Hellooo and happy Friday! We have no plans once I pick the girls up from their musical theater camp at noon and we are all so happy about it. How will we fill our time? Canning things from the garden? Visiting the pool? Sitting and staring in silence at the grass? They all sound good to me honestly. Hooray for some downtime! Let’s jump in…

June Reader Favorites

1. I bring this Multi Charger with Cords everywhere from long days out of the house to on our trips. This built in cords make is easy to use with different devices and the amount of charge left is easy to see through the number display.
2. Big enough to fit my laptop, yet sleek and comfortable enough to be perfect for European travel, this Travel Backpack is my go to for adventurous trips.
3. A tip I picked up from a professional cleaning friend of mine, these Stove Scrapers will scrape up any caked on mess while not harming the surface of your appliance.
4. Whether you’re prepping and cutting chicken breast or stripping herbs, these Kitchen Shears are a must have.
5. No chemicals needed, these Indoor Bug Traps have caught everything from fruit flies to moths to even a mosquito in our home.
6. Shower Caps for the Kitchen because who has the patient for plastic wrap when these are so easy to use
7. Both kids have these Hardside Carry-On Suitcases and they are the best: easy to roll multiple ways, zipper pockets for packing, they lock, and are super tough.
8. EltaMD Skin Restore – With a EWG score of 2, this zinc-based physical block face sunscreen is a gem because it also rubs in well (no white residue) and I can easily wear it under make up.
9. We’ve been using this All Natural Bug Repellant and it works surprisingly well at deterring mosquitos.
10. We never would have slept a wink on the plane or through Scotland’s 4:30 AM sunrises with this Blackout Sleep Mask. This one is the best because it has cut outs so your eyelashes don’t knock against it.

ONE: Annual Skin Check Reminder

I’ve gotten annual skin checks at the dermatologist since I was a teenager for the fact that my have melanoma in the family and I am very spotted with moles. Fun bonus: I grow funny ones. I’ve had countless biopsies and they’ve never come back with anything scary, but almost always come back with atypia, which is not surprising since many of them have funny coloring. Yay.

I got a biopsy done on a mole from my jawline last week and got the pathology back- benign but the margins aren’t clear so I might have to go back in a few months to get more out. TBD. All this to say, a friendly reminder to join me in getting your skin checked, wearing a wide brim hat, staying out of the sun during the most grueling hours, and wearing a physical block sunscreen on the face. I’m using my red light mask (read my review here) to help my stitched up face heal!

TWO: Blueberry Season

It thrills me that we have community blueberry bushes. The blueberry bush offshoots from my Nannie’s house that I transplanted most likely won’t be producing for a year or two, so I’m so grateful to have these in the meantime. They are bursting right now with ripe berries and Finley and I picked some on our walk yesterday morning. We’ve already eaten half of them and now I’m trying to decide what to do next: freeze some? Make a cobbler? Make these blueberry streusel muffins that I can confirm taste like dessert? Do you have a favorite blueberry recipe?

THREE: Just Wear the Dress / Breezy Dress for a Hot Summer

I’ve been guilty of buying a clothing item I love and them never wearing it because I’m afraid it will get messed up. When I saw H starting to adopt the same pattern (not wearing a necklace for fear of losing it or not wearing her favorite shirt because she might spill), I made a commitment to myself to just wear the dang dress.

And I’m so happy I’ve made the switch. I’m talking about this Quince dress in particular. I own it in three colors (and two sizes- both the small and x-small work, but I prefer the looser feel of the small- pictured below) because I love the length, the air flow, the vibrant color options, and just how it looks and feels. If you’re looking for a go to summer day dress, I highly recommend it.

FOUR: Branch Basics Glass Kit

While I’ve used these natural cleaning products for years, in the move I lost a bottle, one broke, and I decided to just replace my ragtag collection with the Ultimate Glass Bottle Starter Kit I had been eyeing. It comes with an all-purpose bottle, a streak-free for glass bottle, a more potent bathroom cleaning bottle, a hand soap dispenser (that turns it into foaming hand soap, which the kids prefer), the laundry bottle, Oxygen boost for tough stains, and the concentrate.

The bottles are all clearly labeled with fill lines, are pretty to look at, and are durable. To fill all the containers used about half the concentrate. I’ve been loving having everything from counter cleaning to laundry to hand soap stocked and appreciate how well they work!

FIVE: Summer Reading

Right now we are listening to The Secret Garden (free on Audible) on the way to camp, which we are finding to be engaging, mysterious, and very enjoyable. I am reading The Hobbit aloud at home. The girls are liking it but finding it hard to picture in their heads. Maybe it’s all the unusual names? It has me wondering after this if we should forgo our rule of reading first and actually watch The Lord of the Rings before reading it? Any suggestions?

While I’m super into reading/listening with the kids, personally I’m less motivated. Unpopular opinion most likely, but I can’t get myself to finish Great Big Beautiful Life. At this life stage my reading/listening time is limited and I find I prefer podcasts and nonfiction works, most recently High Performance Habits, Let Them, and Good Energy. Can that make me feel a little guilty when everyone on social is sharing the 15 novels they read in the past week? Yes. Yes, it can. But I also must admit that there are very few novels that can hold my attention unless they’re excellently written historical fiction. And if you have any suggestions in this arena, I’m all ears!

Off to walk the pup, check on the chicks (that are growing so quickly!) and kick off the day. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a lovely weekend. <3