Side Bar: At the Beach

So full disclosure—I had hoped to make the sidebar post more visual (i.e. video format) but that will have to wait until I move in the summer because the way my current house is set up, the acoustics are just turrible. Turrible.

Anyway, June went by hella fast. Probably because I went on a much needed vacation! Like obviously seeing my dad and his family was great, but the sun! Omg, it was much needed.

So let’s just start with that—Panama was beautiful. I really recommend it as a vacation destination.

I spent some time in city and in smaller parts of the country. Staying at my dad’s place is always a whirlwind of seeing relatives, but it’s nice and I can confirm that my favorite restaurant in Chitre is El Mirador. This cute fish place that has a pretty view of the small town.

We’ve gone each time I visited and this time I realized that omg, Panamanian food is my food. Like, people always ask “what do you eat?!” because I have such limited “likes” and as I ate the best patacones of my life I was like, oh. This is it. What a weird epiphany to have in your 30s.

 

We spent some time at the beach and another day in Colon—what I want to say is my fave place in Panama. First, it’s on the Atlantic and also the food is bomb. I had the best meal ever-ever—of arroz con coco that was beyond delicious. The town is so picturesque and lively.

  

The day before I left, we spent the entire day on Isla Taboga (the closest beach to Panama City). We took a ferry to the island, and halfway there we were caught in a rainstorm. It was pretty serious rain, but as we arrived to the island, the clouds cleared and we had a great day. I got really tan!

Unfortunately, towards the end of the day I got a migraine and was about to pass out from the pain by the time we got back to the city.

The next day I headed back to Chicago. I had a five hour wait in Houston but got on standby! So I came home a few hours earlier, which was nice.

Overall, it was an amazing trip.

Aside from vacation, work has been steady. It’s summer so you know I’m taking advantage of having intern help and I’ve been werking. I filed FIVE cases in June. Unheard of! The only big thing at work was that one of my friends has left (her fellowship ended). We had her party at the end of the month, and I’m super sad about it.

 (not pictured–all of us taking shots)

Oh! And our luncheon, which let me tell you a story that is peak me—I wouldn’t call myself a snob, but I do keep track of things and was a little offended that I got seated in the way back with interns. It was due to the fact that I was helping with sign in, but still, I’m a great rep for the agency—I don’t sit in the back with interns. Halfway through the lunch I moved to another table because like…nah. Lol I know most people don’t take “offense” over where they’re placed, but I am extra so I did and then I moved.

 

Anyway, let me stop being petty.

Home-wise, construction is moving super fast! Dry wall was put up this past weekend, and it looks so put together. I have been helping pick out paint colors and fixtures, etc. I will be happy once the tile is down and it looks really put together. If everything goes according to plan, we should move in by August! Crazy.

Ok the best part: makeup! So now that I came back from Panama like three shades darker, I have been using my Neutrogena CC cream and I love it! It’s thin, but gives a nice finish and doesn’t melt off my face in this heat. It’s surprisingly my tone, which is hilarious that I got that dark.

Skin care—I tried the L’Oreal Revitalift cream as part of an Influencer challenge. I used it for two weeks, upon my return from Panama, and I liked it! I was especially focusing it on my forehead, which shows signs of aging more prominently when I’ve exposed it to the sun. The cream helped bring back some of the suppleness that was missing after all the sun damage.

The only thing is that in the morning, I had to make sure to wipe it off before applying makeup otherwise there would be residue all over my face. Womp womp, but for a night cream I think it really does the trick.

What are you favorite skin products for the summer?