10 things I liked last month
a VERY belated summer appreciation post
As a December baby, I notoriously do not like summer. Not to complain, but its main features are some of my least favorite things: heat, FOMO, all my friends being gone on vacation, a distinct odor… I could go on.
But who am I to write off 3 months of the year just because it’s a little too hot?
In a valiant attempt to be more seasonal, I’ve tried to set up a perfect storm of summer enjoyment. Between my summer reading list, a few new perfumes, and a fervent devotion to little morning walks before it gets too hot outside, I’m giving it my all. And it’s working! I’m having a nice time!!
Here are 10 things that made the first month (and a half) of summer really nice:
I’m falling woefully behind in completing my summer bucket list… but making one reminded me of how fun summer can be!
knocking off the low-hanging fruit, as god intended The song of the summer is not out yet, but you can pre-save it here!! Out August 9th… it’s fire (unbiased review despite it being Josh’s song)
Discovering the free kayaking on the Hudson. I’ve been twice already! It’s amazing!! (it’s also right next to mini golf. perfect afternoon alert!)
brave warriors off to sea This article from The New Yorker about how refrigeration changed the way food tastes. Now, I have an article to send people when they don’t believe that the fridge ruins tomatoes!!!
Much like tomatoes, our taste buds react differently in colder temperatures, dulling the flavor of whatever we’re consuming. It’s why a room temperature Coke or melted ice cream always tastes way too sweet: it needs to be sweet enough for the flavor to register in a colder temperature.
Because so many people drink ice-cold beverages while they eat, a lot of packaged foods are more intensely flavored, too. You need more fat, salt, and sugar to experience the same taste. I’m never drinking ice water while eating ever again…Becoming one of those girls who wear their Starface pimple patches in public… I thought they were ubiquitous at this point, but they seem to be of great interest to my coworkers and strangers on the train
hormonal acne flareup, or carefully considered sartorial choice? I Who Have Never Known Men was an incredible read. It’s a short book, just 164 pages, but each sentence is expertly crafted. In the novel, a group of women are imprisoned in a bunker. Everyone remembers the life before the bunker, except the main character, who was just a child when they arrived.
The whole book is a beautiful study of what it means to be human: who are we when our lives are stripped away? What remains when our lives change? What makes us us?
The prose is aggressively French (think Camus) if you’re into thatMatcha with homemade strawberry syrup is the drink of the summer; I don’t make the rules!
born to value well-lit pictures, cursed to have a north-west-facing apartment I also LOVED The Women by Kristin Hannah. She’s the queen of historical fiction - The Great Alone by her is one of my favorite reads in recent years!
The book focuses on the life of one young woman who volunteers to be a nurse in Vietnam during the war. The whole thing is harrowing, filled with emotion and a brutally realistic narrative of the reproach and PTSD that women (and men) like her suffered upon their return home.
It broke my heart while also providing so much juicy romantic drama. 5 stars from me!!This lemon kumquat boba that brought me back from the brink an hour into an ill-fated journey to return my library books
reward for suffering in the 90º heat In an effort to up my wellness game (avoiding processed foods, getting 10k steps, you know the vibes), I’ve been loving the newsletter
. Filled with real, no-BS info on wellness trends and how to fuel yourself, I always read it as soon as it hits my inbox.
Summer of learning!!
I’ve been trying to let July be July, but will return to regularly scheduled weekly newsletters this week!
Look out for my guide on what to wear to work in the summer this Thursday. I’ve been going for best dressed > employee of the month, so you know it’s good.
XOXO,
Madeleine