MISTY'S MORNINGS

Sometimes I have to pinch myself that where we live, day after day, is actually a vacation destination for many people who come from far away to spend a weekend on the beach. They may have saved money for months to afford a few days splashing around in the waves and relaxing on the san that makes up our neighborhood. I feel such gratitude that I can zip down the beach road on a whim, as we did yesterday, with less than two hours to spare; we simply needed to swim in the sea. It was almost 100 degrees outside and the sun gleamed in a brilliant blue sky. So off we went, while Kai was at camp, to the beach.  The older two boys swam gleefully as I read Bread and Wine and dreamed of delicious meals to make my sun-kissed family for dinner. At one point I looked up and snapped this photo of my view. Then I pinched myself. This really is our home , our daily vacation spot, the place my boys have now lived for longer than anywhere else in their lives. We are living this beachy ...

Outside my window These summer days have been beyond beautiful. Today is the last day of June and I hate to see it go. I had a fun hashtag on IG #juneswoon2014 where I documented all the lusciousness of this month. Time to switch over to July and full-blown summer heat, patriotism and travels. I need a new hashtag... Reading One of the best parts of summer is the freedom to read. For fun, whenever and wherever we feel the need. As always I have many books going at once. My books: The Little Oratory  Still participating in the read-along here but have yet to formally set-up my oratory. Bread and Wine  Almost done. It's good. What To Wear for the Rest of Your Life  I love the section on organizing your wardrobe. So need this. Poser  Can I quit this one yet? I'm bored. Done : A Cook's Guide to Knowing When Food Is Perfectly Cooked  Always have to read at least one cookbook and this one takes me back to basics. Audio Books The Secret ...

PRETTY This year the hydrangeas are big enough that I feel I can cut a few blooms for the house without leaving the entire shrub naked for the neighbors. I think these flowers would be blue if I treated the soil with acidity(?) but I prefer low-maintenance gardening and choose to embrace the natural variations my yard produces. I have planted three varieties of hydrangeas since we moved here five years ago. The other two bloom later in the season but are growing the fullest I have ever seen. My  landscaping goal was to plant a variety of perennial flowering shrubs so that something is always in bloom. Each year I pull out what hasn't worked(such as the dwarf gardenias) and replaced things with something new. The hydrangeas are keepers for sure.   HAPPY We rarely take family photos and this one is blurry but still I love it so. It somehow captures the closeness we have in this season of life.  I recently told my husband that it feels like we ar...

We are steadily checking off our 100 Days of Summer Fun list and I cannot believe how motivating and focusing it has been. I am a person who can be a creative jump-starter and quickly fizzle out into a non-finisher. It is something I am consciously trying to change and the publicized summer list has been helping beautifully. Naturally, I began to imagine all the other lists I could make and decided to share another one for this summer. You see I have recently been getting my kitchen mojo back and have so many recipes earmarked in various cookbooks and magazines that I decided to collect the best ones on a Summer Foods Bucket List. Some of these are the it-wouldn't-be-summer-without-this recipes that I grew up with and have made for years. Others are brand-new-to-me recipes that sound delicious to the whole family (not counting Kai the picky eater of the family). I've provided links to the ones I could find on the web in case you are interested in making them your...

Actually we only have 75 days of Summer this year but according to Pinterest there is plenty of time to do 100 fun things with your family between May and September. But I am not the kind of crafty mom with high expectations of making homemade kites and rainbow-colored cakes. I also don't want a list of obligations that make me feel like I failed summer when I don't get them all crossed off. No, our list is more of a round-up of all the potentially beautiful moments and activities that will be possible for us this summer. One thing I would love to do is photograph each of the items as we do them, share them on IG , and at the end of the summer create a photo book of the images using Printstagram . I think I'll need to create my own hashtag to keep the photos grouped together such as #mm100days . This is my level of doable. Maybe my list will inspire you to add some new ideas to your list. If you have one, please leave a link for me in the comments so I may read yours ...

One of the fun things I am doing for myself (and for my family) this summer is the Summer in the Little Oratory book group at Elizabeth's blog. We are reading the book and coming together on Wednesdays to share our thoughts about each chapter. There is also a   free podcast with Leila Lawler , one of the authors, that adds much to the reading. This week was the Introduction and Chapter One "The Christian Life". While I was busy reading and underlining this section, my youngest son, Kai, was eagerly looking over my shoulder at the illustrations. He even took the book with him for the day and paged reverently throughout, gazing at the simple but beautiful black and white drawings which help illustrate the components of creating a little oratory or prayer corner in your home. Kai is now fully on board and eager to create this nook of our own. This is the power of a book with illustrations and I must say, even as an adult, I adore these added details to this book...

Once again I am amazed at how much the month of May resembles the frantic pace and pressure of December. There are so many end-of-year parties, graduations, and programs to attend and in one's free time there is urgency to sign-up, register and reserve spots in all sorts of summer camps and classes. For someone (me) who prefers life at a stop-and-smell-the-roses pace, this time of year can make me feel like I have ADD. I cannot focus. I run errands sure that I have forgotten something when I leave the store. Suddenly all sorts of escapist novels seem appealing and I am pining for slowed-down summer days. Except that this year we have a pretty jam-packed summer schedule lined up for the boys. First, there is Vacation Bible School. The older boys will be volunteering as helpers and my newly minted 1st grader will attend for the first time.  Then comes a week of all-day basketball camp for Rhys and Zach.  I look forward to having Kai all to myself for an entire ...