This Summer We Choose Ourselves, Wherever We Are

No fancy itinerary needed. Just me, sunscreen that loves Black skin, and the choice to rest deeply. *This post is sponsored by Walmart and Collective Voice

There’s this very specific magic that happens when summer hits - fun fact, it’s *almost always summer in Palm Springs and now I’m an expert in harnessing the magic. This NYC girlie stays ready, my head is on swivel but living in endless summer asks a softer question: Are you ready to enjoy yourself?

I say yes. Loudly. As much as humanly possible.

We aren’t counting down to vacation. We are taking little moments multiple times a week to choose ourselves! I’ve already said, I’m not jetting off to a far away land unless you count spending some much needed time at home on the east coast doing much of nothing. As for right now, I’m sporting my collection of caftan’s daily (Walmart.com has some cute ones!) if even to do my makeup or after work for dining al fresco at sunset. My summer starts in my own backyard. Literally.

Palm Springs in the summer is…an experience. Yes, it’s hot. Hot hot. But it’s also still. Calm. And if you’ve done it right, your backyard is a full-blown oasis. My staycation is right here. My lounge chair is perfectly placed to get that glisten, a perfect cucumber-mint water in the cutest keep it cool cup like I run a wellness retreat, a magazine I may or may not look at, and a soundtrack that floats between Sade and The Cure.

These ceramic plates from the Drew Barrymore collection from Walmart.com are so gorgeous!

Keeping the little drinky cool in the cutest cup and going absolutely nowhere without my Sunbum sunscreen both from Walmart’s website.

The perfect ultra soft, fast drying Turkish towels

There’s this ritual I’ve come to love - slipping into the pool late morning, floating on my back like I'm melting into the sky. It’s simple, quiet joy. And it’s mine. No fancy itinerary needed. Just me, sunscreen that loves Black skin (no white cast is critical!) and the choice to rest deeply.

That’s what this summer is about for me. I’m not checking off destinations and I don’t feel bad about that. It’s about saying: I deserve ease. I deserve rest. And being ok with the fact that right now I don’t want to fly twelve hours to feel free.

So if you’re watching everyone else’s Euro summer and feeling like you’re “not doing enough,” let me lovingly remind you: joy is where you are. Maybe it's in your own backyard, or at a local beach where the waves don’t care about your inbox.

— THIS POST IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WALMART —