Welcome back to my monthly wrap-up, a retrospective of book reviews and my favorite things I’ve tried and loved through the month. Looking for more book reviews and recommendations from past months? You can find ‘em all here. This is A LONG ONE (in a good way— lots of stuff to recommend for your TBR!) so click here to view in browser.
How fast did September go? It was gone in the blink of an eye. September weather is some of my favorite, and I’m devastated to bid it adieu… I’ll never understand people who get excited for MONTHS of no sunlight. Does your body just generate more Vitamin D than mine?? Have you never heard of seasonal depression??? Or do you just live in Florida or California or somewhere where February is not synonymous with freezing darkness? (That’s actually the only logical rationale to me.)
ICYMI, I published a bunch of things in September that I’m super proud of and are worth a perusal:
You know the rules: these are all things I have used and loved this month, straight from the horse’s mouth. Nothing unloved or untested!
My new favorite rugby shirt came from a place I absolutely never shop, so I’m not even sure how I found it or what compelled me to dive on in— but I can confidently say that the water is perfectly warm here. This polo is crisp, soft, loose in all the right ways, and feels very good for its under $70 pricetag. (Worn here with my AYR jeans, the nicest clothing I own— both $ and quality-wise!)
I took an almost troubling number of baths this month… Anytime I was stressed out and needed to unplug (particularly as someone who has managed to monetize most of her hobbies…) I dropped myself into a warm tub of water. At first, all credit was due to the intoxicating scent of this beautiful Esker bubble soak and their magnesium bath product for sore muscles… And then it was the massive tray they sent me that really up-leveled my set-up… And now I just find myself getting in the bathtub whenever I’m stressed or overwhelmed, like a Pavlovian dog. I plopped in there with a stack of catalogs the other day when I was too wired to read… put on a little autumn jazz… I’m telling you! Baths. (The rec here is not just Esker, though I do have a code for the bubble bath, AZORA15! The rec is to take more baths.)
September marked a return to candles, not all of them quite created equal— I love the smell on this guy, the very fragrant Agrigento Olive Tree scent from Flamingo Estate. It makes my house smell like an expensive home goods store and somehow manages to avoid being too winter-y and is nowhere near cloying. (I got the gift pack so I could try minis of a few different scents, which I recommend, but I am going to just get a full-size of the Olive Tree from now on!)
Speaking of things that smell good, I tried out this Citrus and Eucalyptus Body Wash in September and I looooove it. Based on the product name I think it’s meant to wake you up in the morning, but I’m an evening shower-er and I still find it to be such a luxe scent. I lather up far more than is necessary so I can just huff it between my palms, which is as much endorsement as you can give a soap. (I should know, I feel like I write about soap a lot…too much? Don’t tell me.)
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