Olga and Meghan's Summer Recommendations

It's late May as I'm writing this intro, and the summer vibes are hitting me hard! So here is our list of summery things that you can enjoy in the warmth while you're sitting on your porch with some lemonade :-)

Books

Books suggested by Olga: 

Anything by Morgan Matson 

 No books feel more summery than those of Morgan Matson's. Each one features some likable and absolutely charming characters and lovely summer adventures. It's light enough to read on the beach, but also lets you in some deeper emotional layers, so you could perhaps shed a tear.

My favourite by her was probably "Since You've Been Gone". It's all about Emily, who spends a summer completing a bucket list her friend Sloan left her. As she completes some crazy tasks, she meets new friends and comes out of her shell. The story is sweet, fun and heartwarming, and .. just bloody read it. 

I recently got the new one and I can't wait to read it:

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty 

This is a realistic series of diaries by a girl going thru high school, college and then adult life. And by realistic I sure don't mean boring - the main character, Jessica, is sassy and funny. And pessimistic. She's kind of like me. 

Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty 

A crazy thriller full of secrets!!!! Might be a bit slow to get into, but it brings in a lot of greatness in terms of the complexity of character. The story takes off when a woman finds a letter from her husband that she's not supposed to open... and obviously, the nosy woman opens it. And shit goes down.

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Books Suggested by Meghan

Juliet by Anne Fortier

Ah yes, there will be a recurring theme for my posts! This book is amazing, and you get to travel to Italy in it. It takes place around the main character, Julie Jacobs, who has just discovered that she is the real-life descendant of history's true Juliet, Giulietta Tolomei. She travels to Italy only to encounter the various descendants of the original houses and discovers that Mercutio's famed line "A plague on both your houses!" might be truer than she could've imagined. This book is so good! I don't think I guessed the ending at all, and Fortier has this magical way of combining history and fantasy together.

Why is it good for summer? Who doesn't love a love story to read by a campfire? Also, who doesn't want to go to Italy? And who doesn't want both! 

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen 

Olga convinced me to read my first Sarah Dessen book (i.e. I stole it from her) and this has got to be a great summer novel. If not THE summer novel, to me. This is the synopsis (taken from Wiki...what I didn't think it was summed up any better? :P) 

"Auden West is a smart girl who didn't get the chance to enjoy the activities young children often got to do (such as riding a bike) when she was a child. After being accepted into Defriese University and graduating high school, Auden is not sure on how to spend her summer. After receiving a package from her brother Hollis who is touring Europe, she decides to take up her father's offer to spend her summer before college in the beach town Colby."

Where she meets Jake, our local hot boy in the small, but beautiful beach town her father and his new wife live in. There she gets to learn how to have the typical summer by meeting new people and having new experiences. She gets to hang out on the beach while solving some pretty hard family issues, and, of course, romance issues.

Why's this great for summer? It's the perfect summer book. It takes place in summer, in a beach town, and these people do all the #justsummerthings and it has a lovely teen summer romance, as far as I'm concerned. I read this last summer and the setting of the town Colby, reminded me of a place I used to love visiting in Michigan, called Ludington. But whatever the typical, or perfect "summer" is for you, Dessen has most certainly covered it here. 

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Movies/Shows

Olga's Suggested Movies/Shows

Eurotrip 

 I have never laughed at anything more than this movie. Amazing travel inspo. But Slovakia does not look like that! They use the bloody Euro for fuck's sake.

Gossip Girl 

DRAMA! AND CHUCK! AND BLAIR AND CHAIR! AND DOROTA. I mentioned before how much I love this show. It's light enough for the summer, but wild enough to keep you bingeing forever. And could someone tell me how they were able to get so many drinks underage? 

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid 

The cutest anime I've ever seen! It has dragons. And maids. Which you already probably knew. Cause title. (Note to self = don't write posts after a day full of midterms and presentations at 11 at night). I got Meghan to watch ep.1. Please urge her in the comments to finish :-p

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Meghan's Suggested Movies/Shows

Letters to Juliet

This is my favourite movie and it's FULL OF CHEESE AND ROMANCE. So yeah, I like cheesy early 2000s movies and this one probably takes the cake if you haven't seen it. It's about an emerging fact-checker for the NY Times named Sophie who's getting ready to take a pre-honeymoon with her work-obsessed fiance Victor. He plans to start up an Italian restaurant and they go to meet clients in Italy. Sophie, being the romantic, wants to see the sites and runs into three women at Casa di Giulietta, who call themselves the "secretaries of Juliet".  They basically answer heartbroken letters as Juliet from women all over the world. Sophie, entranced by it all, joins them while Victor goes to meet clients. One day she finds an old letter that's fifty years old hidden in the wall. It speaks of a woman named Claire who didn't go to see her true love, Lorenzo, when she was studying abroad. 

So, naturally, Sophie writes her back, and a week later, Claire appears! Of course, she's an old woman by this time, but she wants to find her Lorenzo. Along with her comes her stuck-up grandson, Charlie, convinced that Sophie has done the worst thing possible. Nonetheless, they go on the road to find Lorenzo. What will happen? 

Why is this great for summer? It's so cheesy, but just the right amount. I mean I wasn't bored excessively by the love scenes, and to the film's credit, there's not a lot. It's sweet, and beautiful all in one, and doesn't that encapsulate the feeling of summer?? It's just the right amount of "feel good" to sit and watch on a warm summer's night. 

Mamma Mia! 

This one I'm quite sure everyone has seen or at least heard of. Oddly both star Amanda Seyfried AND THEY'RE BOTH NAMED SOPHIE (Conspiracy!!). Anyway, the Sophie in this one is also getting married. But, she doesn't know who her dad is, but she's stolen her mother's diary and is convinced that she'll know her dad when she sees him. So without her mother's knowledge, she invites the three suitors: Bill, Harry, and Sam, unsuspectingly to her wedding, and they think it's Sophie's mother Donna, who's sent the invites. The whole movie is accompanied by some of the band ABBA's best hits.

Why is this good for summer? It's a fun musical singalong set in Greece! You'll enjoy the music and the gorgeous Greek scenery, and it feels like you're really there! The actors are all really good too (save Pierce Brosnan's singing). Altogether, it's a funny rom-com musical with good feels! 

Blended 

This one's an Adam Sandler movie, but it's been a family favourite of mine, and my mom and dad like to watch this one too. It's about two families by accident, coming together on a trip to Africa, and learning to grow and figure out what it means to be a family, regardless of where you come from. That, and it's a romantic comedy between Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, which I'm always down for! 

Why for summer? It's, as the others, a love-story, and overall good feels! 

Wild Hogs

My dad has always loved this film, and we pull it out every now and again to reminisce. I remember it being our favourite for family movie nights, and oddly enough, these were between the months of June-August. It's an oldie but a goodie. Four suburban biker friends decide to go on a road trip to the Pacific. Each guy has their own idea of a failed life, and throughout the trip, try to come to terms with it. On the way through, they accidentally piss off an actual biker gang and are on the run from them.

Why's this good for summer? It's a travel flick, obviously, but a hilarious one! You'll see why if you watch it! 

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Miscellaneous 

Olga's Miscellaneous

Get the fuck outside

 Depending on where you live, now might be the only time it's actually nice out and you won't freeze your ass off. So get Vitamin D, you need it to live.

Make lemonade

And I don't mean in that bullshit inspirational quote sense. Like actually squeeze the lemons into the jar. Recipe video below.

Learn something new

Cause it's fun. Whatever you want.

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Meghan's Miscellaneous

Go on a Road Trip

Anywhere. Somewhere. Even if you can't travel far, go experience some new shit! 

My Summer Podcast: Limetown

I listen to this while I work out now! Only at episode 2 but it has a creepy vibe that I love!

Go out onto your driveway and watch the stars at midnight. 

Cliche, but a goody. Even if you can't get far, this is always a nice alternative! 

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What  do you enjoy most about the summer? Let us know in the comments? 

~Olga and Meghan