💌 shared notes | july monthly musings (no. 3)
A cozy, full-of-everything catch-up from both of us – saved for the first (or second!) Saturday of each new month.
It’s starting to officially feel like summer! We kicked off July at a lake house in Minnesota (where Kel’s husband is from originally) for the quintessential, small-town Fourth of July lake house experience we’ve been dreaming of since before we had kids. It was so much fun!
Though, we did all get hit with the stomach bug afterwards… so apologies for this "second Saturday” edition of Monthly Musings. We promise we’ll try to get better at scheduling ahead of time!
We hope everyone had the best Fourth of July Weekend (for those in the US!) and are enjoying the prime summertime. We’re so excited to spend this Saturday morning with you. Now, grab a coffee (or something off of your toddler’s plate, if that’s also your stage of life right now), and let’s catch up! 🤍
xo,
Brooke & Kelcy
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links we can’t stop sending each other, products, links, current faves
B was super nervous about a 3.5 hour flight with an almost 2-year-old lap child, but these items were essential in keeping Cam occupied: reusable sticker books, no-mess water-based paint workbooks, and a snack spinner (very reminiscent of salad spinners if your kids are also obsessed with those).
Kel purchased a new swimsuit & sunnies for the lake trip, and they both looked so good!! B even asked her if she was going to change into her swimsuit for the boat, and she was like, “I’m already wearing it! It just looks like a body suit.”
get the look: neutral summer patio / backyard / outdoor space
We’re loving woven details for outdoor spaces like these accent chairs & these dining chairs – but pro tip: make sure you have your pest control squared away since spiders love to hide in them (speaking from personal experience here unfortunately!)
World Market has some great outdoor finds that are much more affordable than other retailers, so we picked this outdoor sofa and dining table to build off of.
Striped details always give a backyard a cabana-esque feel, so we added in a fun black-and-white stripe fringed umbrella with matching outdoor pillows 🖤
These cooler side tables have been all over our feeds & they’re just perfect for housing your favorite cans/bottles while entertaining or for outdoor storage!
We have different bistro lights from Amazon, but these white-string bistro lights are so chic (and they’re only $10 per strand!)
To see everything linked in one place (plus other outdoor alternatives!), click here!
what we’re watching
Kel & her husband have this tradition where they focus on one actor/actress and watch as many of their films as possible (and not necessarily in order) by having a “[insert name here] summer!” This year, it’s a “Matthew McConaughey summer” so they started off with Contact with Jodie Foster.
We both started Queen Charlotte (yes, we’re super late to the game) & have been absolutely loving it. We didn’t realize how much of a love story and mystery it would be wrapped all into one. Plus, it’s only 6 episodes which makes it super binge-able (although we’re in the stage of life where we can really only watch 1 hour of tv a night before being ready for bed).
Kel also started The Better Sister with Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks on Amazon Prime, and while she’s only on episode four, it’s all she’s been able to think about. Definitely a must-watch so far!
If you have any show or movie recommendations that you’ve loved (new or old!), send them our way! Leave a comment or message us – we always love getting new recs.
what we’re reading
We’re both reading Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry and really enjoying it 10% in. It’s giving us 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes! There was probably the longest wait list we’ve ever seen on Libby for this book, and so we were thrilled when we got the notice it was available!
We also love new book recs! We’re part of a book club, so we’ll share what we’re reading the first Saturday of each month in this Monthly Musings series & hope you do the same!
what we’re listening to
B started The Telepathy Tapes podcast & it is SO fascinating!! She can’t stop talking about it. Plus, we haven’t listened to a podcast series (that’s not just like standalone episodes) since the OG Serial and didn’t realize how much we missed them.
Like everyone and their mom, we’re listening to Justin Bieber’s new album – added below for your listening pleasure for the rest of this read!
what we’re eating/drinking
Kel & Nick hosted an impromptu homemade pasta night to put their new Pasta Grannies cookbook and pasta-dough roller to use, and it was amazing how fun, easy & delicious homemade pasta is! Will definitely being doing it again soon!
We both recently made the switch to loose-leaf tea each night after hearing about how many microplastics there are in traditional tea bags, and we’ve been loving this peppermint tea (the brand also has sampler packs!)
little joys
We had such a great 35th birthday last month! Not only did we get all the love from family & friends, but we had an amazing sister date / birthday dinner at Wildland in Carlsbad. They made us feel so special & gave us the cutest free birthday dessert we’ve ever seen!
Kel making a wish! Taking 24 hours away ✨ We switched off babysitting each other’s kiddos, so we could have a little one-night beach staycation in Del Mar & it was just what we needed to have a mental reset!
Kel hosted the cutest birthday party for her daughter Avery (how is she 2 already?!) and the theme was Emma (B’s cat who Avery is obsessed with).
How cute is this?! We got family photos taken and explored Coronado Island – a place we hadn’t been in forever! We remembered going as kids and can’t wait to spend more time there – and maybe Fourth of July one year since they go all out ❤️
Seeing your kids light up in a new environment, around other kids, or even around other adults. We always talk about how they have a different smile when they’re interacting with other people, and it makes us so happy to see our kids living and loving their lives.
Thanks for spending part of your Saturday with us – it means more than you know. Whether you’re sipping coffee, chasing toddlers, or just enjoying a slow scroll, we’re so happy to be a small part of your day.
See you in your inbox soon! 🤍
xo,
Brooke & Kelcy
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