Summer Heat Wave: Survival 101
If you’re north of the Mason Dixon, and you still see green when you look outside your window, you don’t know jack about a heat wave. And this year, in the good ole CSA, it’s one for the record books. By my count it hasn’t rained, properly rained, in over two months. Our city water supply is enacting water conservation periods. At the Bradley house, we’re on timed showers and the toilets are abiding by “if it’s yellow”….well, you know the rest.
Now, I know many other parts of the country are enduring this drought and heat, but a Southern heat wave isn’t just about the heat. With the summer heat comes many other undesirables. The bugs, of the biting, stinging, and noise-making variety. Mosquitos, the unofficial Arkansas state bird, are out in the millions. Cicadas are performing twilight choruses so loud you can’t hear yourself talk, or think for that matter. The grass in the yard has faded to brown. The plants you lovingly planted in Spring, have withered and died. A car parked in a parking lot is now an oven. The steering wheel is too hot to touch. The humidity is thick enough to slice. And wasps, well, they have it out for you.
How can one survive all this madness?! True, it’s difficult to not only survive it, but to thrive in it. Summer chic is tough when it’s over 100 degrees. But NOT impossible with these simple steps developed through Southern heat wave after Southern heat wave.
Step 1: Protect your skin. Get a facial moisturizer with SPF, chapstick with SPF, and good sunscreen. A sun-kissed tan can be a perfect summer accessory. You know what isn’t a perfect summer accessory? A wicked sunburn, peeling skin, and dry, chapped lips. Don’t mess around with your skin. You only get the one set. Here are my go-to skin protectors.
1. Philosophy Hope in a Jar Facial Moisturizer with SPF 20, $39.00 for 2 oz.
2. Carmex Lip Balm Stick with SPF 15, $1.69
3. Aveeno Hydrosport SPF 50, $8.99
Step 2: Get the poly off your body. Ditch the poly fibers and make cotton the fabric of your summer. It’s light, it breathes, and if you pick the right color, no embarrassing sweat stains. A 100% cotton button up is a good choice. Like the gingham button-ups I’m wearing in these photos.
The one on the left is from Wal-Mart. The one on the right, from T.J. Maxx.
Step 3: Let your feet breathe. Whether I feel hot or cold has a lot to do with the temperature of my feet. If my feet are cold, I’m shivering. If my feet are sweating, I’m burning up. So in the summer, it’s all about open toes for me. Put your feet in closed-toe shoes, without socks, and you’ll be sweating in no time. And then those cute new flats become those stinky flats you don’t wear anymore. So bust out the sandals and show off that pedicure. Here are some of my go-to sandals this summer.
1. Payless Montego Bay Club Striped sandal, $24.99
2. Shoemint ‘Carol’ sandal, $79.98
3. Groove bow sandal available at T.J. Maxx, $12.99
Hopefully these steps will bring you a step closer to surviving the heat wave in style. Stay cool, stay chic, and happy summer!
-annieb
July Little Black Bag Wearing It: Red, White, and Gingham
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