July is in the books, folks! I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do now than to share my July things with you.
As always, I hope my list of July things gives you some help or inspiration, and at the very least let you get to know me a little better.
July Things 2025
Food & beverage
My mind automatically goes first to food when I think back on my last month. So I’m not distracted, let’s get all the food-related July things out of the way so I can focus.
Old Standby – Cheeseburger Pie
Earlier this month, my 5-year-old son asked me to make cheeseburger pie for dinner. Completely out of nowhere. I don’t think I had made cheeseburger pie in at least a year. But, like every mother of young children, I made what he requested and I’m sure glad I did. Sure, the classic Bisquick cheeseburger pie isn’t exactly gourmet, but it is such a kid-friendly hit. If you haven’t thought about cheeseburger pie in a while, consider this your hint to give it a try with your kids. They’ll probably love it!
Favorite New Recipe – Cottage Cheese Cacio e Pepe
I love pasta. Pasta with red sauce, pasta with alfredo sauce, pasta with brown butter sauce, pasta with pesto sauce. I’ll take them all. But my absolute favorite pasta is hands down cacio e pepe. This is a bit of a bummer because it’s a little hard to come by. When one of my favorite food bloggers, Gina from Skinnytaste, posted an easy weeknight version of cacio e pepe that used cottage cheese, I knew I had to try it. And dang was it good! It has all the classic simple flavors of cacio e pepe with the added benefits of extra protein and being easy to pull together while refereeing fighting children. This is a real winner!
Biggest Food Fail – Pepperoni Pizza Chicken Fingers
My mother-in-law bought my 5-year-old son a kids cookbook a few months ago. He loves to leaf through it and pick out new recipes to try. This month, he decided he wanted us to try a recipe for pepperoni pizza chicken fingers, He usually eats pepperoni pizza and chicken fingers, so I had high hopes for these pepperoni pizza chicken fingers. Unfortunately, they were just kind of meh for my kids. They ate them, but they didn’t ask me to make them again anytime soon. I also thought they were fine. Definitely edible, but not as special as I had hoped. Oh well, better luck next time!
Dessert – Chocolate Heath Pie
I love to bake, but when it’s as hot as it has been, I hate to turn on the oven when I don’t have to. That has me searching for and trying out a bunch of no-bake desserts in the summer months. In fact, all my sweet July things were no-bake. One of these desserts clearly rose to the top – I am Baker’s chocolate heath pie.
See, I love pretty much anything that contains Heath bars. I have loved them since I was a kid. When I came across this Heath bar pie concoction, I just had to try it. I whipped it up one day this month and offered it for dessert after dinner. My son immediately got excited and wanted to try it. Upon his first bite, he couldn’t contain his happiness. He even said that it tasted even better than it looked. I’ll take that.
Beverage – Lemon Water
Earlier this month, my husband got a bee in his bonnet about lemon water. He asked me to buy lemons so he could slice them and add them to his water in the hope that he would drink more water. I was happy to oblige. While I was cutting up lemon for his water, I added some to mine too, and my 5-year-old also had to get in on the lemon water trend. We’re all drinking more water when we add a few lemon slices. It’s just so refreshing!
Books
July things in the book category were back to normal. I had a mix of bangers and not my favorites this month. I’ll share my best, my worst, and my audiobook standout.
Best Book of July – Verity
No one is more surprised to see a Colleen Hoover book in my best category than I am. I have traditionally not enjoyed her books. I keep trying, though, because they get a lot of hype. The last Colleen Hoover book I tried was Verity and, although it doesn’t completely change my mind about Colleen Hoover, it does make me understand at least some of the hype. Although I don’t love the spice, it really makes you think about who and what you believe. If you like a fast-paced thriller and you don’t mind some steamy scenes, give this one a try.
Not My Favorite – The Giver of Stars
I’m full of surprises this month where books are concerned. On paper, I should have loved The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes. It’s feminist historical fiction about a library, which is right up my alley. Unfortunately, I didn’t love it. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it. I was just confused about why I didn’t love it. I still can’t figure it out.
Best Audiobook – What I Ate in One Year
Gosh, can Stanley Tucci do no wrong?! I have been a big fan of Stanley Tucci for many years. I love so many of his movie roles (The Devil Wears Prada, The Hunger Games, and Conclave to name just a few), and I loved his first book, Taste, way more than I was expecting. I borrowed his latest book, What I Ate in One Year, on audio from my local library this month and I can safely add this book to my long list of all the things I love about Stanley Tucci. As the title implies, it’s largely about the food he eats, but it’s also about his family, his friends, and his honest take on all of it.
Media
It was also a relatively normal month for media consumption. My July things include one TV show and one movie that I finished this month.
TV – Wear Whatever the F You Want
I am a millennial girl so of course I was obsessed with What Not to Wear in my formative years. Stacy and Clinton were my idols. I even applied to be on the show hoping that the smart fat girl who went to college and lost a bunch of weight but had no idea how to dress herself would make for compelling television. Apparently, it would not. But my rejection didn’t cool my passion for the show. I was so sad when it ended 10 years later. When I saw that Stacy and Clinton had a new show on Prime Video this summer – Wear Whatever the F You Want – I dove right in. Some of the stories were a bit over the top, but I was hooked by the nostalgia. I’ll watch whatever you make, Stacy and Clinton!
Movie – Conclave
I’m definitely a bit late to the Conclave party, but better late than never! You see, I have a very interesting relationship with the Catholic church. I went to Catholic school from Kindergarten through 12th grade as a Protestant and know more about the Catholic church than most practicing Catholics. I can’t ever get behind the Catholic church, but I find the pomp and circumstance fascinating. And never is there more pomp and circumstance in the Catholic church than during a conclave. And the movie Conclave captures it brilliantly. I loved the behind-the-scenes look at what might go on inside the sequestered College of Cardinals as they pick a new pope. But what I loved even more was the ending. Wow!
Clothing
I kept my clothing-related July things pretty minimal because I have been wearing my hero summer clothes on repeat. Here are a few things I didn’t talk about in that post.
Pajamas
I am not a matching pajamas kind of girl. My old standby has always been and always will be some sort of boxer shorts and an oversized t-shirt. Recently, I noticed that my boxer shorts from my college days were getting pretty threadbare, so I went out and bought a few new pajama bottoms. And they aren’t men’s boxers! The Joyspun Women’s Boxer Shorts are perfect. They’re just the right length, super soft, and they have pockets. Did I mention they’re less than $8? I sized up because I don’t like my pajamas to actually touch my body, but I think they’re pretty true to size if you’re a normal person.
White t-shirt
This has definitely been the summer of the white t-shirt for me. I wear either a plain white t-shirt or tank top as often as I have them clean. They go with everything, are cool, and just look effortlessly nice. My most commonly worn white shirts this summer have been this simple v-neck t-shirt from Old Navy and a v-neck white tank by C&C California that I picked up at my local Marshall’s.
Bra
My eczema has been having a moment this summer. It usually does in the summer, but this year’s has seemed particularly intense. Even though my flare seems to be on the bad side this summer, I have noticed that I’m not experiencing any eczema patches in one of my typical summer places – under my boobs. This is fantastic news because this is a super painful place to get eczema. I’m giving all of the credit for this change to my favorite wireless bra, Warner’s No Side Effects Lift Bra. If you’re looking for a good wireless bra, give this one a try.
Products
It’s not a list of July things without a few products that I’ve been using and loving. Just a warning: these are random this month.
Apron
After using (and abusing) an apron that I was lovingly gifted for 8.5 years, I was in major need of a new one. I spent one entire morning doing a ton of research and landed on the Williams Sonoma Classic Striped Apron. It got great reviews and the price couldn’t be beat ($29.95!). It didn’t hurt that I had a Williams Sonoma gift card burning a hole in my pocket. As soon as it arrived, I took it for a test drive and man am I glad I got this apron. It’s thick, has plenty of coverage, and washes up nicely in the washing machine. If you haven’t upgraded your apron in a while, I highly recommend.
Dove hand wash
As I mentioned above, I’ve been in the throes of an eczema flare this month. Although this flare has spared my boobs, it hasn’t spared my hands. The constant dish and hand washing make my hands the worst place I am experiencing eczema this time. I tried taming it with immediate application of hand cream after getting my hands wet, but that didn’t touch it. So, I made the switch to Dove hand wash at all the sinks in my house. Although my hands aren’t eczema-free, they’re certainly better than they were. I won’t be going back to regular hand soap.
Zebra Sarasa Clip pens
With getting ready for family vacation and for my son to head to Kindergarten, July was the month of lists. I made packing lists, grocery lists, lists of things to buy for school. They were seriously never-ending. To make all these lists, I needed a trusty pen. Good thing I buy my favorite pen – the Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5 – in bulk. This is the pen for you if you want a pen that writes smoothly, is bold but not too bold, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. I like the blue black ink, but they come in every color of the rainbow if you prefer a different color.
Experiences
We’ve made it to my favorite category of July things – experiences! We had a lot of fun in July, but here are the highlights.
Pool
The start of summer where I live was exceptionally cool and rainy, but that all changed in July. The hot, sunny weather meant we finally got to spend some time at the pool! I have always enjoyed a good pool trip, but I’m enjoying our trips a little bit more this summer. My 5-year-old is really starting to swim well and my 3-year-old is getting more comfortable in the water. We’ve also made some friends this summer and met them at the pool quite a bit in July. It’s so nice watch your kids having fun!
4th of July
The 4th of July is a great excuse to have a great summer day. We kicked off our day at the local parade, then had a kid-friendly BBQ with most of my husband’s side of the family in the afternoon. Lots of fun was had by all!
Concert
I’ve never been someone who goes to a ton of concerts, but that’s been especially true since having kids. In July, we got the chance to go see three bands from our youth – Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms, and Blues Traveler. It was so nice to have a little date with my husband listening to music that took us back to the good old days. Although all three bands were great, Gin Blossoms were definitely the highlight for me. They know how to put on a show!
Kid stuff
If you have kids around the same age as mine, here are a few of my stand-out kid-specific July things you might want to snag.
Flossers
My kids actually like to floss. If you’re as amazed by that as I was, you need to introduce flossers into their dental hygiene routine. They get so excited to floss their teeth we actually have to limit their use of the DenTek Kids Fun Flossers. I sure hope this is a habit that sticks as they grow up!
Bike
We got my son an 18” Joystar pedal bike for his 5th birthday back in December. He learned to ride without training wheels when we went to visit my parents in Florida in February. Then he didn’t have much opportunity to show off his new skill because it was either cold or wet for months on end. July brought with it warm and dry weather, so he finally got a chance to put some miles on his bike this month. He’s been absolutely loving tooling around the driveway/cul-de-sac and heading to the park to ride his bike while dad gets in a run chasing him. It’s certainly been fun for him, but it’s also been fun for me watching him experience this quintessential part of childhood.
Under Armour sets
Apparently, the cool fashion for 5-year-old boys is a matching Under Armour short set. My son had a few hand-me-down sets from his older cousins that he liked well enough, but at some point over the last few months, all the boys in his class decided that was the only thing they would wear. I mean, they’re comfy, so I get it, but now we have a whole bunch of clothes that likely won’t ever see the light of day again. As long as this lasts, it’s constant laundry for me so he always has one clean.
Blog posts
Congratulations! You made it to the end of the July things post. If you liked what you read, but you missed any previous posts, here are the posts that Sara in Season readers loved most in July:
What were your favorite July things? Please share down in the comments below or over on Instagram @sarainseason!