July: My Month from A - Z

Now that it's August it feels like we're slowly creeping our way to 2017. Summer will be over, autumn will begin, & then we'll have winter to look forward to. I know I'm getting several months ahead of myself, but I'd rather be mentally prepared for the ball to drop into the new year. Until then, here's how my July played out.

Appreciation - Nobody & nothing owe you anything. Appreciate the kindness as well as the little things that others do for you rather than taking them for granted. Just be aware of those moments. Appreciate them.

Beet Hummus - I didn't know beet hummus was a thing & I regret staying ignorant for so long. The bold pink colored hummus tastes incredible & looks almost too pretty to eat. 

Coconut Chips - I adore coconut in all shapes & forms, coconut chips included. See my post about the tasty snacks here.

Double Earrings - Add some pizzazz to your piercing & add two earrings to one hole. See it in action here.

Essential Oils - I mentioned the lavender essential oil earlier this month but I've come to also enjoy bergamot & peppermint. I walked into a minty fresh house yesterday & it was so rejuvenating. 

Face Masks - Give yourself a mini spa treatment with a facial mask at home. I know I felt totally refreshed afterwords. 

Grill & Chill - Fred & I had a mini grill & chill to enjoy the warm summer days & munch out with some delicious vegetarian food.

Huitlacoche - Fred's mum made this for me (& him) for the first time. I encourage you to Google it. Read more about huitlacoche in this post.

Independence Day - The Fourth of July came & went & so did the relevance of the Independence Day film. I watched it for the first time to celebrate the holiday.

Jimbo's - This fun little health food store was a gem when Fred & I were looking for some wholesome & delicious snacks.

Kulfi - I used a Groupon for local Indian restaurant & tried kulfi, an Indian ice cream, for the first time. It has pistachio, rosewater, & saffron. After tasting it I realized that it's extremely similar to the Persian ice cream bastani sonnati.

La Croix - So far I've tried lemon, lime, mixed berry, pamplemousse (grapefruit), coconut, peach pear, apricot, lemon, & orange. I will not stop until I try them all.

Morning Hikes - To combat the summer heat, I recommend only hiking in the early morning or in the late afternoon. Despite being obnoxiously sweaty, I did manage to see some spectacular sights.

Naan - Garlic naan for the win!

Odd Tan Lines - Tan lines can sometimes be sexy. However, a weird array of foot tans aren't the most attractive thing in the world, at least to me. On a positive note, at least my feet are not pasty white any more.

Pedicure - Got a much needed pedicure. Hallelujah. 

Quesadillas - Because you can never have enough. Am I right?

Ragu - Back at it again with another Ragu collaboration! Check out my super simple recipe here.

Salsa - Living in Southern California gives me so many options for delicious & fresh salsa, but nothing is better than the salsa made by Fred's mum. Delightful & authentic.

Tortoise - Come on. Isn't Franklin cute?

Updates - As a social media professional, I need to stay updated on all things social. I normally carve out an hour every Friday to read up on the latest news.

Venturesome - Be willing to take risks & embark on an unusual course of action.

Walks - I've been much more frequent with regulating my daily activity as well as spending more time outside enjoying nature & walking. 

Xantusia Henshawi - Xantusia henshawi also known as granite night lizard. 

YSL - Nothing livens up the spirit more than a beautiful new lipstick. I tried out a few Yves Saint Laurent swatches & wasn't sold on anything. I continued shopping but couldn't think stop thinking about it so went back and purchase this.

Zen Garden - I received this Pure Light organic spray a few months ago but Fred is the one who's totally obsessed. It's his favorite room spray at the moment. He spritzes it around whenever he can.

How was your July? :]

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