What I'm Wearing & Reading for Summer Break
The books & outfits I’m packing for my East Coast summer break.
This week I’m tagging along on my husband’s work trip to the seaside in New Hampshire. While he’s creating shareholder value and analyzing dashboards and performance KPIs, I will be sitting at the poolside bar, sipping a chilled glass of rosé, overlooking the sailboats on the harbor, and making a dent in my long-overdue TBR pile.
I could not be more excited.
So, I thought I’d do my little Polyvore-nostalgia thing and create a moodboard of the outfits I’m packing and the books I’m hoping to read while I’m on the island.
On the Plane
The Outfit
Sneakers | Bag | Hoodie | Leggings | Headphones | Hand Sanitizer | Lip Balm
I wish I could be one of those looks-cute-on-a-plane girls, but I’ve flown enough to know that comfort is queen over anything else. You can find me in my all-time favorite leggings with my Beis bag stuffed to the brim with snacks and enrichment activities that will be ignored in favor of my Kindle or dissociating and staring out the window while listening to Taylor Swift.
The Book
Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
I’ve been reading this book since last year… for some reason it didn’t click right away, despite how badly I wanted to read it. I dove back in this month after reading a few other witchy rom-coms and it’s going a lot better now. It’s super cute!
Synopsis
Belladonna Blackthorn hasn’t lost her magical spark, precisely… but she hasn’t seen it in a while either. With her witchcraft under wraps and a toxic boss making her days miserable, Belle is struggling to keep her beloved Lunar Books afloat and just make it through the day. The last thing she has time for is perfecting her magic.
So when her thirtieth birthday brings a summons from her coven and a trial that tests her worthiness as a witch, Belle fears the worst. With only the month of October left to prove herself or risk losing her magic forever, Belle will need all the help she can get—from the women in her life, from an unlikely mentor figure and even from an infuriating coven watchman who’s sworn to protect her...
Poolside
The Outfit
Sunscreen | Bag (gifted) | Slides | Linen Shirt (gifted) | Bathing Suit | Sunglasses | Earrings
It’s been a very long time since I’ve worn a bathing suit. So long, in fact, that I no longer had one! I decided to splurge on this super flattering Summersalt one-piece. So far I really like it.
The Book
God of the Woods by Liz Moore
I’ve sort of been avoiding this book after it got swept up in the hype machine last year, but last month my two best friends both read it and agreed that it was phenomenal and I would love it. So far, I really do.
Synopsis
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances.
Dinner Cruise
The Outfit
Earrings | Sunglasses | Scarf | Dress | Cardigan | Shoes | Bag | Nail Polish
Will I actually get any reading done on a dinner cruise? Well, probably not, but you know I’m packing my Kindle juuuuust in case. I adore this little linen-y red dress!
The Book
Whidbey by T. Kira Madden
I was immediately intrigued by this book because I’ve been to Whidbey Island in Washington (famously where they filmed Practical Magic!). And doubly so because the plot sounds like something right up my alley.
Synopsis
Birdie Chang didn’t know anything about Whidbey Island when she chose it, only that it was about as far away as she could get from her own life. She’s a woman on the run, desperate for an escape from the headlines back home and the look of concern in her girlfriend’s eyes—and from Calvin Boyer, the man who abused her as a child and who’s now resurfaced. On her way, she has an unnerving encounter with a stranger on the ferry who offers her a proposition, a sinister solution and plan for revenge.
But Birdie isn’t the only girl Calvin harmed back then. There’s also Linzie King, a former reality TV star who recently wrote all about it in her bestselling memoir. Though the two women have never met, their stories intertwine. Once Birdie arrives on Whidbey, she finally cracks the book’s spine, only to find too much she recognizes in its pages. Soon after, on the other side of the country, Calvin’s loving mother, Mary-Beth, receives a shocking phone call from the police: her only son has been murdered.
By the Sea
The Outfit
Lipstick | Bag | Denim Jacket | Tank Top | Jeans | Necklace | Sandals
I’m working through my life-long fear of white pants (iykyk) to embrace the coastal style and I gotta say, they’re proving to be surprisingly versatile. Plus I love summer for all the fun woven/raffia accessories too. How cute is the chunky buckle on these slides?!
The Book
The Half-Life by Rachel Beanland
A new release this month, I’m really excited to dive in. I’m not always a historical fiction person, but a well-done one is always enjoyable. I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about this book so far!
Synopsis
When twenty-three-year-old Eileen O’Malley meets charismatic naval officer Paul Archer in a Charleston department store, she doesn’t expect to fall so hard, so fast. But Paul is funny and ambitious, and soon, Eileen’s got a ring on her finger and is following him to the tiny, sun-drenched Mediterranean island of La Maddalena, where Paul will be heading up Radiological Controls aboard a submarine tender.
In La Maddalena, Eileen joins a makeshift community of navy wives who are hell-bent on making the island feel a little more like home. But for Eileen, whose brother died in Vietnam, home is a loaded word, and as she settles into life on the island, she begins to love the place for all the ways it is not like where she comes from.
When Italian activists and scientists begin to sound the alarm about possible nuclear contamination in the water, the island erupts in a series of protests, made worse by the ongoing mishaps of the U.S. Navy. Soon, Eileen’s marriage falters and her loyalties begin to shift as she is drawn into a web of secrets—and to a local journalist who forces her to imagine a life beyond the one she’s been handed.
That’s all from me! What are you reading for summer break?
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i really liked this type of post 💖
So fun! Enjoy god of the woods. I devoured it.