summer vacation, two ways.

June 20, 2017

summer vacation two ways | reading my tea leavesTomorrow is the first official day of summer. I’m getting my annual itch to play hooky, kick off my shoes, and run around barefoot.

Whether or not you’ve got an actual summer vacation in the works, here’s a little encouragement to take extra advantage of warm weather, and long days, and, yes, pink wine season. In other words, here’s to luxuriating in every bit of summertime that you can, when you can, even if you’re doing it in the midst of totally average work week. 

Where to start? Take a page from the book of childhood summers:

Eat berries, two ways:
+
Straight from the fridge, on the cool kitchen floor, in your undies.
+ Cozied under a blanket of drop biscuits.

Play outside, two ways:
+ Practice the Japanese medicine of shirin-yoku. In other words, take a long walk in the woods.
+ Get yourself to Storm King to frolic amidst the sculptures.

Go swimming, two ways:
+ Head to a pool, or a river, or the ocean. Do a cannonball.
+ Indulge in a special bathing suit

Feel the wind in your hair, two ways:
+ Take free rides on the Staten Island Ferry. Wave to the Statue of Liberty.
+ Take a fancy sail on the Hudson. (BYO cornichons.)

Tackle your summer reading list, two ways:
+ Dust off your library card (or sign up for a new one). Better still, read on the train.
+ Head to your local indie bookstore. Leave with a fresh stack to finish before the summer’s end.

Enjoy a s’more, two ways:
+ Hunt for the perfect fallen twig. Turn it into a roasting stick. Gloat to your family members that yours is the best. 
+ Get yourself a set of fancy skewers. Miss out on some of the fun, but don’t risk losing your ‘mallow.

Watch the sunset, two ways:
+ Sneak up to a nearby rooftop. Bring along a glass of chilled rosé.
+ Head to a slightly more sanctioned spot and take in the views from up there (plus pizza).

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12 Comments

  • Reply Baltina June 20, 2017 at 11:42 am

    This list has me so antsy to get out and sandy at the beach, we just picked the first raspberries from our bushes and it really is feeling like summer!
    What rosé are you digging these days? I loved Mr.Pink last summer. Also lovin that Mara Hoffman suit it is so pretty and just enough. Thanks for the inspiration as usual.

    • Reply ERIN BOYLE June 20, 2017 at 11:45 am

      Our local wine shop, Brooklyn Wine Exchange, has two rosés that they produced in collaboration with vineyards in Southern France. They’re my go-to!

  • Reply Ann June 20, 2017 at 11:49 am

    – to collect the strawberries, blueberries and mushrooms in the forest,
    – to spend the night in the fresh air,
    – to collect a collection of beautiful pebbles,
    – collect the herbarium, dry and make a picture,
    – to draw the apple branch, when the apples begin to blush,
    – To drive on a bicycle,
    – make apple chips,
    – to buy delicacies and usefulness and to visit friends and relatives

  • Reply Ann June 20, 2017 at 11:57 am

    And listen in the Park concert of the birds on a Saturday morning

  • Reply Stephanie June 20, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    I love these two ways posts! It’s SO hot here in the UK at the moment, and it’s making me really tempted to try some of these.

  • Reply Melodie June 20, 2017 at 12:15 pm

    Aw what a lovely post Erin, lots of delightful ideas to enjoy my favorite season… totally just wrote down this entire post in my notebook 🙂 thank you for sharing that dose of little joys!

  • Reply Annie June 20, 2017 at 2:45 pm

    The best list! You are totally embracing your city. Summer on, my friend!

  • Reply Laura June 20, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    Any books you would recommend? Smart but not particularly sad novels?

    • Reply Sasha June 21, 2017 at 11:52 am

      I loved All the Light We Cannot See, sad but not terribly sad, so beautiful.

  • Reply Sasha June 21, 2017 at 11:53 am

    Also, listening to The Hummingbirds Daughter, by Luis Urrea….It’s a magical adventure to another world. Smart, funny, sad, surprising, compelling.

  • Reply Sasha June 21, 2017 at 11:58 am

    S’mores a few more ways…
    Use homemade pb cookies instead of crackers, and chocolove bars (so good!!)
    Use homemade “nutella” instead of bars. Stir melted chocolate chips into pb or almond butter.
    Serious s’more lover? Make homemade marshmallows (kind of a deal, but amazing), toast and sandwich between a couple homemade chocolate chip cookies.
    You can also just pull apart an Oreo and stuff a marshmallow in.
    Do I love s’mores? 🙂

  • Reply Erin June 21, 2017 at 3:16 pm

    The smores! Love the bragging to your family about having the best stick.

    Also – while I love a good, dry red wine in the winter, in the summer it’s all sour beer, all the time. I just adore it!

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