A decadent little checklist for your HOTTEST summer on record

plus, accessories to lean into shell girl summer 🐚

Hi, friends!

What a week. I had the divine pleasure of seeing Trevor Noah on Thursday night at a very intimate venue in Brooklyn, followed by Heather McMahan’s sold-out show at The Beacon Theater on Friday. Foodie highlights included finally getting a reservation at Red Hook Tavern to try their famous burger (lives up to the hype), my first Mister Softee cone of the season, and splendid sushi at Nama—specifically, the spicy scallop handroll that I’m still thinking about days later.

Nonstop laughs mixed with that special kind of anticipation I feel when a trip is on the horizon have made for a fun combination in recent days. Tomorrow, I head to Nantucket for an entire week!!!!! Needless to say, my mind is squarely in summer mode: stocking up on sunscreen, being magnetically pulled to purchasing silly accessories, and saying yes to fun. So this edition of The Sunday Series? It’s your permission slip to do the same.

• A roundup of accessories that will infuse extra frivoilty into your summer

• Your invitation to do The Artist’s Way together…starting next week!

• The Vault (Paid Subscriber Exclusive): 10 ways to make this your hottest summer yet

• The Vault (Paid Subscriber Exclusive): shows I’ve binged and loved in the last two weeks, podcasts that left their mark, and stories I’ve consumed and loved this week

Before we dive into 10 Ways To Make This Your Hottest Summer Yet, to access the complete version of this and future posts, upgrade today! Paid subscribers of The Sunday Series unlock an exclusive section of paywalled content in each send, access to the full archives (including Your Local’s Guide to West Village, Your Ultimate Paris Guide, 100 Hotels I’m Dying to Check Into, My Holy Grail Rules for an Overnight Flight, 31 Ideas for Your Next Birthday Trip, A Playbook for How to Make Friends As An Adult, and 16 Prompts for a Personal Quarterly Review), the commenting feature on each post, exclusive giveaways, and more. Plus, your support directly helps ensure this newsletter can continue to grow! Subscriptions are $8/month or less than $7/month if paid annually—also known as less than one fancy Starb*cks order. But don’t let me be the one to tell you why you should upgrade! I’ll leave that to a fellow reader…

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Some are saying it’s a shell girl summer. And as I’ve been planning to pack for summer travels, I couldn’t help but agree; I’m clicking on far too many shell and fish-themed accessories, which is a perfect breeding ground for even more targeted ads serving me more and more and more of these gems. So much so that I thought I’d put together a list with some of the most gorgeous items I’ve discovered in case you, too, are in the mood to adorn yourself with shells! From necklaces to clips and handbags, these would also make perfect gifts for any summer birthdays you have in your circle.

1. Mignonne Gavigan: Emmi Necklace (shell and pearl beaded collar necklace)

2. Simon Miller Shelly Mercado Tote in Natural (raffia handbag with natural seashells across body and magnetic closure)

3. Ossa Orange And Pearl Ballchain Wristlet (genuine freshwater pearl and orange blossom pendants on high-polished metal ballchain)

4. Jennifer Behr Corsano Earrings in Moonlight (luminescent shells suspended from emerald-cut crystals, set in a hand-formed 18-karat gold-plated bezel)

5. Few Moda Beaded Starfish Necklace (white starfish and natural brown beads with an the adjustable length)

6. Emi Jay Miss Super Bloom Clip In Jelly Lemon (claw clip with three plumerias is large enough to hold a full head of hair, and perfect for a half-up-half-down)

7. Lizzie Fortunato Cabana Necklace in Tide Pool (single-strand staple necklace with color-blocked beads in jade, moonstone, green aventurine, opalite, and freshwater pearl, and crystal quartz, turquoise, and gold-plated accents)

8. Else Bare Soft Plunge Bra (wireless soft triangle bralette with supportive but sheer mesh)

9. Julietta Mykonos Necklace in Pearl (silver-tone, freshwater pearl and shell necklace)

10. Poolside The Islan Bucket Bag (custom-designed scallop shell and starfish chain strap inspired by vintage gold jewelry)

💸 aaaaaand as a disclaimer, this shopping section—as always—includes affiliate links. These little babes help me continually reinvest in making The Sunday Series better. I make a small commission when readers click and shop through my links at no additional cost to you—so if you found something through a link I sourced, please do consider purchasing through that link so I’m credited! Speaking of, I’ve been using the ShopMy platform for a few months and love it. Want to start making commission on the links YOU share? Sign up with my referral link for a 10% bonus on your fist six months of linking.

I’ve been curious about The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity for quite some time now. And when I put two and two together that it’s a twelve-week creative program and there are about a dozen weeks until my next birthday, it seemed like a no-brainer to dive into this ASAP and invite you to join me.

What is it? The Artist’s Way is designed to help people unblock and rediscover their creativity. Each week introduces a different theme with exercises, reflections, and tools to gradually build creative confidence and flow. Core tools used every week include…

• Morning Pages: three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing done first thing every morning to clear mental clutter.

• Artist Dates: a weekly solo outing to “fill the well” and spark joy, curiosity, and inspiration.

Back at the top of the year, I shared one of my most popular Substacks to date: 2025 Intentions: To Get HOTTER and RICHER. The response made it clear that you were more than ready to embody my 12 commandments for getting hotter! Then, in April, came 26 Little Luxuries that Make an Outsized Impact, and again, you confirmed we’re all about the art of romanticizing the everyday.

But if January is about resolutions and April is about rebirth, June is about desire—the desire to be fully alive and embrace all this shift in seasons represents.

I’ve written about my love for a fresh month before, but it bears repeating on this first day in June. Whether you track your life in a physical planner or just mentally flip the page, there’s something about a new month—especially this month, the one that ushers in the first [official] day of summer—that feels ripe with possibility. So in the spirit of turning the heat up on your mood, your habits, your whole vibe, I’ve pulled together a little list to help you manifest your hottest summer yet.

10 Ways to Make This Your Hottest Summer Yet

01. Book the trip.

It’s no shock that I’m a huge proponent of this, but I truly can’t emphasize how much of my annual memories are cemented around my summer trips. Whether it’s a spontaneous weekend within driving distance, European jaunt, or New England coastal escape, shift from “thinking about it” to “booked.” If you need ideas, I’m linking up my birthday trip recommendations which could really be applied to any trip and are broken up into ideas suited for when you’re solo, with a partner, with a small group, or with a larger gaggle of friends.

02. Walk like you’re late for a lover, not a meeting.

We’re not rushing this summer. It’s just not hot!!!! Instead, build a playlist that shifts your energy, to make you feel like you’re not commuting, but instead bopping from one exciting opportunity to the next. I’m working on cultivating my summer 2025 playlist as we speak, but in the meantime, linking up my friend

Emily Brillanti

’s (her Substack,

Open Aperture

should be in your rotation) beach candy playlist, which I love.