Love It List :: July

Wha? How is it the end of the week already? Not that I'm complaining! But I am kind of sad that July is almost over. It truly disappeared in front of my eyes, but I suppose that happens every time doesn't it?  The good thing about summer out here in the East Bay is that it's not just a 3 month affair like it is back east. It lasts forever, really taking the pressure off of June, July and August.

My mind and body still haven't really grasped this fact yet, though. I still have a sense of guilt whenever I'm doing something inside and the sun is shining out there. Like, "get outside now, you awful, lazy person, the sun is shining, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!". But then I just tell my New England conscience to get out of my head! The sun actually shines 24/7, so I can choose which days to spend outside or inside according to my own free will. So there.

Okay yep, wow, soliloquy over! Here's my first in a hopefully ongoing series of monthly favorites. A collection of all the little things I'm loving right now.

Perricone MD Face Finishing Moisturizer. Got this suggestion from one from one of my Boston besties, Linds. Thank you Linds! This cream is delightful. It's filled with antioxidants, and all sorts of magic ingredients that keep your skin feeling firm and glowy. It's pricier than I normally go for, but the little jar is lasting me forever. It makes my skin feel like a million bucks, and the feeling lasts all day. My face never feels even slightly oily or dry anymore as long as I've used this lotion! Cherry on top -  it smells like crisp, fresh, roses....ahhh heavenly.

Batiste Dry Shampoo, Light & Blonde. I've never been huge into dry shampoo, but I recently discovered this stuff and I'm obsessed. I have fine hair that gets greasy looking if I don't wash it, made even worse by dark roots which I normally have. This stuff is a miracle because not only does it make hair feel clean, fresh and dry, but it also covers up roots with it's "hint of color"! It makes my hair look awesome, even better than the days that I actually do wash my hair.

Jimbo's pancakes! He's been whipping up these amazing gems daily. He uses one part almond meal with one part whole wheat flour mixed with some combination of coconut milk, eggs, TJ's pure bourbon vanilla extract, and.... I think that's it. He eyeballs it. We add flax seeds and berries and butter and agave syrup and whatever else we have on hand, and we share a pancake the size of your kitchen sink. I hope this turns out to be an August "Love It" as well - I don't want this to stop.

Jason Healthy Mouth Tartar Control Toothpaste. This might be a boring thing to review. Well sorry about that. We have found our forever toothpaste, and it sure feels good. And yes it's all natural. Call us hippies, call us crunchy, call us whatever you want, but you haven't tried toothpaste until you've tried this delicious tea tree and cinnamon oil rendition. It does all the nice things "regular" toothpaste does but without the harsh chemicals and whatnot.

This book. I've loved every one of Khaled Hosseini's books, and even though I'm only a few chapters in, this one's no different. So far my favorite has been A Thousand Splendid Suns, the verdict is out on whether this one will come ahead. I'll let you know!

Bushnell Legend Ultra HD Roof Prism Binoculars. Umm yes, as you may have guessed, Jimbo gets all the credit for this one. "10x magnification, 42-millimeter binoculars in camo with premium carry case, neck-strap, microfiber lens cloth, and binocular harness." Blah blah blah, the point is, it's really fun to look at things that are really far away. Especially when you're in the middle of a bird obsession like J and I are right now. These binocs are legit, and (obviously) fun 'cause they're camo.

E.l.f. Eye shadow. from Target. I've never really been one to splurge on beauty products, especially makeup. I keep it simple. This is why the discovery of E.l.f. makeup is groundbreaking for me. This eye shadow was $3! And it's totally legit! I'm using it every day. It's pretty, the packaging works, and it stays on and everything....what is their secret?




Oooh this was fun! Hopefully it's as fun to read as it is to write.

In other news, my sister Stephanie is going to be writing some guest posts 'round here, which is super awesome. Welcome, my dear!


Have a beautiful weekend, all.