(no) summertime sadness
A summery roundup of what I'm loving — plus the 5 mistakes I made my first stay-at-home summer (and what I'm doing differently this year).
When I went back to work after my first maternity leave, I dreamed about spending the summer frolicking around with my son. It took all my willpower to sit in a conference room optimizing shareholder value and making decks when I knew my son was playing in a splash pool with his nanny.
Last summer, my first as a stay at home mom, was going to be awesome. We were going to go on adventures! We were going to make beautiful, rose-colored memories to mark the last summer before my daughter was born.. I had A Plan, prioritized a few things rather than a grand summer bucket list:
Getting outside as much as possible (fewer breakable things / more space to get the energy out)
Spending as much time in/ on/ around water as possible (splash pools, beach side picnics, walks by the late)
Orchestrating whimsy (saying “sure, why not!” as often as I can, planned surprise, delight, and treat quests)
Getting creative (personally) & spending time with friends (playdates for children & otherwise)
Settling into our home post-reno (and you know, making sure we had furniture and stuff).
I’ll give credit where credit is due: The Plan was actually a pretty good one, if overly aspirational for a summer I was both pregnant and completing a home renovation. BUT I also learned a lot of hard lessons and made several mistakes that I absolutely won’t be repeating this year if I can help it!
In honor of the summer solstice this week, my son’s last day of preschool for a six week break, and a household stomach bug… today is a hodgepodge! We’ve got a summery round up of things I’m loving lately, plus all the ways I’m refreshing our summer framework (and what I’ll be doing differently so you can learn from my mistakes).
Let’s get to it,
in case you missed it…
loving lately:
after saving up for almost a year, I finally upgraded my at-home espresso machine to the Fellow Series 1 – currently on sale for $200 off (ending today!). It’s only been about ten days but I am genuinely blown away by how much I’m learning and enjoying making really freaking good coffee at home. Current favorite is a new orleans style vanilla chicory cappuccino.
We started solids for our six month old the same week our 3.5 year old had an aggressively bad stomach bug, and the washing machine has been going non. stop.. A reminder for all parents that ruggable washable rugs really are that girl if you have small kids and/or pets. We’ve got this amazing cheetah rug and an XL kitchen rug - I’ve had for 2+ years and it’s held up amazingly well. (secondary shoutout to the little green clean machine for all the carpeted areas that can’t be thrown in the wash. What a week.).
After nearly 10 years defaulting to sneakers, I’m coming back around to ballet flats. these woven beauties are insanely comfortable and lightweight (without being flip flops). Have been pairing with this blue and white nap dress (also currently on major sale) for a very airy and sweet look. On the sportier side, I will be defaulting to this exercise dress for nearly all playground outings until further notice.
Reaching for on repeat: Farmacy Green Clean cleansing balm for removing makeup and sunscreen at the end of the day and the Kate McLeod Sun Stone balm & lotion bar - smells wonderful and extremely soothing after a day running around outside!
for paid subscribers, we’ve got the five mistakes I won't repeat, my full summer framework, and a peek an actual weekly schedule. 👇
(avoiding) summertime sadness:
Also known as: learning from my own mistakes this summer!
