They say it’s not how you start, but how you finish – right? Well I started the Summer slowly and not feeling my 100% best. And now, I’m using these last final few weeks to begin setting strong intentions for the season ahead. Which means I’m looking forward instead of back (well, unless it’s over my shoulder at the cute back of this sports bra – that’s totally allowed).
While I can’t go back and change all those days I overslept and didn’t go running back in June, I sure as heck can end this season with a new commitment to myself and my workout routine. That means making the most of these last long, sun-filled days with runs along the water, quick strength-training sessions before I’m off to work and maybe throwing in a swim or a fun work-out class depending where I’m at this Labor Day weekend.
If you’re looking to finish summer strong too (and get a jumpstart on those Fall intentions!) – you can get 15% off Prana with code:ESJSF18. I got my first pair of prAna leggings last year and the quality/fit/feel of them is incredible (not the mention the fact that they’re all made with a commitment to sustainability). And if you need even more motivation that these photos – they made an incredible brand video showcasing three female surfers in the Middle East. I love when brand’s highlight inspiring women – the world needs to see ’em!
There’s just something about this time of year (when you first start to feel a crispness in the air) that always makes me crave tortoiseshell – so I was thrilled to see that it seems to be popping up everywhere this year. From lightweight statement earrings, (on sale right now!) to chic little pointed toe flatsand mod-inspired bags. They feel impossibly chic and even a little bookish… maybe it’s the mental association to tortoiseshell glasses? Regardless it reminds me of something fit for Diane Keaton in Annie Hall or Meg Ryan in the When Harry Met Sally (the image above is from one of my all time favorite New York movie scenes).
Suddenly, it feels like we’ve hit fast-forward to the end of summer and this is the last time I’ll be wearing this type of outfit for awhile. It’s always bittersweet isn’t it? Perhaps even more so when I feel like I didn’t even get a chance to really take a proper vacation this Summer. But the postcard print on this dress almost made me feel like I did. And this little stretch of New York, all secret alleys and white picket fences certainly feel transportive. Let’s consider it a Summer staycation.
SHOP THE STORY:
At least I’m headed off to the lake this weekend to soak up the last of summer’s boat rides, tan lines and flamingo floats. And then, I’ll do my best to say goodbye to this season and get ready for the next. Is it too soon to say the “F” word? I honestly love Fall just as much as Summer (especially clothing-wise), but the thought of the season after that makes me shiver even on an August day. Is anyone else as strongly tied emotionally to seasons? I think it’s why I didn’t like Los Angeles life as much as so many others do. I like the wave of change every few months – whether or not I’m ready for it. Here it comes.
Believe it or not (and I’m firmly in the camp of denial), there are only a few weekends of true, pre-Labor Day summer left. How that happened is always a mind boggling question – but if you are anything like me, you intend to soak them up. One of my favorite weekends of the Summer was the one that Adam and I spent road-tripping out to Montauk (at the very end of the Hamptons). Since I never got around to sharing some of our favorite spots from that trip I figured I would do it now – while you still have time to get out there!
SHOP THE STORY:
GETTING THERE:
There are a few ways to get all the way out to the ‘End of the World’ as Montauk is lovingly nicknamed by us New Yorkers – but we chose to drive. It’s our preferred mode of transport (Adam loves to drive in a way that few people I’ve ever met do) and I love the convenience of being able to pack 2 books and 3 pairs of shoes and not worrying about the weight of schlepping them. Win, win. If you don’t have the luxury of a car and don’t want to rent one, there’s the Hampton Jitney bus or the train. Weekend tickets tend to book up so buy ahead and if you’re driving I suggest leaving bright and early. We did so and avoided almost all traffic, making it from Manhattan to Montauk in about 2.5 hours.
WHAT TO DO:
When we plan a day trip we like to make a pretty good plan of attack (there is less of a luxury of ‘wandering’ the way we do on longer trips) so we went straight to the very end of Montauk first and then worked our way inland throughout the day so that by the end, we were already pointed out of town. First up was Montauk Lighthouse in Montauk Point State Park which was a complete gem of a spot. We didn’t bother going up to the lighthouse itself because we were there for the views and the rocky coastline. We ended up having the beach nearly to ourselves and wandered along the rocks in the morning sun. Well worth the $8 parking lot fee.
Later in the day we made a pit stop at Gurney’s Montauk (as I described in this post). It’s a little more of a “scene” than our style (for example: the parking lot was full of fancy, shiny cars and when the young valet kid brought around Adam’s loud af Subaru with no front bumper, grinding the gears because he clearly had no idea how to drive a race car – we both just burst into laughter. Like how did they even let us into this place?! We tipped him nicely for trying his best and left the place in our usual cloud of smoke.) – but if you’re looking for a glam place with a beachside bar to relax and hang with friends this is it. You can rent a cabana to yourselves to gain access to their beachfront without actually staying at the resort.
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK:
The Lobster Roll back on the main road into town is a true, East Coast family-run seafood joint serving up no frills fare and the lobster rolls did not disappoint. Worth the line outside for sure. For dinner/drinks/music the ultimate Montauk scene lives at the Surf Lodge. Regrettably the place was completely booked and we couldn’t get in even to the bar without having had a dinner reservation. Learn from our mistake and book ahead. Our back-up was to head over the Montauk Brewing Company, because it has all of their homegrown beers on tap, obviously, but also because it had a backyard style hang-out area that offered some shade.
Any other favorites in Montauk? I’d love to get back out there in the remaining weeks of Summer or early Fall!
And we’re back with another chapter of my #SteeleMaidenBookClub (and what is quickly becoming one of the posts I look forward to the most each month). In July I really switched up the type of books I was reading (you can see last month’s here), from my standard, go-to fiction, to a more diverse range. And I was thrilled with the results. Below, my thoughts on July’s reading + what I’ve got on my shelf for August. Hope you’ll find something here you might like too!
The Woman in the Window by A.J.Finn: Without giving anything away – the story is set in New York and centers on a woman who has a fear of leaving the house so she spends her days watching her neighbors through the window. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a thriller (I guess there was Gone Girl a few years ago, but aside from that it’s probably been a decade) and this one didn’t disappoint. Although I must really be out of practice at reading thrillers because my co-worker read this in the weeks after I did and totally guessed one of the major plot twists that I hadn’t suspected. Alas. Either way it was a quick, edge of my seat read that I really enjoyed. Not surprisingly, it’s going to be made into a movie. Do yourself a favor and read the book first.
Motherhood by Shelia Heti: Where do I start with this one? It was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It follows a loose storyline but is essentially just a stream of conscious, honest account of a 30-something year old woman thinking about her decision whether or not to have children. If you’ve wanted to be a mother since you were 5 years old or already are one.. this honestly might not be for you. But if you are a woman, who even once in her life has had the fleeting (or reoccurring) thought ‘I’m not sure if I’d be a great mother’, ‘I’m not sure if I really want to have kids’, ‘I’m not sure if kids would fit into the life I had dreamed for myself’, ‘I’m not sure if I want to have kids with my current partner’ etc. etc. – then I think this would really hit home.
I didn’t agree with everything here, but I don’t think that’s the point. The point is that for most of my life I’ve rarely heard women brave enough to say ‘I’m not sure if motherhood is for me’. I know a few who spoke about it being a firm no and almost all of the rest who seemed to follow the same societal script of ‘I can’t wait to get married and have kids’. Neither is right or wrong – but that grey area? It doesn’t get discussed as often as I think it should. Below, a few of the passages that I found particularly striking (and then I’ll move on):
“I don’t want to make somebody else. I want to make myself.”
“Being a woman, you can’t just say you don’t want a child. You have to have some big plan or idea of what you’re going to do instead. And it better be something great. And you had better be able to tell it convincingly – before it even happens – what the arc of your life will be.”
“It suddenly seemed like a huge conspiracy to keep women in their thirties – when you finally have some brains and some skills and experience – from doing anything useful with them at all.”
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain: This was a tough one. Not because I didn’t love it (I really, really loved it), but because I think I was secretly searching each page for an answer as to why his life would end the way it did. Anthony Bourdain is someone I always greatly respected and admired, and this book only cemented that. He was a man that lived really fully and wasn’t afraid to make mistakes or start over. I like a person that I think would have my back in a bar fight and he would certainly be one of those people. Aside from all of that, this book is sort of a exposé on all things in New York kitchens. It’s hilarious, humbling and at times heartbreaking. I finished the book with such an respect for the people who make a living in a kitchen, but not all the answers. Aside from the fact that sometimes it seems, even the best of us can get lost along the way. I only wish someone had been there to have his back in the fight.
SHOP THIS MONTH’S BOOK CLUB:
For this upcoming month I’m sticking with a variety of types of books since I loved the results of that in July so much. I’ve got Mrs. Fletcher (a romp of a read apparently), Station Eleven (YA fiction set in the aftermath of an apocalypse), The Female Persuasion (a very-buzzy current fiction pick that I’m excited to dive into about female relationships between mentors, friends, bosses, etc.) and Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography) on my shelf for August. Feel free to read along with me!
