{summer lovin’} Things I’m Loving Right Now

Here are some things I’m LOVING this summer, and want to share with you! I’ve broken them down into a couple of random topic areas and sub-categories.

(This is the spectacularly-styled cocktail menu from Trick Dog in San Francisco – swoon. Definitely loved this pretty pink gin drink!)

First off, I spent a month traveling (yay!) and found myself with an iPhone full of travel photos. But what to do with them all? I’ve developed a multi-pronged strategy:

• I’m obsessed with this Prynt Pocket photo printer – just dock your iPhone in it and out comes a pic! So much easier to give Grandma a picture for her fridge, or share an IRL snap with a friend
• I love the Chatbooks app to make quick and cheap photo albums straight from my Insta feed
• Instead of framing individual pictures, I made a super-chic vacation collage on Minted. They’re simple and fast to put together, and arrive pre-framed and everything. So great!
• BTW, we recently resurrected our crazy analog pull-cord 360 degree spinning camera – takes up a fair amount of space in the suitcase, but so fun.
• And speaking of vacation, in addition to further-flung locales, we’ve been trying out some local glamping after reading a few posts on The Camping Fire and plan to try lazy camping this summer, too. I found the stays on the fabulous HipCamp and couldn’t be more pleased with our experiences so far

I had loads of time to read this summer! Out of the dozens of books I read, my favorites were…

• The Leavers by Lisa Ko
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by Nick Carreyrou
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
• The Heart’s Invisible Furies: A Novel by John Boyne
• American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road by Nick Bilton
• Munich: A Novel by Robert Harris
• Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice by Bill Browder

Did you see the viral story about the crazy garbage storm that washed onto the beach in the Dominican Republic? It has really stayed with me! So, these are some things I’m using in  a continuing effort to reduce my plastic waste:

• I feel hella guilty about my Ziploc habit, so I was super excited to find these reusable silicone bags from Stasher – my new go-to for the kids’ lunch boxes
• Sure, I could use my free public radio tote bags at the store, but Emily McDowell’s are cute, funny, well-made, and on sale for only 12 bucks right now
• I’m SO OVER Amazon, but have you heard of the Package-Free Shop? It’s my first online shopping stop these days
• Based on this article, I bought a reusable Koffie straw and it’s pretty fantastic

Random other stuff:

• They cost an arm and a leg, but everyone in my family is addicted to those crackers that are just made out of parmesan cheese- soooo good
• Have you seen this amazing Insta feed? It’s weirdly satisfying!

What are you loving lately?