July 2026 Levity List

Hello from 33,000 feet.

I’m sitting in seat 33C which happens to be in the last row and conveniently right next to the bathrooms. Sometimes we pay for good seats, other times we pay the consequences. That’s travel life, I suppose.

For the new subscribers here, welcome!

I typically send a newsletter once a month to tell you about the shenanigans of my American expat-life in Nigeria. (This is the one about Adventures, this one is an Afro-beat dance class review, and because I know you’re wondering, this is how we got to Nigeria in the first place.)

But because I spend summers stateside, I share an annual levity list each July.

By my made-up definition, a levity list is “a list of non-critical recommendations to help invoke critical emotions like hope and joy.”

So, without further ado, let the July 2026 Levity List begin!

A few of the links below are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission off them, at no extra cost to you. (I’m working to offset my coffee addiction!)

1. This is the story of how a simple, but generous act of friendship went viral (and is still going!)

Since we met 15 years ago, my friend Angela has been my hype girl. It doesn’t matter what I’m working on, she just believes in me. As a writer, this can feel critical.

We had just finished visiting each other for the weekend. Ironically, she kept saying we needed to do something to go viral, a comment I laughed off.

Fast forward to the following Thursday, the boys and I had to catch a flight to Detroit. Before boarding the plane, I was on my Substack app and all was normal. Then I flew, lost wifi, and turned the app back on 2.5 hours later.

To my shock I had 99 notifications!

I thought maybe it was a glitch. Or that I had gone viral?

But instead, Angela had liked every post and note I’d ever written.

As of this writing it has over 22,000 likes and 313 restacks. I’m both shocked and full of gratitude.

Angela and I decided we’re both going to print and frame it in celebration of the time we actually went viral. Friendship is more lifegiving than fame any day.

So, my recommendation is to go support a friend today in some way. Likes, follows and shares are free to you and mean more than you know for the recipient.

2. The Timeshifter app.

If you travel across time zones, I highly recommend using Timeshifter. As the “#1 Jetlag app,” this app asks questions about where you’re at, where you’re headed and then gives you a schedule for caffeine, sleep and even when to wear or not wear sunglasses!

I used it for the first time this May, when we were traveling from Nigeria back to the USA for the summer, and it absolutely saved me a few days of jet lag misery.

It’s a paid app, but the first plan is free, so it’s worth a try.

3. Health coaching

My friend Gretchen, who also lives in our camp in Nigeria, is a certified health coach who offers 1:1 coaching to reach your health goals. In addition to coaching her clients, she does weekly check in calls, works to help create meal plans, and provides individualized exercise ideas.

In her words, “my job is to help you lead a healthier lifestyle with better habits related to food, movement and daily activities.”

Gretchen is also a fabulous person and friend, so if you’re wanting to work on a health goal, I can’t recommend her enough. You can reach out to her on Instagram here or you can email her at gretchen.thibodeaux@gmail.com.

4. Birkenstocks. Birks have been perfect for life in Nigeria, where it’s always hot, but I still need comfortable shoes with some support.

I love THIS pair, because they have a slight wedge and are slightly dressier ( and I do mean slightly) than the traditional flat ones.

But I also LOVE this pair for more casual wear (this is most of my days in Nigeria). My green ones have been worn almost daily for 3 years and I just bought a pair in black!

5. Toy Story 5

We don’t have a traditional movie theatre experience in Nigeria. We used to go to one near camp that smelled like a gym, but the last time we tried was a total fail.

We waited over an hour and had to move to 3 different viewing rooms, but they still couldn’t get the movie to play. All the movies there are bootleg versions, and they indicated that they’d accidently downloaded a corrupted file. This shocked no one.

All that to say, when in America, we love going to a good movie. And Toy Story 5 was both heartwarming and relevant.

6. Speaking of Nigeria, Carry Them Ministries , is a non-profit organization based in Northern Nigeria.

   They work to nourish and save the lives of malnourished babies in their area. The dedication they have to their clients and the babies they serve is inspiring.

   You can give them a follow on Instagram here. They are one of my favorite follows.

7. Away Luggage

Confession. When we first moved abroad, a friend told me we needed good luggage and recommended Away. But when I saw the price of them and figured we’d be fine.

Fast forward to our Christmas trip to Europe when we found ourselves dragging 10-year-old luggage through cobblestone streets. The first thing we did upon arriving home was invest in all new luggage.

We’ve never regretted it.

I recommend this one for a good carry-on, this one for a medium luggage size (some bigger planes will allow this as a carry on, but the smaller ones will make it you check it), and this one for a really nice size checked bag. The trunk holds so much, so we use it when we know we want to bring home a lot.

8. This strawberry necklace from Noonday.

I bought this thinking it would be an occasional piece for just a few specific outfits. But I quickly fell in love and started wearing it with everything. I get compliments every time I have it on, apparently people love a mini-strawberry. It turns out the exact one I found is sold out, but this one is similar, just a little bigger.

9. Supergoop Play Sunscreen stick

As a redhead, who owns a small human who is also a redhead, I’m a major sunscreen snob. This summer I discovered the Play stick. It’s quickly become my favorite sunscreen product, even my kids like to put it on.

My favorite thing about it isn’t how easy it is to put on, or how light weight it feels, but the smell. This is one of the first sunscreens I’ve found that doesn’t smell like sunscreen, instead, it smells like a hint of oranges. We’re sold.

My flight is going to land soon.

It’s completely full, and turns out, everyone on board had to go to the bathroom. Seriously, it’s never been so popular.

Perhaps everyone ate lettuce recently?

I have no idea.

My arm space has been compromised as I’ve turned into a sort of human bumper between the walkway and the restroom door. My concentration has been compromised as well, since each flush sounds like a minor explosion.

But writing this levity list has been a fun distraction. Which brings me to my final point.

10. Substack and more specifically, you.

Writing is a joy and I’m honored you’re reading along. If you enjoyed this levity list, I’d love it if you’d hit the heart button or share it with a friend. There’s no bigger compliment than that.

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I’d love to hear what’s on your levity list this summer in the comments.

Cheers!

Brittany

PS.

Don’t forget to do #1!

PPS.

For those of you who’ve been around awhile, you may notice this post is early. I’ll be traveling to Croatia during the actual first Monday of the month (when my posts traditionally come out) as we are spending our last week of summer in Dubrovnik.

This is likely our last school year in Nigeria, so we’re cramming in as much travel as possible! I have all the feelings about this transition, but that’s a post for another day.