Today I’m slowly beginning to put away my summer things – patio umbrellas, the fans I’ve been running in our bedrooms, my snow cone maker, etc. There’s still time to enjoy summer though, and I intend to make the most of it.
QUICK THINGS TO DO TODAY:
- Look over the week ahead – any appointments you must keep? Birthdays you should call or quickly send a card or gift in honor of?
- Do you do a regular Family Night? If not, why not try one out this week or next. It’s also nice to invite one person from outside your household – a favorite aunt, a neighbor, or someone your children are close to.
- Time to squeeze in a pedicure, brow wax, hair cut or color touchup just for yourself?
- Enjoy the last of summer’s bounty whenever possible – fresh berries, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, and watermelon. I’m also sneaking some potato salad in every chance I get.
- If you still have nice weather, why not plan a picnic this weekend? You’ll miss picnicing when it’s cold and rainy or snowy.
TODAY’S PROJECT: Packing Away Summer
Yesterday a friend alerted me to the fact it was raining in our part of the city. On a lazy Sunday, I was too busy drinking my breakfast tea and snooping around on the Internet to look outside the window. I dashed outside to gather in all my outdoor cushions and pillows. Luckily they’d only got a light misting. They seem to have dried off just fine in my kitchen overnight.
I’m looking over the weather forecast for the next ten days in my city. Light rain and cloudy, but a day or two of 69 and 70 degree partly sunny weather. It’s hard to decide if I should give up and store all my cushions away properly for next summer, or if it would be premature to do it this week. It’s not THAT much work to take them in and out again, but I’d rather not do it twice. I have been looking over my diaries and blog posts from the last couple Septembers and Octobers – it seems we’ve had warm sunny Octobers right up until the third week of the month. I’d love to keep eating my meals outside, lounging comfortably outdoors when I read, and working in my back yard office.
It makes me sad to look at my cushionless, unusable outdoor furniture. My dog is very confused, as well!
However, I can’t stand this messy pile of pillows in my breakfast nook much longer. Perhaps I will relent and put everything away, wipe the outdoor living room furniture and bring it back inside. I keep an indoor/outdoor couch, armchair and footstool in my breakfast nook instead of a table. (The table always seemed to get cluttered up and never actually used for eating!) Perhaps I can bribe myself with thoughts of eating breakfast and blogging in this sunny window, surrounded by my cookbooks and keeping an eye on something tasty baking in the oven or bubbling merrily away on the stove?
What things might you have to bring indoors from your own deck, patio or back yard this week?
LOVELY BLOGS: Modern Mrs. Darcy
Anne strives to “explore what it looks like to be an accomplished woman in our modern world.” She writes about beauty and style, relationships and family, and looks at the modern woman’s role in the changing workplace. She also reviews books.
I especially enjoyed her recent post titled “When You’re Good at Overcomplicating Things.”
LOVELY BOOKS: Festive Feasts
“Festive Feasts: Meals and Memories from Halloween to Christmas” just came out last week. I seem unable to resist any holiday themed cookbook, so I’m sure this will be on my bookshelf soon. However, I’m disappointed there isn’t an easy way to get a peek at the Table of Contents on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. So I was glad to find this helpful review over at A Well-Seasoned Life.
LOVELY SHOPS: A Pocket Full of Sweets
It was these burgundy edible gems that first caught my eye at this shop. Their barley sugar lollipops come in so many intriguing shapes. I’m definitely getting some of the fall leaves for an upcoming Woodland party I’m hosting. Their Holidays section has some interesting things for Halloween, autumn, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day. So many cute and yummy treats!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/APocketFullofSweets
LOVELY LINKS FOR TODAY:
Balsamic Tarragon Chicken Skillet (Sweet Peas and Saffron)
Cheesy Potato and Bacon Scotch Eggs (The Flavor Bender)
Cauliflower and Broccoli Cheese (Jam and Clotted Cream)
Chicken Pot Pie Crescent Ring (Tiffany Harvey)
Chicken Pot Pie Pasta (Food Fanatic)
Chicken and Pumpkin Soup (Taste the Islands)
Chickpea Pot Pie (Princess Pinky Girl)
Confetti Cauliflower (The Body Book)
Eggplant Stacks with Buffalo Mozzarella (East of Eden Cooking)
Grilled Garlic Herb Potato Wedges with Corn Pesto Burrata (Yes to Yolks)
Lemon Roasted Cauliflower (Eat, Spin, Run, Repeat)
Menu Plan Monday (Life in the Lofthouse)
Mini Pot Pies for a Lazy Sunday Afternoon (The Frugal Blogger)
Pumpkin Biscuits (A Pretty Life in the Suburbs)
Simple Chicken Pot Pie Recipe (Cloudy With a Chance of Wine)
So Long Summer Salad (Love & Olive Oil)
–Copyright 2015 Lovely Living
