My Favs and Flops from June 2023

Hi everyone! I’m back again with another Favs and Flops from this past June. Yes, I did say “flops” because I actually have one for you this month! Can you believe it?! So lets get right into it because June was a busy month for me and there’s a lot I have to share.

• Finger Lakes, New York – Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you. This was my first time in the state of New York and I really enjoyed my time there; the Finger Lakes area is absolutely beautiful. If you’ve never heard of the Finger Lakes, they are a group of 11 lakes, just southeast of Rochester. I stayed in a house off of Lake Cayuga, which is the second largest lake of the group, and didn’t really leave that area except for once. The first thing I noticed about the Finger Lakes wasn’t the sparkling waters or the gorgeous mountains, it was: winery after winery after winery. I went to so many different ones and the wine is great. They’re know for having the best wine west of California. Riesling is their specialty (because of location) so it was 75% of my tastings. I also went to this dairy farm and had the best cheese tasting EVER. This trip deserves it’s own post because this doesn’t do it justice but I highly recommend planning a trip there. It would be a perfect Bachelorette party location.

• St. Simons Island, Georgia – Just a short 5-6hr drive from Atlanta is the beautiful St. Simons Island (SSI). I’ve been once before for a fraternity formal but we only went to the beach. This trip I had the opportunity to get shown around by a local, my friend Kelly. Similar to Savannah, with the Spanish moss hanging off of massive trees and a total beach vibe, SSI was beautiful. We spent a long week in an airbnb a block from the beach. The water was warm and felt like a dream. Our first full day there we went to Cumberland Island to tour the ruins, see the wild horse, and explore the island. It was gorgeous and we saw more wildlife than I was expecting from armadillos (they are so freaking cute!) to wild horse to crabs to manatees. Yes, that’s right, I saw a manatee in the wild off the dock so close to the shore. The next day we explored historical St. Simons Island, including the famous Light House, and then relaxed on the beach. Besides the beach and sites, the food was great. We hit up Gnat’s Landing, Southern Soul BBQ, Barbara Jean’s, and Doluce Dough Donuts & Bakery.

• First Pool Day of the Summer – I had my first pool day of the summer and it was perfect. I just love the summer season! Since it was the first pool day I chose to wear a new blue one-piece with a white outline from Target with white linen shorts and a blue and white striped linen button down(for men) from Amazon. I’ve already had so many compliments on my blue suit and linen button down! I packed my Laka cooler with some Michelob Ultra Seltzers, Fresca (I’ve been on a Fresca kick lately), and water. I filled my beach bag with a large beach towel, all my SPF products (including Sunbum Sunscreen and Tanning Spray, Cay Skin Lip Balm, Coola Scalp Sunscreen Mist, and Bare Republic Mineral Matte Sunscreen for the face), my JBL speaker, and Sunbum Air Dry Cream for after the pool. I also took the foam pool noddle I got from Costco (this one from Amazon is similar). I tanned, I drank, I floated, I had some quality girl time, it was the best start to pool season.

• Summer Cornhole League – Cornhole is huge in the South but it seems leagues are more commone now. My husband has been in a league for a while and I finally decided to join. We play in an Atlanta area league called CornholeATL; if you live in or around Atlanta, I highly recommend joining. There are a few different league tiers depending on your level of play. We’re always in the beginner league or as my husband calls it, the beer league, it’s just for fun. I’ve always gone to the games, even when I’m not playing. This is strictly because of the food and drinks at Vickery Village, where our league plays. I love the tacos and margs at Cinco’s, beer can chicken at Rick Tanner’s, and the Village Alfredo from Village Italian (all their pasta is made in-house). You can get me to go anywhere with good food and drinks!

• Cupshe Swimsuits – FAV! I’ve never purchased a Cupshe swimsuit before this summer, although I had filled up online shopping bags with bunches of suits several times, only to back out right before purchasing. I finally ordered some this year since I had already had 1 lake and 3 beach vacations planned, I could truly justify the purchase, even though their swimsuits are so reasonably priced. All suits fit nicely, looked like they did online, and they were all so cute!

• Nintendo Switch Lite & Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – There is something about the summertime that makes me feel like a kid again, that feeling is doubled when I’m also playing Super Mario Bros. on a handheld device. I haven’t had a handheld game console since my GameBoy Color from 1991, it was the transparent purple one. On a whim I bought the Switch Lite from Target and brought it to the Lake with me so my dad could play, just like he did when I was a kid. And the game was exactly like I remember it.

• The Idol on Max – FLOP! *Cheers for there being a flop!!* I’ll start by saying this. I went into this series with an open mind. I heard the rumors and read the news about what was happening on set and how it was almost finished before they scrapped it and the director and started over. Still, I was determined to watch it and form my own opinion based solely on what I saw on screen. What I saw on screen was bad. Just not good. What was the purpose of it? What was the plot? Was there a plot? I thought the acting was very good, honestly, but the story was just blah! I wish we could see what the show was supposed to look like, was it still bad? With such a talented cast, they could’ve had something really great, it’s such a shame.

• Podcasts I’m Loving – Bri & Me – Briana Fox is one of my favorite makeup YouTubers to watch and follow. Recently she rebranded her podcast and spoke of it on her videos and on Instagram. I love her content so I was intrigued. I don’t listen to a lot of podcasts but I keep coming back to this one. It’s like listening to a friend and I related so much to most of the topics she gets into. I think it really helps that we’re similar in age and where we’re at in life and I highly recommend taking a listen. Counterclock Season 5 – I love any AudioChuck podcast and I REALLY liked season 3 of Counterclock. Since I was going to be driving from Georgia to New York and back (alone) a full season of one mysterious murder investigation was the perfect companion. Delia D’Ambra is a thorough investigator, who leaves no stone unturned, and tells a story with so many twists and turns. Crime Junkie (obviously). Crime Junkie is my #1 podcast, I listen to it religiously and typically keep up to date with it. I love Ashley and Brit!

• You’re Losing Me by Taylor Swift from Midnights (The Late Night Edition) – Sooooooo this song HAS to be about Joe right?!?! When I purchased The Late Night Edition digital download I accidentally gave my wrong email address because I didn’t get an email with my purchase confirmed. Thankfully, the customer support for TaylorSwift.com is great and they got me my download, shout out to them! This song is a heartbreaking, mostly upbeat with a dash of soft and slow woven in, ballad about a love about to be lost. It’s another genius bop from Taylor Swift.

• It’s Always The Husband by Michele Campbell – Isn’t it though? Lol This book had 2 mysteries to figure out, who was being lead to their death and who was leading them there? This story follows the lives of 3 college friends… or frenemies on 2 timelines, while they are experiencing their first year in college and 20 years later as adults. The first mystery (who was being lead) is answered first and wasn’t too much of a surprise to me, the other mystery is a whole other story. I went back and forth trying to figure out who the murderer was and just when you think you know, you realize you don’t. This story had many twists and turns and really kept me interested till the very end.

That’s it for the month of June, it was a busy month! I love sharing my favs and flops in hopes that I’ll find someone with the same feelings, or that I’ll introduce someone to something new they’ll end up loving. Do you agree that The Idol was awful? What are your “You’re Losing Me” theories? What’s a favorite or flop you’ve recently experienced? Let me know in the comments.

Want to catch up on previous month Fav & Flops? Click the links below.

• May 2023 Favs & Flops
• April 2023 Favs & Flops