Each month I choose a few things that I’m currently loving. These are my picks for the month of July…
1. Happy mail
…from 2 of my favorite clients that have turned out to be much more like friends. In fact Chris and I are hoping to take a little road trip to Seattle to spend some time with them while the kids are on their summer break trip with mom. Can’t wait to spend some time in the city that Henry captures so perfectly with his camera. He’s so very talented and one of the kindest people I know. You can see more of his photography here. I first “met” Ria while working on hopefulworld.org. We’ve gone through various updates to the site, every one of which I have LOVED. Ria can project coordinate like none other. And she’s super creative and artsy. You can find her blog (and links to her artwork) here.
The wedding gifts they sent were so perfect and thoughtful. The photo is one that Henry took here in Michigan on their last visit (and the first time I’d met both of them in real life after working together for years). And the print that Ria nearly had me a teary mess when I opened it. She had no way of knowing how perfect a reminder it would be of our wedding day but I’m now on a mission to find the perfect spot to display it in our home.
photo via pinterest
2. Aveda’s be curly curl enhancing hair spray
From the Aveda site:
- Flexible hold hair spray intensifies curls with all-day frizz control.
- corn-derived conditioning agents leave hair touchable, with no flaking or crunchiness.
- Wheat protein and organic aloe blend expands when hair is wet and retracts when dry to define curl or wave.
- A refreshing citrus aroma with certified organic lime, lemon, bergamot, orange and other pure plant and flower essences.
My hairstylist, Aja, first introduced me to this hair spray by using it in place of teasing to add a little volume after a recent hair cut. I’ve never gotten the hang of teasing. I’ve tried but by the time I comb the top layer to hide the teasing I’ve pretty much combed the teasing out to the point where I wondered why I even bothered. And in the process I’ve lost any curl I had goin’ on. With this, I just hold up a section of hair at the back and spritz it where I’d ordinarily tease (if I had a clue how) and then I lift 1 or 2 more sections and do the same thing. Then I hold them up for like a minute and let the spray dry and voila, volume without teasing. And I can still run my hands through it. PLUS it smells amazing. I spritz it over the rest of my hair to hold in the curl. Works great for that too. But the teasing replacement factor is my favorite thing about it.
3. My new Modal – Reversible Flip Case
I’ve noticed people carrying the little flip/folio style cases more and more lately and I was quite certain that was something I could really do without. Seemed like it would be more of a nuisance than it was worth. I’d gone without any case on my iPhone since the day I got it and kinda like the sleek look of the phone without anything bulking it up. Plus, let’s face it, the 6 plus is plenty big on it’s own. But I’ve dropped it a few times where I thought surely the screen would be a cracked mess when I picked it up so I figured I better not push my luck since this phone has to last me till the iPhone 7 comes out. No 6s for this girl. I’m now sold on the bigger screen of the plus version. Crazy since I was so against apple switching to the tablet size phones when they first announced that neither the 6 or the 6 plus would be normal phone size. Now I look at Chris’ 5s and it feels like a tiny toy.
Anyway, this case has been perfect. The option to use it as a stand is super handy since this phone has basically replaced my iPad for watching netflix and hulu when I’m working at home. Cuz it’s like the size of a mini tv. I know! I love the reversible option with the teal blue and deep purple. And it actually feels like it would protect my phone in a fall. Including the screen. I picked this one up at Best Buy for $19.99 which is also pretty reasonable as far as phone cases go.
4. Feedly
Since all my favorite apps are pictured above I thought maybe my current fav would be worth mentioning for this post. I’ve used Feedly for a really long time but since getting back into blogging myself it’s an app that I’ve used much more over the past few weeks, catching up on the latest tips for blogging, checking in on some of my old favorite blogs and adding some new ones to the list. Instead of scrolling through facebook or instagram lately I’ve been reading blog posts when I’ve got a few minutes here or there. Between that and podcasts I should have this whole blogging thing figured out in just a week or two. : ) Favorite blog post stumbled on through Feedly recently – this one by Jones Design Company on 18 Ways to use Adobe Illustrator in your Every Day.
