Summer Fridays, Vol. 1.
Welcome to Summer Fridays, 2019!
For most of the year, I was on the fence if I was going to bring this back, but you guys loved it and have been asking for weeks now. It means so much to me that you wanted to see these posts again. And I’m so excited that it’s time! You can read about why I started Summer Fridays here last year. And just to reiterate. Is there ANYTHING better than a Summer Friday?
Besides maybe a Summer Thursday, that goes into a long weekend? I think not.
Summer Fridays are all about making summer weekends feel extra special and really enjoying this gorgeous season! Here’s what’s going on over here in this first full weekend of June!
EATING
All things strawberries. I am completely obsessed with them right now. If you want to let them shine but also MAKE something with them, you have to do this copycat panera strawberry poppyseed salad. I live for it. Also, this strawberry pasta salad is incredible too. And if you’re thinking desserts, go with my strawberry cobbler bars or fresh strawberry cobbler. YES.
DRINKING
All things rosé! If you missed yesterday, I shared my 2019 rosé guide and it’s all I plan on consuming this weekend! Including this watermelon frosé and frosé lemonade.I mean, how can I not?
MAKING
I’m headed out of town for a few days, so I wanted to stock the fridge for Eddie and the kids. I made a small pan of ground turkey enchiladas, the bolognese from The Pretty Dish (I froze half for later) and the chicken from these smoky chicken pitas for easy lunches. This stuff will work for dinners, lunches (you know Eddie basically needs dinner for his work lunch) and I wanted to make sure that there was tons of food here to make it easy. I’m also making a batch of my favorite egg salad.
LISTENING
To our summer kickoff playlist! I listened to this on repeat yesterday and cannot get enough. It’s such a great mix of everything.
READING
Going to start the Mother In Law this week based on lots of your recommendations. Don’t forget to check out my summer reading list! Especially if you need recommendations – the comments section is great. I’ll be chatting each week about what I’ve read/finished here on Summer Fridays like I did last year. What are YOU reading this weekend?
TRAVELING
I could NOT be more excited because in a few days, we’re taking my mom to Nantucket for her birthday. !!!!! It’s a full blown girls trip. You probably know this since I’ve never shut up about it, but I’ve wanted to go back ever since Eddie and I went in 2013. We have reservations at Galley Beach and I’m dying for a lobster roll at Cru (because even after 6 years and our lobster roll tour of Maine, it remains the best one I’ve ever had!), but if you’ve been recently… what should we do? Lacy and I are going to get bikes and bike all over the island too.
BUYING
Okay guys, this past week I bought my first pair of white jeans in… forever. Like since before Max was born. I’ve been raving about the Good American jeans I got a few months ago, so after looking at reviews, I grabbed these white jeans. Again, if you’re super short, these are high waisted and the perfect length! Now… am I brave enough to wear them?
CRAVING
All the doughnuts. You know it’s national donut day, right?! I have enough to make you giddy, but if I had to choose a fave, I think I’d go with these salted dark chocolate donuts at the moment.
WORKING
On book #3! I haven’t shot any photos yet, and I’m trying to streamline how I do that this time around so it’s not, like, three straight months of book photos. Would you guys be interested in more behind the book posts?
TRYING
To be better about my night time routine! I have my morning routine down to a science right now. Six days a week, I jump on the Peloton almost right after I get up (still in love with it) and it’s been life changing for my morning routine and days in general. At night though, I still get sucked into looking at my phone, and then I read for a awhile, even I have my morning things set out and ready to go by 7PM. It’s like I can’t get away from doing that because they are some of the only moments of the day where I feel like I can do “nothing,” you know?! I realize this is probably just a stage-of-life thing and it will gradually get better. But I’d love to heard your night time routines below!
Enjoy the loveliest Summer Friday!
32 Comments on “Summer Fridays, Vol. 1.”
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I am SO happy you brought back summer Fridays. They are one of my favorite posts. So excited for you to go back to Nantucket, shouldn’t you be reading an Elin Hilderbrand book then? :-) Plus you are going to have beautiful weather (I live in Mass, so you don’t think I am a weird person who checked on this). The white jeans would be perfect to wear on Nantucket, It is summer after all. I would love to see some behind the scenes posts about book #3. It’s always interesting to me how a cookbook comes together.
Have fun in Nantucket!! I have never been there, so I will look forward to your posts. Thank you for the playlist; I save all of them on Spotify. I love white jeans, and I definitely think you will rock them in Nantucket! I would love to see behind the scenes posts about your new cookbook. I am going to read what everyone tells you about nighttime routines because other than dishes, walking the dog, and reading, I don’t do very much. Maybe it is okay!?!
Behind the book posts…yes!
I’m going to our Farmers Market on Saturday..love it!
The weather forecast in this area…Boston…is great for the next few days so your stay on Nantucket should be glorious. This time of year is especially nice as the tourist level is not as crazy and the Island has a feel of anticipation and excitement as summer approaches. I hope you all enjoy every moment!
Hey Jess! A couple things:
• As someone who also has a husband who needs a full blown dinner for work lunch, I feel your pain!
• I grew up in NH and now live in MA, but I’m ashamed to admit I only took the ferry over to Nantucket for the first time a few summers ago. That being said, I’ve been DYING to go back ever since and I highly recommend swinging by Cisco Brewers. When we went, they had an awesome outdoor bar with such a fun atmosphere, great music, the best bartenders and – wait for it – food trucks!!!! I vividly remember my best friend and I pigging out on street corn, guac and tortilla chips – the freaking best. I mean, what more could you want, really?!
Whatever you end up doing, I hope you and your fam have fun – happy birthday to your mom, by the way!
OMG Summer Fridays are back. YAY!! Best way to start my day.
Nantucket is the best! You have to eat at Black Eyed Susan’s. Its was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. My cousin works there so I do have a bias but it was great. Eat at the counter and watch them cook, its the best. Both breakfast and dinner are good! It is a BYOB place, FYI. Enjoy!
Too bad we won’t be in Nantucket during the same timeframe! I’ll be there after you. Have a wonderful time with your mom! And major yes to behind-the-book posts.
That playlist is 🔥🔥🔥
I just finished the book Here’s To Us by Elin Hilderbrand and YOU are the master behind the recipes she writes in the book! That is SO cool. It was so fun to actually “know” the chef she spoke about in the Author’s Notes!
Summer Fridays for the win! I’m so excited about these posts being back!
I love the playlists and save them all in spotify
I just finished Mother in Law and I really enjoyed it. It’s far more relationship and character driven than it is ‘suspense/thriller’ and I thought Sally Hepworth did a great job showing all the ways we miscommunicate and that it can lead to devastating consequences
We are going to Boston (but, sadly, not Nantucket which is also on bucket list) for the first time in 10 days! Cannot wait. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to see all your travel posts about it so I can make notes for my own trips in the future (and it was just my mom’s birthday, too! yay to Gemini moms. hope yours has a wonderful birthday)
yes to behind the scenes book stuff. I love that. because I’m super nosy.
as for white jeans.. just wear them. it’s summer. I always have a pair of white jeans and a pair of white shorts and as soon as I break them out I feel …. ‘summer friday’ (ha! see what I did there? brought it all around full circle)
Loved this post, I appreciate the many awesome links and info.
I need to get my night and morning routine sorted so not sure if anything I say will help so I shall try.
What do you want to gain from your nighttime routine? Do you want to relax, do you want to catch up on things likes current events, friends and family, do you want to progress in your reading?
For me, I want to decompress for the day and have a good night sleep. Currently, I just get home, have dinner while watching TV, scroll through social media and then go to bed and sometimes squeeze some reading before falling asleep.
Ideally, I want to cut back on TV and social media time, add stretching before bed because that does help me sleep better, read more and have a night time skin care routine but yeah I need to actually be disciplined to make that routine happen.
Good luck with figuring out your routine I know you’ll get it.
Definitely go to cisco!
NANTUCKET! I literally just got off the plane from there a few hours ago. You just missed restaurant week though :(
My husband and I went out to Galley Beach on Monday – he got the scallops and loved them. He also said it was one of the best Caesar salads he’d had in his life. I had the brownie for dessert and it was so simple but so phenomenal.
PLEASE go to Dune for dinner one night! And start with the English pea bisque – I had it last night and can’t stop thinking about it – trying to find a recipe that looks close to it so that I can try to recreate it, and low key hoping you go there and love it so much that you recreate it for the blog :D
You might get some recommendations for Black Eyed Susan’s for breakfast – honestly you can miss it. It was good but nothing you can’t get elsewhere.
Spend a few hours one afternoon at Cisco Brewers – I’m not a beer drinker but the cocktails they make with the 888 blueberry vodka are fantastic. If the lobster food truck is there that day, definitely grab – well literally everything they make.
Gazebo is a great outdoor bar to duck into when you get caught in the rain while shopping on the wharfs.
Do I even have to tell you about Juice Bar? Go to Juice Bar. Cake batter ice cream, waffle bowl, peanut butter topping.
Drop into Club Car and ask for the Passionfruit Painkiller – it’s off-menu but it’s a mind-blowing variation on the signature drink of the Virgin Islands. Their tapas plates look amazing too but we haven’t tried them yet – we just keep going back for the Passionfruit Painkiller :D
Downyflake for breakfast. Get there early, and get a maple donut.
Slip 14 is low-key my favorite restaurant on the island, honestly. The lobster mac is the best I’ve ever had, and they have a fantastic Mexican street corn too.
Lemon Press has amazing smoothies. I love the Berry Youthful smoothie – it tastes exactly like CrunchBerries!
Handlebar Cafe, The Hub, and The Bean are all amazing coffee shops.
If you feel like pretending you’re 22, grab a drink at The Chicken Box. It’s a blast if you’re 22 or have the discipline to only have one drink or to leave at a reasonable hour so that you can eat and drink lots of water before you pass out :D
Skinny Dip is my favorite boutique on the island. I love the Nantucket vs. Hamptons art they carry!
28 Centre Point is an amazing home decor spot if you’re into that.
Parchment is the Nantucket version of Paper Source if you’re familiar with that store – and they had The Pretty Dish on display when I was there yesterday!!
For Now is another cute boutique and they’re carrying Dudley Stephens right now!
The Shipwreck Museum, The Whaling Museum, and the Lightship Basket museum are amazing ways to kill a rainy hour each.
Sylvia Antiques and Nantucket Antiques Depot have AMAZING antiques and are almost the three above museums rolled into one. Also, the Samuel Owen Gallery has awesome modern art.
Be careful when you ride bikes if you decide to go to Sconset – the ride from town to Sconset is WAYYYYY easier than the ride back! FYI if you get tired or stuck in the rain you can jump on the Wave, which is the bus system around the island, and put your bike on the bus.
Go for a sail on the Endeavor! Bring your own drinks, and wear rain gear – you will get splashed!
Ok enough from me – but here are two posts from some of my other favorite bloggers with their own Nantucket guides
– https://www.carlytheprepster.com/2017/07/nantucket-travel-guide.html
– https://www.mackenziehoran.com/nantucket-guide/
Also – get lots of cash before you go! Lots of places (particularly Downyflake and Juice Bar) are cash only, and if you hit the ATM before you go you can dodge the ATM fees on-island since your bank won’t have an ATM there.
Have so much fun and I can’t wait to see your posts about it!
Edit: I lied! My husband reminded me that it wasn’t Parchment that had The Pretty Dish – it was Millie & Grace, which is another adorable boutique I forgot to mention!
Definitely interested in behind-the-book posts!
And I feel your pain about the nighttime routines, too. I’m in my first trimester of my first pregnancy and am exhausted all the time, but still somehow find time to lay in bed and scroll through Instagram endlessly and uselessly. I think I may have to plug my phone in away from myself for at least an hour so I can enjoy reading, cuddling my dogs, hanging with my husband, or even just zoning out in front of the TV (maybe adding folding laundry during that time? if I’m really being ambitious). I also need to start the whole “wind down” process much earlier.
Anyway, enjoy Nantucket and happy birthday to your mom! Thank you for all you do!
All for the “behind the book” posts.
And not to jump ahead, I’d just like to say I wouldn’t hate “Fall Fridays”🍁🍂🎃
thank you for all of this inspiration, the rose guide first among them!
Love your Summer Friday’s posts! Thanks for writing them again this season!
Yay for Summer Fridays! I just finished THE MOTHER IN LAW, and I really loved it. I thought it was going to be suspense, but it ended up being more about family drama. I love the dynamic of Lucy and Diana; you can relate to them, even if you have the best mother (in law) in the world. I hope you like it!
My night time routine leaves much to be desired: I get up super early for work, so I’m often asleep by 9 or 9:30…and, on a really blissful night, 8:30pm, lol. I usually try to spend some time with the Husband and cat after dinner and before bed, but weekdays are tough. On the evenings before the days I DON’T have to wake up before dawn, we like to go out to a local spot. The other night, we met up with our friends; the husbands played tennis, and I walked around the park with the wife and her kiddos. Then, we all went to the local ice cream spot. It was such a simple evening, but it was SO much fun. Such a wonderful break from the monotony of the usual weeknight grind. I highly recommend doing something local and casual in the evening once or twice a week, if you can. It totally changes your outlook. :-D
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Rose and the playlist on my porch makes for a great Saturday! Thank you!
I made the fresh strawberry cobbler for a dinner party and everyone was blown away! I even made it earlier in the day and left it in the fridge until time to bake and it held up beautifully. Perfect served warm with vanilla ice cream
I love Summer Friday’s!!! I am such a morning person, so it’s easier for me to do routines/get everything in order. I struggle with nighttime routines, b/c I just get tired and lose motivation. Have a great time on your girls trip 😊
Yeah to Summer Friday’s!!!
Funny story: I never wear white below the waist……period!!! Writing that sentence just made me realize why – but that is a story for another time. I once took a job in Houston at Randall’s Grocery Store as a checker and part of there uniform was white pants (which I didn’t realize until the day I started). I worked one day, turned in my uniform & quit – never did get paid for that one day!
Fast forward to nursing school……clinicals at the hospitals required us to wear white uniforms – all white, head to toe white and I really wanted to be a nurse. It was my dream since I was a little girl and nothing was going to stop me so I put on my big girl panties and my all white uniform and went all four years and made it through and became an RN! But I still never wear white below the waist in my personal life and now I am an RN (Retired Nurse)
My absolute best nighttime routine move was to put my phone on the designated charging station spot (not in the bedroom) when I put the kids to bed. I don’t check it until I’ve gotten up and started my coffee and other parts of the morning routine. I feel like I’ve given myself some sanity back to my last 1-2 waking hours.
I’m a few chapters in to The Mother in Law (I got an advanced copy but just never got to it in time!) but I’m anxious to read it since it’s getting so much love. I just finished The Girl He Used to Know – it was fantastic. Just WOW. Definitely recommend it!
Have fun in Nantucket! I was just looking at our photos this weekend of when we lived in Maine and I do miss it there! New England is so beautiful! Enjoy your lobstah roll!
I flippin LOVE summer Fridays, omg!! Rock the white jeans, girl! And I feel you on the nighttime routine…actually the morning one too haha. I love to get people’s tidbits about what they do so I’ll be patrolling the comments.
Excited Summer Fridays are back! And yes please, to behind-the-scenes cookbook posts! (Also, are you planning on doing more posts on blogging? I’ve really enjoyed the ones you’ve done this year so far.)
Hope you have a nice trip to Nantucket!
yea for summer fridays even though im reading on tuesday :)
i relate to your husband i basically have dinner for lunch. if i eat a tiny lunch i will be famished for dinner and when i come home. i am a “volume” eater for sure.
night routines…i sorta suck. i think my issue is trying to do to much. i am NOT a morning person so just the fact i get up each day before 10 is a victory. Truthfully i get up at 530 to work out each day now but it is a huge struggle and i feel it throws off my natural “night owl” personality. so later in the day i am just zapped but i have these high hopes to: cook, eat, read, stretch, walk outside, water flowers/pull weeds/etc, drink green juice, prep lunches, fill in my planner, make lists, meditate, watch tv, watch netflix, listen to podcasts, read the news, call my mom, catch up work items, deal with my never ending stack of mail, clean, blah blah blah you get the idea. the problem is i never get home before 6 and often closer to 7 so i think my prob is because i cant do all the things i sorta veg and feel lazy and get caught in the phone trap.
i guess that was a super long winded way of telling you i have no idea how to make a successful nighttime routine but if you figure it out HELP !
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