Hello July, Part II

Summer Fashion:

Asa Kaftans

I'm all about my Bravo television shows, especially Shahs of Sunset and Southern Charm.  This summer I'm copying the style of two of my favorite characters, Asa Soltan and Patricia Altchul, by investing in colorful, printed kaftans.  I love the ones at asasoltan.com

Asa Soltan and Patricia Altschul

These kaftan are probably intended to be bathing suit cover-ups, but I wear them in the street.  The material is sheer, requiring that I have shorts and a tank top on underneath, but the kaftans are extremely flattering.  They hide my problem areas (stomach and back fat) and highlight my legs.  The only drawback is that they are overpriced. 

I don't even need to ask who wore it best . . .

Summer Food 

Blue Marble Brooklyn.

Yes, Chloe, RM and I travelled all the way to Brooklyn just to get ice-cream.  We stopped at The Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, but the excursion was really all about the ice-cream!  We tried Mexican Chocolate, Coffee, Salted Caramel, Peach, and Lemon Sorbet.  The Peach was so good that it reminded me of the "peach stuff" that my Grandma Cardwell used to make when we visited her in Maryland.  Blue Marble is sold at Whole Foods, but nothing beats an ice-cream cone (or two) on a summer day.

Summer Music

Maxwell's "blackSUMMERS'night"

I'm actually surprised by how much I like this album, especially since its debut single "Lake by the Ocean" seems kind of stale to me.   In college I was OBSESSED with Maxwell, but recently his persona on social media has turned me off.  He seems like a black Tom Ripley on Instagram.  However, if you like listening to music created by human beings playing instruments that have not been plugged into a wall socket, then this is the album for you. You can listen to blackSUMMERS'night from start to finish without having to skip every other song ( I love Lemonade, but Beyonce needed the visual album to distract from the fact that half of the songs are mediocre).  My favorite songs are "All the Ways Love Can Feel," "III" and "Fingers Crossed."  Happy Summer!