June is flying by in the blink of an eye, thanks to lots of time spent on the road this month. I spent almost a week in NY visiting family and working out my parents’ house, came home and turned right around for a weekend getaway with my best girlfriends in Portland, Maine, and then I spent an overnight in Boston for a fun work event. Phew! I’m getting really really good at packing (still obsessed with packing cubes!) and even better at ignoring the growing piles of laundry. That’s how summer always seems to go though, gone in the blink of an eye as we cram all of our adventures into these few short weeks of warm weather. Sharing a few more of my summer adventures, warm-weather recipes, and reading list:
Summer Adventures. The traveling has been plentiful this month! I escaped to Portland for a getaway to celebrate one of my best friend’s bachelorette parties. I’ve been to quite a few bachelorette parties in my day and shared some of my tricks for making the perfect bachelorette weekend swag bag on the blog.
Another fun excursion I took was a day out with Yankee Magazine in Boston. We toured the Copley Square Farmer’s Market (celebrating 40 years of markets in MA!), picnicked in the park, and took a cocktail making class and enjoyed an insanely delicious dinner at OAK before staying in the luxurious Fairmont Copley Plaza. It was such a treat to get to hang out with so many creative individuals; I left feeling rested, recharged, inspired, and very, very full!
After those busy few weeks, we all relished in a pretty quiet weekend at home. We filled our weekend with lots of grilling (my husband just got a new smoker that we’ve been experimenting with, yum!) and pool time in the yard (the blow-up watermelon kiddie pool was an amazing investment!). I’m making a big effort to keep more weekends free this summer to enjoy just like this.
New Recipes. I’ve been cooking (and writing!) up a storm and have lots of new recipes on the blog this week. I can’t get enough of cooking on the grill and have been making these grilled garlic basil shrimp skewers on repeat. I also made a grilled lemon dijon salmon and grilled on a cedar plank for the first time (so easy, do it!). A few entertaining recipes are in the mix too – garlic and herb whipped goat cheese dip and raspberry mint spiked lemonades are tasty additions to your summer celebration menus!
Reading List. My most recent read was Women in Sunlight by Frances Mayes (who also authored Under the Tuscan Sun). It took me a long time to read this one because I was really relishing in the characters and the story. It was feel-good book and desperately made me want to book a flight to Italy; a definite recommendation for beach reads this summer. I just cracked my next book and am flying through it: The Trust by Ronald H. Balson. It’s a suspenseful murder mystery — totally outside my normal selection of genres – but I’m into it! I’ve also been flipping through Yankee’s New England Adventures for lots of weekend excursion ideas! It’s inspiring lots of potential road trips!
I need some more book recommendations for an upcoming beach trip later this summer. Leave them in the comments if you’ve read something great lately!
Beach Trips. Speaking of beaches, I’m getting soexcited for our trip to Cape Cod in a few weeks! Sandy feet, ice cream cones, and matching vacation sweatshirts are all I can think about. I’ve been putting together some fun treats for Jane and her buddy to play with while we’re there, like bubble wands (easy for toddlers to use!) and beach toys. Some of my best childhood memories are from our family vacation to Cape Cod, and I’m so excited to start this tradition with Jane! PS: how cute is this “do not disturb” beach hat that I found?
SHOP THE POST
My beach reads always include Elin Hildebrand and Nantucket!
You know I’ve never read any of her books, I might have to give them a try!