Bust out the sunscreen, bring out the shades, because summer is here and it’s hot, hot, hot! Whether you’re staying in town, or of gallivanting across the world, I’ve put together your summer essentials to ensure that the next few months breeze by in complete and utter bliss. If you have any upcoming trips, or plan to park yourself on a patch of grass with a packed lunch, these essentials will definitely complete any summer plans that you may have.

A Great Summer Read

I don’t know about you, but there’s something about the summer and warmer weather that makes me want to curl up on a lounge chair in the sun with a book. As a child, I was always a voracious reader, but over time as I grew up and assumed more responsibilities in my life, I began reading less and less. At the beginning of this summer, I made a commitment to myself that I would read more, so I picked up 2 books from Indigo’s Summer Reading List to pass the time during commutes to-and-from events, whenever I had down time, or just to get engrossed in an amazing novel in general. These are the 2 that I picked out for myself:

I made a goal that wasn’t too lofty, but one that was definitely achievable so that I could keep myself accountable to completing it, while at the same time not beating myself up over it in the case that I didn’t. I promised myself to complete 4 books over the course of the summer (with an end date of the end of September), and it’s safe to say that I’m halfway through that challenge! With two books in, I’m well on track to get to my goal of 4 books within the next 2 months. I’ve already selected the next 2 titles that I’ll be immersing myself in, and oddly enough, one of them is actually one Peter’s picks for the summer! I’m a sucker for thrillers, so once I found out that he was reading one, I instantly included it on my summer reading list. I won’t reveal the 4th title just quite yet, so you’ll have to tune into my Instagram stories to find out what my last book of the summer will be, but I promise that if you like any of the ones that I’ve been reading so far, you’ll definitely enjoy it as well. These are the 2 that Peter picked out for himself:

And while I love the feeling of holding a physical book and flipping through its pages, I recently learned how to load my books onto a Kobo so that I could bring multiple books around me without added weight. But on days when I don’t want to bring any books with me at all, I can easily slip the Kobo into my purse. This little guy weighs literally next to nothing and has made my regular commute across the city pass by faster than ever.

I was never much of a Kobo user before this summer, but ever since I began using it, I can definitely understand why everyone raves nonstop about it—efficiency.

Taking it one step further, for the days when I want to carry nothing except for a tiny purse, I’ve also loaded the audio versions of my current books onto my phone using Kobo’s app. So as long as I remember to bring a pair of headphones with me, I can literally continue my book anywhere, anytime. I seriously don’t know what I was doing before joining the Kobo club. Not only has it greatly improved the quality of my commute, but when I’m fully absorbed in a book, I don’t have to stop reading just to get things done. Free time? Read the physical book. Traveling across the city? Flick through the e-pages of my Kobo reader. Taking Kobe out for a walk? Plug into my Kobo app to listen to my book.

Sun, Skincare, and Self Love

I’m a huge advocate for sun safety, but did you know that skincare goes hand and hand with proper sun safety measures? After a long day in the sun, regardless of how much sunscreen you may have applied, your skin definitely needs a bit of R&R to bounce back quickly and healthily. Even if you may have consumed an entire liter of water, chances are that your skin may be dehydrated due to the increased exposure to sun.

You guys already know by now that I’m a loyal CeraVe user who is obsessed with their Moisturizing Cream throughout the winter, and my love for it doesn’t stop in the summer. Though it may be a thicker formula than their Moisturizing Lotion, I’ve always found that all CeraVe products soak and sink into the skin relatively quickly regardless of formula. The staying power of the cream is exponentially longer than the lotion though, if that’s what your curious about.

What’s new to the cream is that CeraVe recently introduced a pump lid that can be used in place of the regular cap lid, making it infinitely more hygienic to share the cream with your friends and loved ones. Peter claims to not steal my moisturizers, but I swear that the product in my tub disappears faster than what I can regularly use on myself. Regardless, if he is stealing it, he won’t be transferring any bacteria into the container anymore thanks to the pump!

Another one of their products that I absolutely love (and it also doubles as a travel hack!) is their Hydrating Cleanser Bar. Not only can you use this for your face, but your body too. When traveling, I try to reduce the quantity of liquids that I bring because not only does it take up space, but when traveling with only a carry-on, there’s only so many liquids that I can realistically get away with storing in my bag. Thanks to its double duty, Now only can I wash my entire body and face with it, but completely cut down on bringing 2 whole bottle of liquids. Instead of packing both my face wash and shower gel, I now pack a little soap bar with me wherever I go.

And if you’re worried about the bar being too drying for your face, it’s not. CeraVe products are always ridiculously gentle, so for someone with fairly sensitive skin, I’ve never found myself breaking out, getting rashes, or feeling overly dry due to the use of this soap bar. But at the same time, it does provide my skin with a thorough cleanse that I never go to bed feeling gross or dirty.

Shorts, Shorts, Shorts

As much as I love dresses because they’re so easy to throw on without really having to think about your outfit, shorts are such a staple and I can never go through a summer without adding a couple new ones into my wardrobe. I’ve got a massive collection of your staple jean shorts, and quite a few khaki ones, but I’ve never owned a pair of overall shorts, and GAP‘s summer collection had me seriously intrigued. I’ve seen other girls style their overalls with one shoulder strap off, or paired with a cute eyelet top and bubble sleeves that I knew this would be the summer of the overalls. I picked out a pair for myself and I haven’t be able to stop wearing them since! Seriously, it’s like a bad addiction.

I’ve also found that overalls can play double duty for a purse as well. How, you may ask? Well with so many pockets, why even bother bringing a purse around? In all seriousness, I have a pocket for my phone, a pocket for my wallet, another one for my keys, and that’s all I really need in life if you think about it. Can you store that many belongings in your typical shorts? Didn’t think so. Get yourself a pair of overall shorts this summer, you’ll be thanking me when you wear them!

Get Paid to Shop

Since you’re probably going to be spending quite a bit of money updating your summer wardrobe, along with some other summer essentials, you might as well be making some money back. I’m not joking, you can literally be paid to shop. Sounds too good to be true? Well it’s not.

About 5-6 years ago, I was watching some videos on YouTube when I discovered this platform called Ebates.ca. The site essentially partners up with a massive collection of retailers that give you a certain percentage of your sale back with every purchase that you make through them. And every 3 months you’ll receive Cash Back on Ebates by cheque or PayPal deposit! I’m not even joking. This isn’t a drill. This isn’t a scam. After using the site for 5-6 years, I can 100% assure you that I’ve received multiple checks from them to satisfy my shopping habits. If you’re going to shop anyways, why not get paid to do it?

How exactly does it work? First you’ll need to create an account on their site. Once you’ve done so, you can begin to shop. Ebates doesn’t provide cash back for every single retailer in the world, but their portfolio is quite extensive (750 stores!!!) and you’re bound to find at least 3-5 on there that you already frequently shop from. Once you’ve located your retailer, all you’ve got to do is to follow their instructions, click on the appropriate buttons, and begin shopping!

I know that right now the site probably seems too good to be true, but trust me, once you start using it, you’ll see just how easy and efficient it is. I’ve also recently installed their Chrome extension onto my browser so that I never miss the opportunity for Cash Back whenever I’m online shopping. With so many retailers under their belt, it can be easy to forget which ones qualify for cash back and which ones don’t. Luckily for me, the browser extension automatically notifies me whenever I’m shopping on a site that qualifies, which allow me to always make that Cash Back on my purchase. I recently found out that Expedia (up to 3%!) is one of their partnered retailers and I scored an insane amount of money back from the purchase of my round trip tickets for San Francisco! Flight tickets are by far some of the largest online purchases that I make, so I’m always excited to book them when I know that I can make a little bit of money back.

But besides Expedia, Ebates has partnered with many of my favourite retailers such as GAP-2% (if you’re picking up those shorts, you better be getting some cash back!), Amazon-up to 5%, Topshop-3%, Dyson-2.5%, Sephora-2.5%, and Barney’s New York-3% just to name a few. But there are so many more and I consistently find new ones each week to shop from. So if you’re planning on doing some shopping this season, please, please, please do yourself a favour and make sure to do as much of your shopping as possible through Ebates!

And that’s it! I hope that you guys enjoyed my summer essentials round up. Let me know if there’s anything that I’ve missed that you would consider to be an absolute must have. I hope that you guys have an amazing summer!

This post was written in collaboration with Indigo, CeraVe, GAP, and Ebates, however all views are 100% honest and my own.