A Summery Summary (2024)

I’m back with another seasonal round up…all the highlights and favorites from June, July, and August 2024. Let’s dive in first with what I was able to check off my summer bucket list. Then I’ll talk about some things I’ve been loving lately.

What Got Accomplished From My Summer Wish List

PICKLE BALL

Ever since pickle ball became so popular in 2020 I’ve been wanting to try it. I finally bought a set and made it happen. So fun. I never bash things that are popular–they’re popular for a reason!

PARK PICNICS

Summer is for this salad and sweet tea from McAlister’s. Bliss sitting on a blanket in the park under the sun with good company. Order the Savannah Chopped Salad and add ranch!

GRILL OUT

Summer and the grill–such a satisfying combo. I absolutely love these chipotle turkey burgers and cheddar bacon brats! The slaw in the first photo is this one. Sharing food surrounded by family makes it even better. We also grilled up a Mexican feast one night that was such a hit. We paired dinner with this beerita recipe that got us all toasted. That was my bad for forgetting to add the water….oops!

DRINK PIMMS

Nothing transports me back to summer in London like a Pimms Spritz. I’ve been wanting to recreate the recipe at home for so long. So happy I got to share it with the ladies I went to London with most recently!

WATCH THE OLYMPICS

Barely checked this off my list because I was traveling for most of the Olympics this year. But I did get to watch the semi-final and final of the women’s soccer. Amazing!

GO TO A THEME PARK

One of the best parts of summer as a kid was getting to ride rollercoasters at whatever theme park you could get your parents to take you to. I wanted to indulge in some of those nostalgic feels, so we headed to Cedar Point for a couple days. It was waaaayyyy more fun than we were thinking it would be. The rollercoasters there are world-class, and even though we’re not kids anymore, we still loved it just as much! I definitely want to make this more of a tradition going forward.

ANNUAL FLOAT TRIP

Another fun summer tradition! Party bus, floating down the murky rivers of Indiana, good vibes, and pizza. Perfect summer day with friends.

CELEBRATE FAMILY BIRTHDAYS

Had the best time celebrating the newest members of our families this June and August!!

SAILING TRIP

Another MedSailors trip in the books. This time to Croatia 🙂 I can’t recommend this company enough!

Favorites from Summer 2024

PEACHES!!

The real winner of my summer was The Georgia Peach. I was obsessed!! I made this peach and burrata salad multiple times. We did baked peaches with vanilla ice cream for dessert a few times as well. And I found this Peaches and Cream Olipop that was so yummy.

Here’s the salad recipe (I don’t do the fried farro): Peach, Tomato, and Fried Farro Salad with Burrata. This paired perfectly with store bought roast chicken–such a simple to make yet satisfying meal.

Baked Peaches: cover with melted butter and brown sugar and bake around 350 for 10-15 min. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Bronwyn Podcast

This is the newest podcast from investigative journalist Hedley Thomas. I was obsessed with his other podcast, “The Teacher’s Pet,” which solved a 30-year-old missing woman cold case. Bronwyn is a very similar project. There is something so satisfying about a man taking on the misogyny in his own country and going after these men who committed crimes against women DECADES ago and just got to go on living like nothing happened. The police let these families down, and Hedley comes in and does a proper investigation. What he learns gets revealed almost in real time on the podcast. So far Bronwyn has 10 episodes out, but they’re on a break right now while they follow new leads. It would be the perfect time to catch up with the episodes that are already out while we await new ones.

Bronwyn Podcast website here.

Big Fan

Entrepreneur duo Erica Cerullo and Claire Mazur have started a new entertainment company called “831 Stories.” It’s going to be more than just a book imprint, but romance books will be the central focus. I’m not familiar with these two (surprisingly I’ve never come across their podcast), so I really enjoyed this article to get to know the backstory better.

Basically, they want pleasurable reading to be celebrated, and they want to serve the massive romance fandom that’s had to exist in embarrassment for decades. The first book they’re launching comes out on September 10, a novella called Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy (ARC) of Big Fan. Many people are comparing it to The Idea of You by Robinne Lee. I don’t read romance too often (I have to switch up what genre I’m reading constantly), but that was enough to sell it to me–The Idea of You is one of my favorite books! The romance books I have read are some that inspired Erica and Claire to start “831 Stories” in the first place, so I cannot wait to see what else they publish!

Here’s the review I wrote for Big Fan on my Goodreads page: 4.5 stars, a sexy lil novella with The Idea of You vibes. Instead of an age difference and complicated mother/daughter dynamics, it’s the protagonist’s ruined reputation and political career that get in the way. Very mature, realistic writing. Couldn’t put it down!

If you’re a romance fan, if you struggle to find books you actually want to finish, if you loved The Idea of You, if you’re wanting to dip your toes into the genre for the first time, if you love normal person/celebrity themes, Big Fan is for you!

SolStay

I had a thing for living on boats this summer. Right after I returned from catamaran life in Croatia, my boyfriend and I went to Cedar Point and stayed in a houseboat that’s 5 minutes away from the park. It was a gifted stay, which I’m so grateful for, because a theme park trip would not have even crossed my mind if this property didn’t reach out to me earlier this year. And it ended up being one of the most fun mini vacations I’ve done! So thank you SolStay for the complimentary stay! I’ll be writing about this trip in more detail in the future, but wanted to highlight them here in case any one is going to Cedar Point in the fall and needs somewhere to stay.

SolStay website here.