How is it that is it already July?! I feel like with the coronavirus, we’ve done nothing but stay at home yet the months have flown by so fast anyway and now we’re already halfway through the year. I still feel like it was yesterday that I was sitting at Suraya ringing in 2020 with some delicious mezzas!
Anyway, we’re going to cover three months of favorites in this post since these months have been pretty uneventful considering the stay-at-home order here in PA. Also, just a warning, there’s some pretty random favorites in this list… starting with:
I’ve loved sweet potatoes for years now, but for some reason I’ve started eating them much more frequently since being quarantined. I love that it’s savoy yet it’s the perfect amount of sweet too. Natasha’s Kitchen has a really great recipe here that I have served at multiple family dinners at our home in the past year. But when it’s just a meal for myself, I just cube the potato, mix it with a little extra virgin olive oil, and bake it in the oven for an hour at 400 degrees. I don’t even season it with anything because I just love the taste of it on its own.
Instead of having my morning coffee, I’ve been enjoying it as an afternoon pick-me-up in a fancy tea cup on my front porch. I feel like in the morning I would drink my coffee and not take the moment to actually enjoy the sips. Instead, I would be focused on work as I’m drinking my morning coffee. Then, the afternoon slump comes around and I would make myself another cup of coffee. And my doctor was not a fan of hearing that I’m having two cups a day. So now I just work through the morning without a coffee, and I’ve found that I don’t really need it in the morning so it actually works out great. Then, I make myself a latte around noon (when I start thinking about taking an afternoon nap LOL), take it to my front porch (if the weather permits), and sit and enjoy a little mid-day break from work. Sometimes I’ll just sit and stare at my lawn. Other times I take this time to scroll through instagram and catch up on people’s lives. But it’s just been so nice to take 30 mins to enjoy the sips, enjoy the summer weather, and rest my brain.
I hate to tell you to spend $200 on a pair of jeans, but trust me when I tell you that you need them. I bought a pair of the Hoxton style jeans about a year ago and they are my favorite pair of jeans (sadly, currently sold out though). I’ve been wearing them in quarantine because they’re still super comfortable, but I don’t feel as lazy in them as when I wear leggings or pajamas all day. They have also lasted me wonderfully through washes, the color hasn’t faded on mine at all! I’ve been eyeing the Mona and Summit Distressed pairs as my next purchase. However, if you’re looking for a less expensive but still quality + comfortable pair of jeans, Topshop is another brand I have and love to wear often too.
Although I’m still very much a beginner when it comes to gardening, it makes me feel so good to spend some time planting flowers, watering them, or even watching them grow week to week. I do have some flowers dying, but the ones that survive and are growing always make me happy. Plus, messing around in the garden is such a good workout! I recently completely redid out backyard patio and am so excited to post a little before + after photo for you to see!
As much as I adore Rittenhouse Square Park in Philadelphia, it can get a bit over crowded. Now that we’ve been in quarantine, it seems like all there is to do is to go to a park and everyone seems to go to Rittenhouse. So I started hanging out a little more often at Washington Square Park. That way, I can still have my picnic in the park, but be surrounded with a little less people. And honestly, I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner. Washington Square Park is just as charming as Rittenhouse, in my opinion.
I am a huge fan of all the Summer Friday’s masks, so I was super excited to try this gel cleanser when I ordered it during the Sephora Sale back in April. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed by this cleanser. I had high expectations, but this product just didn’t do anything sooo special for my face to justify the $38 price tag. Honestly, my Neutrogena Grapefruit Cleanser does more for me and costs me only $8.
Boy oh boy was this a fail. In mid-May, my husband and I decided to rent a fancy car without a roof and cruise around the beach and Philly. The downside to driving with no roof for two sunny days was the farmer’s tan (err…burn) I received. So then, when the weather warmed up more by June, my sister and I went tanning at the beach to try to even out my farmer’s tan, instead I got another burn. And then a week later my sister and I went to the beach again, where I got yet another burn! We laid out for only an hour each time thinking we wouldn’t really burn too much since that seemed like a short amount of time. But NOPE. I was crispy. The worst part? I have been peeling alllll of June. And each week it’s been a new body part that starts peeling. Today is July 8th and it looks like I’m finally coming to the end of my peeling journey. I’m going to spend the rest of the summer applying sunscreen even if I’m only in the sun for 15 mins LOL
In terms of tanning, it’s always best that I only use my fave self tanner on my pale body.
I’d love to hear what your go-to products/activities/foods have been in the past few months! Be sure to share them in the comments below or message me on insta!
♥ Alena
Welcome to Love Everything Lovely, a life & style blog filled with my take on living a life all around lovely and with the goal to inspire you to pursue your loveliest life! I’m Alena, a twenty-something with a heart full of passion for beauty, fashion, and always striving to live my best and loveliest life.