Crowdsourced from the Six Gardens Community: Summer Edition
Okay, today’s post is all about books, podcasts, products, and more loved by you. I wanted to put together a master list, sourced by the Six Gardens community, so that we can all benefit from each other’s tips and recommendations. To all of you who responded to our Instagram questions: THANK YOU! If you enjoy this kind of post, it can become a series. Let us know what you think!
This round of recommendations is (loosely) summer themed. Hopefully the books and podcasts will keep you company while you’re adventuring, relaxing, or simply enjoying the sunshine; the skin and body products will keep you glowing and sun-protected; and the drinks will remind you of exactly what you need to order or make when an al fresco happy hour opportunity comes around.
Books
From fun beach reads to non-fiction, to memoirs, the book recommendations that came in are varied. Hopefully your summer book list will take shape after checking out this list!
Educated, by Tara Westover, here.
The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck, here.
A Collection of Essays, by George Orwell, here.
The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah, here.
We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart, here.
A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman, here.
Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, by Kevin Kwan, here.
Less, by Andrew Sean Greer, here.
Podcasts
Just like the book recommendations, the podcasts you all shared look awesome and diverse. From health and wellness to investigative journalism, you are sure to find something to keep you entertained at the gym, in the car, or while you’re beach-lounging.
Terrible, Thanks for Asking, here.
Heavyweight, here.
S-Town, here.
The Food Medic, here
Deliciously Ella, here.
The Rich Roll Podcast, here.
Congratulations with Chris D’Elia, here.
Armchair Expert, here.
Drinks
Some of the drinks included here are fairly obvious—in fact you might already enjoy some of them. In that vein, think about these recommendations as reminders for what to order when an iced coffee doesn’t sound exciting.
The standby at-the-bar orders for two respondents: Aperol spritzes and spicy jalepeno margaritas.
One respondent apologized for the “basic-ness” of this, but it’s good: Whispering Angel rose. On the subject of summery wine, try ordering champagne or prosecco “a la piscine” (by the pool), meaning on ice.
Non-alcoholic recommendations included strawberry and lavender lemonade. Also, try serving a coconut La Croix over ice with muddled mint, a squeeze of lime, and a pump of simple syrup. With the addition of alcohol, the last would be great as a cocktail too!
Finally, if you’re at the coffee shop or want to play the barista, try minted iced coffee or an iced chai. And if you’re in the Bay Area, go to the Coffee Shop (how about that for a straight-to-the-point name?) and get their coconut orange iced latte. Or recreate that at home by making a homemade orange syrup, and shaking a standard latte with said syrup and a tablespoon of coconut cream.
Products
More than one respondent mentioned Yes To products. One reader swears by their daily clarifying cleanser (here for $7) and one of the gardeners claims the whole line is awesome. Get glowing skin with this $4 mask or gently cleanse with this $13 coconut oil cleansing balm.
As far as skincare goes, The Ordinary was also recommended by a respondent—check out their line here. Totally budget-friendly, by the way!
My contribution to the Instagram poll was Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap in the citrus scent. Grab a 32 ounce bottle for only $16 here. It actually smells like citrus thanks to the natural and organic oils used in the formula. So fresh, clean, and light—perfect for summer.
The last response to the product poll was a lip oil by Nars. Find it for $26 here. It looks like the ideal summery, barely-there shade with a slightly glossy finish.
Alison