Summer 2025: I married my favorite person. Had the dreamiest honeymoon. Visited Paris and NYC. Picnicked. Road tripped. Connected with friends. Painted. Started an intimidating home design project (more to come). Napped. Read. Wrote. Played 18 holes (multiple times). Took pictures (not enough). Slowed down. Made plans. Went offline. Loved all of it.
With Labor Day weekend upon us, I wanted this issue to be a light summer recap, organized from A-Z. I’ve read a few of these, and they’re 10x more fun than an ordinary photo dump. I hope mine inspires you to make your own list of small joys in alphabetical order.
A - Antique hutch. I found this beauty in an antique store, and I had to have it. I love it so much. Now I just need a china set…
B - BS. My favorite acronym. Also, I can’t wait to tell you about all we have planned for the fall!
C - Country concerts. Seeing Chris Stapleton and George Strait at Highmark was an unexpected highlight. Note to self: Go to more outdoor concerts next summer.
D - Dog portraits. Our wonderful photographer, José, took this black-and-white portrait of Brando running around the morning of our wedding, and it’s one of my favorites. I have to get it framed.
E - Earrings. Fun fact: I only got my ears pierced six years ago. Before that, I just wore clip-ons. But this summer, I found myself gravitating towards chunkier earrings. My favorites are these Jennifer Fisher hoops, which are so light you almost can’t feel them.
F - Flowers. Specifically, this tiny fresh-flower arrangement that my friend gave me in a spice jar.
G - Golf. Before I met Josh, I’d never played 18 holes of golf in my life, and that changed very quickly. This summer we played a lot. For the record, women’s golf clothes have gotten really good! I love Malbon. I wear my stuff from them — this and this — all the time, even when I’m not playing.
H - Hawaii. I’m biased, but it’s the best place to go on a honeymoon. You can relax on the beach and swim and hike, and feel completely off the grid for a few days.
I - Inches. My hair has grown about four inches this summer! Some days I miss my bob, but I have to say, it’s really nice being able to pull it back without needing a million bobby pins to hold it.
J - Josh. My HUSBAND!
K - Knee-high boots. This is an end-of-summer thought, but I’m shopping for fall boots already. I’m thinking about styling them with longer shorts, like these.
L - Loewe. Have to highlight the bag of the summer. It was my go-to.
M - Matzo ball soup. Surprising summer pick, but when I had a summer head cold a few weeks ago, Josh made me my favorite matzo ball soup, and I believe it cured me.
N - New Balance. I just got a new pair and I’m obsessed with the lace.
O - Orzo. Over the past few weeks, my go-to dinner has been orzo with chicken and artichokes. Sometimes I’ll throw in some mushrooms, too. So easy and so good.
P - Polaroids. From our wedding and honeymoon.
Q - Quiet mornings. I’m trying to take my mornings a little slower lately. It’s a work in progress, but I’m feeling motivated to take my time getting out of bed and doing a yoga or pilates class instead of a hard gym workout. A gentle start to the day.
R - Road trips. Something about me: I love a long car ride every once in a while. I use the time to listen to music or a podcast, or call a friend to catch up.
S - Shared Notes. They’re just so efficient! This summer, I used them for grocery lists, packing lists, and group trip communications.
T - Tomato dress. I’m looking for any excuse to wear this dress.
U - Underpainting. I’m so glad you guys loved last week’s issue with my makeup artist, Mary Phillips, the queen of underpainting. Her palette is game-changing.
V - Vintage jewelry. Like, this pre-owned Tiffany necklace — someone needs it.
W - Wedding. Because you all loved our wedding issue so much, I’m planning to publish a fun deep-dive on wedding planning in the fall. I’m going to bring on some friends to help.
X - XOXO.
Y - Yoga. I really did a 180 on yoga. I used to think it didn’t do anything for me. Now, it feels like the perfect exercise: A mix of balance, breath, and slow, purposeful movement. Melissa Wood Health has a great yoga series.
Z - Zest. I can’t walk by a lemon tree and not take a picture. You can almost feel the sun through the photo. And the zest of a lemon is one of my favorite smells in the whole world.
That’s it, an A-Z of summer. Let me know if you make one! It’s a perfect cherry on top of summer.
TO WATCH: Hard Knocks. Duh!
TO BUY: Speaking of clip-on earrings…these are so good.
TO READ: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin by Marisa Meltzer.
TO CHECK OUT: Queen City Vintage! Their annual kickoff event is happening this weekend, both in-store and online. It’s the best Bills gear in the game. Reread our issue featuring my friends Nick, Kai, and Mike, here.
TO TAKE WITH YOU: “To say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it. It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall.” -Ann Patchett
Love,
Hailee (Beau)
Highlighting your comments on the previous week’s issue. Today, we hear Tiara’s response to THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
“I have read this issue at least three times already, so I can absorb every tip! What better way to get tips on beauty than from the icon that is Mary Philips! (I hope there will be more makeup-inspired letters in the future!!) I am afraid I have fallen victim to being influenced and may or may not have an mph underpainting palette and dual-ended brush en route…I have been trying to nail this technique for so long.” -Tiara
