Summer: What I'm Enjoying

Bike Rides in northern Michigan. Fourth of July weekend was a very good time to get away real quick and enjoy some cooler temperatures on a holiday weekend. Complete with fireworks and ice cream. Highly recommend. 

Grilled Chicken Marinade. This has received raving reviews from everyone I've made it for. Works best of course, if you think ahead and marinate it overnight. I use chicken thighs because they're so forgiving and hard to overcook.

Watercolor Bookmarks. I'm part of 3 book clubs/study groups (!) and instead of talking about books at one recently, we did watercolor. It was so relaxing! One of the gals taught us how to simply cover a whole sheet of paper with "blotches" for roses, add leaves and stems, add details with a pen at the end and then cut the paper into bookmark sizes. It was so easy and fun. 

We also did our best following along with this dune watercolor tutorial. Of course we all had high expectations of perfection so this was truly an exercise in learning how to relax with being beginners and accepting perfectly imperfect paintings. 

New Pool floats. These are perfect for relaxing in the pool when you actually want to be IN the water. Rather than perched on an inner tube or something. 

Reading books on my own shelves. These were picked up randomly at library sales as a child, or honestly, I don't know where, and have been on our shelves for years. I decided it was a good time to challenge myself to read some of these long neglected volumes and see if I actually like them. Do they still warrant taking up my limited book shelf space? 

Annual Book Club Retreat, hosted by me! This was for the book club I started in 2019...I think? 

(We are serious about flowers, food and relaxing with coffee.)

Panna Cotta. If you've never tried this dessert, I implore you to give it a go. It's egg-free, which, in my mind is always a good recipe to have in your back pocket in case there's an allergy among the people you know. It's light. Refreshing. Delicious. It's not finicky either. (I do increase the gelatin an extra teaspoon though.) I served it with fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey for book club retreat.