Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Summer Favorites 2015!

Sadly, summer has come to a close. There's a distinct chill in the air when the sun goes down and I find myself spending more time in long-sleeves than I find ideal. On the upside, our Sunday ritual of NFL RedZone and lazing around has officially commenced, fall race season is just around the corner (fall is my favorite time of year to run!), and my calendar for get-togethers is slowly filling up each week. There's something about being colder that makes people want to get together, and I love it! Anywho, with the close of another season comes a new batch of favorites! I switched up the categories a bit this time around, too. Check out some of my favorite things from the summer below, and make sure to watch the coinciding video at the end of this post! :)

Activity | Journaling

I spent a lot of time this summer after work writing out my thoughts in a journal. It was a huge summer of transition for me and adjusting to so many new things at once can make your head spin. It was nice to make some time at the end of each day to get everything in my brain out onto paper! Even if it was just a stream-of-consciousness or a doodle here and there, it was extremely therapeutic to get outside with a pen and paper.

Apparel | Maxi Dresses/Skirts & Crocs Kadee Flats

Before this summer I was never a huge fan of maxi dresses/skirts. I never thought they looked all that great on me and so I never leaned toward them whenever I went shopping. This summer, though, I had a couple of maxi dresses in my closet and I realized just how freaking comfy they are. It's essentially like you're wrapped up in a giant blanket the whole time! I think feeling more comfortable in wearing them also made me think I looked better in them than I had originally thought. I've since bought a maxi skirt which I want to wear every day, and I'm definitely predicting more maxi dress/skirt purchases in the near future!

This summer I also bought two pairs of the Kadee flats from Crocs. These are so unbelieveably comfortable. I totally understand why people wear Crocs clogs now. They form right to your feet and are super light weight - I've basically lived in these at work since I bought them. I totally recommend that you at least try these out before writing them completely off!


Book | We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist



I downloaded this memoir originally to read it on our family cruise in March, but I never got around to it. I picked it up and starting reading in late June, and this book was so funny and adorable that I couldn't put it down. This is the story of Josh Sundquist's romantic misadventures through is adolescent years, and as a unique twist, for this book, he reached out to all the girls who were his almost-girlfriends years later to find out what might have gone run. This is a  fun, light read that will be sure to boost your spirits every time you sit down with it. (Found here for $13.23)

Blog | Zukowski Blogs

As a blogger, I love reading blogs, but as someone who is one of a handful of people I know personally who have blogs, I love when my friends take up blogging! My friend Kacie has just launched her blogging/vlogging career over at Zukowski Blogs and I think you should all go check it out and give her some love & encouragement! She's just getting started and I can't wait to see where she goes with it!

Fitness | Homemade Smoothies

Exercising was hard for me this summer. I don't know if it was the heat, the stress of all the changes in my life, or something else, but I was just so unmotivated all summer long. One thing that I did do relatively okay on, though, was my diet, and especially so when I started drinking homemade smoothies! I have a blender attachment on my Magic Bullet and I started making frozen fruit and yogurt regular items on my grocery list just for this new found love. I always feel nice and full after a smoothie and it's an awesome way to pack a burst of energy into my morning! If you're a smoothie person and you know of some good smoothie recipes, please let me know in the comments - I really want to explore new blends!

Food & Drink | Alcoholic Milkshakes from The Fix (Worcester, MA)



This is the second favorites post in a row that I've posted about The Fix! My friend Brittany and I met up for a bite to eat and to catch up (since we hadn't really seen each other since graduation!) and I knew we had to go back to Worcester (a city we both called home during our Grad Internships - I was at Clark while she was at WPI) and try the alcoholic milkshakes at The Fix.

Oh. My. God.

These things are incredible. It could be because they're just made awesome or it could just be because I already have a deep love for milkshakes and all things ice cream, but either way, I'm 100% on board the alcoholic milkshake train. If you're a fan of milkshakes and enjoy a cocktail from time to time, I highly recommend finding a place that serves these (or finding a recipe to blend one up yourself)!

Home & Office | Q&A a Day Five Year Journal & Adult Status Achieved Note Pad



I found out about this journal through another YouTuber's favorites video and was instatntly intrigued. It's a five-year, line-a-day journal, but instead of it just being blank, each day prompts you with a new question so that you can be a little bit more inspired to write each day. I'm interested to see how much I change year to year, as I usually think of myself as someone who knows what I like and I tend to stick to it, but who knows? (Found here for $9.60)
My mom found this for me while she and my dad were out in Portsmouth for their anniversary (how sweet for them to be buying me gifts on their anniversary, right?!) and I LOVE it. It's from Sea & Lake Paper Co. on Etsy and it's the perfect list-making note pad. I've been keeping a few sheets in my planner for grocery lists and the like. (Found here for $8.00)

Movie | Big Hero 6



I know this movie isn't a new release (it came out last fall) but I never had the opportunity to see it before this summer. One lazy afternoon while eating Chinese food, Brett and I popped this movie on and we both loved it! A very sweet story line and entertaining as all get out. If you haven't had the chance to see with movie yet, I highly recommend that you give it a try!

Purchase | ChromeCast

I've been wanting to get some sort of streaming device for my TV for a long while now (my HDMI cord hooked up to my old laptop set up was getting frustrating) and while I was shopping at Target one day I found ChromeCast on clearance! I snatched it right up and  I have been SO HAPPY with it. It works fantastically. It does exactly what I need it to do and I no longer have to watch Netflix on just my iPad. I am so pumped about this purchase! Non-smart-TV owners, rejoice!

Song | 678 by Fetty Wap ft. Remy Boyz


This song is so. damn. catchy. I found it as I was scanning the radio stations in my new town one day, and this song just happened to be playing on one of the stations. A quick Shazam lead me to the name of the song and I have been obsessed with it since. I don't know what it is about Fetty Wap, but he sure knows how to churn out the hits. I don't hate it.

TV Show | Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

SO FREAKING FUNNY. If you're a fan of the film, you will love this series. Ridiculous comedy, star-studded cast, and all around entertaining. Brett and I blew right through the series and we thoroughly entertained the whole time. It's so funny to think that Wet Hot American Summer was the first feature film for many of the actors on the cast, and to see how far they've come in their careers between the film in this series is so funny. The fact that they all came back for this project makes me so happy! (I also highly recommend watching Hurricane of Fun on Netflix, which is the behind-the-scenes of the making of the film in 2000!)





Memory | Cape Cod Trip



This year's Cape trip was awesome. Beautiful weather, wonderful people, and just an overall awesome time. We spent so much time at the beach because it was just so perfect out. If I could transport back to any day during the summer, it would definitely be one of those beach days because they were just what I needed to break up the stress of this summer. Check out my post about it for more photos and a fun GoPro video!

And there you have it - my favorites for the super fast and super wonderful season that was Summer 2015. Now time to hibernate for the next six months as the weather drop down to ungodly cold temperatures and mother nature buries us in 80 feet of snow again. Why do I live in the north east again? 

Make sure you check out the coinciding video for this post below, 
and link me to your summer favorites in the comments!


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