This post was most recently updated on May 7th, 2016
It occurred to me the other day that there are a few items I just can’t seem to get along without, especially in the summer. I know everyone has a favorite ‘stuff’ list: A lipstick shade that always makes your smile look fabulous, for example; or a pair of sandals that go with absolutely everything and never, ever make your feet hurt no matter how many laps walked around the fairgrounds. I thought it might be fun to share with all y’all, my top five ‘can’t live without em for even a day’ summer must-haves.
The Gold Bar® from Melaleuca®: I am particularly fond of the Pink Grapefruit scent, but I like the original Citrus as well. I love this glycerin bar so much that I use it almost exclusively for bathing during the hot, sticky summer months. It’s amazing – it smells great, rinses totally clean and leaves my skin feeling refreshed but not dry. I don’t even need an additional moisturizer most days! Everyone in my family loves this product as well – it’s tough enough to clean the men after sweaty farm work, yet gentle enough for sensitive toddler skin. The only one who doesn’t use it, in fact, is our dog, who finds bar ‘soap’ much too slippery for her to handle … what her being without a thumb and a finger. This product is definitely at the top of my Summer Must Never Be Without list! If you’re interested in using Melaleuca products, I can help! Contact me for more information on how to get The Gold Bar® and other natural products delivered right to your door!
Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Sea Salt Texturizing Spray®: My hair simply cannot live without this stuff. I have baby fine, straight hair that refuses to hold any sort of style, unless ‘style’ is defined as ‘lay as flat as humanly possible against my head and look sad’. Really. But this glorious product has, literally, given life to my lifeless locks. I spray it on my clean, damp hair (or sometimes my dry, not washed for a couple days hair) and use my blow dryer (cool, low setting with a diffuser attachment) to create volume, beachy waves (I know! Waves in my straight, straight hair!), and texture. It’s like a hair miracle. Bonus points for the fabulous fragrance – it smells like I’ve been at the beach all day – and for the cheap, cheap price tag. I’ve tried other texturizing/sea salt sprays but they just left my fine hair feeling limp and sticky. This one is light and doesn’t dry out my fragile tresses. I use this every single day during the summer, and in all honesty, a good part of the rest of the year, too. I also love the spray nozzle, which delivers an even, very fine mist and gives the user a lot of control over how much or little product goes into your hair. My tip: To avoid over doing it, try spritzing a bit of product on fingertips, apply directly to the roots and work through hair evenly. I cannot give this product enough love!
Countertop Cooking/Baking Appliances: Technically, each of these is it’s own product, I know. But I put them into this one category because I use them with equal regularity during the summer, and I don’t think I could manage without even one of them. So … I may have mentioned that my stove is a circa pre-1940 Chambers A series behemoth that I inherited from my beloved Grandma Thelma. It’s a bit quirky, but it’s a great stove and I love it. Except for this one thing … the “retained-heat oven” that allows me to “cook with the gas turned off” takes forever to cool back down. In the winter, baking in the morning means the house is cozy and warm all day long. But in the summer, baking any time means we will swelter well into the next day as the insulation in that beast really holds in the heat. Needless to say, we avoid using that appliance as much as possible during hot weather. Which is why the 18 quart capacity countertop roasting oven, slow cooker and pressure cooker are summer necessities. I won’t go into a lot of detail about my use of the slow-cooker or pressure cooker – there are a ton of blog and Pinterest recipes out there for each. But the roasting oven may surprise you with its versatility — I’ve actually baked cookies, banana bread, birthday cakes and other yummy treats in it, with great results. It does take a little experimentation with baking times, but it’s totally worth it to be able to bake with summer’s bounty and not heat the entire house. It’s definitely useful for more than your holiday ham or turkey!
Snout Juice: I bet you’re wondering ‘What the heck is snout juice?’ aren’t you? Snout Juice is the name I’ve assigned to a wonderful home remedy that works for sore throats, colds, sinusistis & sinus infections, and seasonal allergies. It’s pretty amazing stuff: It’s cheap to make, super effective and is safe to for my kids to take. This is a recipe I found online, but I tweaked it to suit our family’s taste. You can add more or less of one thing or another to suit your family’s needs.
Snout Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Honey (I use local honey, unpasteurized if I can find it. But any honey works.)
- 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother (It has to have the Mother! Learn more …)
- 1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger (You could use fresh, but it might not blend as evenly – let me know if you try it and it works great.)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Cayenne Pepper (add more or less according to your tolerance for heat)
In a half-pint size glass jar with a good lid, add above ingredients and shake gently to mix. Then fill the jar the rest of the way with water, put on the lid and shake vigorously until well blended. Take 1-2 teaspoons, up to 4 times per day.* Keep refrigerated.
*I mix it in a pint size jar and double the amounts – we use it all the time. We take it at the first onset of a hot, itchy nose; watery, itchy eyes; sore throat; stuffy nose; sinus drainage; or sneezing fits. We take it year round, but it’s especially effective for spring and summer seasonal allergies, like when the canola is blooming or the ragweed is pollinating.
Sonic® Strawberry Limeades: Yes, I know its frivolous. And yes, I realize Sonic sells these babies all year long. But there is something magical about a strawberry limeade when it’s 100+ degrees outside. I’ve had limeades from other places and I like them. There’s a burger joint in my hometown that makes a great one – with real lime juice, simple syrup. It’s good, but can be a bit overpowering if what I’m looking for is thirst quenching. Sonic’s limeades are just the right combination of sweet, tart and refreshing. I really love a regular limeade and a cherry one, too. But the strawberry version has my utter devotion when the temperatures start to rise. It takes me back to the days when my husband and I were first married and would run into town to the Sonic on a spontaneous date, or take a quick road trip – him sipping on his vanilla Coke and me on my Sonic limeade. Every year when the summer sun starts to blaze, I start craving that delicious memory-maker. And now that there’s a new Sonic in my hometown, I don’t have to do without.
So. There you have it – my most favoritist, can’t stand the idea of ever being without them summer must-haves. Sure, there are a few that didn’t quite make the cut – my camera, Bobby pins, Earl Campbell® Smoked Sausage – maybe more than a few. But I’ve given y’all the tip top of the list and I hope you’ll try at least some of them, if you’re not already using them. And let me know your summer favorite things – maybe I’ll find a new one! In the meantime …
Love & Blessings,
That Farm Mama
