Well it's been an interesting month already, I still feel like I am waiting for sunny summer days. Since I last posted on June 12th the joy of celebrating my son's 16th birthday on June 15th was met with the passing of my mother-in-law the day before. I've been off work and frequently out of town so much I'm feeling a bit disconnected. In the way of trying to ground myself with the familiar I've been turning to the comforts of friends (laughter and support, thanks guys!), fantasy (some good summer reads & films) and food (attempting to eat better when too busy too eat!). Here are a few of my favorite comforts:
1. Water - yes water...I'm trying to drink as much as possible and thanks to my friend Kathy I've discovered SASSY water from the book The Flat Belly Diet. A combination of 8 1/2 glasses of water with 1 sliced lemon, 1 sliced cucumber, mint leaves and fresh ground ginger is totally delicious and perfectly refreshing.
2. Movies - I've lost myself in some good ones lately including the edge-of-your-seat thriller Taken starring Liam Neeson and the fish-out-of-water New In Town starring Rene Zellweger.
3. Farmers Markets - my favorite thing about summer meals is the fresh, local produce you can buy at your neighborhood farmers market. I love buying from local farmers and feel better about reducing my carbon footprint by not buying produce shipped from thousands of miles away. No matter where I am in Illinois or Michigan I am able to find wonderful markets filled with happy shoppers and sellers and hope you have a few options where you live.
4. Flowers - right now my home is filled with flowers in remembrance of my mother-in-law. It's the perfect season to buy at markets and local stands or maybe just from your own backyard! Flowers always give my spirit a lift.
5. The Beach - even though we've had record rain in my area this "summer", it' nice to be just a short drive away from beautiful beaches in Chicago and Michigan. We have a boat at a yacht club in the relaxing boating and artistic area of Saugatuck in Michigan but sometimes all I need is just a walk on the sand to put things in perspective. I've also narrowed down my "Can't live without at the beach" list to 5 things. Here they are: swimsuit, sunscreen, sunglasses, book and a long sleeve hooded dress (Lands' End makes a great one which you can find here)
I leave in 48 hours for a much needed vacation to Colorado, I'll post before I leave and from the mountains.
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