By: Kelsey Pukala, registered dietitian/nutritionist at Nourishing Minds Nutrition

Hi friends! I’ve compiled a few things that I have been loving this Summer and hope you enjoy them as I have. None of the following photos or products are ads or sponsored by any company. These are legitimately things that I am using this Summer and liking! I tried to include items that varied in price as well. Enjoy!

Uncomfortable Conversations: This year, so far, has absolutely been different than we all expected. With so much going on, overwhelm, fear, anxiety, and confusion are just a few emotions I’ve been wrestling with. Usually, if I feel overwhelmed, I try to pull back from social media and intentionally engage with my local community as social media will often just fuel the fire. I’ve been in this place of conviction, repentance, learning from and listening to the oppressed voices around me. In pulling back from social media and engaging in helpful conversations with those around me, I’ve definitely realized that I can do better and I’m encouraged to continue to share with you what that looks like! One resource I have been particularly loving is Emmanuel Acho’s Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man short videos on Instagram. Highly, highly recommend you watch them! You can watch them on his page @emmanuelacho.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: Strange title, but such a great book! If you’re anything like me and enjoy light-hearted, Jane Austen-esque books, I highly recommend this one! It’s written in the form of letters in the 1940s, so it’s a relatively quick and easy read for Summer. There’s also a movie now on Netflix, which is great. I needed a break from books about food or body image for a couple of months… not that I don’t enjoy reading about Intuitive Eating and healing your relationship with your body, I just wanted something a little lighter. A friend recommended this to me and I really loved it.

Summer Skincare: Normally, I am the LAST person to ask about anything makeup or skincare related. I don’t really wear makeup, so my knowledge is lacking in that department. BUT, I do really enjoy skincare products that are more natural. I took a quick photo of a few things I’ve been enjoying this Summer so far.

On the far left is the Primally Pure soothing serum and body butter. These were gifted to me and I’m loving how smooth the serum makes my face feel and how AMAZING the body butter smells. The two Skin Essence Organics products in the middle are serums that I like to put on my face after washing it to help prevent dryness. I have both the Light and Nourish, but like the Light serum better as it has tea tree oil in it and doesn’t feel as heavy as the others. For reference, my skin is normal-oily. Because I tend to have more oily skin, especially on my face, I was so hesitant to put more oil on my face, but these three serums that I have pictured here are amazing and don’t make my face more oily at all!

On the far right is the facewash I like. I don’t like spending a ton of money on skincare products, which is why I like this facewash from Beauty By Earth as it lasts a while and is relatively affordable. I just order this and the Skin Essence Organics products on Amazon, which is a MUST for me as it’s uber convenient.

Trendy Sunglasses, Water Bottles and a Christmas Candle: Yes, you read that correctly… as weird as it may sound I am totally in love with this Waxxy & Co candle. It smells like Christmas and, in my opinion, there is no wrong time of year to burn a Christmas candle. My birthday gift from my parents this year was a pair of Warby Parker sunglasses and I have to admit, I feel pretty trendy wearing them ha! Warby Parker has the most incredible virtual try-on experience from their app, so if you need any glasses or sunglasses, it was so easy to find ones that I liked. They can definitely be pricey, but for a nice pair of glasses, I thought they were relatively reasonable.

Lastly, I have a weird obsession with water bottles. All water bottles… but this Summer, this Rifle Paper Corkcicle is going everywhere with me. Our heat index here in Florida is over 100 degrees so it’s HOT! There are several well-insulated water bottles on the market right now, and they all vary in price, so I would just recommend buying one if you don’t have one already. I can leave this thing in my sweltering hot car for hours and the water is still ice-cold inside.

Hope your Summer is fun and restful!

Thank you for this blog post Kelsey! You can learn more about Kelsey and her work at Nourishing Minds Nutrition here.