july.

Okay! I really cannot believe it's already July. This year is moving so fast, but hopefully that just means that Fall will be here before I know it. I usually allow myself to start being a little ridiculous about Autumn towards the end of July and definitely in August, so I guess don't have much longer to wait. I sneakily bought Fall candles the other day and recently pulled out my Beistle 1930s reproduction Halloween die-cuts that I got in Brooklyn last October and now I really can't wait to decorate this year. It's no secret that I don't like Summer, but since it's clearly here to stay for a while, I figured I would try to appreciate some of the better parts of this hot season.


Antique cotton clothing - After a long, self-prescribed moratorium on knick-knack spending, I finally broke my 'no antiquing' streak. I took money from my rent fund to spend on tea cups, vintage buttons, and antique cotton slips. When I mentioned it to my mom, she asked me but how many are for your shop? I like how my mom helps me justify my frivolous trinket spending habits. This antique cotton crochet vest was one of the things I bought, and I can see this being a staple all Summer long...I think it would pair nicely with flowy skirts and high-waisted shorts and I don't think I would die from heat stroke.

 Berries- available all year in Florida, but much always so much sweeter when the weather is hot. If I don't have pink-red stains on most of my clothing by the time Falls comes around, I'm doing something wrong. This little pink glass teacup is one of the new treasures from antiquing.

Lemonade is one of my favorite Summer drinks. I like it ridiculously sweet, like the kind you get at carnivals and state fairs, and I try to make it different each time- mint lemonade, black tea lemonade, and of course, raspberry lemonade.

And an instagram of the final product:

Summer, you're not so bad sometimes.

treats.

I've never really been someone who cooks. I've always enjoyed baking, but it was infrequent and rarely from scratch. But lately I've been throwing myself into baking and cooking, because it's fun and time-consuming and doesn't leave room to think about much else than measurements and stirring and chopping and cooking times. I have all kinds of amazing recipes bookmarked and I'm slowly going down the list and trying new ones. Many of the recipes are Autumn-y, so I'm waiting until it gets just a little bit closer to a Fall month to try any of those. I don't want to get all of my Fall excitement out of the way too early and spoil it for when Fall is actually here (as if that could ever happen), so I've been sticking to relatively 'Summery' or season-neutral foods for now. 

I woke up early yesterday morning and made these blueberry muffins from scratch. I think they are honestly the best thing I've ever eaten, which is so strange because I made them. I won't say how many I ate between yesterday and today (okay, seven) but they were amazing. Crisp and crunchy on the outside and soft, melty, and crumbly on the inside. I can safely say after eating these I will never use store-bought muffin mix ever again. And they do have a little nod to Fall, in the amazing cinnamon crumble topping. 

Tomorrow is my birthday. We had out-of-town plans for the day but those had to be re-scheduled for this weekend, so we'll be staying in town for tomorrow instead and I'll just have to celebrate my birthday twice (darn).

today.

The rain stopped. I made strawberry muffins from a cheap bag-mix and ate nearly every single one. This ballerina painting that has been in my family for decades found a new home on my shop wall. I started reading (rather, re-reading) a new book. 


Days like this are nice.