Somehow, despite a slow-moving global pandemic, it still feels like summer has gone by in the blink of an eye. Here in Canada, we’re already weeks away from leaves falling, temperatures dropping and having to pull out our fall wardrobes (which, for fellow sweater weather lovers, isn’t such a bad thing). It’s officially time to get down to business and soak up the last bits of summer!

To make the most of the final stretch, check out my latest fashion must-haves, music faves, summer reads plus the hottest TV shows streaming now.

Fashion

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* Reppin’ Your Team *

Vegas Golden Knights Violent Gentlemen-branded tee, unavailable online // For basketball fans: Toronto Raptors Junk Food Mickey Squad tee, NBA Store, $46 CAD

Summer sports were not in my plans for 2020, but it’s definitely giving us all something to watch as we continue to socially distance. Personally, I’m happy to continue cheering on two of my favourite teams, the Vegas Golden Knights (hockey) and the Toronto Raptors (basketball). RIP to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins… until next season!

While my VGK shirt has of course been a recent go-to, I’m looking forward to receiving my Disney x Junk Food Raptors tee, featuring a vintage-style photo of Mickey Mouse and his pals Goofy and Donald sporting Raptors jerseys! There’s a set of three designs for each team in the bubble, so act fast while the collection is still available.

* Ex-Boyfriend Denim *

SIMILAR SHORTS: Garage, $25 (great sale!)

It’s so hard to find the perfect denim fit, but I’m obsessed with Garage’s lived-in ex-boyfriend style! I dare you to find a comfier and cuter pair of jean shorts. The best part: several of Garage’s ex-boyfriend denim looks are part of their new Re.Think collection, allowing you to look and feel good as you help lessen the impact on the planet. A win for all!

* Clothing Resale Apps *

Last month, I shared my love for fashion resale apps, particularly Poshmark (I’m shopangelaaaxo!) and Depop (angelaaaxoxo). Shopping for new finds (especially sold out or hard to find pieces) and listing my pre-loved clothing quickly became one of my favourite quarantine activities. As promised, I’ve listed a bunch of new goodies on both apps. Go check them out, and feel free to comment or send me your links!

In case you missed it, I recently compiled a list of nine Black-owned fashion brands with beautiful pieces to add to your wardrobe. Consider supporting one of these talented designers next time you feel like going on a shopping spree!

Books

I’ve been behind on book recommendations, so here’s a double header for the end of summer!

* The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue *

Available from Indigo for $25 (sale)

When best-selling author Emma Donoghue started writing her latest historical fiction novel, I’m sure she had no idea that a similar storyline would be playing out in real life come release day. In a perfect coincidence, The Pull of the Stars, which is set in the middle of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, has several eery parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

See the publisher’s synopsis:

In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new Flu are quarantined together. Into Julia’s regimented world step two outsiders—Doctor Kathleen Lynn, on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney.

In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over three days, these women change each other’s lives in unexpected ways. They lose patients to this baffling pandemic, but they also shepherd new life into a fearful world. With tireless tenderness and humanity, carers and mothers alike somehow do their impossible work.

The same way pandemic-based films like Contagion were must-watch movies earlier this year, The Pull of the Stars is a solid pick for the times — and an important story to highlight the incredibly difficult and selfless work of our frontline workers.

* Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner *

Available from Indigo for $14.32 (sale)

Big Summer is the quintessential beach read with friendship and romance at the heart. Author Jennifer Weiner, who is also behind the hit Mrs. Everything, effortlessly ties in influencer culture, and a surprising mystery twist that I won’t spoil!

Here’s more from the publisher’s synopsis:

Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favour to ask. Daphne hasn’t spoken one word to Drue in all this time—she doesn’t even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media—so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.

Drue was always the one who had everything—except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne’s no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She’s built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend’s siren song.

A sparkling novel about the complexities of female friendship, the pitfalls of living out loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart, Big Summer is a witty, moving story about family, friendship, and figuring out what matters most.

One of my FAVOURITE parts of prepping for summer trips is picking out new books, especially for poolside reading. I’ve loved reading since I was a little girl — hence why I got into journalism and blogging! — and only wish I had more time to delve into some fictional (and non-fictional) worlds. Fortunately, doing so while laying under the summer sun is the best time to do it!

I just got back from a beautiful getaway to Maui, Hawaii, which I will have *so* much more to share from soon. But first, I wanted to share some of the incredible books I started — and sped through — that will make perfect adds to your summer reading list.

For words of inspiration to kickstart your vacation

I’ve had Michelle Obama’s Becoming on my book shelf since Christmas, and finally had the chance to start and finish it on a 10+ hour travel day. From cover to cover, it’s total female boss vibes! I will admit the opening section on Michelle’s childhood and upbringing definitely dragged on in some parts, but once she writes about meeting Barack you get a lot of interesting behind the scenes secrets and stories that make the wait worthwhile. I ended up bookmarking a few passages that particularly resonated with me, including:

“Beneath my laid-back college demeanor, I lived like a half-closeted CEO, quietly but unswervingly focused on achievement, bent on checking every box. My to-do list lived in my head and went with me everywhere. I assessed my goals, analyzed my outcomes, counted my wins. If there was a challenge to vault, I’d vault it. One proving ground only opened onto the next. Such is the life of a girl who can’t stop wondering, Am I good enough? and is still trying to show herself the answer.” (Becoming Me)
“New York always awakened a sense of awe in me, big and busy enough to dwarf anyone’s ego.” (Becoming More) (It’s true, New York is a such a remarkable and special place and I look forward to spending more time there!)
“The important parts of my story, I was realizing, lay less in the surface value of my accomplishments and more in what undergirded them—the many small ways I’d been buttressed over the years, and the people who’d helped build my confidence over time.” (Becoming More)
“My early successes in life were, I knew, a product of the consistent love and high expectations with which I was surrounded as a child, both at home and at school. … I’d been lucky to have parents, teachers, and mentors who’d fed me with a consistent, simple message: You matter. As an adult, I wanted to pass those words to a new generation. … I wanted to be the opposite of the guidance counselor I’d had in high school, who’d blithely told me that I wasn’t Princeton material.” (Becoming More) (To quote Beyonce, “best revenge is your paperrrrr…”)
“…I am still in progress, and I hope that I always will be. For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end. … It’s all a process, steps along a path. Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor. Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to be done.” (Epilogue) (AMEN!!!)

August Favourites