Summertime State Of Mind
Jessica Wagner
Red Maxi Dress: Celebration of Summer
Hey babes! I am feeling extra thankful.
This past week brought some much needed rest. The kids and I got to spend some unplanned time up at the lake (hence this post being a bit delayed) and I am reeeecharged. It’s amazing what a little sunshine, fresh air and freedom from the day-to-day can do to negotiate a cold away and bring about virtuous relaxation.
I’ve said it before, but I am a summertime girl. There is something about the slow passing of time and the simple pleasures it brings: the sound of waves gently lapping on the shore, the taste of a home-grown strawberry plucked off the vine, and the psychedelic sunsets painted in the late evening skies. It ALL makes me smile.
I put my phone away for most of the days. I didn’t mind a strict schedule. I allowed myself an afternoon siesta (or two.) Guess what? It equaled lots of unbound bliss.
I’m pretty sure I could spend forever watching clouds pass in the gleaming sunshine, listening to a thunderstorm rolling in, or chasing moonlight on the warm breeze of an open sea. We got to do all of these things in the last couple days, PLUS we rode around our little beach community in Papa’s golf cart like some kind of crazy celeb royalty, waving to every passer-by. It was FUN. Add in a couple chilled bottles of rosé Summer Water and rendezvous via the boat, and you pretty much have my ideal lifestyle. #beachlife
To celebrate summer and taking things SLOW I want to share a few appropriate quotes that are inspiring my current summertime-state-of-mind goals.
“Life, now, was unfolding before me, constantly and visibly, like the flowers of summer that drop fanlike petals on eternal soil. Overall, I was happiest to be alone; for it was then I was most aware of what I possessed. Free to look out over the rooftops of the city. Happy to be alone in the company of friends, the company of lovers and strangers. Everything, I decided, in this life, was pure pleasure.”
“At these times, the things that troubled her seemed far away and unimportant: All that mattered was the hum of the bees and the chirp of birdsong, the way the sun gleamed on the edge of a blue wildflower.”
“I almost wish we were butterflies and lived but three summer days—three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.”
“Overhead hung a summer sky furrowed with the rush of rockets; and from the east a late moon, pushing up beyond the lofty bend of the coast, sent across the bay a shaft of brightness which paled to ashes in the red glitter of the illuminated boats.”
“Summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people. For those few months, you’re not required to be who everyone thinks you are, and that cut-grass smell in the air and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool give you a courage you don’t have the rest of the year. You can be grateful and easy, with no eyes on you, and no past. Summer just opens the door and lets you out.”
“It was rapture enough just to sit there beside him in silence, alone in the summer night in the white splendor of moonshine, with the wind blowing down on them out of the pine woods.”
“The morning heat had already soaked through the walls, rising up from the floor like a ghost of summers past.”
“Summer set lip to earth’s bosom bare; And left the flushed print in a poppy there: Like a yawn of fire from the grass it came, And the fanning wind puffed it to flapping flame.”
“ Summers had a logic all their own and they always brought something out in me. Summer was supposed to be about freedom and youth and no school and possibilities and adventure and exploration. Summer was a book of hope. That’s why I loved and hated summers. Because they made me want to believe.”
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
“Summers were always our favorite times; we would eat outdoors under the shade of a tree. After having our fill of food and laughter, we’d pluck ripe figs right off the trees, peel and eat them until the sun disappeared into the blue. I can still taste those summer days, and will always do everything in my power to re-create them.”
“All in all, it was a never to be forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world.”
Outfit Details:
Dress: Top Knot Boutique Striped Maxi Dress with Tie Back Detail Shoes: Old, (similar here) Lips: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick Beso
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Do you have any favorite summertime memories or quotes? Books? Songs? Photos? Places you like to go? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below!