borrowed blooms

I am so excited for summer! Yesterday it was 25 degrees and I spent my lunch break at my favourite park in town. No jacket, short sleeves, sitting on a bench by the lake. Oh man, it was lovely. I thought I would relive some of my favourite things about summer last year, in anticipation of all the travels and adventures I'm going to be going on this year!

Summer is prime antiquing time for M. and I. I moved back to Canada at the very end of June last year and I was so intent on sucking every little bit of magic from it.

This photo was taken a few days after I moved home. It was the first time I'd seen M. We went to Delaware, one of our regular spots. There is a diner attached to the antiques mall there, and it was my first time eating out after months and months of bangers and mash (drool). I was so excited to eat a hamburger with coleslaw. Beyond excited. Too excited, maybe.

Every Saturday morning during the summer I walk up to the farmer's market. The market itself is very old, but it has only been reopened in the past few years. I love it. I went the first Saturday I was back in Canada and I was struck by how "Canadian" everything was. In a good way. Being around other accents for so long really amplified how Canadian everyone sounded. And they all smiled big, bright, friendly smiles. And they wanted to sell me delicious vegetables and fruit that they had grown with their own hands. Pretty awesome.

We live near one of the Great Lakes, and there is an amazing beach restaurant there. They are famous for their Orangeade drink and also for their fry sauce. It's like a very vinegar-y, spice-y ketchup. I have developed a patented technique for using up any remaining fry sauce when all of the fries are gone. It's pretty much one step above drinking the stuff. When fry sauce is involved, I am shameless.

I hope you all have big, exciting plans for this summer. Or small, exciting plans. Here is a song to help you get in the summer mood, if the weather where you are isn't as beautiful as it is here.