Hello and Happy August!! I swear this year is going to be over before we know it and that is TERRIFYING. We’ve somehow made it to August you guys, and I have no idea how it happened. July was good! It was chock-full of BBQs and attempts to start a diet. Many, many dips in the pool and lots of reading. We had a lovely trip to NJ for a relaxing lake weekend that felt like a real vacation. We got a new SURPRISE Taylor Swift album!!!! And we survived yet another month of this weird, weird world we’re living in. Here are some things I’ve been loving this past month.

READING –– full reviews on goodreads

  • The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon ****
  • Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer ****
  • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo *****
  • Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams ***
  • The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez *****

BAKING/MAKING

  • Sally’s Baking Addiction Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust – I loved the shortbread crust on these, but they were a little overly sweet for me. I might try this crust with a slightly milder filling next time!
  • What’s Gaby Cooking Salted Key Lime Pie – finally made this (twice!) after dreaming about it for weeks and it did not disappoint! I got lazy and bailed on the whipped cream topping (I shouldn’t have – you need it!) but it was still delish and I will definitely be making this again. I think it may have even converted a few people to key-lime lovers!
  • a Kentucky Butter Cake – every time I make this I remember how much I love it and wonder why I don’t make it more often. And then I immediately remember why I don’t make it more often when we’ve eaten the entire cake in two days. This time was no different.
  • these Greek Crunchwraps from Brocc Your Body – we are OBSESSED.
  • this Chopped Italian Salad is beyond delish, too!
  • Grossy Peolsi’s Berry Cornbread Buckle, which we loved with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
  • my fave caprese pasta salad (I’ll definitely share a recipe for this one day!)

DRINKING

  • Montauk Watermelon Session Ale – aka my summer beer of choice, always. These are hit or miss for a lot of people, but I just cannot get enough of them from June-September. I especially love drinking them on the beach because they’re so refreshing – and of course at our beloved GYC.
  • a vodka lemon spritzer cocktail recipe that I’ve been playing around with – recipe is coming!

EATING

  • Cucumbers – so many garden cucumbers!!! We’ve been eating so much cucumber salad and just plain ole plates of sliced cucumber. And mom started experimenting with pickling about halfway through the month, so stay tuned for some details on that!
  • Cherries – they are so good right now, I haven’t been able to stop snacking on them throughout the day.

LOVING

  • LL Bean Boat & Totes – these are way up there on my list of best purchases of 2020. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve used mine already and for so many purposes! The large one is the perfect size for us to pack for an overnighter in Brooklyn, but also the perfect size for a day at the beach. And my favorite part is that I don’t have to worry about throwing in a wet bathing suit and a sandy towel in it. They’re so durable and just the type of bag that will look even better the older it gets.
  • Yeti Rambler 30 oz Tumbler – bought this on a whim this month and I have been using it non-stop. I honestly feel like it’s making me drink so much more water because I’m able to sit by the pool with it full of ice water and it actually stays cold! Every time I bring water out there in something else, the sun just cooks the ice and the plastic and it tastes terrible and it ends up being water for the plants. This has changed the game and I want to buy another one so I can never be without it again.
  • Thayers Witch Hazel Toner in Rose – obsessed with this stuff for hot summer days when I’m not wearing any makeup. It’s the perfect post-walk, sweaty-face fix! It’s cooling, moisturizing, refreshing and good for your skin. I can’t get enough of it, and the rose scent is such a nice pick-me-up!

LISTENING

  • folklore by Taylor Swift – OMG OMG OMG OMG. Still can’t even believe that this happened! She really just dropped this album with like 18 hours notice?!? It’s the lyrical masterpiece that us hardcore Taylor Swift fans have been waiting for for so many years. And it’s every bit as amazing as I could have hoped. As you can imagine, not much else was played after this album came out and I have no remorse about it.
  • Are You Bored Yet? by Wallows
  • Soothsayer by Brave Baby

WATCHING

  • Eclipse – with another book club watch party, of course!
  • Never Have I Ever – this show was so silly but in a good way. The episodes are only 28 minutes so we flew through most of it in one night and it was just what I needed to make me feel like I’d accomplished something while watching tv. Definitely not for everyone but we got a kick out of it.
  • Succession – late to the party as usual, but we started this at the end of the month and are loving it! We’re only a few episodes in, but for the first time in a while I’m excited when we put the tv on it and settle in for a few hours. Have any of you guys watched it? What are your thoughts?!

DOING

  • The beach – safely! But I swear there is no better day to be had than one spent with your toes in the sand and dipping in and out of the ocean. I feel like I have a whole new appreciation for the beach this year.
  • Making To-Do Lists – this is nothing groundbreaking at all. I really never do this, but early this month I found myself kind of stressed about how many little things I had to do. Since quarantine, I’ve had so much time that nothing has really seemed urgent enough to get it done. So I made myself a list on my notes app and can’t even tell you how much I got done over the course of 48 hours. I kept crossing things out and adding to it over the month and it felt so good to look back and see all the things I actually got done. Especially the things I’ve been putting off for who-knows-how-long.
  • Walking – a TON! A friend of mine had mentioned she’d been trying to walk 4 miles a day in quarantine, and I was inspired to start doing the same. We have a little “walking club” and send Marco Polos to our group when we’re out on walks to pass the time. I have to say, I’ve really missed the feeling of accomplishment after getting my 10,000 steps every day. Ty, LC!! You’re an influencer.

CELEBRATING

  • 4th of July Weekend – a beach day in Long Beach, complete with many dips in the ocean, Mexican food and no shortage of Montauk Watermelons. We had a BBQ with family this year on the actual 4th and it was the most wonderful, as always. Watermelon margaritas, bbq ribs, and more side dishes than you could fit on your plate. We played giant Jenga and swam, the boys played corn hole and poker. And we all watched/listened to the hundreds of fireworks going off all around us. Aka, a perfect 4th of July.
  • The Grand Opening of the GYC – it was just about as monumental as we dreamed it’d be. In typical GYC fashion, it was the hottest, sweatiest, most humid and disgusting day and we loved every minute of it. We sat at our table in the corner and had the first (very warm) beers of the summer and life felt the most normal that it has in months.
  • Weekending in Sparta, NJ – we made it to Jordan’s lake house! After one full year of trying to make it happen, it finally finally finally did and we couldn’t have loved it more. We spent the weekend with Courtney and Jordan floating on the lake, drinking, eating and laughing so damn much. We made a TikTok that I still can’t stop dying over, played board games and Ryan and I even went out for a morning kayak ride! I was nervous about it all weekend but knew I wanted to try it, and much to my surprise I absolutely loved it!! Never in a million years would I have seen that coming. I also tried my very first pork roll, egg and cheese and loved that, too, although less surprising. All in, we had the most wonderful weekend with two of our favorite people who we have missed so very much.
  • Kevin and Veronica’s Wedding (!) – wishing these two all the happiness in the world on their new adventure together. So happy for you both and so happy we we’re able to (virtually) be part of your special day.

And that’s July! Hoping that August brings lots of long beach days with good books and better cocktails. And a lobster roll or two!! Here’s to making the most out of this last full month of summer.

with love, jak