Modern Picnic’s Insulated Lunch Box Saved My Summer

My goal is to ride out the end of summer as a professional guest. I’m not letting the sweltering heat get me down, so my Resy app is open and my strappy sandals and I are ready to hit the town. For the next few weeks, I intend to pack my calendar with dinner parties, brunch reservations, happy hours, park picnics, beach days, and more. We’re approaching the “Sunday scaries” stage of summer, and I intend to take this bull by the horns. Every time I leave my apartment, I want to see where the wind takes me. Forget rotting, I want to languish.

Seeing where the wind takes me does mean I have to be packed and ready to go at all times for whatever the day might bring. So here’s what I’m keeping stocked in my favorite (insulated!) bag this month:

A cute bag that’s actually a cooler: Modern Picnic Large Luncher

Wearing this bag on my arm feels like when someone compliments your dress and you say: “Thanks! It’s got pockets.” “Oh, you like my purse? Thanks! It’s actually a lunch box.” This bag is big—after all, it’s meant to fit a container of fresh berries or some seltzers for your park picnic. But I challenge you to look past the lunch box to see what I do: a stylish alternative to a tote bag that can fit my book, keys, camera, wallet, a small snack, and whatever else I need for any summer outing. Pro tip: The insulation also means it’ll help keep my lipstick from melting in the summer heat.

Party trick condiment: Bruschetta Butter

“I need to remind myself this is butter and not hummus,” my friend lamented after I brought this bruschetta-flavored butter to a party a few months back. I’d forgotten to prepare something to bring and threw this in my bag as an afterthought, but within an hour, over half of it had been devoured. Now it’s my go-to spread for anything and everything. It’s perfect whenever I want to quickly add a bit of that tomato umami flavoring to crackers, sandwiches, and more. I was a little apprehensive about carrying this around in the summer heat, but with the insulation from my Modern Picnic bag, this is my new go-to picnic or party contribution.

Go-to guest gift: Via Carota bottled cocktails

I can’t grant a coveted reservation to Via Carota to all my friends, but I can give them one of the famed restaurant’s bottled cocktails. I believe you should never show up to a gathering empty-handed—you always should have a gift to give your host as a sign of gratitude. You can’t go wrong with a nice bottle of wine, but I’m upping the ante a bit with the Via Carota bottle cocktails. The glamorous ribbed glass will leave your host gushing with “thank-yous,” and the gift only gets better when you crack open that bottle cap to sip on the vibrantly refreshing drink inside. They’re relatively small, so I can slip one right into my wicker purse/lunch box and set off on my merry way.

A playful dinner party accessory: Swinging Farfalle Earrings

These earrings to me are the food person version of everyone’s fixation with bows. Forget the fancy pearls and dripping diamonds—this is the accessory I’m reaching for when dressing up for my fancy dinner parties. It’s a bit like a joke you’re inviting everyone in on. They’re the double take kind of piece that can take an outfit to a whole new level, and they’re the perfect conversation starter for any event you’re planning to attend.

The junk drawer: a little bit of everything else I’m loving right now

Described by my friend as “frosé in book form,” I read Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados last summer and decided it was going to be my mood board for every summer going forward. Without spoiling it, this book follows two 20-something girls—Isa and Gala—as they navigate their first few months in New York. It’s summer, they’ve got a sublet in Bed-Stuy and hardly have a dime to their names, but that doesn’t stop them from gallivanting and swanning about town. Remember how I said I wanted to take the rest of this summer by the horns? This is the blueprint I’m using.

Here’s the aforementioned precious lipstick I always keep in my Modern Picnic purse. Prior to finding this, I thought red lipstick just wasn’t for me—the rare few times I put it on, it made me feel like a clown. When I found this lipstick, I almost didn’t take it home with me. But I tried it at a friend’s urging and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the chic, refined, and vaguely glamorous face staring back at me. Something about the faintly dark orange undertones of this hue compliments my skin tone and hair, accentuating my features instead of harshly spotlighting them. Oh, I thought to myself, this is what a good red lipstick looks like. I haven’t looked back since.

Light this candle, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and immediately get transported to the middle of a farmers market during peak tomato season. If I could smell one thing for the rest of my life, it’d be this candle from Diptyque’s cleaning line. I’m using it to set the mood for summer dinner parties, and to keep me calm while I cook my favorite pasta dish.

I present to you the ideal satin sleep set for your European vacation or after-dinner party plans of curling up in your bed with the AC on full blast while you mindlessly scroll TikTok. (Is somebody gonna match my freak?)