May Favorites

Hello, friends! I have been completely delinquent with these favorites/lifestyle posts these past few months.

I have so many fun things to discuss.

My last lifestyle favorites post was back in early February, and I’d like to say that is due to my being overly busy to write one since then, but truly, I haven’t had a ton to tell you about until recently!

Life lately is full of soccer and baseball games for the kids. School is winding down and the kids are gearing up for summer. I can’t wait to have a little bit more time with them!

Kieran is wrapping up his fourth grade year (insert all the brain-exploding emojis here) and could not be more excited for the start of summer.

His baseball season is in full swing, and we just wrapped soccer a couple weeks ago. Baseball is his favorite, and I love that he loves it so much. My dad instilled a love for the game in me at a very young. My memories of him will forever be woven throughout watching baseball, whether it’s my kids’ games or an MLB event. Kieran also associates it with my dad, and I think it’s very bittersweet for the both of us. His absence at Kieran’s games is felt deeply by us all, but I know he would be absolutely thrilled with Kieran’s passion for it and the growth he has shown this past year. That’s what I cling to in the moments of sadness. Watching him play is one of the highlights of my life, and I know it was the same for my Dad.

Finn is wrapping up his preschool years and will head to kindergarten in the fall (more head-exploding emojis here too, haha). My baby is definitely not a baby any longer! Dan and I have been marveling at how he has really shed the last of those little boy/toddler mannerisms – he’s like a real kid now. Crazy.

He adores soccer and wants to do everything his big brother does. It’s adorable. He spends a lot of time on the sidelines, and this past spring was his first foray into an organized sport. His little soccer games each week were the cutest thing ever.

They are both growing so fast. I know I sound like a broken record (and like every other parent out there), but some of the biggest cliches are definitely true. The days feel long but the weeks and years fly by. The truest statement of all time. I swear I just birthed them!

I’m just trying to soak it all up before they are too-cool-for-me teenagers.

Now, let’s get into some fun discoveries. I have some good ones to share!

READING

So far this year, I’ve read 36 books and MOST of them were not worth telling you about. A lot of DUDS. I have been in a bit of reading rut, but these are the ones I have really enjoyed!

The Reason I Married Him and Bridesmaid for Hire by Meghan Quinn. Both of these were so good. The former is a sequel in her Almond Bay series, and I love the characters/setting so much. Seeing some of my favorites from past books pop up in the story is so fun. The latter is also very good! Both are enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, fake-dating tropes, and no one quite does it like Meghan! Her writing is equal parts hilarious, steamy, and sweet.

I read a couple new books by Elle Kennedy as well. She is one of my absolute favorite authors – I seriously love everything she writes. Girl Abroad was so cute. It’s about an American living and studying abroad in England, trying to distance herself from her famous father and figure out her life while accidentally falling in love. I loved it. I also read her newest installment of the Briar U Hockey Campus Diaries series: The Dixon Rule. SO GOOD. Gosh. I can’t escape her hockey romances, and I’m not mad about it. This is an enemies-to-lovers trope with very real-life scenarios including domestic violence and the death of a parent. Of all her hockey books, this one only had a tiny bit of the sports stuff and was definitely more focused on the development of a relationship over time. Absolutely loved it!

I also read Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey and freaking LOVED it. Like Meghan Quinn, Tessa Bailey really know show to make stories as funny as they are steamy. A true rom-com (with the volume turned way up on the steam/spice). This was my first TB book in quite some time, and I thought it was so good. The characters were both so likable (even the grumpy one), and the story was sweet and fun. There is a sequel coming out later this summer, and I’m already counting down the days.

In my last favorites post, I mentioned that I didn’t enjoy the highly-rated Windy City series first installment; I DID, however, love both the second and third books in the series! Both The Right Move and Caught Up were so much better than the first book. I enjoyed the characters more, and the storylines were fun and interesting. Caught Up was my fave of the three, but I think that’s mainly because baseball will always have my heart. The fourth book in the series comes out next month. It’s on my list!

One fantasy series that I absolutely loved was the Beasts of the Briar series by Elizabeth Helen. It is beauty and the beast meets fae. Very cool world building and characters. I really enjoyed this series – the next book comes out in September and I’m eagerly awaiting it!

Lastly, my favorite fantasy read lately has been the Artefacts of Ouranos series by Nisha J. Tuli. I had The Trial of the Sun Queen and The Rule of the Aurora King on my to-read list for over a year. I finally dove into them, and I LOVED them. The story and characters are both complex and interesting, and the fantasy world is so neat. I can’t wait to start the next book! It just came out.

BEAUTY & SELF-CARE

I have been wearing Invisalign-style aligners for several months now. I had braces as a teenager, and my teeth had since shifted some. I wanted to get them back in line. As a result, constantly cleaning my retainers became a chore – I could never get them fully clean! I purchased the Zima Dental Pod for cleaning them, and I have to say, I have never been so impressed. This thing is incredible! It takes 5 minutes and my retainers are crystal clear and look literally brand new. It’s amazing! I’ve also used it to clean my rings and they come out crazy sparkly afterwards. I cannot recommend this enough to anyone who has oral retainers/mouthguards/etc. It has been a gamechanger for me!

I have been using this R+Co Teacup scalp detox treatment for a couple months now, and I LOVE it. I put it on dry hair about 10 minutes before I am going to hop in the shower. It feels so good on my scalp – it tingles! – and I feel like it really helps remove any gunk or build-up around my scalp when I rinse it out. My hair is always very shiny after I use it. I love it.

I have been shaving with this fractionated coconut oil for a little while now, and let me tell you, I’ve never had such a close shave! A little goes a long way and it soaks right into your skin, so you’re not dealing with an oily, greasy mess. It doubles as a moisturizer too. It doesn’t smell like coconut at all (just FYI as I know coconut is not everyone’s favorite) and my skin is so soft after using it.

I’ve been using this Truly Beauty cellulite serum this past month and so far I really like it. It smells like a DREAM. It feels really nice going on and doesn’t leave a sticky or oily residue. As for effectiveness, I’m still on the fence, but I would probably buy it again. I think it needs more time before I can make a true call.

I have been dousing myself in the NEST perfume oils after buying a sample kit of them a couple months ago. I am OBSESSED with these. The Seville Orange is my absolute favorite — I walk around smelling like the sweetest citrus — and the Turkish Rose is a close second. They are super-concentrated and the scent lasts forever. I love, love, love these!

FOOD & DRINK

I have mentioned my love of Ultima electrolytes in the past, and I was purely a lemonade girl for a long while. Well, no longer! I have since discovered the appletini flavor (which tastes exactly like a green apple Jolly Rancher) and the passionfruit flavor (tangy and citrusy and so good), and I may never drink the lemonade again! Just kidding. I will. But these two flavors have been doing it for me. I have a big tumbler of water with a serving of these electrolytes every single day, especially after long and sweaty hot yoga sessions. They are so delicious and don’t load me up with sugar or too much salt. LOVE.

The Jeni’s key lime ice cream sandwiches are TO DIE FOR. My sister and I were on the hunt for them, and when we finally procured them from Whole Foods, we were blown away at how delicious these were. I want to try the other ice cream sandwich flavors, but this one will be hard to beat. If you’re a key lime pie lover like me, you will LOVE these.

In other frozen treat news, my family and I have been loving the Tru Fru dark chocolate frozen fruit, particularly the blueberries and raspberries. They are a fun and easy little treat for after dinner that we all love. Dan CRUSHES bags of these if he’s left unattended, haha.

HOUSEHOLD

Recently, I did a major overhaul of our overly stuffed pantry closet. We had tons of stuff and it was hard to see what we did/didn’t have. I bought some of these very large clear containers to help organize things, and they have worked absolute wonders! First, because they are clear, I can even see what’s in them on the very top shelf. That way, I don’t keep buying the same box of pasta over and over again when I already have three ready to go in the pantry. A small thing but they have helped out with the pantry mess a lot. They are pricey as far as bins go, but they hold a ton and are of really sturdy quality. Worth it to me!

In an effort to use cleaner products throughout our house, I switched from Tide Pods to these Clean People laundry detergent pods. I LOVE THEM. Not only are they more natural and plastic-free (better for both my family and the environment), but the scents are made with essential oils and no synthetic fragrances/chemicals. The lavender is my favorite. It adds a lovely lavender scent to our laundry without being overpowering OR irritating (my kids and I have very sensitive skin). I was hesitant that the effectiveness wouldn’t be as good as Tide, but they clean just as well!

Along with my Nest perfume oil, I’ve been LOVING the Nest diffuser oil for my diffusers around the house. The Himalayan Salt + Rosewater candle is one of my absolute favorites, and I diffuse that one the most. It’s a lovely light rose scent that makes the whole house smell fresh.

Nest’s newest candle fragrance: Sunlit Yuzu + Neroli is incredible. I bought it right away, and I have to say, it’s one my favorite spring-summer scents. It basically smells like Lemonheads candy. Haha. It’s sweet and lemony and bright. It’s lovely! Like all Nest candles, it is an investment, but I always find them worth it because their candles burn for a very, very long time and the scent is always high quality and potent over time. They are some of my favorite candles, despite the price. Always a nice gift idea to give or receive!

And that about wraps it up. I hope you enjoyed this list of new favorites, and I hope you are enjoying this lovely month of June so far! Here’s to a summer filled with beach days, evening dining al fresco, and lots and lots of margaritas! Thank you guys for being here! XOXO!

[This post is not sponsored but contains affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and purchase the product, I receive a small kickback from the seller – at no extra cost to you! It is a small way I can earn a living doing what I love. Thank you for supporting this blog! I will always disclose this to you.]