May Favorites
I am LATE with this and dang it, I guess sometimes life just happens. I got all mucked up because my husband bought a car on the other side of Lake Michigan and really wanted me to road trip along with him to pick it up. It was a 16 hr drive, so it ate up the entire weekend. We had a good time though! You cannot beat driving through the Upper Peninsula - it’s weird and wacky and there is no shortage of pasties or bugs, and the sheer amount of waterfront real estate selling for mere pennies will astound you. We stayed overnight in Escanaba and did a cruise down this stunning waterfront street, with the whole of Lake Michigan in their front yards, and the houses themselves these grand old victorian masterpieces. One was for sale, so just for funsies, I pulled up Zillow to see the asking price. Friends…it’s roughly $350k. Where I live, that’ll buy you a manufactured home in a subdivision. Escanaba’s local high school mascot is the Eskimos and the have probably nine months of winter, which is enough of a deterrent for me. But for the right person - Lake Michigan waterfront property for a freaking steal!
So anyway, that’s how my generally rigid writing routine wound up all out of whack, but onward we go! May was a treat!
1 - Anthony Bourdain // I was reading his posthumous book, World Travel, for the majority of the month and each chapter read like an episode of his various travel shows, and I found myself watching old episodes of No Reservations and Parts Unknown as they lined up with the book. Bhutan after reading the Bhutan chapter. The Rust Belt episode after reading the Detroit chapter. Eating pho with Barrack after the Vietnam chapter. I finished the book on Memorial Day and that evening, my husband and I watched Road Runner, a documentary about his life after the publication of Kitchen Confidential. I feel like I spent my month with Bourdain.
2 - bubly Melted Ice Pop // If I can encourage you to try anything, let it be the Melted Ice Pop flavor of sparkling water. Somehow, it captures the taste of a classic bomb pop. It’s the most perfect bev for my three favorite B’s - bonfire, beach, and boat.
3 - Memorial Day Weekend // We had a houseful of family visit for the holiday and guys, its my favorite part of summer. Just sloppy stacks of shoes flung around at my front door, people sleeping on every couch, and a bonfire every night. Time doesn’t exist on weekends like this - we’re just going from one fun thing to the next.
Related: A Day in the Life - A Saturday in May.
4 - Azelaic Acid // It’s absurd to call a beauty product life changing, but this has changed a few things in my life, namely the weird acne I get on my neck in the summer. I think it’s probably my hair products mixing with summertime sweat (ew) and I’ll get these weird cystic zits on my neck. This stuff, whatever it is, takes care of the problem immediately and seems to be preventing it. I use it on my face too and it makes everything look so much clearer and brighter. I don’t think I’m selling this particularly well, but basically I’ve already repurchased and will do so forever.
5 - Summer Uniform // Hallelujah, a return to slipping on different variations of what is basically the same outfit every day and heading right out the door. I shall live the next 3-4 months in the following: that $8 tank top from Target + athletic shorts OR a stretchy yoga skort + the J Crew flip flops that I’ve repurchased every summer since the 11th grade. Bonus features that are relatively permanent: bright blue polish on my toenails + a stack of beads on my ankles. I’m an anklet girly now.
Related: Evidence for the jury -
6 - Sparklers and Glow Sticks and Pop Its // We’re simple. We like simple things, and $10 worth of glow sticks and sparklers will make a whole night if you let it. PS - I don’t know about other states, but in Michigan, you have to present a photo ID to buy sparklers lol, as if we don’t light them and immediately hand them to children.
7 - A Perfect Weekend List // I am increasingly finding that I need to write everything down because I will routinely forget something I told myself to do 30 seconds ago. Is this age or have I always been this dumb? I honestly can’t remember. Anyway, I started writing up this list I call The Perfect Weekend and it’s a hot mix of fun things like getting ice cream and spending time reading in the sun, combined with chores like giving the dogs a bath or vacuuming out the car. If I manage to clear that list, I feel like I had a productive and restful weekend. The worst is when I feel bad for myself on Sunday evening thinking I wasted my entire weekend (typical), but this keeps me on track and reminds me that ho, you finished a book! And you did a load of laundry!
Bestsellers // Wow! What a mixed bag this month. Apparently I don’t have to persuade you to give the glow sticks a try because you guys are already on board. Also not surprised to see Azelaic Acid on the best seller list because I have been preaching away about the miracle power. Memorial Day, or maybe impending 4th of July, has us feeling the patriotic color way on this highly efficient tote bag. Same goes for this trucker hat - perfect for basically any day all summer long. And the most fun, these striped tumblers that are a big time bargain over at Target went home with lots of you (and me!). We got summer on the mind folks!
