July Summary

Time keeps slipping away from me. Maybe it's because work has been extra busy, or maybe it's because a certain small girl has been extra busy, or maybe it's both of those things...and here we are, just about to close out July. Crazy.

But summer is NOT over. Please, I beg of you, do not start saying things like "fall will be here before you know it" or "just a few more weeks until the kids are back in school" or "I can't believe the summer's about over." If you say those things around me, expect a smack. Or at least a glare.

August has yet to begin and while it is very true that school starts in about four weeks that does not mean summer is over. Summer break may be over, but not summer the season. Big difference.

And while I'm loving this weather, it is not helping to ward off "summer is over" comments while the air is crisp and it feels like we should be sipping hot cider and pumpkin spice lattes instead of iced coffee and lemonade. Definitely not helping.

So before July completely slips through my hands, here are some snippets of life this month. Not all, and mostly not edited at all since I don't have time. And I'd like it to still be July when I hit "publish."

This past weekend I went to The Summer Market in Avon Lake. It's always a great show with cool vendors and you can't beat the location:

My heart skipped a few beats when I saw this, and skipped a few more when I saw it was for sale:

Later that day we went to the farmer's market at Crocker Park. It was really sunny out and I realized when we got there that I'd left the sunscreen at home. Charlotte overheard me say that I forgot about it and said "it's okay Mommy, I won't get a sunburn. I'm with my Daddy."

Then there's these two:

And this guy, who was finally caught after being at large for over a week. There are others. It's only a matter of time, mark my words. After a four year battle with a groundhog I'm not messing around anymore. 

As for this guy, he's fine. He was safely moved to a shady spot and slept sweetly in his cage until Chad got home and relocated him to his new home in the woods. 

We went to the Children's Museum for the first (and second) time, and Charlotte discovered the wonders of the wind machine:

And the wonders of the Mother of all Playgrounds, at Blesser Park in Avon Lake:

Charlotte has also discovered the wonder that is the ice cream truck. Our city hasn't allowed them as long as we've lived here, but they must have changed their tune this year because there were rumors of an ice cream truck spotting for weeks. Then a few weekends ago we heard that telltale music and sure enough, the truck came down the street. It was stopped for a looong time. Our street was collectively overexcited about it, I admit.

This girl began swimming lessons this month--she goes every Saturday morning with Chad. Her favorite part about swimming lessons are the pancakes she eats afterward when they ride the bike up to Bay Diner :)

Her favorite part about this playground we found was the climbing net. Girl can climb. So can her daddy.

We've had some rainy days lately...

...which means I've gotten to watch some Little Mermaid with this girl:

She's decided that running the bases on an empty baseball field is mostly the best:

I read this, cover to cover. We're in the very early planning stages...So. Much. Planning. So much information. September 2015. Can't wait :)

And last but not least, fairy lights. I bought these awhile ago with plans to make a reading nook in her room once we moved the changing table out. I made it my project this past Sunday, using six yards of sheer white fabric draped around sparkly white ribbon with fairy lights sandwiched in the fabric. Add in some floor pillows and voila: reading nook. She's a happy girl and I'm a happy mama, since the whole project cost less than $25. Take that, Pinterest. My only complaint: that obnoxious black cord and bulky plug that are attached to the lights. Oh well.

Happy July.

~Stacy

Marblehead

The many great things about Chad not being in school anymore include unplanned trips to cool places, like today when we were drinking coffee in the morning and he said "let's go to Marblehead."

So we did. And he didn't have to do homework in the car while I drove, and he didn't have to suffer the consequences of taking the day off by writing papers all night. It's finally sinking in that he's done, and I'll definitely take more days like these to prove it.

My puddle jumper:

And my favorite:

I hope you had a lovely weekend :)

~Stacy

Minimizing

I've been reading this blog lately and loving it. Basically, two thirty-something guys started this blog a few years ago after entering their thirties feeling overwhelmed with...everything. Their idea of minimalism is based on the idea that eliminating any excess from your life is ultimately responsible for freeing you up to live the way you want to live. This can mean getting rid of stuff, obligations, relationships, etc. that aren't serving their purpose any longer, are unhealthy, or just suck the happiness out of you.

Last month we took the Minimalist Challenge (read about it on their blog) and while we didn't get quite as hardcore as the challenge suggests, we did do a super thorough evaluation of the stuff we have and took the opportunity to get rid of excess and either sell or donate it. 

And it. felt. awesome.

Even something as simple as getting rid of some shirts I had hanging in my closet that I thought I would maybe wear one day but that just have never looked particularly flattering any time I try them on felt freeing. Dishes that are beautiful but that I haven't used in over five years--let someone else get some joy out of them. Beautiful dishes aren't so beautiful when they're packed away in a plastic bin for years at a time. Baby clothes, toys that Charlotte never plays with, so many things I was holding on to in case I might need them--most of them are now gone. 

My house feels bigger and cleaner but it was also a huge stress reliever. Just the act of letting go of all that stuff felt like my whole house took a sigh of relief. I didn't expect such a reaction.

I've kept reading the blog after the challenge was over and have been brainstorming other ideas to put in place to simplify and de-stress. Some of the ideas we're bouncing around are bigger ones, some small. It's fun to dream, and in time it'll be fun to do.

In the meantime, I've minimized one place that never leaves me feeling better after visiting it: Facebook. I find value in social media, especially places like Pinterest and Instagram that are visual and pretty. But Facebook is one that I know I can live without and as of today, I am. 

So if you were my "friend" on Facebook and don't have my personal contact info, feel free to reach out via e-mail to bluebaycottage@gmail.com.  :) And click here to find me on Instgram!

~Stacy

Twirly T-Shirt Dress

My girl chooses a dress over shorts and a shirt 9 out of 10 times, so I rifled through her closet and pulled out some plainer T's and turned them into T-shirt dresses.

For this one, I paired a yellow shirt from Target with a seersucker. I chopped the shirt off at the waist and then added a double skirt--I liked the fuller look of the double layers plus I didn't want the skirt to be see through.

I'm thrilled with how it turned out! She loves it because it's super twirly and I love it because it took less than thirty minutes to make :)

I want to make ten more.

~Stacy

I Forget.

In the winter months I'm painfully aware that I live in northeast Ohio. But in the summer, it's hard to even picture the beach overrun with ice and snow, bare trees and gray skies. Which is why I like to take pictures like these.

~Stacy

The Fourth is My Favorite

I think the 4th of July might be my new favorite holiday. Especially when the weather is perfect and we have no scheduled obligations beyond those of our own choosing and we get to have fun with friends at a parade and there's a carnival in walking distance with rides and delicious food trucks and we can watch fireworks from the beach right after the sunset.

Which is exactly what we did. Move over Christmas, the 4th is where it's at.

Thursday evening:

And Friday:

If July were six months long it would still be too short.

Happy Fourth!

~Stacy