June Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! Here's my once a month Friday Favorites where I highlight some of the things I'm excited about this month. June has been a wonderful month, really.

Entertainment

I'm not a huge podcast listener, but I recently got tuned into Love that Lasts with Jefferson and Alyssa Bethke. I read the book they wrote together, and am working on one of his books right now. The podcast is really fun, they are sweet and hilarious and give spiritual nuggets amidst relatable chats about life. I usually listen to it a few times a week on my way home from the gym and they're starting to feel like friends. 

I'm a major poolside reader in the summer, and my guilty pleasure this year is the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. They are decent books, it's just that I'm not exactly the target audience... I started the 25 book series when I was a teen. I recently remembered Alice and thought "hey, I wonder what ever happened to her!". So I am catching up on the last few books in Alice's story. 

I listened a pretty wide variety of music this month, nothing stands out in particular. I did make a Spotify playlist of "June Jams" for a gathering, lots of feel-good chill tunes. 

We saw several movies, my favorite was Adrift. I'm not usually a big survival movie person, but this one intrigued me and I loved it. 

Adventures 

I had a big adventure this month with a trip to Alaska with my sister! We traveled to Anchorage to be bridesmaids in our oldest friend's wedding. Alaska is absolutely gorgeous especially during the summer solstice (SO weird to experience sunlight through the night), the wedding was amazing, and it was just so fun to spend three days with my sister. 

 We explored a park and were going to do a bit of hiking until a family came down the trail looking terrified and saying there was a bear! While in the car on the way to the venue we saw four black bears and a porcupine.

Daniel and I saw Les Miserables at Keller Auditorium last weekend. I have been obsessed with Les Mis ever since the movie came out in 2012. The performance was absolutely amazing. I cried at least six times. The story is so multifaceted and beautiful, with messages about social justice, the transforming power of relationships, redemption, and grace. It truly illustrates, as the finale song says "to love another person is to see the face of God". I'm tearing up right now thinking of it again! We had dinner at Il Terrazzo on the waterfront. 

 

Another highlight was what we have now pronounced "Strawberry Day". I visited my sister and her family while Daniel was hiking Mt. Adams (he's kind of a beast!) and we spent the entire day picking and prepping strawberries. We have jam for days. It was such a nice day and a great way to celebrate summer together. 

Home 

This has been a new favorite quick go-to meal. Easy and delicious! 

I'm in a major crepe phase. Check out my recipe for blackberry lemon crepes for two. Yogurt filling and fresh fruit make them a little lighter. 

I spent Wednesday gardening. Our balcony got a major clean up and I planted some shade-loving plants. I'm keeping a detailed log so I'll do everything I can to keep them alive this time! 

I'm obsessed with this cute little hedgehog home planter Daniel surprised me with. Every so often he gets me these cute, sweet quirky gifts that I adore. 

Style

June in Western Oregon has weather ups and downs and it's not always warm. On the cooler days I've liked wearing these floral embroidered jeans to keep things sunny and happy. 

It's actually kind of funny to talk to about style right now, because if I'm honest I celebrated the first week of summer break by living in athletic shorts and not taking many showers. I get dressed up for fun outings, but mostly my style is very relaxed in the summer. On the days I do go out, I employ a minimal makeup look of mascara and a little brows and blush/bronzer. A bright lipstick can help the look be more put together.

What are your favorite things and moments for the month of June? Thanks for stopping by!