I Simply Remember My Favorite Things...August Edition

To start....August. August is one of my favorite things. It just exudes summer...and my birthday. Birthday's were a big deal in my family growing up, and I've always continued that tradition. As we get older we tend to feel less excited about them, heck, even this year I was guilty of the birthday blues. I put this unnecessary pressure on myself to be at a certain place by a certain point...but I assure you, wherever I am in life, having a birthday is better than the alternative. The other thing that kept me from feeling too blue was this birthday was going to be particularly special.

See, my paren't divorced when I was very young...and it was not a simple divorce. It was the kind of divorce where 3,000 miles and 3 time zones didn't feel like enough space. I have never had a life experience and been able to share it with both sides of my family in the same room. Birthdays, weddings, graduation parties....nothing. I did everything twice or not at all--until this birthday. This year my cousin, (my father's sister's daughter) visited for my birthday. True to tradition, my mom makes for dinner whatever we want for our birthday. I pretty much always pick lobster. To most people, eating dinner with your mom, her parents, and your cousin is so normal it's boring. Not to me. I had never had dinner with my mom and my cousin, both of whom I'm very close with. In fact, my mom hadn't even seen her since she was a newborn! Growing up in New England, breaking open a lobster is something I learned before I could even ride a bike, so to watch my mom teach my cousin how to do it was a memory I will treasure forever. Side note: our shared grandparents are also from Massachusetts so despite the fact my cousin was born and raised in Arizona, they should be ashamed of themselves that she had lived 30 years without learning that craft. But, selfishly, I am so glad we got to teach her!

So, without further ado...

August Favorites

Lobster--at home specifically. Who wants that mess and smell when you're out at a restaurant? And I hear you over there saying, 'You know you can get it already served'...but where's the fun in that?
The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday. This book is so good. SO GOOD! We all go through hard times and our perceptions regarding them are so often the key determinant in their outcome. To look at our obstacles as an opportunity to practice patience, courage, humility, resourcefulness, reason, justice, and creativity is so empowering and I cannot recommend this book enough.
Derma-rolling and Jade rolling. You can read all about it here, but yuuuup. I'm in love.
MISSHA Time Revolution The First Treatment Essence. This stuff is the best dupe for the SKII one. I highly, highly, highly recommend it.
Adidas joggers--if I could never take these off that would be so okay with me. Gross. But ok.
It Cosmetics CC+ Illumination. It's light and dewey and has such a nice citrus smell. I'm loving it.
Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides. It's just the best in my tea.
Whispering Angel. This rosé will forever bring me back to some of my favorite days, and who doesn't want that?! It just tastes like summer's at the Coral Casino pool at the Santa Barbara Four Seasons. Too much? Sorry. I couldn't find it anywhere in South Carolina so I gladly traveled with a bottle. Again, too much? Not sorry...a girl needs to be prepared.
A PopSocket--if you don't have one on the back of your phone you're missing out. Mine broke and I hadn't realized just how happy it made me until I was without it. It was quickly replaced. They're the best if you like to do InstaStories.