The June Edit

Four short days from now, it will be July. And I am emotional about it. Like many toddler parents, I spent February through April locked in preschool-virus hell, and now that it’s summer, I just can’t seem to clear enough of my to-do list to enjoy it. Maybe this is just how life with young kids is.

Regardless, I’m finally starting to figure out summer work from home style. My office is cold, the weather is hot, I want to be comfortable, and dressing for that combination has felt impossible. So to have found some insight into pulling it together has been really nice.

I tried these Linen Palazzo pants on a whim. Land’s End offered to send me a gift and I decided to choose something that I would probably not buy on my own, and see if I liked them. And HOLY SMOKES, I am in love with them.

I put them on for the first time, and this smile just bloomed on my face. First off, they have an elastic waist, so they are very comfortable. Second, they look fancy in person, like a character from a Nancy Myers movie would glide through an overly large kitchen in them. Third, the wide leg swishes when you walk, so they feel breezy and light and summery. I wore them 2/3 days this week. I am obsessed.

The pants come in multiple colors (I already ordered the champagne/tan), and the sizing runs plus, petite, tall and misses. They’re TTS — size guide said medium, I’m in a medium. And because I love a good set, I picked up this sleeveless linen top to go with the tan pants.

As for what I’m wearing with the blue palazzo pants…I’ve worn this black Boden t-shirt with an open work detail and this striped, short-sleeve Caslon button down. I’m also planning to wear it with this Varley open-knit, short-sleeve sweater. They would also be so cute over a swimsuit.

I love these pants. They’re the best thing any brand has ever sent me. I’m wondering if I can just pull a Steve Jobs and wear them every day this summer.

As I’ve mentioned before, my favorite summer dessert is Strawberry Pretzel Salad. This is despite the fact that I hate Jell-O with the fire of a thousand burning suns. (My Mom uses so little Jell-O when she makes it, she’s often afraid it won’t hold together.) So when I spotted this Strawberry Pretzel Gooey Butter Cake on Food52, I knew I had to share the recipe.

Can I get the summer sweetness and salty pretzel-ness of the salad in a cake? We’re going to find out.

A few weeks ago, a reader recommended Primary kids clothes in the comments. The brand’s motto is all colors, for all kids — no blue for boys or pink for girls. They also use sustainable fabrics and never put labels or slogans on the clothes.

Since finding the brand, I have placed both of Sloane’s summer clothes orders from the shop. The bright, fun colors and the easy to wear fabrics absolutely sold me. I can’t make a dollar from promoting Primary, because they don’t participate in affiliate linkage, but the brand is so good, I have to sell it anyway.

Oh, and did I mention they’re having a summer sale? I also picked up this heart-print tee for myself to wear to a Pride gathering this year.

I started ordering European sunscreens two years ago on the advice of my dermatologist. The filters used in Europe, Australia and Asia are better than the filters in the US. Why? Because the United States regulates sunscreen as a drug, where other countries regulate it as a cosmetic, meaning it’s easier and cheaper to improve formulations, so they innovate while the U.S. keeps using the same formulas from the 1990s. But, heartbreakingly, my last two shipments have been caught at customs and destroyed (because importing it is technically against the law).

So what’s a girl to do? She buys the not-as-good, but-still-better-than-most U.S. version of her favorite Ultra Violette sunscreen. It’s what there is.

An Aperol Spritz is my summer drink, but what do you make for a friend who only drinks tequila? An Aperol Tequila cocktail, of course.

For this drink, you combine Aperol, Tequila, St. Germain, and an orange slice. If you want to get fancy with it, do what our neighbor does and throw it in your Ninja slushie machine. Because nothing says never ending summer vibes like plushie cocktails. Just be sure to make a batch of alcohol free slushies before you make the boozy ones, or else the children clamor for a sip and throw tantrums when it’s adults only. Even with assistance of tequila, the sound of ten crying kiddos is not something anyone wants to cope with.

Have a link, an article, a recipe or a recommendation to share that you found this June? Leave it in the comments below.

{this post contains affiliate links that may generate commission for the author; my first pair of Land’s End pants were a gift, all subsequent purchases were on my own dime}