11 Buys For Single Women During Summer 2020
This list is by no means exhaustive, but is instead a few things I’ve been thinking about at the moment, as we all try to navigate what summer is actually going to look like for us this time around. Honestly, a lot is still up in the air, but I’m still gonna paint my toenails and read and go grocery shopping. I know that much for sure. So below, a summer shopping list tailored to the needs okay the wants of single women, with many more surely to follow.
Bike Shorts: So, I wear bike shorts now. Almost exclusively, but never out of the house when they’re not under a dress. Having officially found myself in a “desires a holdy-inny bike short this summer for a variety of reasons” kind of mood, I have been purchasing and road testing various kinds of bike shorts to see if they meet my very specific requirements. If you’re new here, I have feelings about pants. My requirements for bike shorts are as follows: tight but not squeezy, tummy control, not so short that they’re underpants but not so long that they’re too hot. These bike shorts accomplish all of my goals and they are less than $20. Those of you who have been here awhile will know that when I tell you I’ve already bought two pairs, I am not done.
La Pierre Nail Lacquer in Narco: Now is not the time for subtle toes. Even if we’re going out MUCH LESS than we typically would in summer due to…you know, global pandemic, I’d find it really hard to be bummed out about neon pink feet. La Pierre’s lacquers are “10 free,” cruelty-free, and vegan, and I think we can all agree when it comes to neon, they’ve nailed it. (Several other summery shades available!). I am also dying to try Pear Nova’s shade called “Diana Boss” on my hands for summer, because omg how beautiful is it, but at the moment it’s out of stock.
Defogging Sponge: Is this product sexy? No. Is it still practical as hell for foggy windows when you turn on your car a/c in a super hot climate? YEP. Solutions, friends. I am all about solutions to annoying problems.
Aaks Raffia Bag: I love raffia bags for summer, but I don’t love the hyper-trendy shapes and styles they’ve been appearing in over the last couple of years. i want to invest in one and know that I’ll still want to carry it next summer too, and Aaks is the ideal destination for bags with longevity and summer style in equal measure. I mean honestly, if you’re able to narrow down their selection to just ONE bag that you want, mazels to you. The bag featured in the image above could have been one of five and I still haven’t decided, but this one was selected because its roominess will allow me to bring wine and snacks to the park. There’s also SUCH a cute collaboration between Aaks and Liha, also a black-owned brand, and includes three of Liha’s vegan beauty products IDEAL for summer tucked into an Aaks woven clutch.
Grocery Bag Carrier: Need me to help you with those bags, ma’am? NOPE I’M GOOD. Obviously I hope we’re all using this tote around our reusable bags, but it’s genius for tackling all your toting around in one trip, and comfortably. You can use it as a handle or over the shoulder, which I find makes me feel way stronger than I probably am. While I’m at it, I hope we’re also all ignoring those plastic baggies in the produce section in favor of these super convenient and washable reusable ones… Yes, everyone at the farmer’s market is going to ask you where you got them.
Lemon Print Sunning Pool: If you have a backyard, if you are lucky enough to have green grass attached to a mortgage or a lease with your name on it, you need a pool. Not an in-ground, chlorine filled money-suck of a yard feature, but just something as simple and quite frankly adorable as a sunning pool. This sunning pool is 5-feet in diameter, fits two adults comfortably, and is printed with my favorite citrus fruit. Professionals will also purchase a tarp to go underneath the pool to protect its bottom surface and to also allow you to set a towel down like a little welcome mat so that you don’t get tons of grass and crap in the water. I really hate that.
Inflatable Palm Tree Cooler: Look, I have a weakness for inflatables, okay? You can’t tell me it wouldn’t be dreamlike to sit in your pool that looks like lemons and reach into your cooler that looks like a palm tree and pull out a scrumptious alcoholic kombucha and have yourself a lovely afternoon. This is living. I don’t have a yard and thus neither a sunning poor or this cooler but bet your ass when I do they are my first purchases.
Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby. Yes I have recommended this to you before, and yes I am doing so again. That’s because I’ve finished it now and I really think you need to read this book this summer. What even is a beach read this year, amiright? It’s okay if we’re reading something a little more substantial than a sandy romance while we lounge on pool chairs if the pools are even open. Samantha Irby’s writing is nothing short of goalsetting for me. She is brilliant, hilarious, 100% someone I am stopping to thank if I am ever lucky enough to see her in person.
Outdoor Furniture: I am including this outdoor furniture set in honor of a Facebook group member who bought it and assembled it ALL BY HERSELF. Y’all, this is a LOT of furniture! It’s sectional so you can arrange it however you want, and I strongly recommend keeping it covered if yours faces direct sunlight/rain, etc., but mainly I just want to congratulate this group member on tackling a massive home improvement project and I hope she reaps the benefits of her accomplishment for a very, very long time. You guys, stories of women doing things alone that they formerly thought had to be done with a partner and could maybe only be done with a partner are EVERYTHING TO ME. Avengers, ASSEMBLE. LITERALLY.
Summer Pajamas: Look, I’m not exactly thrilled about this, but it’s time to switch out our pajamas. Personally, I’m a long-sleeved Eberjey Gisele set kinda gal because it is the gold standard in sleepwear. HOWEVER, it’s frikkin hot. I am therefore willing to entertain the idea of shorts pajamas until October. Personally, I like Splendid fabrics for literally everything, but they especially make sense when you want really soft loungewear but also to not sweat to death. This fabric is a lightweight, non-stretch twill and I think we can all agree that delicately colorful stripes are supercute. One word.
A Good Blender: Full disclosure, I have a Vitamix. It was a gift. I am obsessed with it. But I fully get that it’s an investment, and if you’re not ready to make it, know that prior to the Vitamix I had a NutriBullet, and it worked just fine. Better than fine, really, it made amazing cashew cheese. The purpose of a blender in summer is one recipe and one recipe only: Gazpacho. Gazpacho is the only acceptable cold soup in existence and I make mine with peaches. It is what keeps me well-fed and not collapsing of heat stroke all summer and I want the same for my lovelies. Also, you can make slushies. Just sayin.
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