Earlier this week I finished reading my Summer TBR. I’m happy to report none of the books I read over the Summer were bad. Although some were better than others. Below is brief review (no spoilers) of each book.

Seven Days In June by Tia Williams

This is a second chance love type of book. Overall this was a fun read. I enjoyed the truthful depiction of young love and how messy relationships can be. I loved the characters in it and the author’s writing style. I’m not one to laugh out loud while reading, but this book had me laughing at times.

The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh

While I enjoyed reading this book, it’s not necessarily one I’d recommend. I personally just didn’t connect with it. It follows a line of women across generations and explores the impact of estrangement, blame, and generational healing.

We Were Liars by E.Lockhart

This was my favorite book I read this Summer. This book has some polarizing reviews on Good Reads but I happen to LOVE IT. I feel like it captures that teenage angst and the feeling of thinking you can get away with everything at that age. It follows a group of very privileged teens as they learn they cannot get away with everything in the most gut-wrenching way to learn that. I love the characters, the dynamic between characters, and the writing. It also takes place in Martha’s Vineyard, and the New England region is one of my favorite regions in the US so I loved reading how the author describes the scenery.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

This book follows twin sisters who are black but could pass as white. One of them chooses to pass as white and is believed to be white by everyone in her life. It follows both sisters throughout their lives, as their lives become very different. While I liked this book, and I feel like it’s an important and impactful read, I think it could have been a more powerful read.

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

This was a very close runner up to being my favorite book I read this season. It follows a woman as she escapes slavery to find her children that were sold. This is the type of book that will make you cry for sadness and joy. It was captivating from the very first page. The way the author describes the scenery felt like I was there. This was a really powerful read.

Now that I’ve finished my summer TBR I’ll be sharing my Fall TBR in the next few weeks.

Last week I shared my 11 Day NYC Itinerary. I understand most trips to NYC are not 11 days, so I wanted to share all of my favorite things we did there in case you cannot do everything we did. These are not in any particular order.

Walk The Brooklyn Bridge At Night

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge is a quintessential New York experience and I specifically recommend walking it at night. While I’m sure it’s beautiful in the day, there is something about seeing the skyline at night that feels extra magical. It’s also less crowded at night. I suggest taking the subway over to Brooklyn, then walking back to the city. This is a free experience.

Public Library

The architecture of the Public Library was breathtaking. The library itself is worth seeing, but they also have some exhibitions. I loved seeing the Winnie The Pooh Exhibition. It was interesting to learn about the stuffed animals that inspired the stories. They also had some rare books on display which felt really special to see. This is a free experience.

Top of The Rock

We really contemplated which observation deck to go to and I’m so happy we chose Top of The Rock. It’s high up enough to see the whole city but also still amongst the buildings so it gives a great perspective. I loved the direct view of Central Park and the Empire State Building. We planned it so we’d be up there at sunset. Our timing was perfect, we saw it in sunlight, sunset, and just after the sunset. If you want to be up there for sunset, book your timeslot for 30 minutes before sunset to ensure enough time to go through security and get to the top. Despite the crowds, it still felt romantic. There is no restriction to how much time you spend up there.

Broadway Show

My husband and I are not Broadway people so this one surprises me. Broadway Shows are synonymous with New York so we felt like we had to go to one and we ended up loving the experience. I definitely want to go back to see another Broadway show someday.

The MET

We went to a few museums while we were there and the MET was definitely my favorite. I’ve been lucky enough to have been to most of the most famous art museums in the world and I have to say all of them could really learn something from how the MET displays art. The Egyptian art section blew me away. I loved that they showed the original parts and distinguished the parts that have been replaced. They also used projectors to show what the hieroglyphics would have looked like in the original state. On the day we went to the MET we spent most of the day there and still just scratched the surface. Make sure you have a game plan before going. Pick the exhibits you want to see most and go to those first to ensure you see everything you want to.

If you follow me on Instagram or TikTok, then you already know my husband and I recently got back from an 11 day trip to NYC. We had an absolute blast. We got a few reactions from people wondering why we spent so long there, and that’s because we handle big cities well, and we didn’t want to come home feeling like we didn’t experience everything we wanted to (spoiler alert: we still have things we’d love to do there). NYC is a destination that feels more like travel than a vacation (and while I’d never recommend it if you are looking to get away to relax) going at a slower pace felt more relaxing. Below is our 11 day itinerary. I’m excluding food from this because I plan to do a separate blog post dedicated to the best places we ate at. I’m also planning on doing a blog post about where we stayed and how I choose our accommodation. I understand not everyone has 11 days to spend in the city, so I will be sharing a separate post on my favorite things to do there if you want a more condensed version.

Day 1

We flew in the day before, checked into our hotel, got some dinner, and hit the bed to rest up for our first day in NYC. We started our day off shopping in Bergdorf’s. If you don’t know anything about Bergdorf’s there is a documentary called Spread My Ashes At Bergdorf’s that I highly recommend if you are interested in NYC history or fashion. Bergdorf’s is like the USA version of Harrods; even if you don’t want to buy anything, it’s still fun to wonder around and take in the opulence. I did hit up the Dior and Chanel makeup counters and the staff were so nice and helpful. I didn’t get snooty vibes from the staff there. We then headed to Central Park and did a self guided walking tour of the park. There are tons of resources online that map out the park and the best spots to see. We went through some of these resources and created our own map on google maps with pins on everything we wanted to see.

Day 2

We spent our morning exploring Little Italy and Chinatown. These areas really blend in as one, so if you want to see one, you might as well see both. We then headed to Dumbo which is an amazing neighborhood in Brooklyn. There are lots of great shops to check out and incredible views of the city. There are some beautiful parks along the water that are perfect to sit at, relax, and take in the NYC skyline. We checked out some of the iconic spots, enjoyed views of the city, had dinner on a vintage sail boat, and walked the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan.

Day 3

We got a late start on this day so we didn’t do a ton. You could definitely fit this into a half day. We went to the New York Public Library and soaked in the stunning architecture. The Public Library is really like a museum. They had an exhibit on Winnie the Pooh which was really well done, and touching to see. Afterwards we walked around Bryant Park. I’m really into architecture, and it has always been a dream of mine to see the American Radiator Building which is in Bryant Park. It’s definitely my favorite skyscraper in the city. I love the combination of the black building with gold detailing.

Day 4

We spent this day on a Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tour. Out of all the things we did this was one of only a couple of things I would say to skip if you don’t have a lot of time in the city. It was cool to see the Statue of Liberty up close, but the Statue of Liberty museum was underwhelming. Ellis Island was really interesting and I did enjoyed it BUT we spent about 2.5 hours seeing the Statue of Liberty and exploring Ellis Island museum, and almost 4 hours waiting in line for ferries. Ultimately I’m glad we did it, but I’m also glad I will never be doing that again. Make sure you dedicate an entire day for this. Also make sure you do this one day with good weather because you will be waiting in line for the ferries outside.

Day 5

We actually spent most of this day out of the city visiting one of my husband’s friends and his family that live in NJ. I think if we didn’t go into NJ on this day, we would have gone to the Morgan Library which is one of the few things we didn’t get around to doing, but also something we didn’t have our heart set on doing. If you are looking for a day to get out of the city Coney Island would be a good option. Once we got back into the city we went to Top of The Rock which I HIGHLY recommend. There are several observation spots in the city but I chose this one because you get a view of downtown and Central Park. I also liked the perspective of being high up but still feeling amongst the buildings. Some of the other observation decks are so high that everything will look small. I’m scared of heights and I did feel uneasy for the first 10 minutes but got used to it. It was really romantic being up there at sunset.

Day 6

We spent our morning at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The memorial was really moving and well done. The museum kind of rubbed me the wrong way, with the ticket price and gift shop. I understand it is expensive to operate but I really hope they are not profiting from a tragedy. The museum had sections with warnings before you entered certain areas because there were some graphic images. I don’t suggest bringing children to the museum. If you have limited time and you can’t do both, I would suggest skipping the museum but see the memorial. Afterwards we headed to Wall Street before shopping in Soho. New York is a fashion capital and has great shopping everywhere but I chose to shop in Soho because it had all the stores I wanted to go to in one area. We went to Sézane, Chanel, Alaia, Never Fully Dressed, and Mulberry. I’m a Sex and the City fan so I just had to stop at the apartment used for exterior shots of Carrie Bradhshaw’s apartment while we were in Soho.

Day 7

We started our Day at Ralph’s coffee which is in the Ralph Lauren flagship store. One of the few things I regret not doing is spending some time in the Ralph Lauren flagship store. It’s beautiful inside, and I’m a fan of the brand. We spent almost all of our day at the MET. Despite spending almost all day there, we still felt like we just scratched the surface. My favorite exhibits were the Egyptian and Dutch sections. I suggest picking a few exhibits to see and know that you won’t see the entire museum in a day. After the MET, we stopped at Dior, Apple, and the Nintendo store on our way back to the hotel.

Day 8

We started our day off walking the highline. I loved seeing the city from the highline, it offered a different perspective and I loved the architecture in this area. This was one of the hottest days we were there so we sought shelter from the heat and spent a few hours hanging out in an arcade. We ended our day with our first Broadway show. We saw the Book of Mormon and it lived up to the hype. Neither my husband nor I would ever consider ourselves Broadway people, but we had so much fun and we’d love to see another Broadway show in New York someday. Even if you are not into Broadway I highly recommend seeing at least one show.

Day 9

This day was also one of the hottest days we were there so we spent most of the day inside at the Natural History Museum. Similar to the Met, I feel like we spent a good chunk of the day there but only scratched the surface. We stopped at a bakery after for a sweet treat which hit the spot on a hot day after being on our feet all day.

Day 10

By this day were were feeling pretty tired. It was also our third wedding anniversary so we slept in and had a slower pace day. This entire day surrounded food so there’s not much to share since I’ll be going into detail on both places in another blog post but we went to Katz’s Deli for lunch, walked around Soho a little (which might be my favorite neighborhood in the city hence why we went there multiple times) and went to Eleven Maddison Park for dinner.

Day 11

This day also almost entirely surrounded food so there’s not much to share in this post since I’ll be sharing a separate post dedicated to my favorite places we ate at. Were were lucky enough to score reservations at the Blue Box Café and have breakfast at Tiffany’s, which is a dream come true for me. If you’re an Audrey Hepburn fan, the Tiffany’s flagship store is a must-see. Even if you can’t get into the Blue Box Café, they had a Breakfast at Tiffany’s display with images of Audrey Hepburn, the iconic Givenchy dress, and the original book and manuscript. This was our last day in New York so after our breakfast and exploring the flagship store we headed to the airport.

Tips

Central Park is huge, so while you can dedicate almost an entire day to it like we did, you can also easily dedicate just a couple of hours to it and just pick 2 or 3 spots to see.

Out of all the places we went to, Little Italy and Chinatown were the only areas that I felt kind of unsafe. I don’t know if it is actually unsafe in those areas, or if it is because it was just extremely crowded and chaotic that made it feel unsafe. Like any large city, just be aware of your surroundings, and what is on you.

If you want to carry a nice handbag with you in the city, for the most part it’s safe to do so but I suggest bringing an empty tote bag along with you. If you ever feel like you are in a bad area just pop your handbag into the tote to be more discrete. It also comes in handy to carry an empty tote in case you do some shopping and don’t want to purchase a bag.

There are some scams surrounding Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tours so make sure you buy your tickets through Statue City Cruises. It’s part of the National Parks Services so if you have a park pass you might be able to use it for this but check their website in advance.

We went in August and there were a few days that were pretty hot. We planned every day the day before based on weather. I suggest doing that if you are going in the summer or winter. Nothing sold out this time of year so we had a lot of flexibility to get tickets for things the day before or even the day of.

If you do Top of the Rock, or any other observation deck I suggest booking your time slot about 30 minutes before sunset. This will give you time to go through security and get to the top. This is one of the few things I bought tickets for in advance to ensure we got the time slot we wanted.

You can get a city pass that includes some of the things we did. For us, it worked out to be about the same price as buying tickets for everything separately. The city pass can only be used for a certain amount of days. Since we were there for a longer period of time than the city pass would cover, and we wouldn’t do everything the city pass included, it wouldn’t have saved us money, and we wanted a flexible schedule so we opted to not get it but it might be worth looking into.

We took the subway most places which was cheap and easy to use. Despite relying on public transportation we still walked about 20-25k steps a day so be prepared to walk a lot and pack comfortable shoes.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Sunscreen While I make an effort to wear sunscreen all year, I’m more religious about it in the Summer months. As a Coloradan it’s particularly important to be conscious of sun protection. I try to put sunscreen on every part of my body that is exposed to direct sunlight every time I leave the house. I like this Neutrogena sunscreen because it’s comfortable to wear on a daily basis and doesn’t have a very strong sent.

Roomba This has been a game changer in our house. I used to have a heavy Dyson vacuum that was difficult for me to carry up and down the stairs so we replaced it with Roomba. We originally got the less expensive model but exchanged it for this one. I like this model because it can map multiple floors. This is a must have if you have pets or kids.

Oxford Shirt I’ve been really into wearing oxford shirts this season. I wear them with the sleeves rolled up and tucked into jeans, or I style them open over a tank. They’re light and breathable enough I can wear them on hot days. I like to have my shoulders covered because even with sunscreen on, I’m really prone to burning on my shoulders. I also have a CGM in my arm that can get uncomfortable when in direct sunlight all day so I’m always trying to find ways to keep my arms covered in the summer without getting hot. This shirt is in the men’s department but I regularly shop in the men’s department at Ralph Lauren because the sizing in the women’s section is really hit and miss, and most of the clothes I buy there (like oxford shirts) look good oversized.

We Were Liars by e. Lockhart This is one of the best books I’ve read all year. I don’t want to give anything away, but it perfectly captured self righteous teenage angst, and that teenage feeling of thinking you can get away with everything. This perfectly captured the very harsh reality of learning you cannot get away with everything, and that there are very real consequences. I loved the characters, the dynamic between characters, the writing, and descriptions. Plus it took place in New England which is one of my favorite regions in the world.

Chanel Lipstick Shade Flirty Coral This is a newer purchase for me, but I’ve been wearing it every time I wear makeup since I bought it. It’s the most beautiful, subtle coral color that I think would look good on most skin tones. I love the way it wears because it doesn’t get blotchy, it fades away.

I know that Fall is nearing, but Summer is not quite over and neither is backyard BBQ season. I love to enjoy BBQ all year but it feels synonymous with Summer. I’m savoring BBQ season while it’s still here. Below are my favorite recipes for your next backyard BBQ, whether you are hosting or bringing something for your friends and family to enjoy.

Mains

Photo from Taste of Artisan

Smoked Chicken Breast

This smoked chicken breast recipe takes more prep time than most recipes but I promise it is worth it. It’s truly the best chicken breast I’ve had. All of the main recipes I’m sharing are for smokers but can be modified for a traditional grill.

Photo from Learning to Smoke

Smoked Buttery Shrimp

Smoked shrimp is very underrated in my opinion. It’s one of the fastest and easiest recipes to make on a smoker and it’s a great option if you want a lighter main.

Photo from Serious Eats

Smoked Ribs

We made these ribs for the 4th of July and I’m still not over how incredible they were. They were by far the best ribs I’ve ever had and I can’t wait to make them again. You can by coffee rub from most grocery stores by I strongly suggest making it yourself. Most store bought rubs have too much salt in them, and you’ll get a better flavor by using freshly ground coffee.

Sides

Photo from Garnish with Lemon

Grilled Corn Salad

This corn salad pairs well with almost every BBQ food. The tomato and cherry tomatoes taste so fresh, while the mozzarella and avocado add the perfect amount of creaminess to the salad.

Photo from Spoon Fork Bacon

Jalapeño and Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits

Any sort of bread pairs well with BBQ food, especially any main that you want to soak up the juices from. I love these biscuits because they’re good on their own or used as a vessel to soak up juices.

Photo from Feasting at Home

Watermelon Salad

This salad is perfect for BBQ food because it brings something light and fresh to the table. I think it pairs particularly well with ribs or brisket.

Desserts

Photo from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Banana Cream Pie

In my opinion, every type of pie goes well with BBQ but banana cream pie is my favorite type of pie.

Photo from Brown Eyed Baker

No Bake Banana Split Dessert

This is something I make almost every year. It’s a great twist on a classic dessert. You make it in a 9×13 baking dish so it’s perfect to feed a larger group. I also love that it’s a no bake dessert.

Photo from GMA

S’mores are one of my favorite desserts so naturally I love this recipe. Claire Saffitz never steers me wrong. I love that most of this can be, and should be made in advance.

Over the last couple of years I have developed a few ice cream recipes that I love, but this one might be my favorite. Lavender is a flavor that either you love it or hate it. I happen to love it. If it’s done correctly it has a refreshing floral taste, and it’s not soapy tasting. Below is my lavender ice cream recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp lavender extract

4 egg yolks

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp dried lavender

Instructions

Freeze your ice cream machine components if they need to be frozen in advance.

Pour milk, cream, and lavender extract into a saucepan and bring to a simmer on low/medium heat. Stir continuously to prevent the milk from burning on the bottom and a film from forming on top.

While the milk mixture comes to a simmer, use a stand mixer to beat together the egg yolks and sugar. This will take a few minutes and will result in a pale yellow color and airy texture.

Once the milk mixture comes to a simmer, add one ladle of it at a time to the egg mixture while the stand mixture continues to run on a low setting. Once half of it has been added to the egg mixture, pour the rest in and mix until fully combined.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat on low/medium until it reaches 170 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once it has reached temperature, pour it into a heat proof bowl through a fine-mesh strainer.

Let it cool until it reaches room temperature then cover it with plastic wrap (make sure the plastic wrap is in direct contact with the mixture to prevent a film from forming on top). Then refrigerate it for a least 4 hours.

Follow your ice cream manufacturer’s instructions for freezing. Add the dried lavender as it is churning.

This is particularly delicious topped with honeycomb!