Today's post is a random collection of things but I wanted to share some of my tried and true favorites with you. These are all things I use at least every week, if not every day, and they're just too good to keep to myself!

Core 10 joggers. One of my coworkers introduced me to Amazon's athletic brand Core 10 and so I decided to try out their joggers a few months ago and the rest is history. I now have two pairs of these because I was always so sad when they were in the wash. They're that good. I am not a leggings person so I've been reaching for these as an option for walking the dog or running a quick errand. They are so so cozy and under $30!

Everlane cashmere sweaters. Cashmere is the ultimate luxury in my opinion because it feels like you're wrapped up in a hug. Can't beat that! This was the first sweater I bought from Everlane over two years ago in heather grey and I've since bought it in camel and the v-neck in black too. That's how much I love these. They're so cozy, the fit is great (TTS for me) and they hold up well over time. I wear one of my Everlane sweaters at least once a week year-round. 

Remington sweater shaver. In order to keep all of my sweaters in tip-top shape I use this sweater shaver for pilling. I was introduced to this gadget when Mackenzie posted about it a few years ago and was very intrigued. You have to be careful with these because I once accidentally made a hole in my sweater when I pushed too hard but I've since gotten the hang of it and now my sweaters are pill-free! 

Everlane Day Market tote. I am an Everlane fangirl now, I guess! I bought my first Day Market tote early last year after seeing Meghan Markle with hers and I loved it so much that I bought another one after the original was looking a little worse for wear. I now have it in the "Saddle" color and love it. I use it every day for work and it's my go-to personal item for flights. 

Cuyana travel set. I think the moment I realized I was an adult was when I was excited about a fancy toiletry kit. I'm kidding, but I really was thrilled when these Cuyana pouches arrived. They feel so luxurious and help me stay organized. I use the smaller one in my everyday tote to hold lipstick and other beauty products and I use the larger one for travel. I agonized over what color to get and went with the blush. I was worried with them being such a light color that they'd get dirty and scratched but they've held up quite well after a couple of months!

Oribe texturizing spray. My new hair salon uses Oribe products and I have fallen in love, which is bad news for my wallet because they come at a pretty penny. I bought this texturizing spray on sale during the Nordstrom Sale and I am both happy and sad to report that it is excellent. Happy because it works so well (and smells amazing) and sad because it is definitely an investment. I try to save it for special occasions or when my hair is in dire need of some volume!

Yeti water bottle. Mark got a Yeti water bottle when he worked at Cisco and then became a superfan of the brand. We now have pretty much every size that they make and I use their water bottles every single day. I have three water bottles I rotate between and typically use the straw top which helps me drink more water. I love these because they really do work at keeping things hot or cold and they're dishwasher safe as well as V. durable.

Revlon ColorStay lipstick. I dedicated a whole post to this lipstick but wanted to share it again because I still love it that much. It's pretty much the only lipstick I wear and I have four colors I rotate between. It lasts all day, layers nicely and the colors are great. My favorites are "Supermodel" and "Fashionista" for fall/winter and "Finale" and "Socialite" for spring/summer. 

Sally Hansen Miracle Cure. This has made the biggest difference in my at-home manicures lasting a full two weeks. I use the Essie Gel Couture polish and top coat which are great but when I put this on first it will last for two weeks with minimal chipping!

Have you tried any of these products? Would love to know your thoughts!

xo Catherine

I have so many good books from this summer to catch you up on so let's just get right to it!

Children of Blood and Bone. This is the first book in a YA fantasy series that takes place in the kingdom of Orïsha. The kingdom used to have magic until the king took it away in the raids, leaving Zélie's magical mother dead. Zélie is a maji, which means she would have developed magical powers if the king hadn't stamped out all of the magic. An opportunity arises for Zélie to go on an adventure across Orïsha to bring magic back and it looks like she's the only one who can do it. This book follows her adventure to bring magic back to Orïsha along with her brother and the princess of Orïsha. The plot is hard to explain but just trust me that you will be very into it and counting down the days until the next book comes out! 

Rating: A

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. This was my June book club pick and everyone really enjoyed it! Evelyn Hugo is reminiscent of Liz Taylor or Marilyn Monroe and has been married an astonishing seven times. Sometimes she married for love and sometimes she married for opportunity. Now that she's at the end of her life she has decided to tell her story to Monique, an unknown writer. Monique doesn't know why Evelyn has chosen her to write the tell-all book about her glamorous and torrid life and career but she decides to do it. The story jumps back and forth between Evelyn's history and present day where Monique's life is unraveling. I loved everything about this book. There was mystery, drama, love and scandal and it kept me enthralled the whole time.

Rating: A

The Silent Patient. Alicia has it all, the husband, the big house in London and the successful painting career. So why does she ruin her perfect life one night when she shoots her husband five times and then refuses to speak? Theo, who is the new criminal psychotherapist at Alicia's facility, has made it his mission to find out. This wasn't my favorite thriller ever but there was a good twist and I definitely wanted to find out what happened next.

Rating: B+

The Banker's Wife. Annabel's life in Switzerland is turned upside down after her devoted husband Matthew's plane mysteriously goes missing and then is found downed in the Swiss Alps. Matthew was a banker at Swiss United, which has some seriously shady clients with offshore accounts. Annabel starts digging into her husband's mysterious death trying to find out if it was really an accident or not. The other part of the story is told from Marina's perspective. She is a journalist in New York who is asked to dig into some of Swiss United's clients by her mentor who then winds up dead. Will Marina and Annabel's digging turn up the truth about these mysterious deaths and how they're connected? You'll have to read the book to find out! While this book was pretty suspenseful it didn't feel like a true thriller to me but I still couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen.

Rating: B+

Defending Jacob. Andy Barber is a district Attorney who lives in a small Massachusetts town with his wife Laurie and son Jacob. After one of Jacob's classmates is murdered Jacob becomes the lead suspect. The Barber family is put through the ringer as the trial starts and Jacob is the defendant. Andy and Laurie have to ask themselves the question that no parent wants to think about: is their son a murderer? We read this for my book club last month and while it wasn't something I would normally pick up on my own I enjoyed it. You find yourself flip flopping constantly about whether Jacob is guilty or innocent and there's a good twist in there too.
Rating: B+

Red, White and Royal Blue. If you've been reading here a while you'll know that I lap up pretty much any royal romance book and this was no exception. Alex is the first son of the United States (his mom is the first female president!) and his enemy is the Prince of Wales. After some bad publicity about Alex and Henry's rivalry they're forced to spend time together in an effort to reset the narrative around them. Neither one of them expects to become friends let alone more than friends. This book was truly delightful in every way and perfectly steamy. I didn't want it to end!
Rating: A+

Verity. Lowen is a relatively unknown author living in NYC when her agent calls to set up a mysterious meeting. It turns out that Jeremy Crawford, husband of famed author Verity Crawford, is looking for an author to finish his wife's most famous book series. Verity has been in an accident and has serious brain damage so she cannot complete the books herself. Lowen moves into the Crawford home to go through Verity's notes and do research for the book. While there she discovers Verity's very disturbing autobiography that reveals all sorts of secrets about the family. Lowen starts to have feelings for Jeremy so she wrestles with whether or not to tell him about the autobiography and the secrets she's uncovered. There were some seriously disturbing and creepy moments in this book but I was hooked the whole time! If you're into thrillers I'd definitely recommend.
Rating: A

I'm currently reading Three Women and have mixed feelings about it so I want to wait until the end to give my final verdict! Have you read anything good lately?

xo Catherine 

Next was the lights! I went with these ones. I stole the idea from my friends to get some pieces of wood, spray paint them and zip tie them to the deck to hang the lights from. I tried hanging them with command strips and found out the hard way that that wouldn't work so then we stapled them and they've stayed put. I don't have a great picture but you can see the posts in the one below.