1. The First Day of Summer Break! Carla is done with school – done with elementary school, in fact, which boggles my mind; doesn’t it feel like just yesterday I was leaving cryptic messages announcing my pregnancy? – and now we are officially on summer break! The first day was a perfect day and I hope we have many perfect days just like it ahead of us. We slept in until eight o’clock, which felt decadent but also not too slothful. We ate breakfast and planned our day. Then we took a drive to Target for some provisions (a sun hat for me, a new pool toy for Carla, some popsicles for the garage freezer) and then to Home Depot for some additional planting supplies. We had all the car windows wide open while we drove and we picked summery songs to add to a summer playlist. We were both GIDDY with the promise of summer. Then, after lunch, we invited the neighbors over for a swim and the kids alternated eating snacks by the pool and swimming. (Note to self: everyone always thinks they want Cheez-Its but no one ever finishes a bag except the gluttonous ants.) While watching four children swim is not relaxing in any sense of the word, it was still a wonderful way to spend the day.
2. Cherry Smoothies. I have been drinking cherry smoothies for breakfast for months now, and I am not tired of them yet. They are SO GOOD, y’all. Not too sweet, and 33 grams of protein without protein powder. I also enjoy the lovely purpley pink color.
3. My Cuisinart Stick Blender. Smoothie-relatedly, I am loving my stick blender. I am still very fond of my Ninja blender, which has its own smoothie cup perfect for making smoothies. But since I made a smoothie daily, sometimes the Ninja isn’t clean and I need another option. (The versions of the blender available now come with TWO smoothie cups, those lucky ducks.) I love this stick blender because it came with a nice, big carafe that I can use for the smoothies AND it came with a little food processor attachment that is perfect for salsa and dressings and other small-batch things not worth the hassle of my enormous food processor.
4. My Indoor Plants. I’ve already gone on and on about my outdoor plants, but my indoor plants are THRIVING. My orchid – which I got when Carla was in pre-K – is blooming again, the anthurium is blooming happily, two of the succulents that are leftover from Carla’s tenth birthday are still alive. I am a teeny bit concerned about Carla’s orchid cactus – it’s sprawling all over the place and seems happy, but from my limited research it might not be getting enough sun? Well. I don’t know if there’s a sunnier spot, sweetheart, so we’ll have to see what happens.
5. A Comfy Summer Schlub Dress. I bought this dress on a whim and I am loving it. It’s my ideal summer lounge-around-and-go-to-Target dress – very casual, so soft it feels like jammies, but cute enough that I feel like I’m making an effort. Also, it has pockets.
What are you loving lately?
life of a doctor's wife 