Another thing I love about summer

Pure silliness

Simple. Summer.

I love the relaxed pace of summer.  Everything takes longer when it's 100+ degrees, right?  After work, I might have yoga, I might go home, or I might stop at the store to see what looks good.

We tend to stick to simple suppers in the summer.  Something one of us can get on the table in around a half hour.  I prefer less of a focus on meat, but that doesn't always happen.

These onions and bacon were on their way to becoming a cream sauce for spinach.

Creamed spinach doesn't really seem like a dish that screams summer.  Not in flavors, not in heaviness.  The cream, the cheese, the bacon, they're not on the same page as a plate of cheese and strawberries (another weeknight favorite).

But the fact that I just had to slice an onion and chop a few slices of bacon, then throw everything together on the stove?  Perfect.

Weekend says Relax

These photos are actually from LAST weekend.  I got hit with some really bad nausea and was out of commission most of last week, and a girls' weekend in New Orleans pushed this post back, well, a while.

Breakfast

 Waiting, bitten nails

Morning snack, my favorite milk

Snoozin' on the couch

Shaking it at Zumba

With my new Zumba skirt

Oh, yes

Used zucchini from mom's garden to make a big batch of muffins.  SO GOOD!

Squash for dinner

And zucchini with meatballs.  This is a quick staple, and we're having it again tonight.

I love these long weekends in the summer.  Full of naps and simple meals and just relaxing.  Just perfection.

Tis the season

To put away the suede shoes and bring out the Hunters. Two days in a row of late afternoon rains, and today's is a knockout.

Hello Tuesday

After a long weekend of relaxing in the shade, listening to the waves, and spending time with my favorite people (special mentions to Nana and my mom), I'm back at work.

Wishing I still woke up to this view.

 

We stayed on the bay side, in a complex we've been going to since I was a little girl.  I've been looking out at a pier with fabulous houses on Ono Island in the background in the summers as far back as I can remember.

There used to be condos on the beach side as well, but they were destroyed in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan.  They repaired the bay side units but left the beach bare, which is actually really peaceful.  The land is for sale, so it won't be that way for long, but for now we can enjoy access to a private beach.  No pictures of our beach adventures because I didn't take my phone over there.  But we swam out to the sand bar, enjoyed the waves, saw a pair of sting rays swimming along the coast, and some porpoises further out, played in the sand.  It was a really wonderful time.

And putting up the canopy with my mom and aunt was just hilarious.

We also ate some pretty stellar food.  My mom and I went to McGuire's in Pensacola, and sat right next to their wine storage room.

She had a steak and I had a beautiful, delicious shephard's pie.  I ate half of her salad and we both had the incredible French Onion Soup.

I also had their brewed-in-house root beer.  Amazing!  Such a fun night.  And on the drive back, we saw the almost-full moon light up the water over the Perdido Bay.  It was incredible.

Also did some quick shopping, of course.  Can you spot why these shoes were on major sale at the outlets?  It's pretty easy in the picture, but in real life it's more subtle.

I had an amazing time, and I came back feeling so relaxed.  I'm looking forward to a short week at work, and it's a good thing considering all the other things I have going on this week!

Beach bound

Looking forward to a weekend with the girls and grandpa, filled with fishing, sunscreen, and sitting on the beach doing nothing.