🧴 10 July Amazon Favorites

The July Edit

Prime Day has come and gone in a whirlwind — I wrote and edited what feels like 14 Prime Day stories for Time but in reality was three and four, respectively. I also wrote about my picks here!

ICYMI, read Best of June.

In today’s newsletter:

• A quick personal update

• 5 non-Amazon things I’m loving

• The 10 Amazon items that are blowing my hair back since we last chatted

Last week was stressful. Peter, my husband, was in the hospital with cellulitis, a thing I’d never even heard of before last weekend but can be so intense, you can need a bevy of drugs and inpatient status. He was there from Friday morning until Monday morning and baby Reid and I shuttled back and forth to the hospital in Greenwich slinging seltzer and comfy wares for Peter, staying until Reid either needed to nap or go to sleep for the night. The hospital’s cafeteria was surprisingly good and I’m beyond relieved he’s now responding to his Rx at home. With help from my Godsend of a nanny, Linda, we got through it. It’s hard not having my mom to come and help, nor family or many friends nearby so I’m grateful for Linda, who’s become family.

The week is dramatically better, and I’m finally able to get some work done, including my monthly Amazon edit. Also on my to-do list this week is a sponsored ad for TIBAAC, Time Stamped writing and editing, a parenting blog for a new copywriting client, plus a roundup for AP Buyline.

But first, 5 non-Amazon things I’m loving.

• Everyone needs to read recently laid-off (after 55 years!) The Davis Enterprise star columnist Bob Dunning’s triumphant debut Substack. Company loyalty, man. I don’t know about it. Being freelance gets a lot of flack for being “unsafe,” but I’ve seen moves like this so many times, especially when I worked in finance and publishing. My maternal grandfather was pushed to retire early from the job he had for over 40 years at RCA in the 1970s — and that story stuck with me. The allure of being a full-time company woman with decades of service to the same business lost its luster after that.

• Mike Birbiglia’s latest “Working It Out” podcast episode with the hilariously deadpan Tig Notaro was the perfect soundtrack for my much-needed solo walk last night.

• Watching, for the 97th time in my life, Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead. That soundtrack. The Christina Applegate of it all. The fact that most of the items she wears in 1990 could easily be rocked in 2024. How her mother is THIRTY-SEVEN, but also tells her five-year-old son she can’t really be bothered to call him from Australia? Disturbing. But still worth a rewatch. You won’t be sorry.

• I immediately Instacarted all of the fresh, delicious items in this salad Emily Mariko made for herself this week on Instagram. Fun fact: I worked at a salad place at the mall in high school and do not endorse salads that aren’t heterogeneous throughout (and chopped finely) but this one appeals. I may mix mine up a bit more but this is so easy and delish — plus, I appreciate that she goes there with the salt. She’s not driving.

• I don’t pack for a vacation without a long-sleeved stripey shirt and this one from Madewell has flattering drop shoulders and a nice price.

The July Amazon Edit

Travertine Spa Steam Shower Spray Now that we have an additional shower, we obviously need two of these. How was living without one in each? I originally purchased the Eucalyptus & Lavender; for the second bathroom, I opted for straight-up Eucalyptus. My spirit animal is a koala — I can’t have too much euc. It smells like home to me. I always have a batch by my front door and hanging from my shower because #selfcare. I once had an ex-boyfriend refer to it as shower basil. Anyway.

Read on for nine more must-haves.