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An extra essential that I did not list above is what we all know Fourth of July for, and that's the fireworks!  When I was younger, I was terrified of fireworks.  If we ever drove to watch them, I would be taking cover in our car under a blanket, keeping my eyes shut and tightly covering my ears.

Since then, I have fortunately overcome my fear and currently seeking for an awesome place for a fireworks show.  I researched a lot of different options, and while I may I will most likely end up somewhere a short drive from where I live, there's one particular place I was most interested in.  It's the Cliff Drive, west of Edgewater Park.  If you don't already know where this spot is, it's located between the Memorial Shoreway and Lake Erie where it faces the Cleveland skyline.  Cleveland Scene rated it as one the best places to watch fireworks.  Cliff Drive is roughly a block long, so you have a decent size space where you can pick a seat to watch.  Having such a large view, you can see from afar all the bright colors shooting into the air without being super up close.  But wherever I do end up going, I'm looking forward to what memories and traditions will be in store for this year's holiday.

x.

C

As a final favorite, I wanted to share this advertisement Nike released after the Cavs won the NBA finals.  It's titled "Worth The Wait" (how fitting, right?)  I love the raw emotion in it, but maybe that's because I'm FROM Cleveland.

It's definitely a good year for CLE.

Do you have any monthly favorites?

x.

C

Nothing makes me happier than a crisp, new planner.  Since high school, I loved receiving a new one every year.  I was the type of person that enjoyed decorating it, highlighting important events and saving it so I could look back at the stuff I did that past year (call me a nerd, I know).

I always had been a Lilly Pulitzer agendas fan.  While it may be the very stereotypical pick for any girl in her teens or mid twenties- I adored mine.  It was perfectly suitable for keeping tracking of my tasks and could easily fit inside my backpack or tote.

However, it wasn't until this summer that I realized that I would begin my first phase of entering the work force- trading in my backpack for a briefcase.  I quickly learned that working a 9-5 job was far from glamorous, and scheduling all my to-do's in a day would become overwhelming.

The idea of investing in a new planner then occurred to me.  By no means am I trying to wish this summer away, but the end of June is typically when most of the new agendas come out.  Maybe it means nothing to others, but to me buying one seems like baby steps towards a new adventure.  I surprisingly find a sense of comfort in choosing one  It just makes adulthood seem that much more real, but less discouraging.  Listed below are some of my favorites:

The Day Designer for Blue Sky Collection // MADEtoPLAN // Rifle Paper Co.

Kate Spade // Ban.do // Lilly Pulitzer

Day Designer for Blue Sky Collection

You've probably heard of The Day Designer- a luxury daily planner that maps out your schedule to live a "well designed life."  I had always been skeptical about The Day Designer.  The layout and price did not meet my criteria and I shied away because of this.  Fortunately, I was swayed otherwise when Target released a cheaper version of the brand featuring daily and weekly pages.  Being able to see my week at a glance is why the weekly layout is my favorite and I am thrilled that Day Designer and Blue Sky have teamed up to create these affordable planners.  With the price being $10, this one is definitely a contender.

MADEtoPlan

I love Etsy and stumbled upon this very unique agenda.  Unlike others, this agenda can be customized to however you want- from the color, name and layout!  The layout is what drew me to the planner in the first place.  Their layout options include weekly, weekly with notes, hourly and morning to evening.  The red polka dot cover caught my eye, but they have a huge selection of other prints.      The MADEtoPlan is (literally) made just for you!  We all run on different schedules and do not all share the same approaches to completing tasks- and luckily this agenda gets it.

Rifle Paper Co.

I want everything from this company- but especially their planners!  My favorite one has the cutest desktop design on the front and the spiral is protected by a hardcover case.  The layout is neat and clean with plenty of room to write down anything you want.  It's a decent size so that you can take it anywhere you go!

Kate Spade

These agendas are second behind the Lilly Pulitzer agendas as far as popularity.  I like that Kate Spade's agendas are always kept professional and minimalist.  While the price may be at the top of my budget, Kate Spade is known for quality and that's exactly what you get when you pay for one.  

Ban.do

Talk about a FUN planner!  Ban.do is a company that offers bright, colorful products that unleash your inner kid.  They have a huge selection of planners, varying in so many sizes and fun patterns.  The blue is my favorite and I love that each page is large with zero lines in the weekly calendar spaces.  Thereby, you the have the freedom to write wherever and however.  Also a silly, fun design is featured at the beginning of each month to help get you excited for what's to come!

Lilly Pulitzer

Instead of parting from my Lilly I'm considering to upgrade to the jumbo size to have more room to write and jot down notes.  They're so cheerful and fun- who knows I may just pick myself up another one.  And sometimes, you don't know a good thing till it's gone, right?

Which agenda is your favorite?

x.

C

For those who know me, they know I love making lists.  Making lists keeps me productive and motivated where I get the satisfaction of crossing off an item once I complete it.  To celebrate my first blog post and the first day of summer (wow, that was fast!) I crafted my own list of things I want to do before the leaves start changing again.  

My list contains a mixture of things to do- as a bucket list should have!  On my to-do list, I made it a MUST to go to flea markets as much as I can.  Flea markets on Saturday mornings are always a good time and my favorite so far has been The Cleveland Flea.  I went with my boyfriend to their first one of the season in May and ever since I've been smitten.  We discovered so many cool new and vintage finds as well as amazing food trucks in our day's worth of wandering the flea's massive parking lot.  It was also very family friendly which was an added bonus.  The Cleveland Flea is located in the Asia Town neighborhood so trekking downtown was a bit of an adventure.  However, it was definitely worth it and I recommend that you go if you haven't yet.  

Another item on my list was to watch a sunset, a perfect activity for the cool summer evenings.  My boyfriend told me how Cuyahoga Valley National Park has the perfect place for this.  He typically runs the trails there but before he mentioned it to me, I had never heard of CVNP.  But to my surprise, CVNP is definitely a hidden gem.  If you love outdoors, this will become your favorite hiking spot.  I had always been accustom to the Cleveland Metroparks- but they are nothing compared to this place.  CVNP is ranked as the #11 most visited national park in the country and who wouldn't blame them?  From Brandywine Falls to Ritchie Ledges, there's so much to do here in this little slice of paradise. 

Being posted in Cleveland (hence the blog title), a few activities are obviously limited to only those living in 216 area code; however, while my list may not be prioritized the same as yours, I encourage you create your own summer to-do list!  It's easy and can help you keep active for these next couple of months.  I recommend keeping it somewhere accessible like putting it on a bulletin board or even typing it up on your phone.  That way, if you're running out of ideas of what to do your list will come in handy! 

What's on your bucket list?

x.

C