Summer time favorites

These are pictures from our trip yesterday to the Manayunk Arts Festival on Main Street. There were tons of locals out buying and selling interesting pieces of arts and crafts. Keith and I got some free stuff like reusable grocery bags (which we used when we went to the grocery store right afterwards) a bottle of water (which was great because I was about to die of dehydration) and a free cup of water ice (which is the Philadelphia term for Italian ice, and my mouth is probably STILL blue from my blue raspberry treat haha). It was a pretty good way to use our Sunday off together, even though the temperature was in the 90s and we probably lost a couple pounds in water weight for all the sweating we did haha. I'm definitely enjoying my summer so far. Here is a list of my favorites:

1). Cool summer nights.The heat here has been pretty extreme, even for us Southerners, I must admit. The real difference is that I no longer live a 100% air conditioned life, which is a huge change from South Florida summers. We have a little window unit in our bedroom, but otherwise it's pretty unbearable in here. Yesterday we debated whether it would be cooler if we kept the windows closed vs having them open, but there really is no changing the heat haha. The one reprieve that Pennsylvania has over the Southern states though is the calm, peaceful, cool breeze that rolls in by about 8pm every night. As Keith described to friends the other night, I am very night and day when it come to my love for summer. I spend most of the day complaining about how I just sweat out water faster than I can drink it, and how generally feel disgusting, but once the sun goes down I can't stop raving about how much I love summer haha. Conclusion: I love summer nights :) I love taking long walks on our favorite trail at twilight, getting away from technology and spending quality time talking to each other. Friday night we walked for about an hour and finished off our trip by stopping by our favorite ice cream shop and getting milkshakes. I wish EVERY night could end like that :) It was so nice.
2). Lazy afternoon naps.I've been taking a few too many of these recently, oops haha When it's just the right temperature of warm in our apartment there is nothing better than putting down everything that I'm working on, setting the fan on high and having it blow directly on me as I take a little snooze. Yesterday after our trip to the art fest we took a nap, and I felt like I could have slept forever. I think that I also like the feeling of knowing that I have a list of things that need to get done, but that none of them will be affected if I let an extra hour go by.
3). BBQs at Dan and Aly's.Saturday night we were over at their place grilling pizzas and drinking frozen margaritas and it was awesome. I spent most of Saturday driving around and picking up wedding supplies so it felt great to sit and relax on their patio, enjoy some great food and great conversation. (shocker! yes! you read that correctly, I DROVE our car yesterday... first time since we moved here last August. I was nervous for every moment of it haha). Aly is unfortunately leaving for Italy in less than a week, but Keith, Dan and I will have to keep on without her. Summer BBQs are really the best way to enjoy summer nights.
4). Listening to favorites on vinyl.Our record player doesn't get used as often as it should, but we've made a new habit of turning on some classic tunes as we make dinner in the evenings. It puts such a huge smile on my face and makes me want to dance, which is a welcome break from the sweltering heat in our home (having the oven/stove on obviously makes an already hot place even hotter. It makes it very hard for me to feel motivated to cook, which is why I'm glad my amazing fiance loves to cook for me). Listening to music definitely beats watching the 6:00 news, although we do like to finish dinner in time to watch our favorites: Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune haha.
5). Getting wedding projects done! I definitely hit the "oh my gosh we're getting married in less than two months" panic mode. Things are getting done little by little, but I don't have one thing that I can say is 100% done. Keith did assure me that nothing is really going to be done until the day of, which I suppose is true, but I want to feel a little more accomplished. If I keep making lists, I can keep crossing things off and this weekend I got quite a bit done. I ordered all the glasses and lights for the centerpieces/tables, got all the fabric to make our altar, the twine for the pennant garlands etc. Things are getting there, and it will be done when it gets done :)


A few honorable mentions:
1). The return of Keith's farmers tan: I got a really good laugh out of this yesterday, it's a pretty bad one. We need to get to the beach!!!
2). Watching our cat adjust to the temperature change: I think out of the three of us, Theo has had the toughest time getting used to our hot home haha I can't image that having a permanent fur coat on would be very comfortable though. He's been really really lazy and lays in the middle of the floor with his legs stretched out behind him for most of the day. He also no longer stand up when drinking from his water bowl, he lays down in front of it for hours at a time. He's also figured out what the fan is, and is fond of taking naps in front of it so that it blows his whiskers straight back and he looks crazy. It's kind of precious :)