2025 Summer Recommendations

Happy July!!! I’m so excited for this month! For me, today marks a halfway point of summer, but I know for others, their summer is just starting! (& its actually a halfway through the year... crazy!)

But for me being halfway through my summer, I’ve been really focused on making my summer feel like an ice cream cone with sprinkles on top during a hot day by the beach… or in other words: super duper summery! Sometimes it seems like when we aren’t being intentional about embracing the moments, the moments pass us by. It's so easy to let summer pass us by without enjoying what we have around us. Or letting ourselves compare what we are doing to what everyone else is doing, instead of enjoying the things we have available to us. Thats why I’ve made it a goal to not let that happen this summer, and I want to encourage you to do the same! Be intentional and have fun embracing the little and the big things this summer. Today I want to share some summer recommendations that do just that!

A little fun fact about me is that I actually have two pen pals from middle/high school and one of them recently asked me for some summer book recommendations, which lead me to compose a list of summer recommendations and even a little bucket list as well! And I wanted to share it with you! 

There’s a quote that resonates with me about how we are made up of all the books, art, and media we consume. And nothing is more true. We are what we consume, which is why I have been intentional about what I am consuming this summer.

So today, I am going to share summer books I have read/want to read, some summer related crafts that I've recently done or have plans to do, and some movies that just scream summer time to me! Let's be intentional about making this summer enjoyable and memorable!

SUMMER BOOKS

I LOVE books, however I know they can be pricey. So before I go on, I do suggest you get a library card. Not only does it support your local library, it also saves you TONS of money, especially if you are an avid reader! Typically all you'll need is a proof of residence! Now onto the recommendations, I want to be completely transparent and tell you that while I've read a good majority of these books, there are some on here that I have on my to-be-read list, that have been recommended to me as good summer reads by friends and co-workers. And it feels wrong to keep those summer titles all to myself, so I've included them too, so we can all have the summery-est of summers together!

Fiction:

• One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

• Malibu Rising by Taylor Reid Jenkins

• Summer Romance by Annabel Morgan

• Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

Teen/Young Adult:

• Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welsh

• The Summer I Turned Pretty By Jenny Han

• We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

• The Summer Of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther

Romance:

• Every Summer After by Carly Fortune

• Beach Read by Emily Henry

• Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

• Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

• Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

• Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams

If you are wanting a cute, clean romance, I'd suggest Practice Makes Perfect or Love and Gelato. If you want something more mystery with a touch of complicated family dynamics, I'd read We Were Liars. And if you want something more thought provoking with a side of romance, I'd suggest Great Big Beautiful Life or Just for the Summer.

Crafts really heal the soul. We are what we consume, so to combat that over-consumption, lets start creating more! I am such a proponent that we all have a little bit of an artistic side in us, whether its been buried under insecurities, or lack of self-confidence... I believe its there. Crafts aren't meant to turn out perfect, they are meant to nurture our souls.

SUMMER CRAFTS

• Paint Shells: Maybe even make it a jewelry holder.

• Summer Scrap Book: Something fun and simple to remember the summer by. Doesn't matter if you are just starting the summer or halfway through, it can still be fun!

• Beaded Bracelets: You can even do matching ones with friends or make some to give out to strangers with kind messages on them!

• Shell Hair Clips: So easy! Just hot glue some shells around the outside of an old hair clip to make any outfit more whimsical this summer!

• Seashell Wind Chimes: Funny enough, this is actually inspired by my Grandpa who found my seashell collection and used one of my shells to fix up an old wind chime and it turned out beautiful!

• Paint with Sea Water: Recently did this with my sister at the beach! Used some basic watercolors, and scooped up some sea water! So fun! Could even be done with a lake or maybe catching rain water!

• Charm Necklaces: I just made one of these and LOVE it! It feels like little pieces of me all together in one necklace. I even added a shell I found from beach. If you need some charms, I also used some old necklaces where I loved the charm, but the chain had begun to rust so I dis-assembled the old necklace to use the charm!

• Sew book covers: Ever want to learn to sew? Start with some easy book covers! There are tons of tutorials online and on Pinterest!

• Paint Picture Frames: This can be used to hold some of your summer memories you're making! And you can up-do an old frame if you want.

• Pen Pal Letters: I've definitely said this before but having a pen pal is so. so. fun! It doesn't have to be a total stranger, reach out to an old friend you've lost touch with and reconnect via letters!

• Create bookmarks: Use watercolors, thread, or beads, however you like.

• Air Dry Pottery: I love air dry clay, its so fun and easy! Two years ago I made a small tic tac toe set that is so adorable.

• Sun Prints: This is one I have not tried but stumbled upon on Pinterest and now 100% will be trying it out this summer! It's basically making art with tumeric and nature (like leaves or flowers)

• Swimsuit hanger: We all need a place to dry out swimmies after the beach or pool, why not make a cute swimsuit hanger or decorate one with seashells or pretty art work?

SUMMER MOVIES/TV SHOWS

Who doesn't love a good movie to put you in a summer mood? My mom, sister, and I, all love to snuggle on the couch and watch movies together... however picking one out? Total hassle. No one can agree (we all have our favorites). So this summer, I made a list (most of which are rewatches for us), of summer time movies or TV shows.

Movies

• Aquamarine

• Midnight Sun

• Mamma Mia

• Endless Love

• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

• Soul Surfer

• The Last Song

• Teen Beach Movie

• Lilo And Stitch

• Dirty Dancing

TV Shows

• H2O

• The Summer I Turned Pretty

• We Were Liars

• Dawsons Creek

Those are it for now. I hope you are having the best summer, however I know that summer isn't always the happiest time. There can be bouts of loneliness from school being out, or feeling down because you're at home while everyone is on vacation. I want to remind you that there is fun to be had right at your own house. What we see online are just highlight reels of peoples life, you don't know the struggles someone may be going through in their own life, so its not fair to either of you to compare.

Embrace the summer moments you are given, and find gratitude for what you have in your life, from the biggest things to the smallest things.

Lots of love little Bee's,

Brooklyn.