Every year as summer rolls around… I find myself daydreaming about sunny days filled with fun and unique activities. I dream up adventures and plans. I save books on my self in a specific little pile with a pretend label that says “-For summer reading”. I guess subconsciously every year I make a little summer bucket list. Some years I actually write them out, and some years I just leave them as thoughts. This year I’ve written them out, and decided to share them with you!
1. READ. This is just my on every bucket list I ever write. Some of the books I want to tackle are “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, “Haddassa”, “100 years of solitude” and a few more! If you have any summer read suggestions, please let me know in the comments! I’m going on a beach vacation in August, so beach read ideas are always lovely!
2. Keep my plants alive. So. I’ve never been much of a green thumb… but I am really trying! I have had an air plant since spring, and the lil guy is still going strong. I also got a lavender plant at the farmers market (the smell is divine) and its doing also quite well! What I’m most worried about is my fairy garden. Yes, you read that right. My fairy garden. My boyfriend built me a box for my birthday, filled it with tiny fairy trinkets, and we took it to the greenhouse where they helped us pick out plants and make pathways and a tiny river through it. It has some moss, a little vine, a tiny strawberry plant, and two mini maple trees! There’s a few more plants there that I’m not sure the name of. I’ve been so careful to keep them in the right amount of sun and give them the right amount of water.. here’s hoping they last me!
3. Do more yoga. This ones simple. I just feel better when I do it. Calmer, stronger, and more at peace. I love that it’s not only good for your mind, its good for my body! I want to improve my yoga skills this summer, and try to overcome my small fear of yoga classes.
4. Craft it up! My plan is to make as many crafts as I can this summer because when school rolls around my crafting time just about heads out the window. I hope to make some fall/Christmas decorations early, and maybe even make some more items to have stocked in my etsy store! Shameless self plug- you can check out my Etsy store at Over Our Rainbow!
5. Room Projects. My number one thing that I want to accomplish is a bit of a revamp to my hope chest. My Grampa made me a big chest with “Toy Box” spelled out on it when I was one, and he designed it so the words could be easily removed when I got older for it to become my hope chest. I now store decorations I’ve picked up from garage sales and secondhand shops that I hope to someday put in my house! My plan is to mod podge the top of the chest with pages from “Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone” and mod podge parts of the sides with vintage map paper.
6. Not worry about my tan. I remember many years where my number one priority in the summer was to get as tan as I could possibly be! As it pans out, I was never all that tan. Naturally, I’m quite fair skinned. I get a lot of freckles, and by the end of summer I definitely have some color, but I’m definitely not dark. I have spent countless summers grumbling about my pale skin, wishing I didn’t get sunburned, and baking in the sun unprotected for hours. This summer, I believe I have pretty much outgrown that nonsense. I guess I finally decided that to me, fair skin is better than skin cancer. So I got myself a big floppy sunhat, and I plan on protecting my skin. I’m still looking into what sunscreen to buy for my face, and one for my body. I have rather troublesome skin, and do not want something that will break me out, or worse contain harmful chemicals that are potential carcinogens! I downloaded the app “Think Dirty” to scan all my cosmetic purchases, and it rates how good they are for you. The best and least harmful sunscreen I’ve found is one made for babies! Make sure you’re checking out what you’re putting on your skin!
7. Savor it. I am going to try to soak up every sunny smiley day, and keep them in my mind for one of those bitter cold and grey winter mornings when I just can’t bear to get out of bed. I’ll revel in the heat of the sun on my skin. I’ll relish the taste of fresh fruit in a smoothie. I’ll luxuriate in days spent in the fresh air, or late mornings spent with a good book in bed. And so, when those nasty winter blues come knocking like they always do, I won’t let them in. My sweet summer memories will keep them at bay, until at last I find myself in summer again.
A girl on the brink of adventure 