Back-to-School magic is in the air. August is here, the stores have started stocking their shelves with school supplies, and teachers are holding on tight to their last few days of summer.

The dog days of summer are officially here. I used to dread this time of year as a kid because I knew that the start of a new school year was sure to follow. I always hated kissing summer goodbye, but at least I got to go back-to-school shopping.

I've always been a shopper, so my favorite part of heading back to school was shopping for new clothes, shoes, and supplies. Growing up in a small town in Virginia, we didn't have many retail stores to get the things we needed, so we always came to the beach for our big back-to-school shopping trip. If she could, my mom always tried to plan our trip on tax-free weekend.

This year, tax-free weekend is August 6th-8th. If you're planning to shop, check out my blog post from last year's tax-free weekend for a few pro tips.

As said by the famous Carrie Bradshaw, “a closet full of clothes, nothing to wear.” If you’re like me, you may run into this dilemma far more often than you should. Luckily, I’ve found the perfect solution, thrift shopping. When you’re able to find trendy outfits for cheap at your local thrift store or Goodwill, you can feel a lot less guilty about overfilling your closet.

As Carolina Trust's Brand Ambassador, I spend a lot of my time out and about in the grand strand area. Although we have seven branches that stretch across our large field of membership, most of my engagements tend to be in the Conway/Myrtle Beach area. However, I love the quaintness of our Florence County branches, which is why I was so excited to head out there for one of my recent Living Local Carolina Financial Friday segments. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Independence Day! Well, at least at my house it is. Independence Day has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid, when everyone else liked Christmas or Halloween, I was an Independence Day type of girl. Fireworks, summer weather, and great food; what more can you ask for? 

I love to stay busy. If you looked up a busy bee in the dictionary, I'm sure my photo would be right there. Most every night and weekend, I busy myself with some event or activity.

I'm not quite sure if I keep myself so busy to avoid boredom or if I just have a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out). Either way, I try to stay in the know on upcoming community events because of my desire to keep busy.

It may be because so many events were canceled last year, but this year's summer social calendar is jam-packed! Below are some of the fun events I've attended/ plan to attend this summer. Join in the fun, and maybe I'll even run into you there.

Camptown Ladies sing this song, doodah doodah!

Schools are out, and summer is here, which means it's time for summer camp. Some of my favorite childhood summer memories took place at summer camp.

As soon as I was old enough, my parents signed me up for any and every day camp possible—Sports camp, dance camp, cooking camp, you name it. Summer day camps were a great way for me to try out new activities. Day camps allowed me to attend a week-long camp to see if I enjoyed the activity before joining the team or signing up for an entire year of lessons.

Day camps were also a great way to meet other kids in my area. Since most of the day camps that I attended were local, I met lots of kids from the other side of town and made lots of new friendships.

Once I got a little bit older, I started going to sleepaway camps. Attending sleepaway camp was the first time I had ever really been away from home or my parents for more than one night, which really helped me develop a sense of independence. I still learned lots of new activities as I had done at day camp, but I also learned how to do things by myself, like waking up and getting ready, packing my suitcase, getting places on time, etc.

When I was packing up to leave my very first sleepaway camp, I threw all my dirty clothes back into my suitcase, including my wet towels and bathing suits. At the time, I didn't realize that the wet clothes would get everything mildewed in my hot suitcase throughout the day. Needless to say, that was a lesson that I learned the hard way, and one my mom still has never let me live down.

Attending summer camps provides kids with the opportunity to learn new things, meet new people, and gain independence from their parents. It is such a wonderful opportunity with so many life lessons.

Click here for my local summer camp round-up, which includes both day and sleepaway camps that your child may enjoy this summer. Below is a recent Living Local Carolina segment, where Rainee and I got a behind-the-scenes look into Wildlife Action Summer Adventure Camp at Fork Retch Wildlife Refuge in Mullins, SC.

With Father's Day coming up, I've been on the hunt for the perfect gift to give my dad. Luckily, my dad is the easiest person in my family to shop for. Unlike my mother and sister, my dad will tell you exactly what he wants; all you have to do is listen to him or walk around the Bass Pro Shop with him. He will practically put his gift in the buggy for you. He also has pretty inexpensive taste, which helps me stay on budget. My dad also hates to throw things away. He wears everything he has slap out, which, luckily for me, means I can just replace his old item with the newest addition, and he's tickled pink.

If your dad is a little harder to shop for than mine, don't worry! Here are some tips that you can use to find the perfect gift for your dad this Father's Day:

When I think about summer, the first thing to come to mind is vacation. As a kid, summer is when you get a break from school, go to new places, and try new things. Other than the one week of paid vacation that you worked all year to take, summer is pretty much the same as any other time of year for adults. But what if this summer, we too, could spend all summer on vacation. 

As an Alumna of Coastal Carolina University, it's only natural for me to cheer for the Chanticleers. Luckily, I joined an employer who loves Coastal athletics as much as I do. However, cheering on my favorite team wouldn't be possible without the Chanticleer Athletic Foundation (CAF), otherwise known as the Team Behind the Team.