On the final Friday of each month, I take a look back at all the things I loved and put together this list of recommendations for you: the Friday Finale. It might include the best book I read, a particularly impressive recipe I tried, or the best thing I streamed this month. I hope these standout moments from my month inspire you to make some time for yourself looking forward!
How’re we all doing, heroines? It’s been a bit of a month year, am I right? I’m still working from home — and will be for the rest of 2020 — but things got a little busy in May, and then I just wasn’t feeling it on June. So this is my first Friday Finale post since I shared April’s favorites!
Overall, July was a good month for me. I’m still thriving in this telecommuting situation, especially since I began doing weekly walks on a local bike trail with a friend. We had a visit from my in-laws, which was a nice surprise! And we also had my brother living with us all month during his remote summer internship, and he’s been a nice distraction from the world.
Hopefully these favorites from the month will help bring a bit of light to your life in August! Keep reading for the album of the year, two great movies, a sustainable hair care swap, and a sheet mask subscription.
The surprise of the year, for sure! When Taylor Swift announced she was dropping a new album in less than 24 hours, I was pumped. I don’t know that I really understood how much I needed something good right now, but folklore is really good.
“Safe and Sound” from The Hunger Games’ soundtrack has always been one of my favorite songs of Taylor’s, and this entire album gives me major lost in the woods, stories of the past, experiencing your emotions through music vibes. It’s been a week of listening, so I can safely say there are zero skips on this album. There also isn’t a flashy single that doesn’t sound anything like the rest of the album, which means I am here for this new era of T-Swift out from under the thumb of Big Machine Records.
Get ready for an adorable romantic comedy recommendation. It’s still a life goal of mine to make it into a Lonely Island video, so you know I love me some Andy Samberg. And despite the shit show that was the final season of HIMYM, I’m a big fan of Cristin Milioti, too.
The two of them are so perfectly weird in this movie. It’s like Groundhog Day meets Bridesmaids, and you should stop what you’re doing (once you’ve finished reading this post, of course) and give it a watch on Hulu. It’s got a lot of heart, a whole bunch of laughs, and J.K. Simmons on a homicidal rampage. You won’t regret it.
I’m going to be super honest with you right now. I was very nervous to make the switch from liquid shampoo to bar shampoo. As we all know, tiny cardboard packages are so much more recyclable than big plastic bottles. I knew I needed to make the swap, but I had some anxiety about spending money on a product I might use once and hate.
I have pretty thick, naturally wavy hair that loves a good lather, and I’d put off trying bar shampoo for months because I was afraid it wouldn’t give me the suds that I needed for my scalp to feel squeaky clean.
Man, was I wrong! I’m two weeks into trying out Love Beauty and Planet’s Coconut Water Shampoo + Conditioner Bar, and I’m loving it. It’s this cute, heart-shaped bar of shampoo that comes in a cardboard box and costs less than $5 at Target. It suds up really nicely, and I like to do a mixture of lathering in my hands and then using the bar against the top of my head. I will say that I’m still using a liquid conditioner — there’s just no way I can get all the tangles out without a dedicated conditioner.
Overall, I’m a big fan of the bar shampoo concept, and I’m excited to be using less plastic packaging in my day-to-day life!
That’s right, another feel good comedy! I think I’ve hit the point in quarantine where I need an abundance of laughs because all I want to do is watch comedies. I’m already a fan of Will Ferrell, but once I saw that he was opposite Rachel McAdams in the new movie on Netflix, I knew I’d be watching it.
And it was super cute, you guys. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is the story of two childhood friends whose dream is to make it to Eurovision. The movie was a little slow in places, but Dan Stevens practically steals the show as an absolutely over-the-top Russian singer, so it’s worth a watch.
The real star of the show? The music. I’m obsessed with the soundtrack, particularly the two big numbers: Double Trouble and Husavik. I’ve had them on repeat, and my brother would really love for me to get over them. Good luck with that, Ian!
If you’re looking for some extra self care right now, I’ll first make a little plug for my 30-day self care challenge, which includes easy ways to make more time for yourself. I’d also direct you to the FaceTory subscription box on Amazon.
I got enticed to try it out with an Amazon Prime incentive that gave me 52% off my first month. (That deal should still be available if you want to check it out!) I tried the 7 Lux box, which included a collection of 7 high-quality sheet masks and a facial cleanser.
Overall, the face masks are very luxe, and the variety means there will be something for any kind of skin type. I probably won’t continue receiving the subscription because I only use face masks weekly in my skincare routine. However, for less than $10, I do not regret giving this subscription box a try. Now I need someone to give me recommendations on biodegradable face masks or something that will give me that sheet mask feeling without all the waste!
Did you watch any good comedies this month? Leave your recs in the comments for me!
P.S. You can catch all my monthly favorites from books to movies to skincare products in the archives.
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