Favs and Flops from July 2023

Hi all! This month I get to share one of my absolute favorite places in the world. It was a fun and busy month that included only one flop, which was honestly my own fault. So let’s get into my favs and flops from July!

• Stone Harbor, New Jersey – I really need to give Stone Harbor it’s own post with all of my recommendations on where to eat, shop, stay, and what activities to check out. Some highlights include going to the beach every single day, taking a lot of post-beach naps, and stopping in at Springers for homemade ice cream. Eating at Stone Harbor Bar & Grill, Lee’s Hoagie House, Spiaggetta, and Stone Harbor Pizza Pub. Getting drinks at Buckets Margarita Bar & Cantina and Agave Tequila Bar. Breakfast at Crespella Gourmet Creperie, Bread & Cheese Cupboard, and Fishin’ Pier Grill South. I also visited Coffee Talk a few times where Taylor Swift famously played when her family was staying in Stone Harbor, supposedly they had a house somewhere around the Bird Sanctuary.

• The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager – Upon starting this book I was told there was a big twist and I 100% did not guess it! I thought I knew what was going on (so much so that I went back and read certain parts to verify my theory, and I did… kind of). The twist was not what I would’ve guessed because it’s so different from anything I’ve read before, in fact had I known the twist, I may have said no to the novel but I’m so glad I didn’t. I really enjoyed the story and the setting of Lake Greene (maybe cuz I just vacationed at a lake). This book was a wild ride that kept me hooked!

• The Barbie Movie – I saw the Barbie movie on opening night with my husband and I’d like to quote Lady Gaga to sum up my thoughts on the film “talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it.” I loved it!

• The Bachelorette – In this season of the Bachelorette it’s Charity Lawson’s turn to find love. Charity was a fan favorite (and one of my favorites!) from Zach’s season of the Bachelor. I love watching Bachelor Nation shows, it’s a guilty pleasure, I guess. I’m excited to see Charity’s journey and I’m hoping she picks a good one and doesn’t get fooled by any of the two-faced guys.

• The Bear Season 2 – I LOVED the first season of The Bear, it’s such a fantastic show and they somehow managed to make this season even better. My anxiety is heightened when watching this show but the episode that took the cake was “Fishes” the Christmas dinner episode. If you’ve watched season 2 you won’t be shocked, everyone I’ve talked to says the same about it. It’s one of the best episodes of TV I’ve seen but I had to take anti-anxiety medicine after watching because it was that intense.

• Love Island USA, Season 5 – This is the second season of Love Island, USA and others, that I’ve watched. One thing I noticed, when I was watching last season, was the lack of stupid/vapid drama (like we see on the Bachelor/ette often). The women were kinder to each either, not one of them said “I’m not here to make friends.” I really liked the dynamics of this show versus other reality shows I’ve seen, especially a new episode almost every day. This year I’ve downloaded the app and plan to participate a bit more in fan voting.

• Tommy Bahama Umbrella and Chairs – I purchased these from Costco and I will never go to the beach with out them again. I’ve had the chairs for a couple years and have always loved them for the beach but this year I got the Umbrella too. I will never go to the beach without my Tommy Bahama beach umbrella ever again. And kudos to Tommy Bahama for making transporting these items easy! The chair has straps so you can wear it like a backpack and the umbrella case has a strap. I was able to take my chair, umbrella, and beach bag down to the beach (2 blocks away) by myself, easily.
• Eras Tour Merch – FLOP! Because I ordered from a dupe website, not the real website. Thankfully I was able to cancel my order before it went through. What a face palm moment!

Those were my favs and flops for the month of July. The highlight of my month was definitely traveling to Stone Harbor, the beach is my happy place. Catch up on previous month Favs & Flops posts below:

• June 2023 Favs and Flops
• May 2023 Favs and Flops
• April 2023 Favs and Flops