My calendar says July ended yesterday. I keep waiting for the flip to feel real.
Here’s the thing about editing for the season after the one you’re standing in: I’m still out here in the Miami heat, buying peaches and planning sunset walks with my mom, while my brain has already started shelving fall. The planner gets it. The rest of me is taking one last, very warm week of summer.
Some seasons come with a plan. This one hasn’t yet, and I’ve decided not to fight it — I just want to stay present for what’s actually in front of me. Which is exactly what this column is. Every week I share nine favorite things: what I’m wearing, listening to, dreaming about, and the little stories that kept me smiling. Consider this your weekly reset.
What I’m Wearing
My Miami wardrobe is about as simple as it gets: athletic shorts, oversized tees, and a rotation of everyday basics. When it’s this hot, comfort wins every time.
The piece I’ve actually kept buying more of is the Vuori Retrograde Track Pants. I repack them every single travel day, and the fabric still looks presentable at the end of it. That’s the whole standard I hold everyday basics to: they have to hold up, not just photograph well.
Two more I’ve been wearing on repeat: the AYR Practice Tee (one of those easy pieces that goes with literally everything) and a Gap pair of track shorts I put in the cart the same week I ordered my jeans. No regrets — I’ve also got a lightweight rollneck knit for the nights when the sunset is lovely and the air conditioning is not.
And because the season is still here: I made a shortlist of zucchini recipes for the weeks ahead, starting with the Blender Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Zucchini Muffins. That’s how you make peak summer produce taste like a dessert shortcut it never is. More to come when the squash glut actually hits.
What I’m Listening To
Two podcasts earned my phone’s full attention this week.
First: Emma Chamberlain talking through building Chamberlain Coffee, burnout, and walking away from YouTube. I related to a lot of it — especially the part about knowing what comes next is most of the burnout, not the work itself. Worth a listen if you’re mid-“what’s next” like I am.
Second: The Bosstick. It’s a travel and free-time playbook, and the way they think about a week off — no itinerary panic, actual rest included — is exactly how I plan. I took notes the whole episode. And then I listened to it again.
Where I’m Dreaming of Going
For Christmas, I have one non-negotiable on the list: Castel Badia, a thousand-year-old castle in the Dolomites that’s now a hotel. Last winter we did Livigno, so this would be the bigger move — and I think a castle at Christmastime is exactly the kind of trip that makes you feel like you’ve actually taken one.
Closer to home: The Farmstand, a little collaboration between local organic growers that sells produce, fresh flowers, and seasonal finda. They’re already out with pumpkins. A little too early for me, but I respect the commitment.
In My Home
I ordered three bunches of fresh flowers last week and they arrived on Monday. One for the kitchen — that’s a permanent install, I basically never run out — one for the bedside table, one for the bathroom. I almost never think to put flowers anywhere but the kitchen, and the difference was immediate. If the week has been gritty, this is the ten-minute fix that works.
In the Beauty Drawer
The reverse hair washing trend sounds backwards until you try it: condition first, then shampoo. With fine, long hair that tangles the moment you wash it, it cut my brushing time about in half. The whole trick is doing it in the right order — you can also pair it with an affordable detangling brush to keep it from getting yanked.
I’m also deep in a body care push right now. I’m about to start the Daily Hydrating Mineral Body Sunscreen and will report back — I’m always testing sunscreen at this time of year. And I have my eye on the Summer Fridays body butter for when their collection launches.
One small thing that quietly outperforms everything on my shelf: the The Skinny Confidential Mint Roller, straight from the freezer. It takes the edge off a puffy morning and keeps the fine-line shadowing I see at the mirror down. Thirty seconds. Zero products. It earns its slot.
The Edit
Vuori Retrograde Track Pants. That’s the call. I’ve gone through every other pair in this wardrobe and come back. If your travel bag is one bag, this is the pair in it — done. Splurge, but a working one.
At the Table Sunday Night
Back-to-school is around the corner, which for me means casseroles and the classics start coming back out. Sunday was pot roast, and I did the thing I always do: a few fresh flowers, a couple of candles, a tiny bit of planning, and suddenly an ordinary dinner felt like an event. You don’t need a feast. You need one meal where everyone actually sits down.
This Week’s Little Joy
My neighborhood has a couple I run into on sunset walks — Penny Jane and Garret. Last week they handed me what I’m still convinced is the best avocado I’ve ever held, and in the middle of the chat I told her a little about what I do. She’s been cooking Garret three homemade meals a day for their entire marriage.
I walked home thinking about it. Then I quietly left some of my cookbooks on their doorstep and kept walking.
They tracked me down before I got back. Penny Jane rolled down the window from the passenger seat and said, “We’ve been looking for you!” She’d spent part of the evening before walking the neighborhood hoping to run into me. She’d read the books cover to cover, learned who I was from the recipe notes, and wanted to thank me.
I gave away a few books because I thought she’d enjoy them. I got twenty minutes of conversation back that I’ll remember for a very long time. Sometimes the smallest thing is the thing you keep.
Catch Me
It’s a work day in Miami, but I’m squeezing in one last slow week with the family — probably a few sunset walks with my mom and whatever the week sends. More summer recipes and a big back-to-school dinner roundup are landing over the next few weeks.
A Note From the Editor
I keep wanting to load up the fall content before summer’s done. The point of this column is the opposite: slow down, pick the few things that matter this week, and let the rest wait. Beauty, dishes, trips — they’re all easier when you edit them instead of hoarding them.
What’s your one favorite thing from this week? Drop it in the comments — I read every single one.
— Amelie
Less shelf, more glow.