Summer is definitely my least inspired season, personally. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve sat down to write a blog post lately and have just stared at the blank screen, feeling absolutely NO inspiration or ideas whatsoever. (I mean, entertaining three kids all summer will also do that to you–but I swear it’s something about the weather and long days, too.)
Since I’m fresh outta ideas for like, actual blog posts, here’s a brief rambling update on my life lately!
Cooking lately: We’ve been keeping things simple this summer. Burrito bowl, rotisserie chicken or salmon + carb and veg, cheats pasta sauce with a GF grain/pasta, and veggie scrambles are probably 75% of meals at the moment. We’ve been loving homemade honey mustard dressing on greens–I blew Eric’s mind with how easy it is to make salad dressing in a mason jar at home 😛
Outings lately: Pool, nature preserve, zoo, parks, my parent’s houses… the usual suspects.
Shopping lately: I ordered a bunch of summer clothes for little e (is it time to stop calling him that? He’s not so little anymore) for next year in the Hanna Anderson sale. I also ordered a new sweater and merino leggings for myself for the fall and winter. Trying to stick to all-natural fabrics is difficult when it comes to activewear, so we’ll see how these leggings rate!
Reading lately: A couple really “meh” books that aren’t even worth mentioning. Now I’m re-reading some Mireille Guiliano because apparently even my taste in library books is uninspiring at the moment!
Habits lately: Eric and I have been doing a nightly yoga routine after the kids are in bed. It’s been a great way to unwind and has really helped my sleep. This five-minute yoga is still my favorite ever, although we’ve been doing some longer routines too.
Looking forward to lately: Fall, in case that wasn’t obvious 😛 I’ll always try to enjoy each season but I do think I have a touch of summer seasonal affective disorder. The heat, humidity, and constant bright sunshine really get to me! I always wonder if that has anything to do with my ancestry, which is mostly British Isles with a touch of Swedish/Danish. Is that preference in my genes somehow?
I definitely miss the school routine of the cooler months, the seasonal and holiday traditions, the cold weather food–chili isn’t exactly appetizing when it’s 90+ degrees out–and the general feeling of preparation and burrowing in. Maybe I’m actually part chipmunk… who knows.
It’s always felt like I really belong to that season, in a northern place. I even love the bleak, frigid, rainy days in November–I find the bare landscape to be really beautiful. It feels like a reminder that however much progress we make, we are still subject to nature, to the same challenges, as our ancestors. I have an inkling that some of us need life to be a little tough in the physical environment sense sometimes. That we need to experience that in order to feel human. I always watch this documentary in the fall which is related to that idea.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my ancestral roots lately and how to feel more connected to them. Rediscovering that part of my identity feels like a balm for the soul.
Happy weekend; I hope yours is serene!
xx Claire