June 2024
Ronnie is a dad and we celebrated his first father’s day in New Buffalo! Lauren is a bride and we celebrated her bachelorette DT Chicago! I am exhausted, and celebrated the first and final weekends of June at home napping, bingeing comedy specials, and cooking up a storm.
Today’s article is all about Jun 2024 — Content, Recipes, and New Obsessions that you gotttttaaaa know about. I hope you enjoy!
Content I loved in June
I read the book You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. There were soooo many BIG feelings and ideas. My notes doc is SO full on this one. I think I will write it in a separate post because it would be too much to share all of it in this one. Here is the main idea that offers a through line for the whole book:
We are the only thinkers in our minds. When we create peace and harmony and balance in our minds, we feel it in our lives. the life you live right now was created by the thoughts you believed in the past. You have the ability to change your thoughts, and therefore, change your life.
I watched Jo Koy’s new standup special, Live from Brooklyn — I fn love him. I laughed so hard. I actually forgot, until I started watching it, that Ronnie and I actually saw him work on this content live when we saw him at the United Center about a year ago… Jo Koy is always a good idea. He has a few specials on Netflix now, so if you love comedy, you should watch this one, and this one, and this one too. Mahal Kita, Jokoy!
I revisited this conversation with Vanessa Pham (from the ManifestHer podcast!) after Omsom was acquired by DayDayCook, it was a good reminder of how far I’ve come and also how fast you can build a company for acquisition when you have a clear vision, a great team, and most importantly an excellent product, for context, this interview was from 2020 and Omsom was less than a year old. It’s 2024 now and they’re acquired.
What I made / ate in June
Tasha taught me how to make Ceviche, I remixed it (on accident) and the remix is my new weekly staple - so fresh and delicious for the hot summer months
Another crowd-pleaser for the hot summer months, my mom’s orzo is always ready-made in my fridge (Ronnie’s love language) from Jun-Aug
This Alison Roman Carrot Cake will blow your mind
So will this Blueberry Pie if you need something lovely to bring to a party or bbq!
Last, these cookies are a go-to for any bbq or summer pool / grilling party that I get an invite to
Products/Services/Retailers I’m obsessing over in June
I finally got Pinched (2x in one month! Botox and an IV). You guys, this is a game-changer for the busy mom that doesn’t have time to commute to get botox. Pinch is the concierge medspa that comes to you (like Uber for Botox). Lauren and I had the founder of Pinch on the pod a while back but I was preggers and couldn’t get tox. Use code STEF15 for 15% off your first service (they have tox, filler, IVs and peels).
Opal rings finally opened up their waitlist! I think I was first in line. They’re the (female-founded) personal safety jewelry company we sat down with on Allowlist a while back. They have stunning rings that you wear on your finger, that are really a disguised personal safety device. End up in a stick situation, activate the ring and 911 will be alerted. I go on long walks in nature with Charlie all the time, there have been times where I passed some really seedy looking characters and thought to myself “Who knows that I am here?” and “If I had to defend us right now, what could I use as a weapon?” I know that’s kind of a crazy thought, but I am a mama bear now! Opal is going to be on my finger ANY time I am headed for a walk alone, with Charlie or even with a friend, safety first, ladies! Sign up for their waitlist now and get $100 off your ring when the start shipping this fall.
Back the Bug Off is the only bug spray I use, we’ve been using it for years, it smells great and it’s all natural ingredients that you can pronounce and know exactly what they are. I get it at the Farmer’s Market in New Buffalo, but the guy there finally sells it online! Ronnie has super sensitive skin and this is the only product that we trust to put on him.
These bite-sized ice cream cookie sandwiches are next level good. I started working with a trainer in June who has me lifting weights, tracking macros, counting steps, and submitting…. wait for it…. body before and after pics each week along with a journal of how the week went, which I get in trouble if I don’t send. The accountability here is so good. I’ve lost ~7 lbs since we started working together and every week I’m hitting new PRs on the weights. These bite-sized ice cream cookie sandwiches are so great because they’re delicious and they don’t do too much damage. IMO - Get the cookie monster chomps.
Tasha, my best friend and biggest hater, finally gave me enough shit that I got a food processor. I CAN’T BELIEVE I NEVER HAD ONE OF THESE BEFORE. What was I thinking?!?!? If you like cooking with me, and you don’t have one already, you gotta one. This is my new love language. Chop literally everything in a fraction of the time. Insanity. What have I been doing with my life?
I haven’t used this yet, but I discovered it in June, and I think it will be what I get for Ronnie for Xmas — Freestyle Vinyl allows you to create a mixtape with a custom cover and have it put on a record! I create playlists every time we travel based on the music that we heard and enjoyed while we were in that city… I think I am going to gift him like 4 or so albums with mixtapes from our favorite trips with custom covers that have pics from those trips. Then, when we’re cooking or having friends over and we get the record player going, we will have a curated playlist and vibe that sends us back to the memories of those trips. Have any of you used this service? Did they do a good job? LMK!
