#45 | A Heat Wave Hot List for a Hot Elliott Gould Summer
All I really want to be when I grow up is an Old Jewish Man. Is that so much to ask?
Ahhh Summer on the East Coast, you truly unfaithful mistress. We spend our entire winter awaiting your arrival and you tease us with a few beautiful days until you make us sit in sweat-drenched misery, yearning for a riding boot and a pumpkin patch.
This week, not even an inch into July, we will have our first East Coast heatwave. A heatwave in a big city creates the most chaotic of energy, and I find it’s important to be prepared with you know, the basics.
So below is, what I’m sure will be the first of many - Heat Wave Hot Lists. This one is largely based on a comment my husband recently made to me - “You’ve skipped your mom era and are squarely in your Bubby era” and tbh he’s right, but the truth is that I think I’m really much more in my OJM era. Bagels, Pickles and a lot of gold. Listen, an OJM would NEVER with the new “it” water bottle or the pyscho babble of number nine, but I am biologically a millenial after all. I just can’t help myself.
Vacation Orange Gelee - Bain de Soleil is the scent that reminds me most of my mother. She wore it in the summer and as it became harder and harder to find, hoarded it in her makeup drawers - it’s hard aluminum tube absolutely gasping for its final breath as she would stop at nothing to get the final bits out. It was also SPF 4, which of course, we know is not going to protect anyone from anything. Though I inherited my love of the sun from my mom, I also am the eldest daughter and need to find the most responsible ways to do things. So when Vacation, the suncare brand with the absolute best branding around, decided they were going to revive this beloved Orange Gelee with an SPF of 30, you better believe I put myself on the wait list immediately. I bought four tubes as soon as I was able and I haven’t looked back.
Coconut Ice Pops - Ice pops are a critical winddown accessory for the summer. For me, it’s all about coconut. For you, maybe it’s more of a strawberry thing? Also zero judgement if you’re more of an artificially flavored Popsicle lover, or how about a TWIN POP? We don’t see those too much, do we? But is there a better lip stain than a cherry twin pop? No. and there never will be.
Owala Water Bottle - I went into the office a couple of weeks ago and all of the cool people much younger than I were carrying the same water bottle. I bought one and I have to say it’s one of the greatest purchases of the year. There’s a straw AND a widemouth, it’s lightweight, there’s a handle. They come in every single color. And they keep your water icy cold, which is clutch in a heat wave. I got a white on white version, which is laughable if you know me because I can’t keep anything clean. But even a little filthy, it’s probably the best water bottle I’ve ever had.
Piles of Goody Bobby Pins and Clips - My mom says she can always find me by following the path of bobby pins I leave in my wake. I have a lot of hair and when the humidity of the summer on the East Coast hits, it’s either piled on top of my head or an absolute wild mess. I have been known to let the ocean stay in my hair for way too long after a dip, but I think it has cleansing qualities long after you immerse yourself. And thankfully, Drug Store cheapies keep this filthy summer hair looking at least Mona Lisa chic (from a distance). I like the extra long Bobby Pins and the three tooth clips from Goody, but go take a gander for yourself.
These Celine Dupes - I am very excellent at losing sunglasses and so I rarely buy nice ones anymore. Instead I buy dupes on Amazon. These Celine dupes are the greatest and I have probably had 20 pairs of them over the past 5 years. I like to think of myself of as a sunglasses fairy godmother who leaves a pair in reststops, diner booths, really anywhere for someone to find and love as much as I do.
Baby Powder, Body Glide, Bike Shorts - My thighs rub together and I sweat a lot. I used to be embarrassed by this, but as it turns out, it happens to almost everyone. You have to find what works for you, but for me it’s all about baby powder, body glide and bike shorts.
A very good playlist - Right now my playlist is very much inspired by the absolute glee I felt watching the Tony’s last night.
A very good book - I’m currently listening to Griffin Dunne’s memoir, “The Friday Afternoon Club” which is very potentially the best summer book out there if you, like me, find the best stories are truth told with flair and somewhere around the intersection of Wealth and American tragedy.
An Expansive Outlook - There’s something about summer that feels limitless to me. I’ve written a bunch about expansive I feel in summer, wether it’s wearing my hair naturally instead of straightening it, or letting the stretch marks all over my body shimmer under the sun instead of wrapping them in spanx under layers of the clothes that make me look as thin as possible or just letting the long days take you where they want you to go, no plans, just vibes. I contract in the winter, but I expand in the summer and try to have an outlook that mirrors this.
A gold medallion - In my opinion, Sweaty Gold is the absolute chicest. And as you may or may not know, Hot Elliott Gould Summer is the only summer to which I could possibly subscribe.
Chic Schmaltz La Vie,
LCF