to stay in a place longer than necessary, typically because of a reluctance to leave.
You know those moments: the ones often catching you by surprise, causing you to pause a little longer than perhaps intended. You are invited to take a moment to linger as you complete the first half of your week and look forward towards the second.
Like many young girls (though no others in my family) Anne of Green Gables was one of my favorite movies as a child. Recently, it seems the beloved book and movie seem to keep coming up. A blogger-friend frequently mentions how she uses the original film score as a backdrop to her writing. An Instagram account that I enjoy following also brings up in her desire to just live in a simplified "Anne of Green Gables" world. At every mention of the story, I felt a longing to go back to those childhood days. Then, just like that, Netflix created the series Anne with an E. I watched one back at the beginning of summer and decided to wait to watch them with my daughter. We are only a few episodes in, but we are loving it! I love the values it is helping to teach my daughter including the importance of friendship and of loving oneself.
We first tried this bread at a friend's house during the impending Hurricane Irma. Sandwiches were made for the children; however, my particular child decided not to eat on this occasion which meant I had the pleasure of eating the deliciousness that ensued. This bread is some of the most flavorful bread I've ever had on a sandwich, and you probably don't know this about me but I'm quite the sandwich aficionado. It's thick with nutty-flavored seeds without tasting dry at all (which is exactly what I was expecting). Some of the seeds featured in "Good Seed" include whole flax seeds, sunflower seeds, ground flax seeds, un-hulled brown sesame seeds, and un-hulled black sesame seeds. It comes in a full-sized loaf or a thin-sliced loaf. I've found it at our Publix here in Roswell, but it took our Milton Publix a little while longer to get it in... I've heard that if you request products they do their best to stock them, though. Try it out- seriously.
I've been a long-time user of Burt's Bees' products, from their amazing (non-addicting) Beeswax Lip Balm to their soothing Baby Bees' products, and have generally loved them all along. When I discovered their candles at our local Publix (for Buy-One-Get-One, nonetheless), I decided to try one and picked out a "Basil Leaf" scent. It smelled fresh and clean and I decided it would be perfect for our kitchen. The first time I lit it, I continued throughout my day and upon returning to the kitchen, was greeted with a fondly memorable scent of the old Harry's Farmer's Market. I was shocked at first because I always had assumed what I was smelling at Harry's was in fact lavender from their soap bar display. However, the nostalgic feeling the scent gives me is enough to make it an instant favorite as well as keep me burning it all day.
Longer days. Easier schedules. Much more flexibility. Just as Ms. Fitzgerald sang, "It's summertime, and the livin' is easy." Man, how I love summer!
In case you haven't noticed my theme, I view the start of each new season as a fresh slate. Inspiration in itself to continue creating a life I love to live. Living in each moment and soaking up every bit of relaxed state of mind. That's what I plan to do this summer.
As soon as Fiona's school ended, we started our Summer tradition of evening movies. Every year we try to stick to a theme (last year was Shirley Temple; the year before was Disney animated movies). This year's theme is musicals. The old fashioned classics. Below is our list:
1. My Fair Lady
2. The King and I
3. Annie, Get Your Gun
4. Oklahoma!
5. On the Town
6. An American in Paris
7. Anchors Away
8. Holiday Inn
9. Meet Me in St. Louis
I foresee us finishing one or two movies a week as we'll probably end up splitting most of them into two evenings. You may be asking where's The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music, or many of the other, most popular musicals. We've seen these so many times (and LOVE them!), so we (I) decided we'd see movies she had not yet seen (and, to be quite honest, I have not yet seen!). I'm excited to share this experience with her!
I'd love to receive more recommendations! We've got a few spots left to fill and I'm sure we're missing some of the greats! I'd also love to hear if anyone else has summer movie lists and if you have a theme or just go with the flow :)
Quick update on the progress of my book list: I've finished two more books (Marrying Mozart, and The Happiness Project), and am almost done with Joie de Vivre, which I am enjoying tremendously. I am also still reading through Spark Joy. At this rate, I won't finish them all by the end of the year (there were 15 on my list and I'm only on my 5th!), so I decided to help my chances by ONCE AGAIN moving my phone charger away from my bed. It's been moved for three days now and I've already noticed the difference in how much further into my book I've progressed. Go figure.
