July Favorites

Hello, Summer? Where did you go? I cannot believe that it's August 2nd. This summer has been beyond crazy. Close to the middle of June, we found out that our apartment was raising it's rent by $150 a month. We didn't feel like it was worth that much for a walk up with empty apartments. We probably could have negotiated them down, but we decided to find a new apartment. We did it without a broker and my mom to help look and set the budget-- and we couldn't be happier. We live in a doorman building that is closer to midtown-- my walk to work is super short and Abbie is close to the express subway to school. I practically cringed the first time I saw my bank account after rent was taken out-- but that might have been because I've been shopping this month. I may or may not have spent close to $1000 on shoes in the past two weeks. Oops? Luckily, we get a free month of rent in our building, so I won't have to pay again until September-- woo! This is my first real weekend in the apartment. I went home with my mom for a long weekend and then my brother was here for SneakerCon last weekend. I'm excited to finish unpacking, do some organization, and relax since we're in market again!

Here are some of my favorites from July!

Beauty

 Beauty Blender

I had always used Dior Flash foundation, so had no use for a beauty blender. But since switching to the Chanel (and using samples of various BB since I'm a little darker than normal), I've been using this. It's a great way to put on foundation and make it look natural. I bought the beautyblender pro two set-- so my sister and I would save a little bit of money. Plus, the black doesn't show the makeup as much as the pink. I don't always wash it after every use (I try to), but I love the solid cleaner that they sell at Sephora as well. 

Chanel Le Vernis in Ballerina 

During market, we are only allowed to wear neutral colors on our nails. Even though I'm not on the sales team, I still like to stick to this rule. This is a perfect light pink nail polish. It wears well and looks perfect with 2-3 coats. It also dries pretty quickly, which is always a plus since I typically paint my nails later at night. 

FOOD

 See's Candies Scotch Kiss

These are amazing. They're sort of like Carmellos that I used to love, but are even better. I wish we had a See's Candies in NYC, but that makes them that much better when I'm home. Plus, my mom normally sends some of these in any package she sends. These are amazing. The See's in Pittsburgh frequently sells out of them. They are marshmallows covered in soft caramel and are exactly 2 perfect bites. We just finished our supply and only have some caramels left. Everything from See's is delicious!

44 & X

I had passed this restaurant in the winter and had wanted to go ever since. My dad came to town, and we ended up going to dinner here with his business partner. It was delicious-- even I had a hard time picking something to eat. Needless to say, all three plates were pretty much clean when they came to clear them up. I know I'll be back now that I'm not that far away from it. Their brunch menu looks delicious! 

RANDOM 

Having a doorman is AMAZING. I've always had to plan all packages and have ended up having a ton of stuff either sent to my parents house or were sent back to the sender. Since we have a bigger apartment, we've had to get some extra things to fill it up-- so we've gotten a package basically every other day... Plus, they make sure your guests are let up, your building safe, and are just awesome. I feel like now I have one, I can never go back to a walk up building.

Apple TV

We just got one at home about 6 months ago, so it was always awesome to use at home. Now that we have room enough for a TV, we got this awesome little device. I'm able to watch Netflix, my random free TV shows from Apple, anything from iTunes, and even Airplay from Abbie's computer. It's amazing to have a TV after not having one. I had one in my dorm my junior year, but that was it during college. It's nice to have on during the mornings or in the evenings when I am eating dinner.

I'm heading into market again, but am sure I'll find plenty of new products to use as summer winds down. I'm excited for fall, but wish summer could be forever! There are some things I have not been able to do this summer (Broadway Softball on Thursdays), but others (Shakespeare in the Park, sitting in the park reading a book, shopping, and Broadway at Bryant Park) that I was able to enjoy this summer!