Vacations, salads, and three things I love
Summer vacation plans, the perfect summer salad and three things I am loving right now.
I always get so excited for the summer time to start - even when I had a full-time job. The beginning of summer is like a Friday night - full of hope and promise. The ability to spend an hour deep diving a stranger’s cousin’s divorce on Facebook without any guilt because “ It is Friday! I have the whole weekend ahead of me.” Nothing hits as good as a Friday night.
Rebecca’s last day of school was Friday and we are officially on summer break. This is the first summer she is not doing a day camp most of the summer, so we will see how it goes. I thought we would save some money but between her first sleep away camp with Girl Scouts and volleyball, dance and cheer camps I think I spent more money this summer than any previous ones. And all that guarantees me is a summer spent in the car vs at the pool.
I think I over plan her summers (with her consent) because there is still a small part of me that feels guilt that she does not have any siblings. We did zero camps growing up until we were in activities that required them, but we did have each other to keep entertained. If James and I are busy, she is just there by herself. Probably making a mess somewhere in the house. Thankfully she has a few neighborhood friends to keep her company, but I feel guilty nonetheless.
Summer vacation plans
We are headed to Myrtle Beach next weekend to spend time with my siblings and my dad’s brother’s family. I am so excited! We spent our childhood going to Myrtle Beach for vacation. During a lunch with my uncle’s family we were talking about all of the things we missed and reminded of us of our parents. So we decided to take the trip this year and visit all of their favorite spots.1 Plus, it is the 36th anniversary of my uncle saving my life because I almost drowned in a Myrtle Beach condo pool, so we needed to celebrate. 2
Other than a visit up to Michigan to visit my best friend to celebrate the life of my best friend who passed away two years ago and a 40th birthday Vegas trip at the end of the summer, we are light on travel this year. We really overdid it last summer and I wanted time at home to work on house projects and save money. But it will probably end up being cheaper to just take a trip because house projects always end up costing 4x more than I think they would. Like why are plants SO expensive?!
I will be rounding up some summer travel favorites so let me know in the comments what you are looking for!
Everyone hates dinner time
I posted a few weeks ago about how I dread the time after 4 pm. James texting or calling asking what is for dinner. Me wondering what is for dinner. Cooking dinner. Cleaning up after dinner. 3 I posted about it because I almost felt guilty I dreaded it so much, and the responses were aligned - we all hate dinner time.
One of the things I have done is get back to planning meals on a certain deal and doing light meal prep. I got out of the habit of doing this because we are always so busy on the weekends, but it really does help.
The other thing I am doing is trying to enjoy food again? I think I always disliked making dinner, but started to hate it after starting a GLP4 I love not having food noise anymore, but it has also made me apathetic to eating. And that is hard when I still have to feed myself and my family.Not only have I become apathetic about eating, I also focus too much on my nutrition. I forgot what it was like to enjoy food without worrying how much protein or fiber are in it.
I scheduled 15 minutes on my calendar to find a good salad recipe that sounded refreshing and delicious. Not filling. Not nutrient packed. Just something I would enjoy eating. And I DID! Then I just filled the rest of the nights with easy meals. This salad is so good and summery. Refreshing. Salty. Sweet. Crispy and soft. It really felt like I was eating something at a nice restaurant. And it was not hard to make, but I do hate cutting up cantaloupe.
Three Things
Three things that I am loving.
I love the Dyson Air Straight. It is still on sale on Amazon as of the time of this publishing. Or you can get an official Dyson refurbished one for $299 that comes with a year warranty. It blow dries and straightens your hair with 285 degree heat. If you have ever struggled with frizz, you will be blown away at how well it works without using high heat. I have a whole highlight here about it, but also received SO many DMs from people with different hair types about how much they love. Check out our highlights here.
This nightgown. (Plus version) I have always loved the Nordstrom Moonlight pajamas - they are SO soft and actually withstand the wash without pilling as much as their “dupes.” But I had a few bad ones and stopped buying them. Then Kelly bought a pair for me for Christmas and I remembered why I loved them so much. AND they were holding up beautifully. Since I love a nightgown, I had to get this one because it is so cute. Warm enough with longer sleeves, but not too warm.
Pink stripes and Navy are 25% off in plus sizes. I do think it runs big so you could size down, but I like wearing a size up.
These sneakers. They come in so many different cute colorways, but the thing I love the most is that they have a hidden wedge in the insole! I walked like 10k steps in them and had NO foot pain. That never happens. Of course I had to get green, but love the neutral options available, too.
Doce Vita Notice Sneakers okay, I lied. One more. Cherry season. They are always so good at the beginning of the season.
XX Sarah
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Columbus used to have this BBQ chain called Damon’s. My parents LOVED it. We would always go there when they came down to visit me at Ohio University (where Missy and I went to school). It is out of business now, but we are going to Myrtle Beach just to visit this one.
Even though I was so young, I can still remember it so vividly. I just started to walk into the water and I opened my eyes and remember seeing people playing volleyball while I was underwater. My uncle noticed and rescued me. He also rescued his two daughters from mozzerella cheese sticks. So not only should you keep an eye on kids around pools, but also keep an eye on them around mozz sticks.
Does not even include the time I usually spend fighting with Rebecca to eat her dinner.
Missy’s post here, but my post is linked all the way at the end. Yes, we need to update them.
Three trips planned but light on travel.
Sneakers are SO cute! Just ordered 2 to try + a pearl purse for a wedding in July. Thanks!