Camille Styles

Summer is always the season when I end up serving the most meals for a crowd—and that’s just how I like it. Friends drop by, family comes into town, and one thing is certain: everyone is hungry. Thankfully, peak summer is made for fresh, easy recipes that come together fast. Think laid-back grilling, dishes you can prep ahead, low-lift dinners that keep cleanup easy, and no-cook favorites for the hottest days.

Protein powder has come a long way from the chalky, artificial-tasting tubs that lived exclusively in gym bags. Today—for better or for worse—you’ll find it basically anywhere you want a protein boost without having to cook another chicken breast. As a nutrition consultant, most women I work with aren’t eating enough protein to support their hormones or their goals. But good news! A quality protein powder is one of the simplest ways to close that gap.

Here’s a scene that plays out in nearly every client call I take from June to September: A woman tells me she’s inexplicably exhausted and short-fused—even though she’s sleeping well and exercising regularly. She’s convinced something deeper is going on. Then we look at her food journal. Breakfast is a smoothie—or just coffee. Lunch is a small salad or whatever leftovers were in the fridge. Afternoon snacks are watermelon or a handful of crackers. By 4 p.m., she’s running on fumes.

Last weekend I grabbed a giant bag of shishito peppers at the farmers market—no plan or recipe in mind, just a “these look so good I must buy all of them” moment. (Anyone else share this habit when it comes to summer produce?) I got them home and stood at the counter thinking about how I could dress them up as an appetizer for dinner—something more than just blistered and salted, even though that’s honestly a really delicious way to serve them.

We may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article. Summer used to feel infinite. No school, nowhere to be, the pool, the bike, the particular quality of light at 7 pm when no one has called you home yet. Somewhere along the way, it got shorter—not actually, just experientially, in the way that seasons do when your calendar is the thing running your life instead of the sun.

There’s something about summer that makes me want to spend every possible minute outside. Slow mornings on the patio, afternoons by the pool, beach weekends, long walks before dinner—it’s my favorite time of year. But as much as I love being in the sun, I’ve learned that protecting my skin is one habit I’ll never skip. Sunscreen is always the first step, but a great sun hat has become just as essential.

When Joelle Kutner and Jesse Rudolph, the duo behind the Los Angeles-based design-build studio Ome Dezin, first came across this original mid-century modern home in Brentwood (and collaborated with Claire and Sam O’Connor of O’Connor Estates), it was a moment of faith. Built in 1956, it had fallen into disrepair over decades, with a deteriorating roof, outdated electrical and plumbing systems, inefficient floor plan, and worn materials.

We may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article. This is the kind of salad I make on repeat in the summer, when the tomatoes are at their peak and nectarines are so juicy you have to eat them over the sink. The farmers market in Malibu is a different level from what I’ve experienced before—piles of heirloom tomatoes in every shade of red and gold, peaches so fragrant you can smell them from two stalls away.

We may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article. First, a confession: for too long, I didn’t wear sunscreen. For a skincare devotee, this is near-sacrilege, I know. Turns out, not wearing sunscreen was rendering the rest of my routine ineffective — especially since I was struggling with hyperpigmentation. Now, I can’t start my day without it. And you shouldn’t either. Luckily, sunscreen just got a major rebrand.

We may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article. For me, being near a body of water is the essence of summer. Since we’ve been at the beach house, I’m sleeping more deeply than I have in years, taking long walks before the day begins, and keeping meals so simple they barely count as cooking—fresh melon eaten over the sink, fish tacos on the grill, everything fresh and easy.