Frozen Treats, and The Highs and Lows of Summer

I didn’t intend to skip a week and a half of blogging. Those of you who have been reading Beautymommy for a while know that this is a fluke, an aberration. And it’s not without reason. July has been a challenging month, with the fun of a nearly constant onslaught of cousins, beach trips, and birthday parties partially overshadowed by the untimely death of a dear friend’s husband and another dear friend moving away, at least for now. Add to this the normal whirl of daily life, with dinners to cook and laundry to do and photo shoots to plan, all in what feels like 110-plus-degree heat, and I am done. That’s why I’ve resolved to spend what we have of August (my girls start school August 20th) relaxing and enjoying the simple pleasures of summer. Fortunately, Lola was happy to volunteer her wish list, unbidden. Here’s what it included:
A trip to Monkey Joe’s with Max & Grace, and then ice cream
A picnic in the mountains, and then ice cream
Playing frisbee on the beach, and then ice cream

Notice a recurring theme? Frozen treats have been a staple of our poolside meals this summer, both the homemade yogurt-and-berry-pops and avocado pequetas, and our favorite store-bought varieties. Here, our favorites:

Ciao Bella Ice Cream Sandwiches: I love all of Ciao Bella’s unusual, sophisticated gelato flavors, but our current favorite are the ice cream sandwiches. My favorite is the Key Lime Graham, while the rest of the family goes for the Belgian Chocolate S’Mores. We also love the Blood Orange Sorbet Bars and the Adonia Frozen Yogurt Bars.

Cool Fruits Frozen Pops: A much healthier alternative to Flavor-Ice, which contains tons of fake, yucky ingredients and colorings, these are made from pure fruit juice, and my kids love them.

Smooze! Fruit Ice: My absolute favorite, these converted a fear-of-frozen-stuff type like myself. I am addicted to the coconut mango flavor, which is small enough to be a quick sweet treat without a lot of commitment, but I’ve just bought some of the Pink Guava flavor too, and I can’t wait to try it. And kids love squishing the bottoms to make the ice come up.

I plan to devote the rest of the month to summertime style and fun, before diving into back to school ideas (gulp) in August. In the meantime, stay cool!