsessed over this month…
Alex Mill Bridget Vest - I am extremely obsessed with everything in the Alex Mill summer collection. I love the brand, am always impressed by the quality and the price point is extremely reasonable. Also, I really appreciate that they produce a manageable number of items. Plenty of options, but you don’t have to scroll for years and years. I think this is a key part of more sustainability and, to be frank, a better and more streamlined shopping experience - a tighter edit of pieces. We don’t need 1 million items released constantly. I really love what Doen, Donni, Posse, VRG Girl, Alex Mill are doing related to this (I’m sure there are more/others, this is just off the top of my head!)
Anyway, on to the vest/tank - this is a perfect item for my wardrobe because I can easily style it for work, a night out, or time with my family. I’ve worn with jeans, with white pants, with shorts, with linen pants, and even over dresses. It will also take me well into fall! I really love. I went with navy, but I also saw Brittany Sansone style the red and I LOVED! Additional colorway/sizes available here, here and here.
Rooni Beaded Necklace - I LOVE a fun necklace stack when the weather warms up. I’ve added a few to my collection this summer - check out some of the favorites I’ve found here and here. I discovered Rooni beads via
- she tagged the brand in a picture on Instagram and I immediately stalked. I went with the small butter jasper and I’m fully obsessed. I’ve been wearing it everyday - sometimes on its own, sometimes layered with other beaded necklaces. I’m already scheming which one I’ll add to my collection next!Slinky Pants - My current favorite outfit is either a button down with easy slinky/silky pants OR a fitted tank or tee with silky/slinky pants. It’s just my favorite thing to put on right now, and feels equally right for a day with my kids as it does for a special occasion or an evening out. Two pairs of pants that I am reaching for constantly - the first is from Rue Sophie, which is a FABULOUS California-based brand that does that effortless, elevated, closet-staple, simple-but-special look so well and at a price point that I think is very fair. The brand very generously gifted me the Esme Pants and I have been wearing them constantly. I love the color, the fit, the feel. I’ll dive into the brand more sometime soon, but if it’s new-to-you, I highly recommend you browse their website! (I can’t think about fall yet, but I am excited for their fall collection!) The other pair is the Donni Slinky Pant. I’m deeply obsessed with this brand, and these pants are no exception. I’ve worn them with tank tops, over my bathing suit, with sweaters on chilly nights, to work with a button down tucked in. I love!
Greatness Wins Bike Shorts (and exercise dress). This brand is new-to-me, and I discovered them when they reached out to me & asked if I would like to try some product. Color me curious - I’m always interested in activewear - I find that good leggings/bike shorts/workout tops/etc. at a reasonable price that are both cute AND functional AND reasonably price is hard to find. Well. Pleased to report that everything I’ve tried from the brand - the bike shorts & exercise pants is AMAZING. The bike shorts are the perfect inseam (7”), perfect rise (high), and they don’t budge. They have a side pocket that is big enough for a phone and when you put your phone in the shorts still don’t move! And they’re under $70 dollars! The dress is also great - comfortable and flattering. It doesn’t have built-in shorts, so you have to wear something underneath if you’re planning on actually exercising in it. It’s the perfect thing to pull on for morning walks or running errands! Very happy about both of these pieces, and am excited to try their full-length leggings next (it’s so hot right now I can’t think about pulling on tight pants!). If you want to try, the brand shared a code for 25% off your purchase! - Use code CHRISTINA25.
EarlyBird Full spectrum gummies - I have been EXTREMELY curious about trying this product for several years but have been pregnant or nursing basically consistently since 2018. Until this spring! As soon as I fully weaning from nursing/pumping, one of the first things I treated myself too was a bottle of Earlybird CBD gummies. I think I said it best to my mom group chat - the vibe is — I want to feel very relaxed - sort of like I’ve had 1.5 dirty martinis without consuming 1.5 dirty martinis. I can feel the effect with as little as a half. I purchased my first bottle myself, and then Earlybird extremely generously gifted me sample packs and a bottle in another flavor. Lemon is my favorite so far. If you are curious about trying this out - I can’t recommend enough, and Earlybird makes it so easy to try without making a huge investment (or having to go to a dispensary!)
I shared a few summer beauty essentials last month, but have one more for this month. I’ve shared Crown Affair before - I love their conditioner, silky hair scrunchies, and in the spring Sephora Sale I got the hair towel. Recently, they sent me a few things to try - specifically for summer hair - the Texturizing Air Dry Mousse, and the Leave-In Conditioner. Both products have become essentials. While I typically blow my hair out once our twice a week with my trusty airwrap (ps on Sale rn), In the summer, I don’t do that at all. The leave in conditioner is especially amazing anytime I swim or get my hair wet - even if I’m not doing a full wash, I apply it at the bottom half of my hair to keep it soft and smooth. The mousse is equally awesome. AND, I have discovered that one of the BEST ways to use the hair towel is to (obviously) absorb water which speeds up the time that it takes for your hair to air dry - AND it means that if you put your hair in a braid or bun to get a little texture when wet - it actually dries. This is always my biggest issue when air drying - it takes my hair SO LONG to dry, and if I put it in a braid when it’s wet it will stay wet for a whole day - not anymore!
On the reading front, I had a few slow months of reading, and a few books that were fine but not worth recommending, but this month I got back in my groove, and, it’s a Rom Com or thriller summer for me— my two favorite genres and I’m hoping to promise myself to only read things that I absolutely love for the whole summer!
I absolutely adored How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang. This covered complex family dynamics and relationships, childhood bonds, and sizzling chemistry. I didn’t want it to end.
I’m an Emily Henry die-hard and I devoured Funny Story - her latest. I love the dialogue and banter between the characters so much - I could have continued listening for many more chapters. Also, narrated by Julia Whelan who (I think!) does all of Emily’s books, and I adore!
The Rom Con had been on my list for a long time and finally became available in Libby and I found this to be so sweet and endearing. Another set of characters that I really loved!
The Writing Retreat scratched the itch for a good thriller that was unique and definitely kept me guessing. I thought the plot line was creative and interesting, so would definitely recommend!
And finally, the most popular things I shared in June included…
ICYMI:
Some recent pieces that you might enjoy…
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I got my first Rooni piece and am obsessed! I'm eyeing the butter jasper next. Also a big fan of the Crown Affair air dry mousse--basically my summer hair hero.
christina, i think i started following you when your youngest was a newborn—how can that be a year ago?! 🥲
i always love your book recs. adding julia bartz to my tbr authors!