Friday Favs August 2020

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” ~ Melody Beattie

Grateful

Framily, I truly am touched and so utterly grateful for the messages I received from my last post. I am so blessed to be part of this amazing community and I am so grateful for your support. Words have always been a way for me to express myself, organize my thoughts, and get emotion out. Sometimes it is done privately (my iPhone is going to explode with how many notes I have) and other times, like on Wednesday, it is done unapologetically publicly.

I admit, I wasn’t sure if I was going to publish that post, but people have been reaching out, I was feeling ridiculously (and admittedly scarily) hormonal, and I needed an outlet and I am so grateful I did. Life isn’t perfect, it is easy to pretend it is, especially on social media, but it isn’t and I am a strong believer that it is important for people to NOT feel alone. Life is also full of so many seasons, and each one WILL pass. And each one teaches us lessons, and if we allow them to, they will make us stronger. But we have to go through them, and continue to go through them. There are no short cuts even when things are unpleasant. But you can make them easier by reaching out to loved ones. So thank you all for allowing me that outlet.

Friday Favorites 

It is crazy that we are approaching the end of August and I have NOT done a  Friday Favorites post all summer! And now it is the dog days and last night the temps went down to 45 degrees. (not bitter about the bitter cold or anything) Oh well. Since this IS Live In The Nautical, summer is kinda a mainstay. Not all of these items are summer per say, but I am currently obsessed with them. Some of the links shared are also affiliated links where I will get a small commission that will pay for my coffee addiction and/or a tropical getaway when we can travel again (someday in a hundred years) at NO extra cost to you.

Collagen

I am not one to promote supplements. Kinda like diets, we are ALL unique. Our bodies are all different and thus require nutrients and have needs that are unique to us. That said, I was amazed by the results of this collagen and had to share, as always consult with you doctor before trying anything new.

If you are on social media you have seen that collagen has taken influencer feeds by storm. With my hormones being cray-cray lately, I have been having issue with my hair including breakages and thinning. Getting desperate, I finally caved, an influencer being influenced by another influencer and I am so happy I was. I tried this Collagen Peptides from Vital Proteins which I got on Amazon and was amazed by the results. My hair is noticeably thicker and growing faster then it has in months! Collagen is great for joint health, skin health, and of course hair growth! I put it in my coffee every morning. I am not usually one for supplements, but this is tasteless and easily dissolves in liquid.

Dudley Stephens

I can not believe I have not talked, shared, praised, espoused the virtues of Dudley Stephens before now! Wait, I just checked, I did give this amazing company a shout on Earth Day briefly, but they deserve at least a paragraph if not a blog post. (I’ll get to that…eventually)

Anyway moving on, Dudley Stephens is a woman owned and run company that turns old plastic water bottles into sustainable and cozy fleece tops. They have since expanded to wraps, cover-ups and even pants. Their tops come in vibrant colors and are so comfy while still being chic. They are perfect for cooler beach days and with Fall coming (ahhh!) are perfect for the drop in temps. I do recommend sizing up one size in their tops. Their cover-ups are also on major sale and true to size. 

Isle of paradise drops

I feel like these are another semi influenced by an influencer, or maybe it is just great marketing. Or both? I have seen these promoted around the internet world for months, and after being unable to get my face to match the rest of my body, decided to give these a try and am SO happy I did.

While I love beach days, I lather up the sunscreen and I shield my face from the sun to OCD proportions. My body, despite my use of sunscreen always gets a golden tan, but my face (happily) stays pasty white. Unfortunately, by the end of summer, there is not enough bronzer to match the discrepancy between my face and body and pictures have me looking like a photo shop mishap or I encountered a funky Snapchat filter.

Isle of Paradise Tanning Drops are here to save the day! A little goes a LONG way with these drops and while I have been using them religiously, the bottle is still full. So while they are pricey initially, they last forever! I went with the medium shade (which smells like the beach and makes me so happy!) and only use one to two drops every few days. The key is to use them at night and mix it with your moisturizer. It leaves a gorgeous natural glowy tan, and I don’t even have to use as much make-up, if any, if I want a more natural look. These drops will be a permanent addition to my make-up/skincare routine long after summer has passed.

New Laptop Cover

This is kinda embarrassing, but I have needed a new laptop case for months. My pink one from Apple was sadly broken and barely protecting my laptop. Thank you Amazon to the rescue and at a quarter of the price! They had a ton of colors and patterns to choose from, which was almost overwhelming. I settled on a blue ocean motif (of course) that didn’t just have the cover, but also a screen protector (which haven’t used) AND a keyboard cover. While it has taken an adjustment to get use to with typing, I love the colorful keyboard as my fingers move across it.

Masks

Depending on where you are, masks are a part of every day life, if not mandated by the government. Guys, A pandemic is NOT going to keep me from being fashionable, so of course I knew I needed to not only extend my mask collection, but make sure I had one for each outfit. Brands like Anthropologie and Kate Spade have embraced making masks part of fashion, though they can be pricey. Thankfully I have a seamstress closer to home. While my Mom retired her sewing machine to just the occasional hemming and fixing holes in shirts, she use to sew a lot when growing up. She made all my Halloween costumes (FROM scratch!) and even would make dresses and coats.

With the need for masks, she decided to dust the cobwebs off her sewing machine and try her hand at them. Guys let me tell you, she has succeeded. I am trying to convince her to open up her own Etsy shop because they are so cute as well as being comfy, but still protective. My favorites are the mermaid masks she made for me, because now I can really pretend I am a mermaid!

How was your week? What are somethings you have been loving lately?