White Lotus
White Lotus, SPF, Trader Joe’s

1. The White Lotus: I mostly decided to watch this show once I learned that showrunner & Survivor season 37 player Mike White had cast his David vs. Goliath tribemate Alec Merlino as a resort bartender in his HBO series. I really loved Mike and Alec as Survivor players (and that season was great). I haven’t watched the whole first season yet, as the sixth and final episode isn’t out. But I’m really enjoying it; the cast, the music, the mood, tone, and social commentary about white privilege are all top notch. I began watching this show on my own but liked it enough to start rewatching it with John. Good stuff!

White Lotus
Image Credit: HBO

2. Paula’s Choice Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid Broad Spectrum SPF 50 [affiliate link]: I got this in the brand’s Anti-Aging All-Stars kit during their June anniversary sale. I’ve been using it daily for a few weeks and I REALLY like it. As advertised, the texture is fluid—it’s runnier than most other SPFs I’ve tried. It feels light on my skin and absorbs easily, leaving no white cast on my fair skin. I can’t speak to how it would fare on deeper skin tones, but as a chemical sunscreen it doesn’t contain zinc oxide, which is typically what gives a white cast. There’s no pilling with my other products. It’s supposed to have a matte finish, which I don’t find to be the case. But the sunscreen is a little less shiny on me than others I’ve tried.

Note: Paula’s Choice has sent me other products to try with no obligation to post, but I purchased this product on my own. If you shop at paulaschoice.com using the link above, I will receive a small commission.

Paula's Choice Youth-Extrending Daily Hydrating Fluid Broad Spectrum SPF 50

3. Gerard Bertrand Cote des Roses: John picked up this beautiful rosé wine at Trader Joe’s…look at the base of the bottle! It’s a freaking rose! The Languedoc wine is a juice blend of grenache, syrah, and cinsault grapes. We really liked this wine and John got another bottle on his next TJs run. It’s a perfect summer rosé. The only issue is that we found the glass stopper hard to open. I’ve never seen a wine come sealed with a stopper like this.

Cote des Roses

4. Trader Joe’s Everything and the Elote Greek Style Yogurt Dip: I absolutely love TJs Everything but the Elote Seasoning Blend, so when I saw on Instagram that they had released a dip, I had to try it. And it is SO DAMN GOOD. By the way, last March (right before the pandemic hit) I totally predicted that TJs would launch this dip, just like they did with Everything but the Bagel seasoning. It’s hard not to just eat this stuff with a spoon.

Trader Joe's Everything And the Elote Dip

5. Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter Beer: yeah, more TJs content. Obviously John made a run to the store this week. A friend on IG posted about this beer, so I wanted to try it. I enjoy TJs cookie butter and I like flavored beer, so why not? I really liked this and would get it again. It’s not for everyone, as the coconut and vanilla flavors are pretty prominent. It’s kind of like a Starbucks flavored latte but in beer form, and I’m here for it.

Trader Joe's Cookie Butter Beer