Top Ten Favorites: End of Summer Things

  "Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap." (Barbara Jordan)

Hello, my lovely friends!

    There is something so ridiculously sweet about these last few weeks of late summer, when the sun starts sitting a little lower in the sky and the evening light looks like honey poured over everything. It always feels like we are trying to catch water in our hands, wanting so badly to freeze time before the sweater weather officially takes over and the sun starts setting before we even leave work. We have reached that glorious, hazy stretch where nobody really wants to cook real food or take things too seriously, and every warm afternoon feels like a tiny bonus we did not quite earn. So instead of spiraling about autumn approaching, I have been leaning hard into all the cozy, sun-drenched rituals that make this specific transition so completely magical.

    Honestly, the very best part of these late August nights is keeping the kitchen completely turned off and taking everything outside to the grill. There is a whole low-key art to throwing together dinner while holding a cold drink, standing on the patio in bare feet while the smoke drifts up into the cooling air. Everything tastes ten times better when it is slightly charred and eaten off paper plates while sitting on the porch steps. And if you happen to pair that grilled dinner with fresh Palisade peaches, you have basically won at life. Those big, heavy, ridiculously juicy peaches are practically a spiritual experience this time of year, the kind where you have to stand over the sink to eat them because the juice just runs all the way down your elbows.

    When the weekend hits, all I want to do is pack up a canvas tote with whatever random snacks are left in the pantry and head out to have a picnic at a park. Laying a blanket down under a huge shady tree and staring up through the leaves while snacking on crackers and grapes is genuinely top-tier relaxation. It feels delightfully lazy in the best way possible, especially if you bring along a tub of hot fudge and a few tubs of vanilla to make ice cream sundaes right afterward. There is zero reason to wait for a special occasion to pile on the whipped cream, sprinkles, and maraschino cherries, because eating melted ice cream outdoors before it completely turns to soup is pure childhood nostalgia.

    This is also the exact moment in the year to finally finish off a summer book that has been sitting on your nightstand since June. Sitting on the couch with the windows wide open, feeling that soft evening breeze while you tear through those last fifty pages, is one of those simple pleasures that feels totally luxurious. Once you turn that final page, you can reward yourself with one of those lazy morning farmer's market trips on Saturday. Wandering between the tables with a cold coffee in hand, picking up giant bunches of wild sunflowers, fresh basil, and tomatoes that actually smell like real soil, just makes you feel like you have your whole life together, even if your bedroom floor is currently covered in unfolded laundry.

    If you are looking to get out of the house for a proper excursion, this is truly the absolute prime window to go to the zoo. The brutal July heat has finally broken a bit, which means the animals are actually walking around being cute instead of sleeping in the shade, and you can wander the paths without feeling like you are slowly melting into the pavement. Or better yet, pack up the car and take a drive up to the mountains for an afternoon. The air up high already has that crisp, clean bite to it that smells like pine trees and early autumn, and watching the light hit the peaks as you wind along the canyon roads clears out your mental cobwebs faster than anything else I know.

    To wrap up a warm night, nothing tops a trip to visit a drive in movie theater. Rolling up with a trunk packed full of pillows, heavy throw blankets, and cheap convenience store candy feels like stepping right back into high school. You just tune the radio frequency, lean back against the headrest, and watch the big screen glow against the dark night sky while the crickets buzz in the background. And if you are still hungry for more seasonal magic, you absolutely have to go visit a food festival before the season wraps up. Walking around in the dusk, surrounded by fairy lights and the incredible smells of local food trucks, sharing little bites of everything with your favorite people, is pretty much the ultimate finale to a long, sun-soaked season.

    So before we all start aggressively buying pumpkin candles and love being chilly, let us promise to soak up every single drop of warmth we have left. Eat the messy peach, stay out past sunset without a jacket, and leave the windows open so you can fall asleep to that cool night air. Summer always slips away a little faster than we want it to, but taking the time to savor these simple, lingering moments makes the goodbye feel a whole lot sweeter.

Top Ten Favorites: End of Summer Things
1. Grilling dinner and eating outside
2. Palisade Peaches
3. Have a Picnic at a park
4. Make Ice Cream Sundaes
5. Finish off a summer book
6. Farmer’s Market trips
7. Go to the Zoo
8. A drive up to the mountains
9. Visit a Drive in movie theater
10. Visit a food festival

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I’m so glad we got to connect, and I hope your day ahead is filled with simple, happy moments. Take care of yourself, and I’ll see you back here soon!