Early Summer Favorites

I’m calling this early summer favorites, because the first day of summer hasn’t even arrived and I’m positive we’ll have more of these posts before the season is over and we’re reminded of stuff we love and want to share.  But these are always fun (and they’re always perfect for our monthly Scoop giveaways where we surprise a lucky reader who’s commented on a Scoop post during the month!)  Here’s a few things I’m loving at the moment.

1.  Crocs Crocband Flips

Don’t laugh.  Yes, these are crocs.  Here me out.  I’m a flip-flop girl and I have a lot of different types for different purposes.  For example, I love me some Roxy flip flops and usually stock up on those at the start of every summer.  Last year on a business trip, I somehow forgot my comfy travel shoes and ended up 47 gates away from my connection in the Denver airport in heels and my feet were KILLING me.  Like, so bad I couldn’t walk another step.  I was already short on time so I limped as fast as I could to the only place I could see that had a solution:  The Croc Store.  Of course everything in airports are overpriced and I shelled out $40 (you can find these pretty cheap on 6pm.com and amazon) on the only thing they had in my size that didn’t look like they belonged on a smurf: a pair of unisex flip flops.  And they felt like heaven.  What I didn’t expect, was that those fuchsia-colored flip flops would become my favorite shoes. I don’t wear these when I want to be super stylish, but comfort?  You betcha.  They have a wide foot bed (those with wider feet can understand that sometimes that’s hard to come by in women’s sandals) and the way the foot bed is curved and padded, they just feel awesome.  If I’m going to be on my feet a lot, or walking quite a bit, these are my go-to’s.  And during the summer they’re especially nice because they’re so great at the beach and in the water.  LOVE them.

2.  VS Bronzing Tinted Shimmer Lotion

As a naturally ghostly white kind of girl, I’ve become quite the expert when it comes to self-tanning and bronzing products.  But this isn’t a tanner, it’s just a yummy smelling tinted lotion with a slight shimmer.  It’s awesome  for when you just want a little glow, and you want it immediately.  It adds just enough color to make you look sun kissed, or enhances a natural tan really beautifully.  And as I mentioned, unlike most self tanners, this smells really yummy.   Find it Here!

3.  Water Blasters

So, squirt guns are the bane of my existence.  Sure they’re fun, but with little kids especially, it’s a constant stream in and out of my house with little voices screaming, “fill this up!” And they’re always breaking, and my kids are always fighting over who gets which one.  We got some of these water squirters last summer and we love them. So much in fact, that I tossed most of our squirt guns and bought a ton of these so when kids come over for a water fight, they’re all evenly matched.  My favorite thing is that they’re just as easy for my 3 year old to use as they are for my 8 year old.  I fill up a giant plastic tub full of water in the middle of the yard and everyone can easily fill up and shoot away.  They also float in the pool so they’re fun to play with while you’re swimming.  You can find this style of water squirter at lots of places, like Target, or Amazon these days.

4.  Gap Roll-Up Boyfriend Jeans

These became my favorite shorts last summer.  If you like them shorter, you can roll them up, and rolled down they hit just barely above my knee (I’m short, but these come in tall, too.)  Because I’m short, I have a hard time finding cute knee-length shorts that don’t look like capri’s on me and these hit in the perfect spot.  They look really cute dressed up with a cute belt and a wedge heel, or dressed down with flip flops and a t-shirt.  And the fun colors are a bonus!  It seems they go on sale quite often, and I can almost always find them for super cheap at the Gap Outlet near me.

 

5.  Peter Thomas Roth Powder Mineral Sunscreen

I slather myself in SPF every single morning after getting out of the shower, but one of the things I hate the most is having to re-apply to my face after I already have make-up on. It’s just slimy and gross and ends up feeling cakey.   But I’m also a huge supporter and believer in sun protection.  Lately as I’ve been seeing the temperatures rise, I’ve been noticing tons of people I follow on Instagram, post pictures of their sunburns as if they’re medals of honor, expressing excitement that it will turn into a tan and summer has officially arrived.  It makes me cringe!  I’ve had more than one person in my life pass away much to early in life (both rather young mothers) from melanoma.  I’d encourage you this summer to take care of your skin and use sun protection!  (Alright, stepping off soap box now…)  I have really sensitive skin, so I asked my dermatologist about sunscreen in a powder form and he said go for it!  I was so excited to find this.  I still use a base layer of sunscreen on my face, and I also use a foundation with SPF, but for touch-ups during the day on my face, I’m loving powder sunscreen.    It makes it so easy to keep a pretty face, but feel protected from the sun.  There are a few brands that make it, and most of them are quite expensive.  The one I use is the significantly less expensive that all the others I’ve seen and it’s from Peter Thomas Roth.  It’s available in-store at Sephora, or an even better deal through Amazon with Prime shipping.  It also comes in a bronzing powder.

6.  S’mores Ice Cream

 

Lest you find yourself in a stressful conundrum, wondering which S’mores Ice Cream product is better, I am here to lend a thorough review.  I’ve put significant time and energy into stuffing my pregnant face thoughtfully researching this issue.  Both Dreyers and Tillamook have S’mores flavored ice creams out this summer.  When it comes to the actual ice cream base itself, you can’t beat Tillamook.  I mean, those guys just know how to do dairy.  The chocolate flavored ice cream is super smooth and creamy with a balanced chocolate flavor.  While Dreyers has marshmallow pieces, Tillamook has pockets of smooth, fluffy marshmallow-fluff style marshmallow so you can really taste that flavor.  The one spot that Dreyer’s has Tillamook totally beat though, is in the graham cracker component.  While Tillamook has what I can best describe as chewy balls of graham flavored dough (similar to shape and texture of cookie dough in cookie dough ice cream) Dreyers has ribbons of crushed buttery graham cookie.  It’s almost like big pieces of a butter graham pie crust and it’s hands down the best part about both of these ice creams.  I will literally dig through the entire container and pick them all out like the annoying child I am.  My only complaint is that they don’t put in nearly enough of that part.  They should triple it.   So really, you can’t go wrong with either, but at least now you know the difference.  You better buy both and research for yourselves.  Lastly, I’m including the DQ S’mores Blizzard, because, well, Blizzard.  They’re awesome, and I love it when they bring back seasonal flavors like this one.  I should note that ALL of these options are way better than actual s’mores, which always sound like a good idea, until everyone is completely covered in sticky marshmallow and dirt using the roasters as swords.

Bring on Summer!