Summer lovin'

Summer 2020 is going to be unlike any summer we have every experienced, but I am here to make the most of it! Originally, I planned to use this summer to travel a ton, however now I will be staying put and exploring my home, re-discovering my local community, and soaking in the sun.

Exploring my home

Exploring and becoming more comfortable in my home this summer with take place in three ways: gardening, cooking, and decorating.

I am planting more plants this summer because I will be home and have more time to dedicate to keeping them alive. My mom taught me how to plant, grow, and take care of plants, so I hope to make her proud this summer. I have a collection of succulents and I will be adding a few flower varieties, basil, mint, and tomatoes to start. In the past I have had great luck with mint, and I hope that carries over to all of the other plants my home will have this summer.

The gardening leads me directly into the kitchen because I will be using a lot of what I grow in my garden in my cooking. There is nothing better than a GARDEN FRESH basil, tomato, burrata, and balsamic plate on a hot summer evening. I plan to use the mint for tea every night…it is so easy to pluck the leaves and pour boiling water over them to stew for 5 minutes. With the additional time at home this summer I will make my way through Chrissy Teigen’s “Cravings: Hungry for more” cookbook. I have made a handful of her recipes, but I want to make the more labor-intensive dinners…like her broken lasagna. Also, as someone with a major sweet tooth, I am going to make sweet treats for all of my friends for our social-distance hellos.

Finally, I will spend time decorating my home. Flowers from the garden are a must for summery decorations around the house. One of my hobbies is to collect art from my travels, so I will do an upgrade in my home as I spend more time there this summer. While it is mostly decorated, I have a few items from pre-COVID travels that need to be on display. Plus, I want to spruce up my work-from-home desk so that it keeps me motivated.

Re-discovering my local community

While I have cancelled my summer travel plans, I will be exploring my local community instead. The first way to explore your local community is to WALK AROUND! During quarantine I noticed a lot of my neighbors getting out to walk around for exercise. In order to take this to another level, I will walk around and take a new path in my neighborhood. I have already started to notice different architecture, new flowers, and beautiful contrasting colors all around me.

Next, I will take a drive at least every other weekend to discover the local community. For example, last weekend I visited a local farm to pick my own produce. I went home with strawberries, onions, cabbage, squash, lettuce, tomatoes, and corn! Next weekend I will venture to the forest to disconnect from the busy city life of Los Angeles and experience some beautiful quiet.

Soaking in the sun

What is summer without a little fun in the sun?! I love summer because I love the heat, the energy, the freedom (from school), and my birthday is during the summer!! I plan to be by the pool as often as possible. The pool is a great way to stay cool during the heat waves of summer, to get a great tan, and to workout…laps in the pool are so good for a long, lean, and healthy body. In addition to soaking in the sun at the pool, the plants on my balcony will be soaking in the sun and I will befriend the baby birds growing up in the nest next to my balcony.

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, and while this year there won’t be any big celebrations (I usually go back to Milwaukee, WI where I grew up to celebrate) …I will celebrate on my own. A 4th of July celebration is not complete without a day at the pool, American flag decorations, grilling for lunch and dinner, little poppers to throw on the ground, bubbles to chase around the yard, and s’mores to finish the evening! I am all set up for a fabulous 4th of July alone.

How about you?