My 6th edition of my favorite things.  My, how time flies when you are having fun!  So, a few things to get off my chest, before we dive into my favorite things.  I’ve been asked why don’t I feature myself in the fashions I wear, or carry, but instead post pics of others?  Because I don’t think anyone wants to see what I’m wearing, per se, plus, I really don’t like pictures of myself…unless they’re with the kids, Kev, or my friends.  Those are “social pics”, not modeling what I’m wearing.  Second… How did the 30-day Ab challenge go?  #notsogreat.  I was doing swell with it, until the 17th or 18th of the month, but a summer of peace, love and fun in the sun, got in the way of my desire for better Abs.  Plus I’m so easily distracted, I ended up forgetting about it for about a week.  #absnotofsteel.   So I am going to dial that back up again.  Starting today.  Third…How is my screenplay coming?  Let’s discuss my abs of steel. 🙂  Let’s just say, I’m not quite at my “first draft”, yet.  Thankfully, the summer is still young, so I have time.  Lastly, are there “hidden messages” in my Song of the Day?  Seriously?  I’m almost flattered people think I’m this clever.  No, these are just songs that I like…and if I hear a song on my iPhone, and hit repeat…there’s a pretty good chance it’s going to be a song of the week.  Truly, just songs I like or like to listen to, on my 3-4x/day walk with Murph.  Plus, I repeat the songs, mostly unbeknownst to me.  I’m trying not to do that moving forward.

 

My Favorite Things – 6th Edition

1.  Fitbit – I’ve mentioned this prior in my post about Father’s Day…and Kevin, is now a believer (not a Belieber, btw).  Measures your steps, with a goal of 10,000 steps/day, as well as sleep, calories burned, water consumption… You get the picture.  $99.  www.fitbit.com.  And you can buy different bands, so you can coordinate with your outfit.  Even Tory Burch has jumped on the bandwagon, with her own Fitbit Collection.  What’s disappointing, is the day the Tory Burch bands came out, they were sold out before I could place my order.  But I still have the additional bands, I ordered from Amazon, so I don’t have to just wear the black one…even though black continues to be the new black.  Plus, I have Kevin’s second band, so I do have options in which to accessorize my outfits!

 

 

The above are from the Tory Burch for Fit Bit collection.  Sadly, none are mine.  But truly, for $35 or so, for the blue, you can get 6 or 7 on Amazon, in a plethora of colors.  The gold version, in the bracelet,  is what I’m thinking of, for myself.  #birthdayhint

 

Oh lookie here…20,000 steps.  Would be impressive, if those steps weren’t accumulated with 90 minutes of dancing at an Earth, Wind and Fire concert! However, the steps still counted.  #legsofsteel  The sleep issue, isn’t so impressive.  20x restless?  Yeah, quite the shocker.

 

2.  Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy – though I call it Summer Shanty. My favorite new beer.  First tried it while boating with my family, and have never looked back.  Truly, may replace Stella as my favorite beer, and I never thought I’d say that!  It’s pretty light and I can drink 3 of them!  Of course, if I lessen the number of Summer Shandy’s, I may not have the Ab challenge staring me down in the future!

 

3.  Lilly Pulitzer iPhone 5 case with space for credit card or ID – not both…and I keep my key from the Resort at Pelican Hill there, because of some very favorite memories there, and when I glimpse it, and see the key, it automatically makes me smile.  I actually love that resort so much, that I should make it one of my favorite things, or even devote an entire blog about it.  For the main reason, that my first impression of this resort, from a few years ago was Not good, and did not only not exceed my expectations, but it didn’t meet my expectations.  Thankfully, that has now all changed.  And I keep a reminder of it in my Lilly iPhone case!  Would work great for a college student, when they always need to have their ID handy.

 

Our home away from home.

4.  Tory Burch backpack – works great for my carry on, for the plane (not for the luggage though), and I just love the sassy, nautical stripes, and extra pockets, to hold, who knows what I like to stash?!  This is the 3rd mention this bag has gotten in my blog.  Should tell you how much I’m loving it.

5.  Tiffany bracelet – never take it off.   Diamonds by the yard, though my bracelet is probably only 7″.  #sizematters.  I wear it on the same wrist as the Fitbit.  And lookie here…Kate Middleton is wearing the same bracelet as me!  Trendsetter!!

6.  Joel Gott Chardonnay – my new “go-to” Chardonnay.  Actually, Flowers Chardonnay is my new “go to”, but at $105/bottle (in restaurants), I’m thinking I’ll stick with Joel Gott.  Screw top cap, is a nice little bonus.  About $15 in the stores.

 

7.  Movie, Draft Day – It came and went in the theaters in a flash, but I have to say, I loved it… Really loved it.  I mean a football movie, which is rather a “chick flick” with Kevin Costner.  Doesn’t get better than that!  And it will be coming out on DVD/Netflix early September.  Can’t wait!

 

8.  Govino plastic wine cups, with the initial O on them.  They are super light, and love that they have the thumb print cut out… I’ve mentioned these before in my Ravinia blog…and because they are so light weight, they didn’t add to the heavy lifting!  Also great for the beach, if one were to enjoy a adult libation, at the beach.  Greatest. Gift. Ever!  Thanks to my “solesister”, Tracy!

 

 

9.  Mac Viva Glam IV – I’ve mentioned before that my favorite lip color, Chic by Mac, has been discontinued… So, I’ve switched to Viva Glam IV.  Love, love, love it.  It’s a tad darker than Chic, but it works, and it’s my new fav lipstick.  I think it can work for most women.

 

 

10.  Mac Pro Longwear Lipliner – my new favorite lip liner.  I have never been able to keep color on my lips.  Never, ever, ever… this has now changed since I’ve been introduced to this lipliner.  Truly keeps my lip color on my lips.  I line the lips, then fill in the lips, then put on the lip color.  My color is more to love…I’m sure has no bearing on the eating and drinking I’ve done this summer.

 

11.  House of Cards – on Netflix…watched both seasons, and all I can say is OMG.  I’m hooked!  I totally understand binge-watching, and think it’s the only way to watch these shows.

 

12.  Husband’s Secrets, by Liane Moriarty.  Best beach read of the summer!  It’s about a housewife who finds out her husband did something terrible when he was young.  Do you turn him in or keep quiet for the sake of the family?  And no, this is not my autobiography, or my screenplay.  🙂

 

13. Glass water bottles  – We fill these with double filtered water, and keep in the fridge, and this is the water we drink at dinner.  We just double filter by filling a Brita water pitcher with water from our Hinckley water cooler.  Voila.  Double filtered.  You can either buy these on Amazon, or upcycle the Lorina pink lemonade bottles, which I’ve done.  Or, have your brother-in-law, Mike, get one for you from Brit, one of our favorite restaurants in MN.    Water tastes so much better coming from a glass bottle, btw.

 

Favorite Sporting Moment of the summer.  Lebron going back to Cleveland!  You are welcome, Steven. xoxo.  And since I am not a fan of Lebron, I’m making an executive decision NOT to post a picture of him…but instead, will post one of me and Meredith, enjoying our summer. #shenanigans

 

Favorite pic of Murph… made it my screensaver.  Makes me smile every time I look at it.  Make your phone or laptop screensaver, something that makes you smile, because smiling is good.

 

Favorite piece of mail this summer – My Chicago Bears season tickets!  #SuperBowl2015

 

Song of the Day: Club Can’t Handle Me, by Flo Rida , featuring David Guetta)… truly makes you want to get up and dance.  I’m including the version with the lyrics, because when I saw this, I realized I basically had every single word wrong, with the exception of “I’m Rocking, I’m Rolling”.

Happy belated 21st birthday, to my sweet godchild, Kaitlin!  Love you honey!!  She looks great for 21, doesn’t she? 😉

 

Upcoming blogs:  A summer of lobster rolls (our favorite summer supper); Stepping into Summer – all about the season’s best shoes and Summer Beach Books.

Thrilled to be back in my hometown for a few days, and looking forward to a weekend with friends.  Possible pics to follow.  #duh

Peace, love and fun in the sun!

xoxo,

T.

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