Relaxed Girl Summer

Life updates with a side of fashion

Hi there. After a long and unintentional hiatus, I’m back. :)

Per usual I have a lot of ideas swirling around my head about things I’d like to share, but I thought I’d start with a general life update of the last few months. Somehow writing it down helps me to mentally organize what’s happened before I move forward into the fall.

If I could sum up my summer in one word it would be relaxed. To be honest I didn’t do all that much this summer, and not all that much happened. If anybody follows me on Instagram you know I was certainly in beautiful places, but this summer was intentionally planned to be spent in places we already know and spend time.

We kicked off our summer with a week in Italy. We flew in for a birthday party in Marche, which was so charming and felt like Tuscany’s overlooked younger cousin. It’s also where I discovered caffe shakerato (iykyk) and my life will never be the same. Afterwards, we drove straight across the country to the opposite coast, Magliano in Toscano, which was equally as charming.

From there we based ourselves in Ibiza for the long summer ahead. Our only plan was to go to Formentara for a week, which is only a 30 minute ferry ride away. We had stayed with a friend who grew up there the year prior and I fell in love with the energy of the island - time seems to melt away there. A group of close friends made a last minute decision to join us and rented a house down the road, which made it all the more special this time around.

I then made an unplanned and very last minute decision to book a flight to NY 36 hours before departure. I lived there for most of my adult life (in case you didn’t already know) so for me it feels like going home. I stayed with my sister and a friend for a week and really soaked up all the time I could with my closest friends and family. I also got to assist on set for a Kallmeyer photoshoot, which was super fun to see their new collection ahead of NYFW. Anyone who knows me knows that if you throw me in a room with racks of beautiful clothes, models and a camera, I’m in heaven! Playing dress up was truly my five year old self’s passion.

Anyway, back to Ibiza. I spent the remainder of the summer there relaxing. Aside from the stint in NY, the majority of my summer was quite low key. All I did for weeks was swim, snorkel, sleep, eat, and repeat. In between there was a bit of reading, and voice noting girlfriends, but that’s about it. I wasn’t working out, keeping up with any of my morning routines or practices, or putting pressure on myself to do anything. In the height of the afternoon heat, I could often be found in a dark, lightly air conditioned room in an oversized tee watching travel/food documentaries or sex and the city reruns lol. I often felt like a cat on a Greek island just lounging in the shade. It felt so wholesome to spend my days climbing on rocks, and enjoying naked sunset swims.

As someone who is very driven by learning and growth it felt so good to just take the pressure off. To stop worrying about my to-do lists, things I want to change or accomplish, or big shifts happening in the future. To be honest I wasn’t thinking about much at all other than what I wanted to eat at my next meal and it felt damn good! I’ve struggled a lot recently with enjoying the moment I was in because I was preoccupied about what I wanted to be different or worrying about the future. It’s incredible how much energy and life force it drains from you. To just be, and enjoy was the best medicine I could have asked for this summer after an emotionally intense past two years.

I’m super fortunate that my boyfriend’s family has a house in the North of Ibiza (one of my favorite places on earth). I share this because I remember when I was younger seeing how all these people I knew were constantly traveling the world while I felt chained to my office desk without the funds or the time to travel the way they did. I remember always thinking to myself ‘how do these people do it?’ 'or ‘how do they afford to live like that?’ I’ve also gotten asked a few times on Instagram. So, for anyone wondering, I’m not rich (yet!), it’s not my house, and I work remotely. :)

On the fashion front, I don’t have so much to report because frankly I didn’t wear much. Nine times out of ten I was wearing a string bikini, a cowboy hat or headscarf and knock off Havianas I bought from a souvenir shop down the road. I prefer hats with wire in them because you can fold them and I like when they get a little f*cked up and worn in. I tend to buy a new one every summer or two because I really beat them up, and I love to keep them as mementos. I always have strong memories associated with the summer hat I wore.

It didn’t make much sense to get dressed in between ocean dips because in Ibiza in July/August you just sweat through your clothes anyway. That said, when I did get dressed I often reached for these Old Navy tanks that I discovered on sale for $5 and bought in white, black and grey. I don’t typically like to shop or promote fast fashion, but I find these to be just as good as my more expensive ones (if not better) and sometimes your money is better invested elsewhere. This Baserange tank was also a go-to for me. I have a bralette from the same brand that fits perfectly under it while still keeping the minimal, strappy look. An oversized button down made an appearance every few days, and is great for when mosquitos are out. I resurrected a black vintage La Perla dress from storage that has sort of a sexy cape vibe to it for dinners or as a cover up. I think I might have bought it from from Le Grand Strip, one of my favorite shops in Brooklyn. I could have easily gotten by the whole summer with only my knock off flip flops, but I did wear my Bode House Slippers and Portuguese grandma shoes a few times…probably mostly so I didn’t feel bad about packing so many shoes. My MNZ Olympia wedges got exactly zero use. I think heels in the summer is more of a city thing for me.

Other than that I have to say my summer MVP is headscarves and sarongs. I love buying them when traveling and bought a few new silk headscarves while in Formentara (which has amazing shopping btw). I’ve always worn a lot of headscarves and bandanas, but they really come in handy when you’re growing out a pixie. I’m really obsessed with sarongs because they do everything. It’s a skirt, it’s a scarf, it’s a head wrap, it’s a towel, it’s a dress. I could make a million outfits out of it. If I could only pack one thing for a summer vacation it would be a sarong!

Finally, closing the loop on previous posts (here and here in case you missed them), I purchased the Lido Venti bikini and Negative Underwear Cotton French Cut Brief and love them both. The bikini is less of a Brazilian cut than I usually go for, but not too conservative and the quality is really good. I ordered the small and medium as I wasn’t familiar with their sizing. Both sizes fit, but I ended up keeping the medium. The small was perfect for my follicular phase and medium for luteal phase…if you know what I mean. The underwear are super soft and exactly what I was looking for. I ordered the xs/s. I also bought a pack for my mom and she’s also a fan!

I said I had nothing to report on the fashion front and somehow have been rambling for paragraphs…god help me for my next posts where I actually do have things to report! Hopefully I’ll get better at being more concise lol.

Soon I plan to share my fall moodboard, wardrobe edits, new favorite brands, things I’m obsessing over (Pachinko!) and interests (regenerative agriculture & fashion, aguahara aka water therapy, etc.). Keep an eye out.

Thanks for reading!

xx