The summer feels like it’s been flying by – I can’t believe it’s already half over! We’ve been pretty busy but it’s been fun to do a few of our favorite things like pick berries, make freezer jam (I’ve made 35 half-pints at last count), and have dinner outside at the picnic table in our backyard once in awhile, too.

I have a few new favorites to add to my summer list. Roman Candle Baking Company opened up near our house (along with every other restaurant option in Portland, and tons of construction – it’s been a little crazy lately) and I love it. My favorites there so far are the contadino bread and the cherry-almond polenta bar, which was one of those things I was pretty sure I would like… but took one bite and was completely amazed by. We came back the next day to buy two more so I wouldn’t have to share mine!

Pearl and I have pretty much been living in our new Saltwater Sandals – my first pair ever, and her second. I bought mine at Popina downtown, but I heard that Branch and Birdie and PedEx also carry them, I would love another bright color…

And I’m excited to make some new friendship bracelets (I made them every day on the bus to middle school, and then had a big macrame jewelry era later on too) so I just bought a big pack of rainbow floss to try a bunch of different combinations with Pearl! These in the photo are from the July/August MSL, and there are nice illustrations on the next page. Mine will most likely not be this artfully arranged.

One thing I did get to sew this month was a little patchwork bowl for a PMQG container swap. I drew April and she said she loved red, especially with aqua, so I made a little “picture frames” log cabin block with those two colors and backed it with Peony Eco-Wise Pendleton wool flannel, and then cut and blanket-stitched it to form the bowl shape. A super fun experiment and she said she loved it (yay!). I added some more of the Tammis Keefe owls and some Pendleton for her to make another one if she wanted to. Suzanne made me the sweetest bucket in blues and greens which is on my instagram if you want to see. What a fun swap!

I’ve been reading some good books (loved The Beautiful Mystery and A Crimson Warning, liked Blue Plate Special ok, and am looking for something new to read now). My picnic-quilt reading time has been a bit limited with work deadlines and kooky kids to keep up with, but I figure we still have six weeks left of summer – honestly here in Oregon more like ten, weather-wise – so I have high hopes for a little more free time to do more of the fun things soon!

Speaking of, I have gotten to do a few special projects with both kids and will be excited to share more about those this week too, with a giveaway and everything! Hope you are having a wonderful July so far.