picnic

Summer To-Do List

~ Paris

{The stunning Mendocino Coast at Fort Bragg from a trip many years ago.}


Summer officially begins in just a couple of days {June 20th, to be exact}. With the days becoming warmer and staying bright longer, it’s making me excited to spend the next few months waking up with the sun, dining al fresco, and snacking on berries and tropical fruits all day long. While I don’t have any major summer vacation plans this year, I’m excited to spend the hottest days of the year lazily by the {saltwater} pool, relaxing indoors in air-conditioned comfort {preferably with a snuggly Chihuahua or a purring kitten on my lap}, and making weekend trips to the river or lake, wine country, or a beachy town. And still having a summer vacation like I did as a kid just makes me even more nostalgic for a season that was never my favorite {aka, spring & fall}.

With summer beginning this Friday, I’m sharing a few of the things I’d like to accomplish before the leaves begin to turn gold. And for more seasonal inspiration, here are my past seasonal to-do lists.

Summer To-Do List

1. Plan a trip to the beach.

2. Go to a concert in the park.

3. Attend a flower arranging + floral infused food and cocktail making class {or have a DIY version of it at home one afternoon}.

4. Go to a drive-in theater with burgers, fries, and milkshakes for an old-fashioned style dinner and a movie date.

5. Plan a picnic at the beach or a park.

6. Have an at-home spa day.

7. Have a weekly Taco Tuesday night {bonus points for virgin margaritas}.

8. Spend more time on my new hobby: drawing.

9. Start my mornings with an energizing yoga sequence.

10. Make desserts with summer berries from the farmers market every weekend.

x Paris

Entertaining: Picnic at the Beach + Potato Burgers

~ Paris

With today being national picnic day, an entertaining idea I wanted to share for celebrating properly is: a picnic at the beach, complete with potato burgers!

Years ago, I decided to throw a picnic at the beach. We tend to always eat out whenever we go out of town, but there’s something so charming about bringing your own favorite snacks to enjoy al fresco. During a trip to Bodega Bay, we wandered up to the ocean side of the southern tip of the bay – Bodega Head – where we settled down in a picnic table, assembled our burgers, snacks, and drinks, and attacked our lunch before wandering north on the Sonoma coastline. It was the perfect way to end the summer, and while I adored the potato burgers we made – a throwback to a high school trip we made where we picked up potato patty burgers to snack on while visiting Alcatraz – the best part of the whole thing was enjoying our lunch with the prettiest view of the water. And the seagull posing for our photographs was just icing on the already indulgent cake {as you can see in the final picture}.

Snacks:

Potato Burgers
Potato Chips – we used plain + sour cream & onion
Shortbread Cookies
Strawberries
Apple Mango Sparkling Cider
Water

Ingredients
{Makes 1 Burger}
One Hash Brown Patty
One Potato Burger Bun
Garlic Herb Lemonaise, ~ 1 Tablespoon or to taste
Butter Lettuce, 1 Leaf
Tomatoes, sliced – 2 slices

Recipe

1. Grill your hash brown patty the morning of your picnic to keep it warm.

2. Spread the lemonaise {which is a lemony mayonnaise} on one side of the bun.

3. Top the other bun with a butter lettuce leaf, tomato slices, and the hash brown patty.

4. Top off with the other bun and serve with your favorite snacks such as chips, berries, and cookies.

5. Enjoy!


  x Paris