Summer Lovin' 2016

It is officially, legitimately summer here. It's Wednesday as I'm starting this, but it might not post until Thursday because the Summer Lovin' List can take a lot of work.

Well, that actually depends on your definition of "work", I suppose.

Yesterday was sticky and humid and then we had a wicked summer storm in the evening. Facebook was blown up with photos of hail the size of either golf, tennis or basketballs depending on who was exaggerating posting. Trees were split in half by lightening and branches blocked streets. You would think that would mean that all five of the Skinners were tucked safe in the family room watching the College World Series, but you would be wrong about that. Two out of four Skinner boys who were due to be on baseball fields found themselves at home, but the Lord found favor on the other two with the blessing of a turf field. Once the storm passed there was joy in Mudville again as Drew and his Little League AllStar team took to the turf for a scrimmage. I will not mention exactly how long that joy lasted, but let's just say that our opponents were very prolific in the hitting department. Very.

Anyway, it's time for my Summer Lovin' post of 2016 in which I point out some of my favorite things for the summer. Well, besides baseball because DUH.

1. Embroidered Tops

Nothing says "summer" like an embroidered top. Except maybe margaritas and Justin Timberlake. I would propose wearing one of the gazillion or so embroidered tops that are being sold all over kingdom come right now while drinking a margarita and listening to JT. Now we're talking.

First of all. THIS. Oh, Anthropologie. How I wish I could quit you. This is just perfect.

THIS one from ModCloth.com is really pretty.

I also like THIS one from Loft. By the way, Loft has sent me no less than five emails a day for the past week or so telling me that they're having a sale. Seriously, it seems like everything is 500% off give or take.

2. Fringe Sandals

The fringe trend has been sweeping the nation lately and I like it in small doses. I think a little goes a long way. Shoes or bag. Top or skirt. If you look in the mirror and start thinking that you might earn the starring role in your kid's Thanksgiving play next year, just take it down a notch, Pocahontas. For this post, I'm going to focus on footwear.

THESE Maltese Fringe Sandals by BC Footwear are really cute and reasonably priced. They also come in a metallic gold color.

I also think THESE Rebecca Minkoff Erin Tassel Sandals are adorable. They are a bit pricier. (I have no idea if that is the correct spelling of pricier or if that is a real word, but I am owning it.)

How about THESE?

Um. I'm kidding. Guess what though? These Julien David Fringe Platform Sandals were originally $740 and now they are on sale for the bargain price of $295.98. Excuse me, Julien David. Get over yourself. I think I could grab a few baseballs out of Coach Skinner's bucket and make these sandals myself. 

3. Colorful Clutch

I have to say that I like the idea of a clutch in theory. I would love to imagine that I could venture away from my home with only my driver's license, a credit card, a lip gloss and a mint. If you are a person who doesn't have to carry enough Gatorade, snacks and sunscreen to get you through a day or two in the Sahara Desert then by all means go for one of these. They are so cute for summer.

THIS from Target is adorable.

I also love THIS one from Stella & Dot.

4. The Romper

I'm just very conflicted on this. I hated the idea when they first starting showing up everywhere. I'm just not sure if this style is for women over 40, if only for the fact that at some point one will have to use the facilities. And those of us who have had a baby or three and have forgotten all about what a Kegel is might run into some pretty delicate situations whilst wearing a romper. So are there Romper Rules? Do we care? This might be a style best left to Fake Daughter or Fake Younger Sister-in-Law or, in my case, Real Life Much Younger Cousins (I'm looking at your Tomi & Brittany).  Honestly, I don't know. I do know that the graduation parties across my area were chock full of teens sporting the romper. 

THESE TWO from JCrew Mercantile or Factory or whatever it is are just so darn cute I can barely stand it. The patterned one is linen. The red one also comes in black, black and white stripe and a print called Tuscan Green Geo which I first read as Tuscan Green Pea. That sounded pretty awful and might be a sure fire sign that my eyes and I are too old for the romper. 

5. Zoe's Kitchen's Orzo Tabouli Salad with Grilled Shrimp

This salad makes its second appearance on the Summer Lovin' list. Salads just taste so much better in the summertime. This is the absolute best. I had one yesterday right in the middle of the storm. I mean, I was inside of Zoe's Kitchen, not outside in the middle of the storm. But had I been outside in the middle of the storm, eating this salad would have made it almost delightful.

6. Summer Weight Scarves

It is entirely possible that I have a scarf problem. I have so many scarves. Scarves can be tricky during the summer, but if you live in an area where it can cool down quite a bit in the evening, a summer scarf can be a great addition to a basic tshirt or summer dress. 

I was in World Market the other day and they had a huge collection of great scarves and they were all on sale for almost nothing. I like both of these, but honestly I could have closed my eyes and grabbed any one of them.

7. Sunscreen

I had some sort of teeny, tiny spot removed on my arm by my dermatologist yesterday. I had a numbing shot, something called a 5 millimeter puncture excision (I mean I heard all those words but not necessarily in that order and also I might have them all wrong because I started feeling woozy just listening to her talk) and two stitches. This falls in the category of things you wish the blogger would have kept to herself.  Anyway, because my girlfriends and I thought that being really cautious was to pull out the Hawaiian Tropic SPF 2 instead of the baby oil every 3rd day in the summer in 1985, let this be a lesson to "those who wear rompers". I now have to really pay attention to sunscreen. I have not tried Trader Joe's Sunscreen but I have seen it on a number of "Best Sunscreen" lists. It only costs $6 so I'm planning on throwing it in my basket along with the Cookie Butter next time I'm there.

8. Summer Party Glasses

THESE are so cute from Crate and Barrel for anything from lemonade to the margaritas that you drink while you listen to Justin Timberlake. They are on sale right now. 

9.  Baseball Tshirts

Of course I couldn't leave baseball off the list entirely. I have never really been much of a "spirit wear" type of fan. In fact since I never bought an AllStar shirt last year and our team kept winning, I decided it was part of my duty to the team to skip the team shirt. Lately, though, I have seen some really cute generic baseball tshirts for women. (And not one has "MOM" written in sequins. I find it to be very important to leave the sequins off the shirt, but you just do as you wish, Mama. I'm not the boss of you.)  Here are a couple. Just search "Baseball Love tshirt". There are millions. (PS I'm kinda kidding on the second one. It just made me laugh.)

10. Summer Jams

I recommend Keith Urban's Ripcord album, Gwen Stefani's Make Me Love You, and anything Justin Timberlake has ever sung in his life including but not limited to the Mickey Mouse Club theme song.

Happy Summer, Friends!