Hello, friends!
Do you have any plans for the summer? I’m one of those folks who always needs something to look forward to and, right now, it’s meeting up with some of my oldest friends to go skinny-dipping in Montana. And the rest of the summer I’ll gladly be settled in a lounge chair at the JCC during my kids’ swim team practice. My life is so glamorous, let me tell you! Below are a few other things on my radar this summer and I hope you’ll share your recs in the comments.
Xo,
Toby
• This summer I want to get stronger. The SLR app is rad because you can drop down and do just 5 minutes of exercise at a time and still feel like Michelle Rodriguez. (SLR)
• The beach reads roundup is my favorite post of the year and I’m busily tearing through books for the next edition. There are a ton to get through, with this one at the top of my list. Not to judge a book by a cover…but how stunning is that cover?! (Joy the Baker, Harper Collins)
• I’m hoping a Fairy Godmother will bring me a Beyoncé ticket before she descends upon Nashville in July. But, in the meantime, I’ll live vicariously through Hunter Harris. (Vulture)
• My daughter and I are gonna wear pink, pink and more pink to the Barbie love fest on July 21st. I’m even going to use a Q-tip to paint her miniature fingernails so we can have matching manis ‘cause I’m officially That Mom. (YouTube)
• I’ve had the Baggu-Laura Ashley tab open for weeks now and still can’t decide which part of this charming collab to buy. They’re all so perfect for pool season. (Baggu)
• “Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” –Henry James (Nashville Scene)
• Never thought I’d say this but I’m apparently into gaming now. My son is obsessed with the new Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom game and I’ll be hovering nearby during his summer vacation to see all the special effects. (Nintendo)
• This new show from Boots Riley coming out at the end of June looks amazing: I’m A Virgo. (Amazon Prime)
• And we don’t have to wait until then for the TV adaptation of American Born Chinese, which is coming out next weekend woohoo. Anybody else love that graphic novel? (Disney+)
• My brother and I are huge horror movie fans, with monster-on-a-vessel being my top sub genre, so we’ll definitely be heading to theaters for The Last Voyage of the Demeter this August. (YouTube)
• And there’s also the new Mission Impossible on July 12th, thank heavens for Tom Cruise. (YouTube)
• I try not to turn on my oven from June through September, so I can’t wait to try Joy’s recipe for No-Bake Tres Leches Icebox Cake. Yum X 3. (Joy the Baker)
• On that note, I’m highlighting the new album from Jenny Lewis, out June 9th, for the title alone: Joy’all. (Blue Note Records)
• I jumped into the Julia Louis-Dreyfus podcast, Wiser Than Me, with her Isabel Allende interview and plan on going back to savor each episode so I can soak up words of wisdom from all her friends. (Apple)
• Obviously, we’re all going to be in the group chat this June discussing And Just Like That, Season 2—even though we all love to hate it. (Max, Twitter )
• Cate Blanchett dancing in the video for “The Girl is Crying in Her Latte” has me very pumped for the new Sparks album next weekend. (YouTube)
• Finally, you can catch me not-so-patiently waiting around for the August 11th film adaptation of Red, White & Royal Blue. I’ll even take a trailer at this point geez. (Teen Vogue)
Stella
Hi Toby, oh I love Henny Lewis, thanks for the update. Hope you have a wonderful week.
lee
Your comment about being into gaming now made me laugh. I am not a video game person – I learned a long time ago that trying to play a video game was neither enjoyable nor good for my sense of self, since my normally stellar hand-eye coordination turns into total fail in video game world. And yet there are certain games my husband plays that I love to watch for the imagery. In fact, that’s how I became a fan of the Witcher series on Netflix, was having watched my husband play the game. Kudos to all the game designers who make beautiful worlds in which to host games for people to play (or find visual delight).
Joy
I’m un-ironically pumped for And Just Like That season 2! And my husband is pumped that Mission Impossible comes out on his birthday…easiest bday plan for him ever.
Joy the Baker
I too an un-ironicallly pumped. :)
Sue
Your post has got me thinking about all that can be done in the summer. Well for starters I hope my garden will be growing strong. First time growing watermelon pumpkins and cantaloupes. I also want to grow a good beefsteak tomato since they usually taste better home grown.The beach looks like a great idea, barbecuing,watching fireworks on the 4th of July and enjoying the wide variety of available
summer fruits such as peaches, strawberries, cherries, blueberries,etc
Toby
Oh wow, Sue, you are an inspiration!! Xo
Joy the Baker
You’re so on it, Sue! Good luck with the beefsteak!
Chelsea
The Laura Ashley Baggu colab! I can’t believe I haven’t heard about this yet!
Joy the Baker
It’s SO CUTE!