July Favorites

July was a whirlwind of a month. So much goodness packed into 26 glorious days so far. The most notable were over the past week, which I talk about below.

With the 4th of July holiday, traveling home for much-needed time with family, and spending my birthday with some of my favorite people, I’d say it was a pretty great month, and I’m sad to see it come to an end!

For a look at some of the highlights from July, keep reading for my latest list of favorites. And stay tuned next month for my August things because I’ve got a lot of goodness happening in the next few weeks. 🙂

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Wisconsin – Every summer growing up, my family would travel to Northern Wisconsin to spend a couple weeks having campfires, doing water sports, eating ice cream, and other fun Up North vacay activities. Since college I haven’t been able to make it back much because of that whole adulthood thing getting in the way. Matt and I were able to make a trip with family there this past week, though, and it was good for the soul. Lakes, the smell of pine, fish fries, beautiful views, and memories were everywhere (oh, and my little niece <3).

My Birthday – During our time in WI my birthday happened! My father is super sweet and got me a cake (chocolate shavings on chocolate frosting on chocolate cake…he knows me), which I feel like I haven’t had in ages. Couldn’t imagine a more perfect place to celebrate!

If So by Atlas Genius – I may not know what this song is even about, but I thoroughly enjoy it.

Spotify Daily Mix Playlists – A few weeks ago as I was searching for a random playlist to workout to, I ended up on the most magical mixture of songs. I had no idea what I picked, but I was too scared to try to figure it out because I didn’t want to lose it. It had songs from artists I used to love but haven’t heard in awhile. THEN I discovered it was one of Spotify’s “Daily Mixes” that was created for me. So no wonder I loved it so much!

Pug Tea Infuser – Ohhh my sister—she gets me. This pug-shaped loose tea infuser is one of the gifts she gave me for my birthday. She wasn’t sure if I’d like it, which is silly because look at the thing. Looks like I’ll be stocking up on loose tea. Right now I only have loose tea that bleeds red…so if I put that in this contraption, my mug is going to look like a war zone…

Bug Zapper – Living in San Diego has a lot of perks, one of them being a lack of mosquitos and other annoying bugs. During our trip to the forest-covered northern area of Wisconsin, I got a lot of use out of these bug zapper devices that my dad had bought. It was so magical in my battle against deer flies and horse flies. Ain’t nobody got time for their painful bites! Flies: 0…Katie/Matt: 5,000.

Lyft – If you live in a decently populated city, you probably have access to Lyft. Matt and I have come to love the ride-sharing service in San Diego, especially for getting rides to the airport or to events when neither of us want to be the DD. I highly recommend if you want to download the app for an easy way to be transported around your city, or especially when you’re traveling in other cities.

Sangria in a Can – Wine is all fine and dandy, but can we just talk about sangria? Sure, it may taste like juice, but it’s the best wine-filled juice of my life. I tried this affordable, canned version recently and loved it. The small can size was bittersweet.

Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man – Or as most people probably know it as, “Oooo I’m a Rebel Just for Kicks.” I don’t know many of the words to this song, but I will sing that part over and over until everyone within a 1-mile radius is sick of it. Catchy AF.

Garrett Popcorn – One of my favorite things is to embrace my inner tourist. San Diego? You bet I’m taking a picture of the Coronado bridge every time we cross it. Chicago? I want delicious foods like deep dish pizza, hot dogs (but with ketchup because I bring shame to my Chicago-area friends), and Garrett’s Popcorn. The Chicago Mix may sound odd (mix of cheese popcorn + caramel popcorn), but it’s divine and you should try it at some point in your life.