Let's Kick Off Summer(ish)

Too soon?

Hello, Gorgeous!

As we ease into the long holiday weekend it’s worth remembering what Memorial Day actually commemorates. For many, it’s the unofficial beginning of summer. Most of all, it’s a time to remember U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. If you run into a veteran, it’s also a great time to thank them for their service and sacrifice.

And now back to the part about sort of kicking off summer.

Sorta summery treats

The general consensus with my friends and fam is that no one is actually ready for summer yet.

These are some fun ideas to very slowly ease you in.

Arty sunglasses

Yesterday we were discussing the joy of shopping in museum stores. I spotted these incredible Keith Haring sunglasses while browsing the MoMA Design Store. Pop artist Haring was best known for his motto “Art is for everybody,” and these glasses seem to embody that ethos. The design is stunning and minimalist with downright goofy tips that look like his line drawings. There’s a teeny tiny joyous dancer engraved into the right lens, and they provide 100% UVA/UVB. While there used to be a whole lotta colors, there are now only colorways left including red, black and white, and clear and black ($140, moma.org).

Have a bookish weekend

If you prefer to spend your weekend curled up with a good book, or at least surrounded by that feeling, check out Demeter’s Paperback scent. It’ll remind you of kicking around a favorite bookstore or library in your favorite vacation destination. Or go for a self-care weekend with Paperback body lotion and shower gel (Prices vary, check out the entire Paperback collection on demeterfragrance.com).

Free & Clear Foaming Dish Soap

Am I the only one who ends up spending weekends away cooking and baking for everyone else? And let’s not even discuss the fact that most of the quaint and rustic weekend getaways I’ve been to lately have been sans dishwasher. One of my new kitchen faves is ECOS plant powered foaming dish spray which is a lot like legendary Dawn Powerwash, only without the unnecessary additives like synthetic fragrance or dyes (Amazon sells 4 packs for $23).

Dry hand TLC

I’ve been spending some quality time with a few Drunk Elephant products that I’ve loved but stopped using (for no reason at all). Along the way I happened upon their Therabu™ Buttered Reparative Hand Cream. Holy moisturizer, Batman, this stuff is amazing, especially after all the dish washing I’ve been doing.

First off, it’s meant to diminish signs of aging — sun spots, crepiness and all. It’s also loaded with rich marula and shea butters. It has a vaguely vanilla scent I could do without, but otherwise I feel like composing a love letter to this thick creamy hand saver. Also notable, it’s dermatologist tested and 100% free of essential oils, silicone, dyes, and solvent alcohols ($24, drunkelephant.com).

‘70s era action

If you’re finding it hard to wait patiently for the new season of Dark Winds— the gorgeously shot 1970s-set psychological thriller series about two Navajo police officers in the Southwest— you might want to have a gander at Max’s new series Duster.

The show offers the long awaited reunion between J.J. Abrams and Josh Holloway’s dimples. It offers clever dialogue, lots and lots of racing car imagery (Holloway plays a getaway driver of the eponymous cherry-red Duster), and ‘70s era racism and sexism. Co-starring is Rachel Hilson as a sassy and badassy FBI agent. I’ve only watched one episode so far, so I’m not sure how the rest of the series goes, but it was fabulously entertaining. You can watch/stream it on Max.

A really fun summer read

I was SO pleasantly surprised with Making Friends Can Be Murder by Kathleen West. I tend to shy away from books that might freak me out. In this case, a woman con artist who specializes in identity theft infiltrates a group of friends all named Sarah Jones. The writing is fun and light and the characters (once you get over the fact that they’re identified by number instead of name) each have unique and likeable personalities. There’s also a nun, a couple of FBI agents, a decades-old unsolved mystery, and of course, a murder and a love story. What can I say? I really loved this book which is the perfect beach read ($17.97, Amazon).

And that’s it for this week, my lovelies. I’m heading out for the weekend. Any fun plans, great books or adventures in your future? Let’s meet in the comment section to discuss!

Rachel, Your beauty concierge 💋