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Hello, welcome to or welcome back to tranactic care.
I am sipping on an ice cold latte that I just make made if you heard that little ASMR to start today's episode.
If you're new here, hello, my name is Ashley.
I'm so happy to have you.
I post every single Monday about relationships, friendships, mental health, whatever is going on in my noggin.
We talk about it every Monday and it's so much fun.
It's literally therapy for me and for you.
So I'm happy that you're here and if you're a returning bestie, hi, thanks for sticking around.
Today I wanted to talk about romanticizing your summer on a budget because as I'm recording this right now, it is July 11th and I don't know when the first day of summer actually is.
If it I think it is already so I think it's in June but in my head July is like the middle of summer in my head.
It goes May, June, July and then August and then September in my head is fall.
Anyways, now that it is the middle of summer I want to talk about romanticizing it because I feel like at least for me, I get halfway through and I'm like damn I didn't do anything.
Like this summer sucked and I don't want to feel that way this summer.
I want to feel good about it.
I want to feel like the main character but I think a lot of people confuse romanticizing things with money.
Like I think people believe in order to enjoy their life and enjoy or like feel like the main character they have to spend a lot of money or have all these different products and that's just not the case.
I don't know about any of you but my for you page is filled with people going to the Hamptons and I don't know when we as a collective decided the Hamptons was the place to be and I also don't know when everyone got the money to go to the Hamptons.
Like I don't have Hamptons money but everyone seems to be there or at least like every lifestyle fashion content creator, they're there.
And then I'm also seeing people having an east coast girl summer and having a California girl summer and it can be really discouraging to see that because you're like wait a minute I live on the east coast.
I live in the same area but my summer looks a lot different than yours.
Like for example I live in Connecticut.
I am having an east coast girl summer but my summer is going to look a lot different than someone who also lives in Connecticut but they live in Fairfield County and if you don't know what that is it's just like a richer part of the state.
I don't live near a beach.
I have to drive an hour away, two hours away to have that aesthetic that all these girls are doing so effortlessly online.
I guess the reason I'm bringing this up is because when you see people posting you know in the Hamptons or having an east coast girl summer or having a coastal grandma summer it can be discouraging because you're like I want that but I can't afford that.
I want to have that aesthetic.
I want to live that lifestyle but I quite literally have three dollars in my bank account.
I went in a little staycation like two weeks ago in a little beach town in my state and I was so excited to go because I was like yes like I'm gonna get so much content and take so many videos and so many photos and it's gonna look so aesthetic and I'm gonna wake up on the beach and be able to live
that lifestyle that I see all over my for you page all over Pinterest and although that's nice and although I would love to do that it's not realistic because it's not in my budget.
I can't afford to just take trips whenever I want whenever I want to feel like the main character whenever I want to have a good Instagram post.
I don't want to feel like I have to spend a lot of money to enjoy my summer.
Like I get that going on vacations and going certain places and buying certain products and wearing certain clothes adds to your experience.
Like I did a whole podcast about my summer favorites but you don't have to follow trends.
You don't have to buy into trends.
You don't have to spend a whole lot of money to romanticize your summer to enjoy your summer to enjoy your life.
You can still make your summer memorable and you can still feel like the main character without breaking the bank and that's what I want to talk about today.
I kind of want to run through my perfect ideal summer routine and then I'm going to give you guys some tips some tricks some ideas on how you can romanticize your summer without spending a lot of money or like not spending any money at all.
So with that being said let's get into it.
Like I said this is my perfect ideal summer routine.
This isn't an everyday thing.
I wish it was but this is what I would be doing if I had the time if I wasn't working maybe it's the weekend maybe I'm on vacation.
So do with this information what you will take from it get inspired by it but just know like I'm not I'm not doing this every day even though I wish I was.
This is a routine that makes me feel like the main character that makes me feel like I'm one of those girls that I see on my for you page enjoying their summer and you get what I'm saying okay this is how I romanticize my day during the summer.
First of all when I think of summer I think of one specific sound okay maybe not one this is one of them and that is birds chirping you know the birds I'm talking about you know the birds that would chirp when you were younger.
When I think of summer I think of me waking up in my childhood bedroom and being woken up to those damn birds like waking me up at the ass crack of dawn and it's so nostalgic to me and it just feels so summery to me and I think incorporating like certain sounds and certain things into your routine will help
you romanticize it.
Like when you think of a movie or even something you see on tiktok a big part of what makes that so romanticized is the music or is the sounds.
So with that being said in my perfect world I would wake up to my window wide open and the birds chirping like I don't need a sound machine I don't need my hatch I have the noise machine outside I have the birds chirping but unfortunately I can't do that because I have an air conditioner running so I
can't hear that but in my perfect world I would wake up to that it would wake me up I'd feel like a little disney princess but that doesn't happen but anyways I would wake up open my blinds open the windows get some fresh air in some light make my bed do my skincare drink my water make myself a coffee
and then have my coffee outside because you want to take advantage of the summer weather especially if you live in an area that's really only warm or hot during the spring and summer and I also feel like I'm more inclined to actually get out of my house and go do stuff during the day if I push myself
to even go outside for like five minutes and have my coffee or have my water because I'm a hermit like if I'm inside and I don't push myself to go outside I literally won't after I do all of that I would change into a cute little workout set and this is just another thing that pushes me to be more productive
like if I stay in my pajamas if I stay in my oversized t -shirt that I slept in I'm less likely to go and do something so this just sets me up for a good day so I would do that fill up my water bottle with some ice cold water because I'm way more likely to actually drink water if it tastes good and then
I would go for a hot girl walk and because I don't live in an area where I can just like go outside and walk I would drive there so I would go for a drive to my favorite place to walk or my favorite place to hike and on the drive there the drive there is very important on the drive there I'm putting
on a fire summer playlist I have the best summer playlist right now I have it on my Spotify profile I have it linked in the show notes it is so good like if you are trying to be the main character that playlist is the playlist so I would have that on windows down AC up like I I want my hair flowing
in the wind I want my hand out the window doing the little dolphin thing you know what I'm talking about and screaming the music I really truly believe that things can't change unless you do and as someone who has struggled with falling into bad habits I've come to realize that the best way to change
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isn't just like sitting in their car mute they're screaming they're singing they're having a good time and you have to do that too on my walk I'm staying present I'm off my phone but if I am on my phone it's literally just to put on a self -improvement podcast I have so many favorites I will link a few
again in the show notes but I mean you are listening to a pretty good one right now but uh that's really the only reason I'm on my phone unless I'm you know taking like photos or videos maybe I see a really pretty sight or flower or dog or something that I'm like you know what I need to remember this and I
take a photo of it after I go on my walk and I get home I am going to go back outside and journal a little bit journal about how I feel when I'm thinking I just feel like whenever I do go on walks or whenever I am off my phone and I'm just like very present that's when all the thoughts come to my mind
and that's when I'm really in touch with how I feel and I just kind of want to word vomit into my journal then I would change into a bathing suit maybe make myself another coffee make myself lunch and currently I don't have a pool because I'm renting but mark my words my next house when I buy a house
it will have a pool okay let's just remember that I'm saying this but at this point I would pack up my stuff pack up my lunch get my coffee and a little to -go cup pack a book pack my journal pack all my tanning essentials and I would either go to my parents house who have a pool or I would just go to
a local lake or pond or rivers some body of water that I can get my get my body into and I would literally just spend the entire day chilling by the pool tanning swimming reading relaxing because again you want to take advantage of the good weather and you need that vitamin d the d is fire all the girlies
know the best feeling in the entire world is tanning all day and then coming home showering like having a really good everything shower exfoliating shaving moisturizing and then putting on like a good pair of pajamas it is the best and after I do all of that I would eat a really good dinner I would I
personally I would spend time with my boyfriend I live with my boyfriend this is like our our time you know he's home from work I'm done doing whatever I'm doing and just hang out with him or like let's say he's not home because he does go on a lot of work trips this would be the time to FaceTime my
friends you know get the tea get some gossip you know what's free gossip if you're on a budget gossip is free and good gossip though like not talking shit like don't be mean harmless little chitter chatter with your friends that is a good time and then I would start setting the mood literally setting
the mood for myself how romantic but like you know lighting some summer candles dimming the lights making myself a mock tail like right now my favorite mock tail to make is with nowadays which is like a weed drink and I'll mix that with a poppy my favorite is the cherry limeade or the rosé I think that's
what it is I don't really know but I loved that because I cannot get behind the sleepy girl mock tail anymore I don't know why I literally know that it's only magnesium and all it does is make you sleepy I think I'm a hypochondriac because every time I do that I have a panic attack and I'm like oh my
god magnesium is gonna take me out so I stay away from the sleepy girl mock tail now but I will make myself and nowadays mock tail and I'll just take my happy ass to bed and watch my favorite show which right now is love island love island USA I'm obsessed I won't get into that right now just know that Leah
is my girl Leah and Serena and Janae are my girls and I love them but that's like that's what I'll do and I'll just chill that's when I will go on my phone shamelessly do my stalking do my whatever would I want to do that night play my little games and do that for hours until I want to go to bed and that in my
mind is the perfect summer day where I feel like the main character like I would I would watch that show if someone was like you want to watch a show about this pretty young 20 something who drinks coffee and swims and watches love island I'd be like sign me up yeah yeah I do but that is my perfect
summer routine and now I want to give you guys some ways to romanticize your summer budget -friendly I just made a list of a bunch of things I think would help you romanticize your summer they're not in any particular order maybe I should have organized this a little better but I'm just gonna name them
off we'll get into it now I have a wide variety of different listeners like some of you are in middle school some of you are in high school and you're on summer vacation and you're literally just enjoying your summer which I love that for you but there is a lot of you who are in college or you graduated
or you're just out there in the workforce and you don't have a summer vacation and you're having a lot of difficulty enjoying your summer and romanticizing your summer because you're like bitch I'm working like I'm miserable obviously it's gonna be a lot harder for people who are going into work but if you
are fortunate enough to work from home I think that switching up your routine and like where you work can really help you like if you're working from home instead of working at your desk or working in your house go and switch it up by sitting on your porch and getting some sunlight or switch it up by going
to a coffee shop or even co -working with someone like having your friend over who's also working from home like when I was working at my old job and it was at the beginning of COVID me and like a lot of my friends went remote and I had my friend come over and my boyfriend was also working from home
and we all just like worked in my apartment and it was so fun it made the day go by so fast I made them like lunch we had coffee it was just such a good time but I think that can really help you out if you are struggling with that and if you are someone that goes into work I think just like romanticizing
your morning routine or your routine before work can really help you and still give you that feeling of like oh my god it's summer oh my god I love my life even though you fucking hate it or even just like implementing little things from my routine into your routine like on your way to work listening
to a really good summer playlist or while you're at work having a really good summer tree or really good summer drink maybe don't make yourself a weed mocktail like me but even just having a poppy with a lot of ice in it and a lemon or like a diet coke with a lemon in a really cute to -go cup can add
to your work day and help you romanticize the day next spend time outside in nature whether that be like in a river or an ocean or on a trail or in a park just again take advantage of the good weather and take advantage of the fact that you can be outside and enjoy it and like when I see people posting
these montages of them having these really pretty aesthetic summers they're always including nature and being outside like you might not be in Malibu or have the exact scenery that they do you might not be able to frolic through that exact field that they are but you do have local places there are still
nature near you and being outside is better than being indoors during the summer another thing that you should take advantage of during the summer is farmers markets I don't know if farmers markets are year round or if it's just during the summer and fall but I just started going this year I don't know
why it took me so long to do I just feel like it was something that I had never gone to or done before so of course new things are uncomfortable but I finally did it and I enjoy it so much like I went and I got some vegetables I got fresh lemonade I got a scone and it was so good and just something
about going to a farmer's market and shopping on a farm or shopping locally and not going to a big grocery store to get your produce or get a few different things that's just so fun to me I also just think everything that you get at the farmer's market is so much cuter and so much more aesthetic than you
would get at the grocery store like the packaging that the fruits and vegetables come in are so cute and kind of like I was saying before about how noises and music add to a video or a movie or just like a scene in general I think making things in your everyday life cuter and more aesthetic makes you
appreciate them more with that being said I think instead of just drinking your like coffee or your smoothie out of any cup that's in your cabinet I think drinking that drinking your coffee drinking your water drinking your iced tea out of a mason jar or a really cute coffee cup really adds to the experience
as much as I love anthropology and pottery barn for their glassware like I have I think they're called the icon glasses from anthropology I have so many of them they are ten dollars a glass so if you get four of them which is like I feel like the average for a pack of cups that's forty dollars and in my
opinion that's expensive as much as I love those and I do appreciate drinking out of those my favorite glassware to get my favorite kitchenware to get is from the thrift store like the majority of my coffee glasses my coffee cups are from goodwill and you can get a glass for like a dollar and that's
part of the reason I love waking up and drinking my coffee like I go to bed excited to drink my coffee and it's not just because of the coffee but the whole experience like having a cute little moment in the morning and just having the best iced latte out of the cutest cup with the cutest straw it just
really adds to my morning routine another thing that you can buy from the thrift store is bedding and sheets and I know people get skeeved out by that but I feel like if you're already buying your clothing from goodwill it's the same thing with sheets like you're washing it I hope so I don't think it's
a big deal I buy my sheets and my bedding from goodwill and the reason I think this is really good during the summer is because I think that you should change your sheets and just change up the decor in your house depending on the season like I love decorating during the Christmas time but the thing
is a lot of summer bedding is really expensive like I love the drip avenue I think the berry print is so cute but the price is not and that's why I still have not bought anything from that brand I just cannot justify spending the amount of money that they're selling their products for and I'm sure it's
really good quality but I've also found really good quality on Amazon and at goodwill like right now my duvet that's on my bed I got from Amazon for 40 dollars and it's like a dupe for duerf avenue and I love it I have other sheets and bedding that I've gotten from goodwill that I love to use during the summertime
and at goodwill it's like maybe five dollars at most and you can still get that aesthetic that you would from duerf avenue and other brands I just think that freshening up your bedding is a good thing to do with every season and I also love waking up in a bed with cute little flowers all over the comforter
I feel like a little princess and I love it next watch shows and movies based on the season just like you would watch a Halloween movie during Halloween time just like you'd watch a Christmas movie during Christmas time during the summer watch shows and movies that take place during the summer some
of my favorites which are really good if you want to take note the summer return pretty so freaking good I think next season comes out next summer which is so unfortunate because I need it now Love Island as I've said I was going to say it's a guilty pleasure but it's not even a guilty pleasure anymore
it's just a pleasure I shamelessly am obsessed with that show I watch it every single summer Aquamarine if you haven't watched Aquamarine yet I don't know what you're doing that's like a staple movie for my childhood I wanted to grow up to be just as cool I forget her name but like the mermaid in the movie
so good I haven't watched The Outer Banks but I wanted to add this to the list because I know so many people love that I tried to get into it just couldn't but like it is a good show to have on in the background during the summertime and then I wrote down the last song with Miley Cyrus oh so good and then
of course the Hannah Montana movie like a classic summer movie I just think it's good to watch these types of movies and shows because if you're trying to romanticize your summer when you're watching these shows you can pull inspiration from them like if you're like how do I want my summer to feel like
or how do I want my summer to look like watch these shows and movies and be like oh I like that I like how they dress I like what they're doing and not not copy them but try to emulate that into your life I also love watching people's makeup routines and summer skincare routines and just kind of pulling
inspiration from that too and figuring out what I want my skincare to be and what I want my makeup routine to be because just like in a movie or a tv show or online or even like in a book a character always has a certain look so I love figuring out what I want my look to be that summer next I kind of already
said this in my daily routine but get dressed like you don't have to get dressed up but don't stay in your pajamas all day like throw on a cute tank top and a pair of denim shorts or a flowy skirt or a pair of denim jeans or even like shorts and a bikini top where you can accessorize with your look
like wear your favorite sunglasses or a bunch of jewelry or braid your hair or wear a hat or like wear a bandana and you don't have to buy a bunch of new stuff like I know people are posting their summer favorites I know people are posting their summer hauls go through your wardrobe and experiment with what you
have or like I'm sure your sister has something that you can steal or your friend or your mom like just play with what you have you don't need to go buy a whole new wardrobe to romanticize your life and feel good about what you look like or if you do want to buy yourself new clothes like let's say you
don't fit into your clothing or you just want to feel more comfortable in what you're wearing or you just want to experiment with your look but you don't have anything you don't have to go online shopping like you can go thrifting you can go antique shopping goodwill you can get a shirt for like five
dollars it depends on obviously the area but you can find so many staple pieces and hidden gems at the thrift store and the fun thing about that is one it's an activity to go and like search for something but two a lot of the items that you find are like one of a kind no one else can wear it and it
becomes part of your staple look like your look that no one else can have and when you have a very specific look when you have a wardrobe that no one else can have like they can try to replicate but no one else can actually have the item that you have that is the main character shit the next idea I'm
going to give you I actually haven't done yet and I love this idea and I think I'm going to make one this week and that is make yourself an emergency summer basket throw in your car like have a basket in your trunk that has an emergency bathing suit a change of clothes that has like tanning essentials
a book a journal a towel um a hairbrush some snacks some drinks some bags to bring to the farmer's market or when you go thrifting just a basket or bag of stuff that you would need that you don't want to have to like go home to get like if you're in the spur of the moment and you want to have an adventurous
day you have it in your seat you don't have to be like oh I can't do this today because I don't have the things that I need yeah you do it's in the trunk of your car I am way more likely to say yes to plans and be adventurous and actually get out of the house when I don't have to be at my house like
when I can just be on the road have everything that I need and go the last two ideas that I have are super random and don't align at all but one is keep plants and flowers all over your house or if like you're able to garden I aspire to have a garden like I am literally saving so many photos on Pinterest
of people with these beautiful gardens I'm like I can't wait to have my own house where I can garden like I just imagine myself in a bikini top and overalls and like a straw hat drinking a latte gardening with my dogs running around me and I'm like I want that so badly so if you're able to do that please
do and if you can't do that like just keep a bunch of like flowers and plants all over your house to remind you it's summertime bitch it's not winter things are blooming I should be blooming I should be out I should be having a good time okay now the last idea I'm gonna give you to romanticize your
summer is go on walks with your friends and listen I love a good solo hot girl walk I love being alone we know this which is so weird because I used to hate being alone but it's summer time like it doesn't always have to be business like go and have a walk with your girly if you want to make it even
better go for a wine walk like have a glass of wine or if you're not drinking make yourself a little mocktail and go for a walk and spill some tea with your bestie and let me tell you if you are going on a one walk you are going to be tipsy by the end but like that's one of the best things in life being
tipsy with your girlfriends like that is the best you don't have to always be moving your body to exercise or lose weight or whatever have fun like go for a wine walk and spill some tea with your best friend watch the sunset it is such a good time that is all the tips and ideas I'm going to give you
today for how to romanticize your summer on a budget I just feel like with social media and with influencing being such a big thing nowadays we think that we have to buy all these products and have all these experiences because we see other people doing that and when we see other people our age doing
that we're like oh I should be doing that like if someone my age is able to afford a weekend in the hamptons I should be able to and then we push ourselves to spend a bunch of money or spend money that we don't have and we end up fucking ourselves and it's like we don't have to you don't have to rent
an airbnb in the hamptons to enjoy your summer and you don't have to buy your favorite influencers favorite summer products and you don't have to buy yourself a whole new summer wardrobe because all the clothing that you have now isn't in trend and there's like a whole new trend online like there's
the coastal grandma trend you don't have to do that you don't have to do that to enjoy your summer romanticizing your life romanticizing your summer enjoying your summer shouldn't come with a cost like rich people shouldn't be the only ones enjoying their summer you shouldn't have to pay to experience
life to the fullest and have so much fun like yes yes money can buy happiness I'm not gonna lie there's a lot of things that money would do and would make me happy but you shouldn't be depressed just because you don't have it there's things that you can do that are within your budget or like don't require
spending money at all that will make you so happy and that will make you enjoy your summer so I hope that this episode inspires you to get creative and you know think outside the box and not feel so inclined to blow your next paycheck or feel bad about not being able to afford an expensive vacation or buy
all these products or not being able to master the coastal grandma aesthetic I hope that's what it's called because I've been calling it that the entire episode but you know what I mean okay I hope you loved it I hope you loved today's episode if you did make sure to rate train not to care five star
review if you want you don't have to but it would make me really happy and let me know what you thought about today's episode on Spotify I think there's a Q and A they might have gotten rid of Q and As but I think they added comments so if that's there on your Spotify make sure to let me know if you
don't have Spotify let me know on Instagram let me know on Tik Tok all my socials everything are linked in the show notes today's sponsor is also in the show notes make sure to check them out because I love them and I think you will too but that is today's episode thanks for hanging out with me and listening
to it I love you besties and I hope to see you next Monday love you besties goodbye
