Ohhhh Summer. :S

 

I’m not a Summer girl AT ALL. It’s my least favorite season of the year.

 

So to me, it’s VERY important that I focus on the enjoyable things of Summer or keep busy so that Summer seems more bearable and goes by faster.

 

So without further delay, here are my Summer 2016 Favorites.

 

Health 

Fé Fit

 

In Spring, I started a 90-day fitness program and I finished it toward the end of July. It’s called Fé Fit which you can read about in this blog post I wrote.

 

In that post, I give you a rundown of what I like about Fé Fit, what I don’t like and everything in between.

 

But as you can probably conclude, the reason that I’m mentioning this workout in this Summer Favorites blog is because I really liked it. And it truly did help me improve my health.

 

If you’re a mom, wanting to improve your fitness, I may just have saved you hours looking for a fitness program that caters to your needs and limited time.

 

Media

America’s Got Talent

One of my favorite things about summer, which I have been able to enjoy for several years now, is America’s Got Talent (AGT). In case you don’t know about it, it’s a show on NBC that allows people of many different talents to compete for one million dollars.

 

Honestly, some talents are really dumb and others are really spectacular. My favorite? The unexpected and the mesmerizing.

 

I enjoy all sorts of unique talents that AGT highlights …from the singers, to the mentalists. to the magic acts.

 

Don’t worry if you don’t have cable. You can catch the episodes online on YouTube, which you can play on your TV with one of my favorite TV gadgets of all time (I’ll tell you more about that in a second).

 

This year my top favorites are:

• The Clairvoyants a mind-reading, food-tasting, color-predicting married couple that’s pretty much unlike anything you’ve seen before . You gotta see them for yourself.
• An NFL player that does magic, John Dorenbos. Look into his childhood. I love when people are great not because they had a perfect childhood but in spite of having a reallyyyyy imperfect one.
• Steven Brundage that works with the Rubik’s cube . (Fun fact: I liked playing with the Rubik’s cube when I was a kid. But trust me, I was not as good as this guy is. No way!)
• Linkin’ Bridge, a group of African American friends who sing beautifully!
• Brian Justin Crum, the male soloist who sings with lots of passion.
• The juggler, Viktor Kee, who is amazing and may have you enjoying jugglers for once.
• The family of 3 made up a mom (who was once a teen mom), a daughter and a step dad who sing beautifully in a band called Edgar.
• Laura Bretan, a teenage opera singer that sings so passionately you can feel the music in your bones!

 

Aside from the acts themselves, what I really enjoy about AGT are stories of loss, triumph, comeback and glory are soooo inspirational.

 

And since the Olympics are currently on, you have a couple of weeks to catch up on the episodes which have aired already.

 

Married At First Sight

In my Spring Favorites I mentioned that this show was one of my favorites. Guess what? It recently started up again.

It’ll be the first time I get to watch it along with everybody else instead of binge watching it.

What I love about the episodes that I’ve seen so far that only include a brief part of the honeymoons is that the couples, although not perfect, have a good chance to work out if they put in the effort.

They’re quite normal people, from the looks of it. But unfortunately, a couple of them have had an absent father figure, and that is quite hard on most people.

But we’ll see. Literally!

 

Apple TV

One of THE best gifts my husband has ever given me has been an Apple TV.

 

Well, actually, it is one of the best things i gifted my myself and family. Because I bought one of the 1st Apple TV versions that came out. Then, my husband gifted me a 2nd Apple TV for my office TV.

 

What I love about Apple TV is that you can watch whatever you want, whenever you want. As long as you have access to the shows you want to see, you can watch them.

 

My favorite and most used Apple TV app is YouTube.

 

I watch everything from my favorite YouTubers, to fun clips from Ellen or the Jimmy Fallon show.

 

And this Summer in particular, the Apple TV was great since it allowed me to watch the political convention I wanted to watch. And it has allowed me to catch little glimpses here and there from the Olympics. LIVE!

 

How can you watch live, you’re probably asking?

 

You search for a popular topic. And then see if there is a “Live Now” phrase underneath its title.

 

Not all topics will be live, of course. Actually, most of them wont. But if you don’t have cable, and you wanna watch the debates coming up live, for instance, you probably can.

 

I’m not a fan of sitting on the couch and watching TV for hours non-stop, so I’m of the belief that a device like Apple TV can save you time by allowing you to watch what you want to watch sooner.

 

Although you do have to be careful because Apple TV supports Netflix… and you cannnn binge on Netflix or some other shows, topics or YouTubers.

 

But then again, there are less commercials.

 

So, like with everything, you have to be responsible with how much you use this product.

 

 

Apps

Evernote

As a writer, I have never in my entire life found an app that I can trust with my writing more than Evernote.

 

If I have an idea the best place for me to put it in is in Evernote. It’s my go-to place.

 

All my blog posts are written in Evernote.

All of my blog post ideas are there.

Even my Treasurables… the quotations which I share on my blog posts and on social media are stored there.

 

I store my keywords for my posts and my hashtags for social media on Evernote as well.

 

If it matters… it’s there.

 

I then assign it to one of the notebooks that I have created and presto! I then know and have the peace of mind that the likelihood of finding any note I store on Evernote has gone up.

 

I have had to write ideas on random napkins, pieces of paper and a post-it notes, but I’ve learned the hard-way that it’s worth taking the extra second or two to open up the app, type the note there and then store it where I can later find it..

 

 

Beauty

Trader Joe’s Spa Natural Facial Cleansing Pads with Tea Tree Oil

 

As strange as it may seem, many times, I tend to like things before they become popular.

 

I’ve been using tea tree oil products (also known as Melaleuca oil) since before I got married. And I’ve been married for more than eleven years.

 

Why? Because I learned back then that I would someday have a house, a husband and children and I wanted to expose them and myself to as few chemicals as I could.

 

So when shampoos, facial products and essential oil reselling ladies are highlighting the benefits of Melaleuca oil, it doesn’t surprise me.

 

On the contrary, I think, “what took them so long to jump on the bandwagon?”  😉

 

Anyway, i found some tea tree oil wipes at Trader Joe’s and they’re a real treat. They work the best when you’ve washed your face very well, (like with a spin brush) and then you simply wipe your face with one of these wipes.

 

If you have oily skin, or combination skin, they’ll help reduce the oiliness of your skin. And you can use them any time of day as long as you don’t mind if your make-up is slightly “adjusted.”

 

But what would you rather have? A little less make-up in a certain area, or oil on your T-zone or all over your face? Yep, I thought so.

 

These Trader Joe’s Spa Natural Facial Cleansing Pads With Tea Tree Oil do smell like tea tree oil (so you at least have to be tolerant of, or hopefully like the smell in order to enjoy them).

 

They feel like a sip of tea for your face. They’re refreshing. Aromatic and relaxing.

 

On the downside, they tend to dry up more quickly than I would like. So use them every day. Or really make sure you have sealed them well after each use. Don’t be like those people (trust me, I’ve been one of those), who save the best things for “some day” when you feel worthy of them. Because you’re worthy of many things each and every day.

 

 

Lifestyle 

Leonie Dawson’s “Diaries”

 

 

 

I know I’ve mentioned them before, but Leonie Dawson’s “Diaries” which most of us would refer to planners, are excellent. I’ve been using mine to jot down my blog projects.

 

And it’s very interesting to see what steps I’m taking to move my blog forward.

 

And since it’s only that listed on there I can clearly see on which days I’m being more productive. And you know what? I have started working on things for my blog that I had literally been putting off for years.

 

So if you’re in the market for a planner in general or for a planner to get really honest with yourself as to how much time you’re putting into something, on what days, and what you’re actually doing, then I recommend these.

 

Any planner can work, but these are pretty to look at, sturdy, and have lots of little rectangles that you can hopefully fill with useful things for making that dream of yours come true. 🙂

 

 

Food

Food is one of those things that you use multiple times a day….and as such, it’s difficult to pick only one thing to be “THE favorite” item for summer. So I’m not going to even try to narrow it down. Instead I’ll tell you my favorites for each month.

 

May

Limited Edition Creamy Caramel Cake Blue Bunny Cake Ice Cream

 

WOAH! May I just say that this was probably the best food item I discovered this summer?

Amazingly, I only bought it once. Dang it, I don’t know if I’ll be able to buy it again this summer, or next summer, but I think that the memories of having had this ice cream will last a lifetime.

 

I do hope, though it’s still available so that you can try it.

 

Can we just stop for one second to savor the name of this frozen treat? Limited Edition Creeaaaammmy Caramellllll Cake. It’s as good as it sounds.

 

So what’s it like?

 

HEAVEN.

 

White, soft, and good.

 

And as if that weren’t enough, there are pieces of goodness….. cake. These perfect bite-sizes of cake are cold but soft. They melt in your mouth and dazzle your taste buds.

 

They really do!

 

It’s crazy to me that this flavor might not be around forever, but if that’s the case, I have a plan B (which is not as great as having this ice cream, but we gotta relive the best times in our life once in a while).

Just in case it’s not available… do what I did with a carrot cake my mom gifted my husband and I for our anniversary… cut up pieces of cake (or tear them up, who cares?), and mix them into some vanilla ice cream. Let the cake pieces soak up a bit of the ice cream and cool a little.

 

This Plan B ice cream won’t be the same… BUT it’s pretty divine, as well. 🙂

 

 

June

Friendly’s Coconut Ice Cream

 

The fact that I have two ice cream flavors on here is probably making you think that I’m addicted to ice cream or something.

 

But nooooo. I’m not.

 

I hardly every buy it.

 

Why? Because I don’t want to be tempted to eat it. (I know that sounds like I am addicted, but I do this with lots of things that are good, but not necessarily good for you).

 

Anyway, this Friendly’s Coconut Ice cream is something else, I’m telling ya.

 

MAN!

 

It’s soft, and it has probably one of my best favorite flavors overall… coconut! If you LOVE coconut, you’ll love this ice cream.

 

The texture, the flavor, the intensity… is perfect. 5 stars. The fluffiness? 10 stars. #fluffiesticecreamever

 

Golden Honeydew Melon

 

It might seem like I forced myself to come up with something healthy to share with you as part of my summer food favorites.

 

But, honestly, I tried some golden honeydew melons that were TRULY THE most delicious melons I’ve ever tried.

 

Regular melons or regular honeydew melons are alright, but I’m telling you, these golden honeydew melons that I had in June were soooo good that they became like dessert.

 

My toddler and I ate several of them throughout the month. And we made melon drinks with them (just by blending them). They were so perfectly sweet that they required no sweetener. And they needed very little water because they were very juicy.

 

Try them. You’ll be able to understand how good I was trying to tell you that they were.

 

July

Boba Tea

You may be a little late in the game like I was, or you may have been an early adopter of a trend that’s going on right now of drinking Boba Tea, otherwise known as bubble tea.

 

Boba are large tapioca pearls that are like fruit jellies.

 

You know those tumblers/go-to glasses with wide straws that you can buy to serve yourself a smoothie on the go?

 

Well, when you get a Boba tea, you are served with one of those straws so that the marble-sized bobas, or fruit jellies, can come through.

 

If you’re like me, and  like eating round things like chia seeds, Israeli couscous, you’ll enjoy Boba Tea.

 

Plus, the flavors you can pick from are good.

 

Guess which one I tried first? The coconut milk boba tea.

 

It was good. Is it the best thing out there? Noooo, but it’s a cool thing to try.

 

The best part, is that it’s unique and quite refreshing… for the hot summer months.

 

Where do you find one? Google Boba Tea and you should find a number of places in your area that sell them. Use a site like Yelp or Foursquare to find the best one.

 

Bonne Maman Natural Wild Blueberry Preserves From Thrive Market (I like the Wild part in the title)

I have told you and have been wanting to share more about Thrive Market, a membership site that allows you to save up to 50% on healthy food items that is shipped to your door.

 

This summer, I placed a couple of orders. And on the second one, I ordered blueberry preserves and strawberry preserves.

 

They do unfortunately have a little bit of sugar, but boy oh boy are they good.

 

You know what the blueberry preserves taste like?

 

Like  you were walking through some lavender fields in France and you stumbled upon a little home where the owner was making some preserves with freshly picked blueberries.

 

Soooo yummy!

 

Usually, I go for the strawberry jam/preserves… but I gotta say, that I preferred the blueberry one in this case.

 

 

August

Green beans From Trader Joe’s

Weird story. You may remember that I hate New Year’s Eve. Well, the day that it started becoming more tolerable was the first year I decided to boycott the New Year festivities while my family went out and I stayed home and cooked myself some green beans.

 

Ever since then, I fell in love with green beans and I would seek them out at Chinese buffets and would make my own fresh.

 

When I saw that Trader Joe’s carried them several years ago, I decided to try them.

 

So guess what? When my toddler was trying the more “solid” solid foods, green beans were one of his favorites.

 

I love this variety because I just heat up some coconut oil, then add these green beans, a little pepper and sea salt or Himalayan Pink Salt and voila! They turn out delish!

 

And they’re pretty filling and so emotionally and physically satisfying that sometimes, my toddler and I have made them our full meal.

 

Now It’s Your Turn

• What product that I mentioned intrigued you the most?
• What were some of your favorite summer products?

Share with us in the comments below.