#01: A Week in Review

Heat waves, the world's greatest tube top, magic skincare, brown sugar chicken, and a quest for shampoo.

This past week was characterized mostly by the heat wave that swung through it. In Vermont, 90-degree weather is a BFD. Thankfully, my mighty AC unit from the heat wave week of 2022 is still kicking and we made it through peacefully. Truthfully, I love a heat wave or any (safe) natural phenomenon that brings the whole town together. We so rarely get to experience anything as a true collective anymore, so if the remaining opportunity is sweltering heat, I’ll take it. My mom tells enviable stories of a time when there were only 3 channels on TV and everyone watched the same show, at the same time. My closest experience to this is the heyday of American Idol - which I only found out about after getting teased in the 2nd grade for sharing my excitement for the Westminster Dog Show that apparently overlapped with the American Idol semi-finals. I insisted to my mom that night we had to watch, and a new family tradition was born.

It’s now a seasonable 75-degrees as I write this and we’ve all returned to our own worlds. Here’s what’s taking center stage in mine…

1. The world’s greatest tube top
   I love my collarbones + I don’t love showing cleavage = I love strapless tops. But thanks to the size of my chest (allegedly a 34 DDD(!?) according to the latest online quiz I took), finding the right no-bra top that holds me securely is a rarity. Two years ago I purchased a tube top that promised to do just that after being convinced by another generously-breasted gal on IG. It was all natural materials, naturally dyed, from a small, woman-owned, ethical company in Australia, and $65. Due to the price tag, I limited myself to just one, but my god, did this guy live up to expectations. The most buttery soft double-lined fabric, flattering cut, and it does not budge all day. I have truly no notes - it’s flawless. But before I had the chance to splurge on another - the business closed. Two years have passed (the top is in as great condition as ever) and no other tube top has come even close to comparing. My periodic Depop searches for the top have all come up short - who would part with such a perfect thing?? But this week in a stroke of sheer magic… the company has returned!! and the OG tube top is amongst their capsule collection!! My prayers have been answered!!

   So, take this as my most truthful endorsement and treat yourself to a Hara Ami Bandeau. (I wear size M!)

   

2. The quest for the right shampoo
   May the Hara tube top serve as a reminder that it is possible to find a perfect item as I embark on a shampoo journey. I have spent the past few years on a hormone-healing odessey after a decade of birth control pills wreaked havoc. This should/will be its own post, but the number 1 thing I’ve learned: nearly every mainstream product/food is an endocrine disruptor. Fun! I’ve slowly found healthy alternatives, but the right shampoo/conditioner has alluded me. My goals are volume, shine, and curl definition - a request natural ingredient shampoos seem to struggle with. So far Andalou was flattening and meh, Captain Blankenship has been ultra clean but not moisturizing enough, and while Hask is decent in its effects - has questionable ingredients I missed upon ordering. So if anyone has a recommendation… I’m all ears!!

3. A surprising spice combo

   Dinner duty fell on my shoulders Thursday and consisted of whatever we had left before heading out of town - rice, beans, and chicken. In an attempt to liven it up I got a little silly with the spices for the chicken and stumbled upon gold! Here’s what I did: Oregano, thyme, sea salt, ground black pepper, paprika, a tablespoon of brown sugar, and curry powder! It makes sense in practice but I certainly don’t default to this lineup. Give it a go and let me know what you think (:

4. A sunburn catastrophe avoided

   If you ever want to put your skincare to the test, give yourself a terrible sunburn and see how quickly you can heal yourself. Kidding! always wear sunscreen! …but if you accidentally forget to put it on your face and then sit at the beach on a 90-degree day for 2.5 hours, well you have no other choice. This is the situation I found myself in on Monday. Thanks to a hat, the top half of my face was saved, but what was left was a full beard of bright red sunburn. I pulled out all my moisturizing stops thanks to my holy grail skincare favorite: Badger. Before bed, I used their Aloe gel, seabuckthorn oil, and beauty balm. By morning, the stop-sign red had faded to a blush. By the next day, all but gone. Seriously. No itch, no peeling, no stinging - just immediate healing thanks to good ol’ mother nature and the great people at Badger. If only they had a shampoo/conditioner combo. (They do have a shampoo bar but no conditioners… strange.)

   

5. The luxury of stone fruit
   A persistent theme this week (and hopefully all summer) is the absolute luxury of biting into a juicy fruit outside, ideally on the water. There are few greater joys than sweet plum juice dripping down your fingers and the taste of salty sweat and minerally lake water mixing with the sugar as you catch the drips with your tongue. This was how I spent my Monday evening - on a hot rock on the lake with friends. On Wednesday I ate my way through a bag of cherries while reading a book on the porch during the rain storm (so much luxury in one sentence, my god!). The repetitive act of biting into the cherries and pulling out the pit left my mouth tingling, my lips naturally plumped, and both my lips and fingers dyed cherry red. It was the same blissful high of a the first messy makeout with your biggest high school crush. And to think, I used to hate cherries and was intimidated by plums and their pits. Oh, how grateful I am to have grown out of my picky eater phase!

   

Cheers to a simple, beautiful summer week coming to a close and another ahead!

xoxo,

Julia