travel

Woman in blue and pink floral bikini pulling wagon with beach items on sandy beach

Summer Musts

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I lived in New York City for 4 years, and most of those were spent nannying for a wonderful family. One summer, they booked a house on Fire Island, and I got to go too. This was very exciting for me and I looked forward to a summer that I envisioned similar to what Elin Hildebrand often describes in her novels: a little rugged and endlessly blissful. We got to the island and right away realized there wasn’t air conditioning. Hmmm. Even 20 years later, that makes me shudder a little thinking about it. Ok, but we were still on an ISLAND. The first morning, as soon as the sun arose, what I would describe as bombs, starting dropping. Realizing that this could not be the case, we went to the roof to see what on earth was attacking us. Seagulls. Seagulls were attacking us. It was simultaneously cool and creepy, but every morning, seagulls would swoop up giant crabs and drop them on the flat roof of the house to crack them so they could eat them. We had fun rescuing the ones that weren’t murdered by bird, but the war raged on every morning at first sun. These moments stick out in my mind, but the one that still burns brightly in my memory was my first fashion choice on the island.

Now, I assume anyone reading this is not Gen Z. If you are Gen Z, we didn’t have fashion blogs or street style to scroll. We had US Magazine for my demographic and Vogue if you were wise beyond your years. I was not. Anyhow, I decided to put away my fear of bathing suits and go with an island beach feel. Our first day, I just wore my bikini and sandals to start the day. I grabbed the wagon for the precious one I nannied, and he, his mama and I left to explore. We hit the town….I was the only one only wearing a swimsuit. Let’s say it again. We are walking around an island town and everyone but me was dressed. I tried not to care, but I was more Botticelli than sprite (note to self: you will embrace your body type by age 40) and I sort of wanted to die. The precious one’s mama quietly bought me a sarong and I will forever be grateful to her for that.

These days, you can find everything online to perfect your summer, but isn’t it better if there’s a personal recommendation attached? Here are a few things I am loving as we enter summer and would highly recommend for a comfortable and luxurious summer, filled with air conditioning.

This dress….I work for the company, and I have never ever received more compliments while wearing a dress. I am stopped by strangers and asked where I got it regularly. If you are traveling, it doesn’t wrinkle in a suitcase. Use the code welcome20 for 20% off your order.

I am sort of over wearing leggings to work out. I woke up one day and it just felt dated. I bought these pants and LOVE them. They have the hand of a legging, but way cooler, in my opinion. Unlike a bikini, you can wear them everywhere throughout your day.

I know jellies are all the rage, but I just can’t. I am afraid of sliding around in them if they get wet. I’m also afraid of slurping sounds with them. Eek. I love gold sandals. I need a shoe that looks stylish but allows me to work on my feet, and I got these and LOVE them. They don’t look like they would be comfortable for a long period, but they are. I also really love these for a flat sandal. I would ironically wear them with the above pants. It’s fun when things don’t quite work together.

Because it’s hot and sweaty out, deodorant is a must, but make it fun. This brand is fantastic and keeps you smelling like neroli, or basil, or bergamot…I actually look forward to this mundane step in grooming when this is on hand. Shockingly, my favorite is the saffron and cedar scent, which is a ringer for MFK’s Baccarat Rouge 540, but all of the scents are beautiful and it works!

My youngest child goes through shower gel like he’s been climbing through muddy trenches, and I had to tell him to keep his little hands off this, because it is precious stuff! Oh my, it smells so heavenly and the formula feels dreamy in the shower. I do not like their deodorant, at all, but the shower gel is amazing. I bought a travel size to take for work trips and I get so excited to put it in the hotel showers.

I love that I work in an industry that wants you to know about great products. A woman I really admired at work introduced me to this multi use product, and it is the best. You look summery and glowy, without being too glowy. A little goes a long way and the big tub will last years. If you look on Tik Tok, they have the minis on sale usually. Dusty Rose is by far my favorite. Note, some of them have glitter in the formula. Look for “sheer” in the product description to avoid unwanted sparkles.

What is summer without a great book? I haven’t been reading as much as I should, but my mom sent me “Theo of Golden” and I loved it with all my heart.

Let me know what your summer must haves are!

Afraid of Flying With a Baby? Go Southwest.

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flight

The tiny one and I have taken 2 roundtrips together.  We have flown Southwest both times.  The first flight was fairly dreamy.  I carried the small bundle of love inside a Moby wrap.  The bestie flew with me on the outbound flight because I was scared to fly alone.  We had an entire row to ourselves and Teeny only cried when people eyeballed our middle seat.  He was cute and sleepy the rest of the time.  On the way home, it was the same.  The first leg of the flight was so empty that most people had their own row.  A woman across the aisle said she was moved by the way I looked at him.  The biggest challenge I had was convincing the person in front of me that the gaseous, adult-like noises were not coming from me, but a 3 month old infant.  That particular plane did not have a changing table in the bathroom.  I thought that was rough.  Little did I know….

We flew again when he was 5.5 months.  I was not nearly as nervous.  I felt I knew his behavior.  I was a little worried about missing his afternoon nap, but he slept almost the entire time on the previous flight, so I assumed he would again.  The first leg was challenging, but doable.  We again flew Southwest and again no one wanted the middle seat.  He fussed, but we walked the aisles and it was ok.  He fell asleep 20 minutes before we landed.  We sprinted for our gate and all hell broke loose.  He was a complete and total mess for the next 1 and a half hours.  I would like to say that when people boarded after us they saw a woman with large blue eyes and youthfully tousled hair, discreetly nursing a baby with just a hint of womanly cleavage showing.  In all actuality, I had a crazed look in my eye with hair that could have housed beavers, and I would have offered my fully exposed teats to anyone who could make this baby stop screaming.  He would not stop.  He missed his nap.  I took his clothes off because he’s a little nudie.  I sang to him.  I offered him a bottle.  I walked the aisles with him and apologized to passengers.  He.Would.Not.Stop.Screaming.  The ‘dude’ (you fake hipster) in front of me kept turning and looking at me, and it certainly was not because he was interested in my still exposed breasts.  I finally yelled that there was nothing I could do to make him stop crying.  He did not turn around even once more.  The kind, princess-of-the-air flight attendant came over when we had to buckle up and offered to walk with him.  I burst into tears and sobbed the rest of the flight.  She assured me over and over again that it was ok.  She walked with my screaming mess and appeared to like him.  I am certain she was the only one on the flight who did.  She was an angel at that moment.  The way back was not nearly as traumatic.  The amazing, fabulous, professional flight attendants let us take our car seat on the flight, which helped immensely, and told me that mothers drink for free on their flight.  I am flying back in a few weeks (with reinforcements) and I had no problem paying an extra $40 to fly Southwest*.  Southwest, you are amazing and are a luxury for terrified mothers.  I am yours….for life.

*I apologize in advance for any non-parents on my flight.