Keen Reminders For a Fabulous Life—Summer Edition
It's June! Let's get our summer priorities straight.
Why GOOD AFTERNOON, everyone.
It’s a sunny, fabulous weather Monday and I couldn’t be happier. Well I could have more energy, actually. No matter what I do on the weekends, come Monday I am puffy-eyed, drained, and unable to hold an intellectual conversation. Anyone else? It’s rather annoying.
Anyway, we aren’t here to complain today—we’re here to set our June intentions. And don’t let that word scare you—you can intend to have fun for June and nothing more. This is an exercise in accountability, yes, but carefree accountability, if you will.
Let’s get on with it.
Host of The Everygirl podcast Josie Santi (Hi, Josie!!) encourages the Everygirlies to set a *specific* intention for the month, following up at the END of said month to see and share the progress we’ve made, and also assess where we may have gone astray.
Last month, in May, our collective intention was to BLOOM. Something I think I accomplished through a recent creative breakthrough. Hint for the creatives: When you’re confident about what you’re creating—be it art, writing, clothing, whatever—your creativity will flow in a way never felt before. When you create from a place of no pressure, no deadline, no stress, no worrying if what you’re making is aligned with your brand—I promise you, you will feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders, never to return again. Highly recommend.
Now for June! June is a special month. It’s the kickoff to summer, aka kickoff to being young, wild and free, and we need to take full advantage.
If I bloomed (creatively) in May, June is going to be my month to strategize my creative pursuits—in a way that feels authentic to *muah* of course. I’m not going to bore you with my EXACT plan of attack, but I will provide a framework for thou.
Here are the reminders I’m going to be using as guideposts this month:
Have fun. Laugh a lot. Be bold. Pitch big magazines without a care in the world. Send my books to publishers without second guessing myself.
Set up clothing pop-ups with local salons. Host an outdoor dinner party with friends. Be over the top nice. Start my day with a good deed. Wear funky clothes and outrageous hats. Live outside.
For those looking for June intention-setting ideas, I have some.
Take what speaks to you—leave the rest. And do let me know if you have any to add. I’m always in the mood to self-improve. As long as it isn’t boring, of course.
Don’t drink too much
Listen, no one enjoys a nice summer champagne more than I. But over-drinking at our age is no longer cute. I’ll go so far to say that drinking too much now is unacceptable behavior. Forgetting conversations and misremembering evenings is a horrible feeling, and one I never want to relive again. And hangovers? No thanks. Do like the commercials say. Drink responsibly.
Don’t gossip
I’ve touched on this before but given the title of the newsie—Keen Reminders For a Fabulous Life—gossiping doesn’t feel good. Plain and simple. Talking badly about someone does nothing but puts you in a negative headspace and makes you feel like garbage. Be a nice girl and you will attract other nice girls.
Wear red lipstick
This is more of a metaphor to lean into color in some way, shape or form, but feel free to take it literally as I will do. Wear a fun color any day, any time of day, every day. And on that note, glide on some eye glimmer. I think I’m going to lean into Eye Glimmer Summer come to think of it. Putting on mascara is just too time consuming and you’re wearing sunglasses all day anyway. I will share my picks once I get some.
Attend local events that only happen in the summer, like farmer’s markets
Walking through cute vendors at your local farmer’s market while soaking up the sun and sipping on a freshly brewed coffee? Yes. Farmer’s markets, along with anything outdoors really, like outdoor movies, patio lunches and live music happy hours are the absolute best. Take advantage.
Get fresh flowers for your home
Trader Joe’s may have a horrible meat selection, but no one can say anything about their flowers. They’re pretty, they’re inexpensive, and they last a long time! Oh and they smell nice. Obviously. They’re flowers.
Enjoy your kids
Okay…all parents complain about having their kids home for summer, and I get it. They get bored easily, they eat out the pantry before 11 am and you feel like you have to constantly entertain them. But here’s the thing: you have 18 summers with your kids. You don’t have to jam-pack every day with activities just because everyone else is. Who gives a sh*t. Do what works for you and your family.
My personal recommendation is to have one thing for them to look forward to every day, like a backyard picnic, playdate with a friend, pool hang, or painting on the patio. It doesn’t have to be this elaborate bucket list of Must-Do Summer Items. When it comes to kids, simple is better. When it comes to clothes, however, the more outrageous the better. Best not to get it twisted.
That’s all I’ve got today. I hope this post inspired you to kick off your summer in a positive, upbeat, fabulous way.
Thank you for reading. Happy June intention setting.
Keep being you. A more fun summer you.
Xo, Ash
