The Pioneer Woman was my first motivator into the rather intimidating world of my kitchen. Before finding her first book on a publisher’s clearance rack, I cooked out of necessity. Seeing the step by step process through pictures paired with personable instructions transformed my attitude towards cooking. All from one little book, cooking was now enjoyable for me. Soon after, through the Pioneer Woman’s blog, I discovered Joy the Baker who gave me the world of baking. I learned from her that baking is so much more than chocolate chip cookies and birthday cakes.* And now I am unashamedly hooked on baking.
*Though these are, without a doubt, crucially important items in the baking world.
The last few summers, Joy shared on her blog a Summer Bucket List. I love her artistry, the obvious consideration she takes in creating her list, and that she shares it with the world! So, I thought, why not me? And while I may be a little behind the start of summer*, fall is still 78 days away, leaving me plenty of time to do all I want to do.
*17 days, to be exact
So, without further delay, here is my “Summer Want To List*”:
*I’ve never been a fan of the term ‘bucket list’.
My list is prominently displayed at my desk so I have to see it pretty much every…single…day
- Finish reading ‘Atlas Shrugged’. If you’ve seen the size of this book, you understand. I’m so so very close to the end, but in page numbers, I’m still four hundred pages away.
2. Visit a different New Jersey beach every time I go to the beach. It is extremely easily for us to get caught up on one or two different beach spots, but Jersey has so many! Here’s hoping I can stay strong and be bold enough to try something new–every single time I’m in a beachy mood.
3. Start a new writing project. I’ve reached the point where my recent WIP (work-in-progress) can no longer be classified as ‘in progress’. It’s time to embrace starting something new, but, I’m a little resistant to change
4. Work on my golf swing. Lance started teaching me how to golf last summer. This spring we took lessons with a golf pro, so now it’s time to practice, practice, practice.
5. Eat ice cream as often as possible. I’ll sweat it off with all the golfing, right?
6. Have ‘Guavaberry Colada Fridays’ with Lance. We brought back a bottle of guavaberry rum from Sint Maarten last year, but summer was pretty much over by then, so we never opened it. After our recent cruise, we were reminded of the joy of slushy drinks on hot summer days and decided ‘Guavaberry Colada Fridays’ are a must.
7. Be more consistent in taking notes and observing things around me. I’m guilty of thinking that my brain is like the cloud, that I can log away thoughts and then reach into the cloud later on to retrieve them. Don’t know about you, but when I ‘log it away’ in my brain, it’s guaranteed to be a goner. Summer is a great time to observe the world, but without notes or pictures, a contemplative observation disappears.
8. Take more walks. We have a perfectly peaceful park near our house with a track around it, but I usually end up spending the entirety of my weekdays locked indoors in front of my laptop. Walking is one of the best ways to clear my mind and make observations that lead to inspiration.
9. Make something from my ‘Duff Bakes’ and ‘Donuts’ books that Hubby bought me this year. It was this year that I recognized that though I enjoy cooking in general, baking is the part I love. So naturally, my baking books increased. Now it’s time to dig into them!
10. Continue working towards making the perfect croissant. We first made croissants during this year’s blizzard, and I decided they are my favorite thing to make in the entire world. Most recently, I tried out a new croissant dough in order to make cheese danish. It was pretty much the best danish of my life. More to come on that, I hope.
I think that’s a good start for a first time Summer Want To list.
What things are on your summer want to list?
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