My July Favorites

Welcome back everyone!

I hope you´re all doing very well as always! As we´re slowly moving along in this new month, I thought it would be a nice idea to share my July Favorites with you all.

When brainstorming for blog posts that I really wanted to create for you, I especially thought about the type of content that I would like to read – So the idea of sharing my favorite things from my month with you popped into my mind.
However, I wanted to compose this whole “favorites thing” a little different to what you might have seen on the internet already. Instead of only sharing the material favorites of my month with you, I am going to use this as sort of a diary to conclude my month. For me personally, this should be an exciting post to look back at and remember my favorite memories of each month – Plus, it will hopefully bring some joy to you reading as well or even encourage you to start your own diary.

So let´s just give this a try!

A little summary of July 2019…

July has definitely been a busy month, packed with lots of exciting activities here and there.
I started off the month by heading up to Groningen in the Netherlands, which is where my brother will be studying, starting this month actually. So my dad, my brother and I went for a little day-trip to view a potential apartment for him and of course, have a little stroll around the city! My brother moving away is such an exciting yet surreal feeling. I guess for me, he is always going to be the younger one, so seeing him grow up too is strange – but that is a whole other story…
Talking about surreal feelings, another thing that happened this month was the big reunion with my best friend. After being apart for 6 months, due to our semester abroad, we finally got to see each other again and had a fun weekend together in my hometown. There was, of course, a lot to catch up on over a glass of Aperol Spritz…
Aside from all the catching up, we ended up doing a day-trip to Münster, enjoyed some frozen yoghurt (a personal fave of mine) and had a relaxing walk around the Aasee. Some well-spent quality time!
Later that month, as we hadn´t seen enough of each other yet, I surprised my friend for her birthday in Dresden – this is becoming sort of a tradition now! In Dresden, I enjoyed a couple of sunny days – Spent, riding a scooter along the Elbe river, walking the rest of the journey as the scooter stopped working half-way, eating a little too much soft ice cream and of course, lots of Aperol Spritz again.
Oh, and did I mention? I went to Prague for the first time and totally fell in love with it!
This basically concludes July 2019 for me – lots of trips, reunions and memories!

Here are a couple of Snapshots from this month…

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My favorite memory

My overall favorite thing this month – As cheesy as it might sound – Was just spending time with people.
Not only did I get to reunite with my best friend and spend lots of time with my family, I was also able to see a couple of my high school friends again, that I hadn’t seen in a really long time.
As I moved away straight after finishing high school it was really difficult to keep in touch with a lot of my friends from home, but somehow, scattered along the month of July, I got to see a few of them again. Even just having a drink and a little catch up was so much fun and really showed, that it´s important to stay in touch every now and then.

My favorite recipe

Now, I thought it would be nice if I included a recipe-fave of mine in here as well – This month I really enjoyed Gnocchi with ricotta cream, topped with some oven-roasted tomatoes and parmesan cheese. It is one of the most simple dishes I have ever cooked and a real people-pleaser.

Ingredients

• Gnocchi
• 250g Ricotta
• 250g Cherry tomatoes
• 2 Spring onions
• Basil (or other herbs of your own choice)
• Parmesan cheese
• Balsamic cream
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Then start by finely chopping your herbs and spring onion. Add them to a bowl with the ricotta cheese. Give it a good mix to combine everything. Season with both a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside for later.
Put the tomatoes on a baking tray and pop them in the oven for about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on them though.
Meanwhile, in some boiling water, cook the Gnocchi for a couple of minutes (usually about 2 minutes). After cooking them, fry them in some olive oil for a couple of minutes until they turn nice and golden.
Time to garnish! Serve the Gnocchi with a dollop of your pre-made Ricotta cream and some of the oven-roasted tomatoes on top. Garnish with some parmesan cheese and a drizzle of balsamic cream.

My favorite TV series

I have to make quite the confession… This month, I finished a whole season of a series – Big Little Lies.
A couple of months back, I had already seen the first season which I really enjoyed. So when I heard that Season 2 just aired on TV, I just had to know how it continues.
For anyone who has not seen or heard of Big Little Lies (which is probably nobody, because this series is truly amazing) – The whole storyline revolves around Celeste and Madeline, who decide to mingle with the young Jane Chapman, that just moved to Monterey with her son. Within minutes of the first episode, you realize that there is a lot of depth and secrets to all of the main characters.
Everything comes down to the school ball, where the ´mysteriousness´ reaches its peak. From that moment on, the Monterey five are bound by a severe secret…
What I enjoyed most about this series is probably just a combination of amazing work. The cast, which is made up of Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz and many more well-known actresses is, of course, very convincing. However, it is probably the edit that most stood out to me. Within every episode, the edit jumps between rather calming and very fast-pace shots.
I don´t want to give it all away though… So if you have not seen Big Little Lies yet and you´re looking for a new series to watch – This is definitely a recommendation for you!

My five favorite beauty items

Clinique Liquid Facial Soap

The Clinique Liquid Mild Facial Soap is a facial cleanser that I have been using for years now. It is really gentle to your skin and doesn’t leave your face feeling uncomfortably tight after cleansing it. Also, you can go a really long way with one of these 200ml bottles, so it really is worth the money!

Rituals Body Scrub

Moving on to another all-time favorite of mine – The Rituals Body Scrub. Over the years, I have tried different scrubs here and there, but to be completely honest with you – Nothing compares to the Ritual´s one.
I especially love to apply the scrub to my legs, as it leaves them feeling really soft and looking glowing.

Glynt Vita Day Cream

The Glynt Vita Day Cream is like the name already initiates, a Day cream for your hair! If like me, you have sort of tangled hair, which makes it really hard to brush through – this product is perfect for you. Just apply one pump of it to your towel-dried hair and brush through. I personally find, that my hair looks way more shiny and nourished after applying this product.

Sephora Rouge Satin Lipstick

I mean… We all know what a lipstick is, so I guess I don´t have to explain much. This lipstick is my all-time favorite one, not only because of the great colour – I am obsessed with the shade ´Oh Oh!´ (S18). It also stays on for a really long time without drying out your lips.

Biotherm Aquasource Face Toner

The Biotherm Face Toner is a skincare product that I have only recently discovered for myself. It is super simple to use, as you can just use a couple of drops on a cotton pad and then apply it to your face.
I personally like to use it twice a day – in the morning when I wake up, as well as at night after removing my makeup and cleansing my face. This product is truly amazing because it not only moisturizes your face but also adds a really nice glow to your skin. Can you tell it´s all about glowiness these days?

My favorite outfit

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Any of you that know me in person will know, that my wardrobe is all about colour, colour, colour! So when I stumbled across this flowy number in July, it just about made the cut. Paired with a cool pair of socks and some white sneakers – ready to go!
I´ll just let this picture from Prague speak for itself…

So these are all my July favorites that I thought I would share with you lot. Let me know, if you enjoyed reading this and whether you would enjoy this as sort of a monthly “ritual”.
See you on Wednesday with yet another fun blogpost!

Lots of love,

Anna.