Growing up I spent summers with family on the shores of Long Island Sound in Brandord, CT. Our house was surrounded by rocks and water on three sides and we woke-up with the sun - running to get cousins for long days outside swimming, boating, hitting tennis balls and truly playing. My grandmother Jane Winchester would always be around, that multi-generational life with aunts and uncles and cousins and people visiting and cocktails and family games…for everyday of a long and sunny summer. Things change and my kids did not have the same experience, divorce transported them to summers in New Hampshire with a different set of cousins, fresh water not salt water, green clay on the tennis court not red – but still playing. And we forget. It’s important to PLAY. To let your mind wander. To see how long you can hold your breath. To get OUT from behind the desk. Wear flip flops not boots, eat cheeseburgers and fresh summer corn on the cob. Take a nap in a wet bikini. Set off fireworks.
Here’s our summer to-do list that (wink wink) involves some shopping to prep 😊. HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE.
1. Wear lots of jewelry.
Stacked HIGH. Loads of bracelets. Layers of gold necklaces. These are our favorites, some of which you may see in our upcoming TRUNK SHOW series…
DYING over this new line of bracelets from Caryn Lawn designed for stacking:
Must have a giant gold cocktail ring from Goldbug:
The NEW sun charm form JW is the essential summer charm. Wear on its own during the day, layer with a million coins for dinner out:
2. READ. Like – a lot. Here are a few books we tore through during our recent beach trip to Portugal.
AHHHHH the ultimate sex, drugs and rock & roll page turner. Read in 36 hours:
DAISY JONES AND THE SIX
I may have written about this book before and it’s not new new but it’s so moving I will recommend everyone read this – and then read it again.
TELL ME MORE
If you are on the Reese Witherspoon reading list have you made it?!?!? Well I saw Reese’s recommendation, immediately ready the book and just like she said in her review…I didn’t want it to end.
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING
3. Travel. Whether you hop in the car for an afternoon at the beach or pack for a serious trip to the Amalfi (YES PLEASE) – go someplace where the air is different.
This new line of make-up bags from our dear friend is AWESOME. Shop TRVL for yourself and bring a little bag as a hostess gift to those you visit.
MerSea has the chicest travel – everything. Currently obsessed with this bag:
Don’t know where to pack your bags? Check out the new airbnb adventures. We literally can’t choose and want to work our way through every one of their excursions, starting with surfing in morocco:
4. THROW PARTIES. Entertain. Summer events are a bit more relaxed… twilight – fireflies – bonfires and kids staying up too late.
Flower arranging is my favorite part of entertaining. If Jane Winchester had a soul-sister-florist, it would be farm girl. Order for the prettiest, coolest, happiest arrangements that are perfectly imperfect:
Margheritas. Not much more to say. Bit of a requirement.
When it gets dark…release Chinese lanterns. There is nothing more magical and when buying 50 at a time from amazon, they are a cheap thrill.
When September starts knocking let’s be sure there are no regrets. Sending tons of love for a magical solstice and happy sunny summer.
xx Janie
