Since I had so much fun writing last month’s favorites post, I decided to continue sharing my monthly favorites. This month brings an extra-special edition of my monthly favorites, since July is my birth month. That’s right — happy Cancer season, y’all!
Making this list is never easy, because there’s always so much to be grateful for. The little things, like David’s days off and starting my morning at the dog park with Chandler, might not make these posts, but it’s worth noting that they’re even more special to me than the beauty products and lounge sets.
Influencers’ favorites lists can be misleading, since they often fail to recognize what’s right in front of us. So, I want to take this opportunity to remind you that even though I love my monthly favorites as much as the next gal, you don’t need luxury makeup or fancy clothes to be happy.
That being said, these things do make me happy, and I think it’s worth expressing gratitude for them, too. Here’s what I’ve been loving this July (besides all the birthday presents, of course!).
Eat and Drink
This month, like every month, I could not get enough of my breakfast foods. One of my favorite recipes that I’ve been baking on repeat has been Eating Bird Food’s peach baked oatmeal. Brittany also has a version of the recipe that makes mini baked oatmeal cups, which is equally as delicious. Better yet, you can freeze the individual cups for a quick and easy breakfast to microwave on the go.
As for what’s in my cup, you may remember that July was my first full month of abstaining from alcohol. Still, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been loving my non-alcoholic drinks. Seeing as I wasn’t a big drinker anyways, I’m not really missing alcohol between all the nitro cold brews and mocktails I’ve been drinking.
If you haven’t hopped on the nitro trend yet, nitro cold brew is steeped in cold water, like regular cold brew, but infused with nitrogen as it flows through the tap — hence the name “nitro!” I’ve been struggling to find my new favorite coffee place in Providence, but now that we’ve been here a full month, I’ve finally discovered it. The Nitro Bar on Broadway makes incredibly small-batch nitro cold brew, along with tasty breakfast foods like gluten-free avocado toast…. and you all know how I feel about my breakfast foods.
And, for those occasions when I need a little something sparkling to celebrate — as on July 4th — I’ve been opting for one of the most delicious non-alcoholic choices at my local grocery store. Mingle Mocktails makes a variety of delicious mocktail blends that come in champagne-like bottles, but I’m absolutely obsessed with their cucumber melon mojito flavor. Stir in some mint leaves and frozen berries to elevate this premade drink to the next level.
Wear
In case my recent post on loungewear wasn’t clue enough, I’m obsessed with matching lounge sets — especially when they come in tie dye. Target’s gorgeous long-sleeve tie dye lounge set is soft AF, yet still light enough to lounge around the house in on a warm summer day (with air conditioning, of course).
To be honest, I don’t wear much makeup in the summertime, because I don’t like worrying about whether or not my foundation is going to melt off my face. However, Glossier’s Perfecting Skin Tint has changed all that for me. This light-coverage product mixes effortlessly with my morning sunscreen to cover just enough of that face mask-induced redness without making me feel like a grease bomb.
If you follow me on my bookstagram, @chiclitblog, you’ll also know that I’ve been obsessed with the limited-edition Harry Potter x Ulta Beauty makeup collection. I recently purchased the Hufflepuff Eyeshadow Palette, which comes with nine pigmented shades inspired by the most loyal house of all. My favorite shade is Lumos, a shimmery champagne shadow. The color matches the peachy glaze of the Platform 9 and 3/4 Lip Gloss perfectly, for a makeup look that’s as put-together as it is magical.
Read, Watch, and Listen
At the end of June, I participated in the mini Hogsmeade readathon run by Magical Readathon, when I started the Truly Devious series. At first, I wasn’t super thrilled to read it — I just picked it because it had a map in it, which was one of the readathon prompts — but I quickly grew to love it. Now, it’s one of my favorites. If you love a good murder mystery, I highly recommend you read it. The characters will become close to your heart.
I’ve been watching my favorite rom-coms over and over again while working from home, but this month I had the opportunity to watch the Brittany Murphy movie Uptown Girls for the first time. I barely remember when Brittany Murphy died, and I’d only ever seen her in Clueless, but this movie made me love her. Plus, baby Dakota Fanning is adorable — but still, it was so much more than a cute little rom-com. It gave me all the feels! If you haven’t seen it yet, give it a watch on Amazon Prime.
When it comes to my Spotify playlist, there’s one song I’ve had on repeat this month. Awhile back, I discovered Jordan McGraw’s song Flexible on my Discover playlist. It’s super catchy and I couldn’t stop listening to it — so it’s no surprise that his latest EP has got me feeling the same way. The song We Should Still Be Friends popped up on one of my daily playlists recently, and I haven’t been able to stop replaying it since. If you love indie pop, this one belongs on your next playlist.
Journal with Haley 