traveling: around the Midwest - to Chicago last weekend for my sister's residency graduation, which also included a bike ride along the lakeshore and a ladies' Michigan Ave shopping day. So fun (even if we didn't manage to track down this adorable donut truck at the end of our bike ride). Next up, Minneapolis for work later this month.
grilling: veggies, after I remembered this balsamic grilled summer vegetables with quinoa recipe I used to make a lot (one of my first in my Pinterest series!). Great way to celebrate the opening of the farmer's market for the season.
exploring: the Modern Mrs. Darcy 2018 summer reading guide. Aside from the obvious picks (sequel to Beartown released yesterday!), the ones I hadn't yet heard about and am most excited to check out are Convenience Store Woman and Visible Empire.
planting: dahlias that I hope will turn out as amazing as these farmer's market ones from last summer. (Actually, full disclosure: Peter's the one doing the planting and tending of the tubers given to us by a skilled dahlia grower at church, though Hendrik and I did assist by handing him items after he dug holes...)
playing: at the beach, as much as possible! Lake Michigan in the summer is just the best.
So that's the latest with me as we get started on my favorite month of the year. How about you? Hop over to see what my co-host for the month - Sarah of Total Basset Case - is up to, and then link up your post below!
Next month's will be a 4th of July linkup, with some prompts that will be fun for the holiday: celebrating, visiting, baking, wearing, and loving. Shelly of The Queen in Between will be co-hosting with me, and we hope you'll join us then.
Sounds like you have been having lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteOoh I need to get back to Chicago! I do love it there. Glad you had a nice time. I must check out that summer reading guide; see if I can find some more book ideas!!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
Love Michigan Avenue shopping!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy playing at the beach, sounds great!
ReplyDeleteThat salad sounds so good and so summery, especially with those cute and yummy little mozzarella balls. We hope to make it to Chicago soon, it really is such a great and family-friendly city. Have fun in MN, I was so impressed with Minneapolis when we went there last year! I would go back in a heartbeat. Good luck with the planting--it is also Aaron who does the actual planting at my house too :) I'm not to be trusted.
ReplyDeleteHave a great time in Minneapolis! I'm originally from Minnesota.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much time you'll get to explore Minneapolis, but let me know if you need any food suggestions, we have some amazing places to eat! Speaking of eating, the grilled veggie recipe sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteDahlias are so pretty. That's not a flower I see too often around here. I gotta check out that reading list!
ReplyDeletegrilled veggies are the best!!!
ReplyDeleteThe balsamic grilled veggies sound tasty! I need to check out that recipe!
ReplyDeleteI love grilling veggies but I've never used balsamic on them. I'll have to try that. I'm also working my way through the summer reading list and just got the new Fredrik Backman book!
ReplyDeleteOMG, I just realized I misread "Planting" as "Planning!" this month! Ahh!! Oops! How embarrassing! Don't kick me off for illiteracy, please! LOL. At any rate, so fun to see what you're up to and how different everyone's responses are. The Beartown sequel will definitely be on my summer reading list. And I love balsamic anything, so those veggies sound great.
ReplyDeleteGina || On the Daily Express
We are at the beach in Cali right now, sadly though the water is waaayyyy too cold to get in! Definitely a huge change for this Florida girl, who is used to being in the water every summer too!
ReplyDeleteConvenience Store Woman sounded really interesting to me. Loved the dress you wore to Chicago. Thanks for the fun linkup.
ReplyDeleteI hope your dahlias meet your expectations! They are such beautiful flowers! And I'm going to have to check out your grilled veggie recipe - my husband is trying to lose weight so we probably will be eating way more than usual!
ReplyDeleteGlad to learn Ms. Darcy has a summer reading list. Going to add those books to my Goodreads. So many books, so little time!
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of beach, I always and most narrow-mindedly think ocean. I know my blogger buddy Whitney at Whitney a la Mode talks about beaching it at Lake Michigan and I have to stop and ponder that a minute. But I will take a beach anywhere and any time I can get one! Enjoy!
I would love to have a lake so close by! I hope you guys enjoy your time at the beach this summer!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Lake Michigan in the Summer is amazing. Summertime in MI is great! And OMG Anne those dahlias sound great. Though I forgot to mention it on my post, we planted some dahlias too.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Summer and thanks for the linkup! =)
Thanks for sharing those reads. I'm definitely going to check them out. I was in a reading slump the last couple of months by I'm back on the horse again. I love the dress you wore to your sister's graduation. Hope your Dahlias grow magnificently.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh - I'm saying a prayer for your Dahlias! They are so, so stunning!
ReplyDeleteYou're the second person this week to mention Beartown. I'd never heard of it before but I really want to read it now!
ReplyDeleteThe grilled veggies recipe looks so yum, and a doughnut truck...so cute! Have fun at the beach!
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of veggies that I don't know what to do with from our CSA. I'm going to have to check-out this veggie recipe so we can eat bunches at a time!
ReplyDeleteyou're coming here!! let me know if you want any recs or to meet up for a drink or something!!!
ReplyDeleteMy friends from Chicago just visited us here in Philly! So fun that you got to go to Chicago for the graduation. And I want to see allllll the lake Michigan pics :)
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