Happy Friday from California and happy Life Lately with Lemon Stripes Day! June has already been a big whirlwind, culminating with this trip, something that I have been nervous about for months. My grandmother lives outside of LA and I used to come to visit her every month or two, but since I had Amalia, I’ve only been out twice, once for my grandfather’s funeral. My mom lives outside of San Francisco and has major back issues so she can’t fly long distances right now. I realized that the only way Amalia was going to see two of the most important women in my life was if I flew her west.
I had a crazy fear of flying such a long distance with Amalia because the last time we came here she got a terrible stomach bug and was the sickest she’s ever been in her life. And also because flying with a toddler. If you’ve never done it, let me go ahead and recommend avoiding it at all costs. But she was great on the way out and I’m just praying that she is just as good on our way home tomorrow when I’m alone with her. I updated my tips for flying with a toddler post with more ideas and products if you have an airplane trip coming up.
But even if the flight out had been terrible, it would have all been worth it. Seeing my mom and grandma so happy with the first grandchild and great-grandchild for each of them is beautiful. They are genuinely full of pure joy just to watch her dance and play around for hours. She adores them both and the whole thing gives me all of the feels. Now that I’ve gotten over my big fear of flying across the country with her, I don’t think it will be our last trip out west.
I hope you have a great weekend!
Striped Dress (gifted)
Around the Web
Today is #nationalstripesday. J.Crew created this “national holiday” a few years ago and I’m not mad about it. They have a whole stripes shop on their site full of stripey goodness and even though it’s a gimmicky marketing tool, I love that there is a day to celebrate stripes. PS I also feature all of my favorite seasonal striped picks year-round. Just click the “stripe shop” tab on my shop page.
Pregnant women are basically elite athletes. I mean, any mom already knew this but a new study shows that pregnancy pushes the body nearly as much as extreme endurance sports.
Too many options. According to The Atlantic, the human brain can’t contend with the vastness of online shopping.
As if I need another swimsuit… Summersalt just came out with a limited-edition lemon-print (with Giuliana Rancic) in my favorite one-piece cut of all time. It also comes in bikini form.
Decoding the Instagram algorithm. This is a long read but an interesting look into the algorithm that everyone loves to hate.
Sustainable travel. I love Reformation’s guide to traveling responsibly.
Currently reading. I started reading Normal People by Sally Rooney on this trip and so far am loving it. What should I read next? I feel like I’m in a book funk! Hopefully, this one brings me out of it.
Currently watching. The season 2 finale of The Handmaid’s Tale was disappointing, annoying, and not even close to believable, so I didn’t have high hopes for this season. But now that we’re in season 3, I totally get why the writers did what they did and am a superfan again. It’s weird how much I love this show, but I am so into it even though it scares the daylights out of me. I can’t wait for June and Serena to start the revolution and tear Gilliad apart!
Cotton cami. The thickness of the straps and the slim cut of the new Everlane tank will make it an instant classic. Also, these shorts. How perfect?
The era of branded engagements. Man, I’m so happy Instagram wasn’t around when I got married. This story kills me.
How to start a compost at home. Anel and I really want to start composting but didn’t know where to start. Jess’s guide makes it so easy. We’re adding it to our summer to-do list!
Summer headband. J.Crew made my go-to headband (I have it in 3 colors) in a lighter summer fabric.
The best bookstagram accounts. Grace shared a great list of Instagram accounts focused on books and book recos and I spent way too much time scrolling through them all during Amalia’s naps this week.
Beaded glasses chain. My grandma wears her eyeglasses on a chain at all times and I am kind of obsessed with the fact a beaded glasses chain is a top-seller on Shopbop right now. On a scale of one to dorky, how bad would it be to buy this? But in all seriousness, with a kid at the beach, some version of this would be awesome. My sister was sitting next to me when I discovered this and said, “I’ve never needed anything more!” LOL
10 Summer Movies to Stream. Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix can be hard to navigate, but this list will take the “What should we watch?” out of your next movie night. It includes Dirty Dancing, A League of Their Own, and Wet Hot American Summer… three of my all-time favorites.
Lately on Lemon Stripes
My Favorite White Tees
The Lemon Stripes Manifesto
5 Delicious Dairy-Free Ice Creams
Sustainable Swimwear
Composting is not pretty! My husband thought it would be a great idea. What they don’t tell you is that hundreds of flies will come out of the container every time you open it to add more food scraps. We also now have bees in addition to the flies. In theory it is a good idea- but not exactly what we were hoping for!
We started composting almost a year ago and did have an issue with flies too, but after researching further realized that it was because our compost pile was too wet – once we added more brown and moved our tumbler to a sunnier location (to help heat it up and dry it out) the flies pretty much all went away. It has been a bit of a learning process and we are still trying to figure it out, but I feel really good about it and the amount of trash that we throw out is MUCH less than before! Are you using a tumbler or closed container? I think those tend to attract flies more – people I know that use the ones that are just open to the ground seem to have better luck.
I really enjoyed Normal People too. I recommend:
Where The Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens
My Absolute Darling – Gabriel Tennant
Little Fires Everwhere – Celeste Ng
Sharp Objects – Gillian Flynn
I loved all of those but haven’t read My Absolute Darling so will add it to the list! Sounds like we have the same taste in books 🙂
Hello! I am obsessed with your earrings in the cover photo of this blog post! Can you please share their details? I feel very superficial, as I really like all of your posts (motherhood, sustainable fashion, etc.) and never comment. But these earrings… I can’t seem to get over them! Thanks in advance and have a great day!
I borrowed them from a friend and they are amazing! There is one pair left here: http://bit.ly/2ZQaJk3