The Quarterly 05
The Quarterly 05
Welcome back and HAPPY SUMMER! My favorite time of the year 🙂 We have a lot to catch up on. A couple of trips. Some really good books. Summer Clothes. Flowers. Summer Projects. It’s that fun and games season!
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The Quarterly: Travel
We visited Palm Springs- ish in mid-March. The weather was perfect and was just what we needed to emerge from our winter lifestyle. We stayed at this resort in LaQuinta. The rooms were somewhat dated but lovely just the same. The villa layouts and ammenities made up for old decor. There were 43 pools, a ton of tennis courts (hard court and clay), and several restaurants from which to choose. I didn’t write a full post because we were only there for 2 full days, one of which was spent in total relaxation mode with tennis, biking, swimming, and dinner.Â
On the second day, we drove about 45 minutes to the south entrance of Joshua Tree National Park. There was a visitors center and we received some options for hiking. (I had already sort of decided we were going to hike Ryan Mountain.) The park seemed to have trails for everyone. Some were quite flat while there were some harder hikes as well.Â
The drive to Ryan Mountain was another 40 minutes or so but we were able to see much of the park on this drive as it basically cut diagonally through the national park. Parking was sparse at Ryan Mountain but we were able to find a spot. The ascent was quite a nice workout. (It was basically like being on a stair climber for an hour.) Per usual, the photos just don’t do the views justice. The climb back down took about an hour as well. Also, just like our Acadia National Park experience, our family is apparently a one-and-done kind of trail hiking family.
We have been to Palm Springs previously and also drove through Palm Dessert on this trip. Both downtowns are very nice and have nice stores. So, if you find yourself there without a 12 year old boy, it is definitely worth it to schedule in an afternoon of shopping.Â
We also had a lovely spring break trip to St. Thomas (with a day trip to St. John). You can read all about it in this post.
Our family of 4 recently visited Montreal and I am excited to put a post together soon for all of the food lovers out there.
And then, with less than 24 hours at home, our daughter and I turned around and flew to Italy to visit friends. It was a wonderful trip that provided memories that will last for a lifetime.
The Quarterly: Reading
The Lion Women of Tehran is an incredibly well written historical fiction account of the changes in Iran from the 1950s through 2020s. The story is shared through the experiences of two friends. This book is a gripping and worthwhile read.
Wild Dark Shore was also very good. It included complicated family relationships, murder mystery, and environmental issues, and it kept my attention the entire time.Â
The Four Winds has been around for awhile and I can’t believe I hadn’t read it until now. Hardship, grit, determination, and love all abound in this must read novel.
Black Cake explores sibling relationships as a brother and sister learn about their mother’s hidden past through a voice recording and a black cake made from a family recipe.
I feel like it has been such a good reading year so far!
The Quarterly: Summer Clothes
Butter yellow was the flavor of spring and can easily be carried into summer. Below are some items I have my eye on.
Nothing says classic summer to me quite like J.Crew. Madewell also had some really cute spring/summer options as well. Here are some of my picks.
And with Summer Entertaining top of the mind this weekend, here are some really affordable and cute pieces.
The Quarterly: Summer Flowers
After a hectic (but fun!) spring, I chose to keep my summer flowers the simplest I’ve kept them in a long time. Begonias all around and no more using car jacks to put hydrangea trees in planters (which miraculously survived a Lake Michigan winter- yay!). I did begonias at the cabin last summer and I was sooooo happy with them. They were low maintenance, grew really big, and were beautiful. My choice was solidified when we visited Chicago last August and I saw the same variety all over the city. This year, I bought begonias for our house and the cabin. I’ll do hanging geraniums and possibly some patio ferns as well. In the spring, I was craving a pop of color, so I brought home some azaleas for the front planters and then transferred them to our backyard flower beds. The rhododendron flowered at the end of May just in time for Last Day of School photos. Oh, and the hydrangeas are starting to show up now too! The big leafs are in and I can tell that the lime lights will be showy in a couple of weeks too. I love slowly building a garden that will hopefully have flowers blooming and in bloom until the flurries fly (but let’s not even talk about such things now).
The Quarterly: Projects
I got a quote to redo our primary bathroom- it was a lot. So, we decided to save money and take our daughter to Italy instead. Now, that’s my kind of math lol! In all seriousness, I don’t know if we will ever completely remodel our bathroom. It is so small and I think I’ll just pretend I’m in Europe where a 1926 bathroom is definitely not the oldest on the block.
We are trying new sleeping arrangements at the Beach Cabin, which led to the realization that one of the beds was soooo uncomfortable. We replaced it with this platform bed (we were pleasantly surprised with the ease with which we were able to put it together) and this mattress (which is just right). I love this striped sheet set– it is so soft and perfect for summer (and under $25). Several years ago, I purchased a roll of Leland Gal fabric and a friend sewed it onto a striped IKEA duvet. It’s still my favorite. I am tempted to try my hand at wallpapering in this room. Stay tuned on that.
The Quarterly 05
I always think The Quarterly will be short and sweet and every time it is long and drawn out! Thank you for sticking with me through this 1100+ word post!!
