#SUMMERGOALS

fixie, deer, instagram, margaritas, gluten, free, beer,
So... it's almost August, folks. I've spent the bulk of this summer living between houses/out of my car and wishing away the humidity. Now that July is halfway over, I think I should stop complaining and appreciate the once-in-a-year dreamlike event that is "SUMMER." Alright, let's be real for a second here though. I've never been one of those girls who can't wait to hit the beach with her "biddies" for some tan time. There is nary a "hot dogs or legs" photo to be found on any of my social media platforms and wine coolers are just plain nasty. Pools are also kind of gross. It's like taking a slightly refreshing chemical bath. No thank you. There are some summer joys I can indulge in though: my once-yearly pre-sunrise trek to the beach to watch the pink and gold light peek over the horizon. Going to restaurants and enjoying dinner outside on the sidewalk or, even better, on the patio or garden. Crop tops. (So. Many. Crop tops.) Iced Americanos, Bomb Pops, and driving with the windows down. Philly's Spruce Street Harbor Park. These little things make summer bearable and the humidity kind of worth it. I'm trying to enjoy it more though, which is why I've thought of a few things to try before my beloved autumn arrives.

1. Catch a wave in The Outer Banks... and ride it all the way in without falling. Never mind all of the shark attacks off the Carolina Coast, I wanna get my surf on! I'll be going there with my family for a few days next month. I get easily bored on the beach so doing anything but sitting around and getting sunburnt is a good idea. (I'll just make sure not to pull a Greg Brady.)

2. Find the perfect gluten-free brew. Beer is so good but it's not worth the abdominal pain and shortness of breath that comes along with the gluten. (So long, my beloved hops.) I'm not a fan of ciders (too sweet!) but I'm willing to make some concessions. So far, I've found that ginger makes it a little better. I'm really into Kombucha beer which is actually more like kombucha and not actual beer so I feel like it doesn't really count. Green's and Two Brothers aren't too bad either. If you have any suggestions, let me know! 

3. Teach Charlie to do the agility course at the dog park. Charlie's got some legs on him. It's a terrible thing when he gets away (which has only happened once!) but a great thing if it can be channeled into some type of productivity. He already LOVES doing the jumps so we're about 1/6th of the way there. 

4. Go on a few Appalachian hikes. Charlie, Danielle, and her pup Luna will of course tag along. I drove up to New York (state) this past weekend and couldn't get over how beautiful parts of North Jersey and Northeastern Pennsylvania are. More and more I've been learning the importance of reconnecting with nature every once in a while. It needs to happen again. 

5. Find and watch every single episode of Pete & Pete. We've been having a lot of rainy days lately. Hopefully I can find what I'm looking at before the next one! (What? We all need a lazy day every once in a while.)

Do you guys have anything you want to do before summer is over? 

xo,
e.m.

13 comments

  1. A big plus one for not sitting around and tanning. Boring! I am also with you on not soaking in a giant tub with 100's of people. Not for me either! I once went to Hawaii and while I do enjoy an ocean dip, I couldn't look beyond the sheen of the copious amounts of tanning lotion just floating all along the beach. Yuck. I don't want to swim in a people oil slick!! Secluded hikes and beaches for me! I sound like quite the anti-social person. Honestly, at this point my summer goal is to have like 5 days in a row where I can sleep in!!! Ahh, a girl can dream.

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    1. I think we need to be best friends! WHY OH WHY DO YOU LIVE SO FAR FROM ME, SHY YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD.

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  2. Great post - I hope you achieve all these goals.
    I totally understand about not loving sitting around on the beach but your ideas are great alternatives. :)
    theemeralddove21.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Thank you! I feel like there's bo excuse for any of them to not be completed before fall... Except for the agility course! We'll certainly be able to say that we tried though!

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  3. Awesome summer goals! Good luck with the agility course. :) We just bought a pup a month or so ago and started basic obedience and want to work up to the AKC Good Citizen award so we can begin to train him to be a therapy dog since I'd love to bring him to school with me for the kids. I'm not much of a beer fan, but my cousin follows a gluten free diet and seems to really enjoy New Planet Raspberry Ale. Maybe they have some other summer flavors too?

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    1. Let me know how that goes! I would have never considered Charlie as a therapy dog because he's a little on the crazy side but we encountered a few autistic children on a walk and he was AMAZING with them. They were being kind of rough with him and instead of playing rough like he usually does, I guess he sensed something because he was gently licking their faces and nudging them with his nose. It was so sweet.

      Also, thank you for the suggestion! I'm going to look that up right now!

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  4. Ah, it has been far too long since I've visited the Outer Banks... my family used to go every summer when I was in middle/high school. We always went at the end of August, during hurricane season, because the prices were so much lower! I've been caught in a few hurricanes in my life...

    As far as gluten free beer goes... I like gluten-full beer ;) but my best friend drinks Omission by Widmer Brewing often - she loves it! I've had Dogfish Head's Tweason'ale and remember enjoying it, but that was a few years ago.

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    1. We used to do that too! This year, it'll be three families so we got a huge house on the beach with a pool and everything. I'm particularly excited about that because I haven't gotten much of a chance to get my tan on this year. Expect lots and lots of Instagrams...

      Also, thanks! I've tried Omission, it's not too bad. I'll have to try the Dogfish Head one! I used to love their regular beers!

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  5. I've tried Celia and it was a nice lager for hot days. not sure if you wanted more ale types but if you fancy an ice cold beer this one was really good: http://www.celialager.co.uk/

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    1. I've never heard of that one, thank you so much for the suggestion!

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