Something that I genuinely enjoy even though it’s universally considered to be a terrible invasion of privacy is targeted advertising on social media. I find it absolutely fascinating, what social media thinks that I am interested in. I mean, usually they are correct; my advertising tends towards yoga gear and Peloton and plant-based foods, and sometimes they will have clothing that is “tailored for the mature woman.” After a private chat with my dear friends Hannah and Allison (HI HANNAH HI ALLISON) about old-fashioned candy, I had a lot of candy advertising.
Recently I wrote about clothing and trends and high waisted shorts, and so I was given this gift of an advertisement:
Let us just imagine, for one moment, dear readers, that it is summer and we are wearing these shorts whilst sitting on a vinyl or leather seat, or perhaps getting into the car on a hot summer’s day. Let us just imagine unsticking ourselves from such seats. Let us just imagine wearing these to the grocery store, or to a casual barbeque, or maybe just for a walk around the neighbourhood. What a gift to the world these shorts are.
Also, what a gift that those shorts are beside a perfectly normal floral dress. This might be my favourite advertisement of all time.
On that note: it’s that time again!
Nicole’s Favourite Things: The Summer Solstice Edition
Yes, we are a few days away from Solstice, but today is the Full Moon, so I’m FULL of energy! Because although I am a woman who has two degrees in economics, a strong belief in science, and is a grounded Taurus, I also have that hippie I can feel the moon’s energy vibe. What can I say, I’m a fun dichotomy.
If Anyone Needs Me, I’ll Be In My Garden
It would be hard to overstate how happy my garden makes me. If I lived in a place where the growing season was longer than three or four months, I’d probably be constantly spinning around like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music.
Right now my Siberian irises are in full bloom, my columbines have started to bloom, and I have harvested some teeny-tiny radishes, kale, and lettuce.
Lesson for next year: plant MORE kale and lettuce, because they grow really well in our climate. The green pepper, well. Not so well. See that little stick? That’s my green pepper plant. I don’t know WHAT happened; the red pepper right beside it is doing fine.
Don’t you love those little labels?
I harvested kale to make this salad for a hiking day with my dear friend Janet (HI JANET). Later my husband asked if I enjoyed my $400 salad. I sure did! This garden is really paying off!
Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy
This is SUCH a great time for berries and cherries; although they don’t reliably grow here, they’re growing somewhere, and I love it. Strawberries in particular are really good right now, and cherries are starting to make their appearance in the grocery store.
Oh My God Becky, Look At Her Butt.
Feet Don’t Fail Me Now
It’s no-sock season! I swear one of the greatest things about summer is not having to put on a ton of layers to go outside, and to just slip on a pair of shoes or sandals without socks involved. However, summer can be a bit hard on the feet in terms of dryness and callouses. I’ve definitely mentioned this before but O’Keefe’s Healthy Feet is really great for cracked heels and dry skin, and it has a nice minty scent as well.
Since mid-January, I have been getting pedicures from a woman who opened her little shop just up the street from me in – get this – November 2020. Essentially as soon as she opened, she was shut down, and she was reopened only to be shut down again. So, in the interest in supporting local business and also having pretty feet, I have been getting pedicures done, but in between times, to maintain softness, I’ve been using Rocky Mountain Body Butter on my feet.
I like the lemongrass scent for summer, and the vanilla coconut for other seasons, because I am a princess who likes choices. If you, like me, kind of hate applying thick foot cream with your hands, this is the product for you! It’s like using a deodorant stick on your feet! Just be sure to put on socks afterwards, so as to not a) slip and fall on your floor, and b) leave greasy footprints on the floor. Ask me how I know this!
Sunshine On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy.
In the summer I generally wear a lot of sleeveless tank tops, and I spend as much time as possible outside, and so sunscreen on my shoulders is a must. I love Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen, mostly because the coconut scent brings me back to winter vacations in non-pandemic times. Also, it’s not a heavy, sticky sunscreen, and it is moisturizing.
Great For Showers, Weird For Dishes
This has nothing to do with Summer Solstice, but it is a recent discovery. A while back Suzanne (HI SUZANNE) mentioned Dawn Powerwash, and Gigi (HI GIGI) chimed in by saying the product is really good for cleaning shower doors. You had me at shower doors, Gigi.
We have such hard water here, and so the shower doors always have hard water deposits, along with, of course, soap scum. I bought a bottle and people, it is pretty amazing. I couldn’t believe how well it works! It is supposed to be used to wash dishes, but I find it kind of bizarre: spray the product on dirty dishes, wipe off the dishes, rinse the dishes. It seems like way more work to wash dishes that way than, you know, in a sink, but I am not here to judge your dishwashing methodology. I am here to tell you that Gigi was right, it is amazing in the shower. Plus, since it’s a dish soap, it doesn’t have that crazy toxic feel that a lot of bathroom cleaners have.
Those are all my favourite things this month; what are yours? xo
We are having an unusually long local strawberry season this year and I’m loving that. Four to five weeks is normal, six is long, and we’ve had them seven weeks now. And peaches are just coming into season, and apricots, and plums, and sour cherries, and sweet cherries. Such bounty at the farmers’ market… Oh, and we had our first garden cherry tomato yesterday. Beth cut it in half so we could both have a bite.
I also like that we’re still having stretches of pleasantly mild weather between the hot days and I CAN wear jeans and socks sometimes.
It’s just such a great time of year for fruit! I have tiny flowers on my tomato plants, so I’m excited for that harvest.
I’m always on the lookout for an oil-free sunscreen. I’ll see if I can find the one you mention. As for unwanted ads after writing something online, I consider them entertainment… as yours show. Great garden photos, too. You’ve got it going on.
Those ads are just so funny! I mean, sometimes they are spot on. But sometimes, they are just so hilarious.
When you mentioned that you don’t like putting foot cream on with your hands, I felt deeply understood. I’ve never talked about this with anyone, but …deep breath…I have a real aversion to lotion application because I dislike the feeling on my hands. This was a brilliant suggestion.
Foot cream is just so thick and sticky! I don’t mind doing it once a week or two, but I can’t do it every day. This stuff is really nice – but it’s more of a “maintenance” cream than a “rescue my feet” cream. If I need “rescue my feet” I use the O’Keefe’s. BUT IT IS SO THICK.
Oh those shorts. Truly, as you say, a gift.
The hands-free foot lotion is genius, because I AM a little squicked out by feet.
The sunscreen recommendation was VERY TIMELY because I am shopping for that RIGHT NOW.
I love it – it is very scented, but I like the scent. I am not a person who likes that thick feeling cream, and this stuff is perfect.
HI NICOLE! I’m glad it worked for you! I only tried it on a spot – I really need to go after that shower door with a vengeance.
Cherries are in season here and I am in heaven! The Husband brought home a batch the other day and they are already almost gone – he will be dispatched to find more very soon.
It was a genius recommendation! Thank you!
I just found 9 Elements All Purpose Cleaner. It’s basically vinegar, water softener and lemons and it’s MAGIC at cleaning hard water off the glass shower doors and metal. Not quite as amazing on the fiberglass bottom of the shower stall, but the 15 year old enclosure has been given a new lease on life.
THIS IS INCREDIBLE INFORMATION! Okay, I will definitely look for that. I don’t mind having separate cleaners for separate parts of the shower, it’s the doors that drive me crazy!
Oh man those shorts!!?? Really – just why? You mentioned an ad after a ‘private conversation’. This has me puzzled. We recently stood in our master bathroom with a contractor to discuss hiring & redoing the whole thing ‘ yes this includes a new shower (exciting). The next time I sat at my laptop there was an ad for some type of shower. How does this even happen- we don’t have Alexa or anything?? I’ll have to buy that shower glass product now as I think the new design will have a lot of glass. I will definitely not remember this post in a few months.
You are a fun dichotomy; I think you can wear the sliced up shorts one day and the floral dress the next! Can you imagine if you paired the sliced up shorts with some nice old fashioned GRANNY PANTIES? How fun would that be?
I think the green pepper bullied the red pepper; that can be the only explanation.
Laughing my ass off at the $400 salad!
*Becky’s Butt* LOL
I need the Rocky Mountain Butter!
I love, love, LOVE the Hawaiian Tropic SPF lotion. It is my fave. I keep it in the door pocket of my vehicles and in my bathroom. Do you also apply SPF to the tops of your hands? I do this whenever I’m driving.
LOLOLOL those red peppers are total bullies! Hmmm, maybe that should be my look of the summer, grannie panties and shorts!
Your garden is a thing of beauty!
And those shorts are amazing. How do I get to be the recipient of targeted ads like that?!
Aren’t they a gift???
Such a great post. Those shorts are TOO funny. I agree, to be advertised alongside that regular and pretty dress? – What on earth.
The $400 salad cracked me up. That looks like a lot of work, so glad you enjoy it.
I walked late last night because it rained in the morning and afterward I noticed how sore my feet were. Like my skin felt like it was about to crack. I need to order some of these products you mention. The foot cream that need-not-be-touched reminds me of when my friend Becky (also babysits) pulled a small spatula looking item from the diaper bag of the woman she sits for. It was to apply diaper cream without having to get it on your hands. We died laughing.
I also need to order this magic stuff for cleaning shower doors. Fingers crossed that it is life changing as it sounds.
I have no new products to share, but I have discovered the Chicka Boom popcorn after your suggestion. Addicted.
I totally understand your friend Becky, diaper cream is so sticky on the hands!
Haha, I work in digital marketing so I basically make my living from those ads. Since I know how to sausage is made, I don’t really mind the targeted ads—mostly, they make me laugh because my search history is WILD with some of the stuff I have to search about for work. I still don’t understand how I get targeted ads for stuff I didn’t actually Google, just had a conversation about, but our phones hear everything, I guess! Those shorts are something, though.
Your garden is so lovely! And your $400 salad looked very yummy, haha.
My pedicurist told me I have a lot of cuts on the bottom of my foot from dry skin so I bought the O’Keefe’s stuff last week to try to moisturize them. I haven’t been very good about putting it on as much as I should, so I can’t report how it works just yet! But looks like I picked well, for someone who doesn’t know anything about foot creams. 🙂
I hope the cream works for you! I have used it in the dead of winter, with all the dryness, and it worked like a charm.
I really do love those ads, they crack me up!
I love all your suggestions as well. My daughter hates lotion so a stick might work for her! I also love the smell of Coppertone sunscreen – the best. I just showed my husband and teen those shorts and my husband asked, ‘how would you wear sunscreen with that??’ Better yet, talk about tanlines if you didn’t. Teehee!
SUNSCREEN AND TAN LINES, I never even thought of that. Excellent point!