July Favorites
a midsummer update
We’re just about halfway through the summer season and that feels hard to believe. Did anyone feel like this month flew by even faster than June? Regardless, I hope you had a lovely month! Let’s dive into my July favorites. Note: if you read my What I’m Excited To Rewear This Summer a few of these might sound familiar.
Green Pants & Raw Silk Shirt
You will be hearing about this outfit more in depth in a upcoming newsletter, but to give you a quick run down, I purchased these sage green pants and a raw silk tank during my Mexico City trip. It was an instant yes. I’ve worn the shirt and pants together and separately since and I’ve received countless compliments on both. I also love that this tank and jeans will forever remind me of a trip to Mexico City that I got to share with some of my best friends, one of which ended up buying the same outfit because they loved it on me so much. Influencing my friends is always an honor. Since I know buying internationally can be tough, I found the pants, tank and many other pieces via Garmentory who offers free shipping over $100 and free returns.
Bucket Hat
My most worn summer hat is this straw bucket hat. I love that it’s packable and easy to reshape after traveling or stuffing it in your bag. It’s definitely more of a hat for lounging but I make it work for everyday use when I’m not by the pool. Protecting myself from the sun is a big priority, so I love throwing this on during errands or when I’m on a long walk. I think the quality is worth the price and it’s a nice treat when you can find it on sale. Another note — I prefer Felix because you can “pop out” the top and it looks like Teagan, a two for one option in my opinion. A cheaper alternative linked here (slightly cheaper here). I can’t vouch for quality since I haven’t personally tried, but I’ve heard great things about Jenni Kayne’s version.
Half Pipe Denim
Yes, another pair of ecru denim. This time I bring you my latest addition, these half pipe MOTHER jeans I snagged during a sale. I had been eyeing this for the past 4+ months. If you’ve been here for a while, you already know how much I love MOTHER denim and how much wear I’ve gotten out of my first ecru pair. This is another pair that hits at the ankle and has a barrel-esque shape that’s not too dramatic — a perfect first pair to dive into the barrel jean territory. If you’re a lucky size 31 you can snag these 50% off here.
Wearing Dresses
It’s hot and wearing dresses has saved me on days when I don’t want to bother with much else. As mentioned in What I’m Excited To Rewear This Summer, they’re easy to throw on and I appreciate not needing to wear a bra thanks to the smocked tops and double lining. My favorites as of late are my Gillian Steven’s dress as mentioned here, my floral blue dress, my red dress and my white dress with eyelet details that my husband likes to refer to as my ghost dress.
Crown Affair Air Dry Mousse
I cannot say enough good things about this mousse. It’s been such a lifesaver this summer when I find myself needing to leave the house with wet hair, which has been quite often lately since I can’t seem to manage getting out the door on time. It consistently creates waves in my hair while managing frizz. I don’t have to worry about how my hair is going to look because it’s that consistent. I often get compliments from my coworkers who are surprised to see I have wavy hair. In case you missed it, it was featured in my ratings newsletter. It also comes in a mini version with a few other products you can also test out.
Double Cleansing
I started double cleansing with an oil cleanser (as my first cleanse) after talking to a friend about it. I don’t recall how the convo came up, but she ended up sharing this Youtube video with me. It was super informative and broke down the different types of cleansers you can try, but mainly talked about oil cleansing, it’s benefits and what was recommended based on your skin type. Instead of buying a new one, I reached under my sink and pulled out this one I had bought to remove my wedding makeup. I had bought a mini version at Sephora based on a recommendation because I thought I’d use it sparingly. I’ve been using it every night for the past month and I’ve noticed a huge difference in my skin after I follow up with my regular cleanser. My face feels so much cleaner after massaging off the multiple layers of sunscreen. Note — I don’t wear makeup, at most some days I wear lipstick or gloss. So I merely started double cleansing to ensure I was getting any stubborn buildup off at night.
Luggage
This one is a bit different from the rest, but impressive just like the others. We recently upgraded our luggage to these and I am pleasantly surprised by how much they fit. These are not the sexiest or the coolest looking pieces of luggage but it was the perfect balance of quality, price and solid warranty that sold us. When they arrived, I had remarked how it looked smaller in comparison to our previous luggage we’d bought many years ago. Surely, I thought these would be going back and we’d be back to square one.
My husband challenged me to give them a try and asked me to see how much I could fit. Challenge accepted. I decided to test my bulkiest items. I neatly folded all my knitwear and denim jackets and placed them inside. I was shocked at how they all fit without me having to sit on my suitcase to shut it closed. Then I thought, surely, it’s overweight. I then weighed the luggage and I had 20 lbs of wiggle room. Surprise surprise, I went with the olive green color.
Also, I really liked the 100 day warranty they provide — no questions asked. You can test it for 100 days and if you don’t like it, they’ll refund you your money. This doesn’t even get into the limited yet lifetime warranty they provide.
Peaches
Since I’ve included fruit for the past few months, I feel obligated to continue this through the rest of summer — which has an abundance of fruit options. This month’s obsession is dedicated to peaches. I love all the varieties and I don’t think I have a favorite. I found myself snacking on one almost daily and was excited to go grocery shopping when I ran out. Can you blame me?!
Visiting Family
We spent a week at my parent’s house and my husband’s parents joined us a few days in. It was the first uninterrupted week-long break my husband and I have taken from work this year. It was so lovely not to have to worry about leaving the house on time or logging on for a meeting.
Our biggest question everyday revolved around what we were eating that day and when we were all gathering to spend the day together. I also know I’m incredibly lucky to have a family that loves my husband dearly and to have married into a family that felt like an extension of my own. Even more lucky to have both sets of parents enjoy each other’s company by spending the week together and planning future vacations. I hit the family jackpot on both sides and I couldn’t feel more grateful.
All recommended items are linked here.
If you feel inclined, I’d love to hear what your favorites from July were! Drop them below in the comments :)
xx Ofelia
Disclaimer: some links are affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small percentage from a sale. As always, anything that is linked are things I either own or recommend.
I love those MOTHER jeans on you! Do you find they fit tts? Those green pants are also such a great colour. Love when I influence my friends, too, lol.
Ok ok you’ve convinced me I need to revisit double cleansing. My skin has been lacking and maybe this could help.