A Summer List

11 Things I LOVE about Summer:

1.  going barefoot

2.  day trips to the beach with friends

3.  sunshine 

4.  freckles

5.  laying out in the sun with a good book

6.  cool nights when shorts and a sweatshirt make the perfect outfit

7.  running & riding bikes outside

8.  sunglasses

9.  baseball

10.  grilling with fresh food!

11.  the smell of chlorine & sunblock

Why 11?  Because I couldn't narrow it down to just 10.

I do realize that these aren't all exclusive to summer.  I also realize that its not officially summer yet.  But we're getting close, and I'm getting excited.

Gettin' Crafty

What's the best way to warm up a chilly, snowy day, you ask?  Why, gettin' crafty, I say! 

I'm in the process of redecorating my room and today, I crafted a little paper flower bouquet to adorn my dresser.  

You can check out the instructions for these (easy, but somewhat time-consuming) paper flowers here.  I used newspaper to make them, but they'd look great in any lightweight paper!

After a few days of rain...

its been gorgeous here at Gordon.  So I took advantage of the sun and biked down to Long Hill Reservation and the Sedgwick Gardens yesterday for a little photo op!

I also snapped a few pictures of sunflowers while we were on vacation last week:

I just love summer.

Raw.

This week's prompt at The Sunday Creative is "raw."  Maegan (the creator of this great little project) comes up with the coolest prompts.  I feel stretched and challenged, and at the same time, I feel like I'm not even keeping up with some of the other wonderfully creative interpretations of these prompts!  I so look forward to sundays already, and now even more because of the promise of a new challenge!
The prompt included these definitions of "raw":  not processed; Not trained or experienced.  Since its summer, the first thing that came to mind for me after reading those definitions are flowers that have yet to bud.  This is one of my favorite pictures that I've taken this summer:

Things I'm currently loving:

1.  These Rockstars:  

(their instrumental ensemble got to open for a crowd of 14,000 tonight at the AG Fine Arts Festival in Detroit)

2.  Baking fun things, like these cupcake bites:

3.  That this girl will be here tomorrow!

4.  That I went to Africa two months ago (even though I miss it like crazy):

5.  That I will get to see these girls VERY soon!

6.  Pictures of flowers: