Sunday Sundries 041: Heat Wave Essentials & A Movie for Austen-ites
Plus, links. Lots of them.
Welcome to Sunday Sundries, the antidote to—or at least a distraction from—your Sunday Scaries.
Hi friends,
On a personal-level, it’s been a great week (not so much world-wise, but that’s becoming the norm—ugh!). Since I turned in my draft last week, and don’t anticipate feedback until early July, I’m in a blissful inbetween bubble where I can pretend my draft is perfect and enjoy a lightened workload and lowered stress level.
Between the podcast and newsletter, there’s still work to be done, but I did sneak in some mid-day reading, which always feels like a treat. (I gulped down our June book club pick, All the Other Mother’s Hate Me by Sarah Harman in a laugh-filled, page-turning, two-day bender.)
I also eased up on my general policy of avoiding social outings during business hours (if i have something mid-day, I rarely get solid work done on either side), and had lunch and a walk with one friend on Tuesday, and a failed museum outing turned shopping adventure with another on Wednesday. (Note to self: The Met is closed on Wednesdays, but I’m still hoping to see the “Sargent and Paris” exhibit while I’m on my mini-break.)
But enough about me, let’s sundry!
☀️ Heat Wave Essentials
NYC is gearing up for a heat wave this week—maybe the same is true where you live, too. In a city where most people don’t have cars or central A/C, this is a particular pain. But in my almost-13 years as a New Yorker, I’ve developed some tried and tested heatwave hacks.
I’m stocking my freezer with popsicles (my current favorites are mint chocolate chip Yasso bars) and adding pre-sliced watermelon to my grocery order for cool down snacks when I walk in the door dripping.
There’s no way I’m turning on my oven this week. For dinners, I’m making ad-hoc salads with peaches, tomatoes, mozzarella, and store-bought rotisserie chicken. I maaaay be willing to turn on my stove to cook some pasta for a batch of Dan Pelosi’s family pasta salad for lunches.
Also not happening? Blowdrying my hair. I’ll put in some leave-in conditioner and hope for the best. Most likely, it will end up in a bun and get a once-over with this flyaway taming wand (one of my summer MVPs!).
Since I’m not doing my hair for any outside-of-the-house occasions, I’m going big on jewelry with a fun necklace (my fave is sold out, but this is a great ALT; also how pretty is this one) or big earrings (all of mine are old, but I’ve been eyeing these for ages or these are great, too). I’ll also be going hard on bright blush and a popsicle-stained lip look (I got this hot pink lip/cheek tint this week and love it!).
It hasn’t arrived yet, so I can’t vouch, but I got a summer-weight muslin blanket because I need something heavier than a sheet covering me to sleep, but it’s going to be far too hot for a full-on duvet.
I replaced both my window units with Windmill A/Cs over the few couple years, and have great things to say about both their product and their customer service. Later in the week, when all the heat trapped in my wonky old building rises to my top-floor unit, I’ll make what I call “A/C chair” and turn the chair in my bedroom around to face the A/C, bring in a console table from the living room, and make a makeshift desk directly in front of the cold air.
Outfit-wise? I’m wearing as little as possible. Good thing I just got these Varley shorts that I’m obsessed with (I’m already contemplating more colors). I’ll be pairing them with these perfect—and cheap—Old Navy tank tops. For evening plans, it’s definitely a spaghetti strap dress. This one from Anthropologie is in heavy rotation.
Also on the agenda: night walks! I’m waiting for it to start getting dark before popping out for a walk around the neighborhood to stretch my legs. Bonus: I can look in people’s windows and judge their decor (one of my top hobbies).
📚Bonus (Sponsored) Book Rec
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If you’re a fan of stories about sibling rivalry, taking down the rich, or have always fantasized about being a boat captain, you’ll want to mark your calendar for this book’s release on Tuesday June 24. You can pre-order it wherever books are sold, including Bookshop.org or Amazon.
This section was sponsored.
🎥 A Movie for Austen-ites
I mentioned in last weekend’s links that I was going to see a new movie called Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, and it was a total charm bomb! A shop girl at a French book store gets accepted into a writer’s residency at Jane Austen’s former home. But before she leaves, she kisses her best friend, leaving her real life in limbo. On the other side of the channel, she’s retrieved by a handsome but grumpy Englishman she feels a growing attraction toward The movie has a fairly limited release, so if it’s not playing near you, keep an eye out for its eventual migration to streaming. (Also, the film was partly in French with English subtitles, so it was a great extra credit activity for my Duolingo French lessons.)
BookCon—a ComicCon-esque IRL event for book lovers—is being revived in 2026. After having major FOMO from missing Jenna’s Book Festival, I’m marking my calendar for this.
You might remember me raving about this SATC-esque romance novel by internet fave
earlier this year—it’s officially out on Tuesday!Heavily endorsing this Old Navy tank top that looks like Doen. Ditto, this pretty Everlane pointelle number.
In other closet-related news, I’m in deep skirt mode: I ordered this green striped one this week. Also how pretty is this garden party-esque one?
If you need more inspo:
has a great guide to styling skirts for summer.
I’m getting so excited for Lena Dunham’s new show starring Meg Stalter—it lands on Netflix on July 10.
Filming THAT scene in Verity.
More soon,
Becca
yay! on the waitlist for that kate myers book, great tip!
Love the discovery of skirt styles this summer! I just got a white linen skirt from Boden!