¶ Summer Recommendations for Fun and Relaxation
Today we are going to talk about all things summer . with Memorial Day weekend now behind us and graduation season almost over , I'd say it's here , Tish .
Yes , I am so excited for this summer . I can't tell you .
I know It's like we were just talking about spring clean your life . it seems like .
We were , we were Yeah , we were just gliding right into the summer vibes . I like it .
I do too . So today we're going to share our recommendations across six key areas for everyone to have a fabulous summer , and we've got so many great things , so many great ideas , some funny ones , to share with you today .
You know , there's just something about summertime and it can so easily this time can so easily slip by , and then you're like hey , i didn't do anything . So I want to just challenge everyone to be intentional about making memories for this summer .
I agree . Just like we said , it was just spring and now it's summer and I am psyched out . Here in California , it seems like we're still looking for that golden summer without COVID , you know . But before we dig in , you know , i love , love , love talking about our obsessions and I think you must have a few good ones for summer . For me today , tish .
So my , my , I have two obsessions , but they go together because we're going to use them together and I'm going to talk a little bit more about it later in the episode . But it is a watermelon tap beverage dispenser kit and a pineapple corer . Okay , So I'm going to use these as part of something fun to have this summer at your next cookout .
But those are my obsessions .
Well . I can see where this is going .
We're going to be able to go a watermelon for the kids or possibly an adult watermelon .
An adult beverage , all right . Well , keeping in that summertime theme , my obsession is my French sunscreen . And you know , here in midlife , i wish I had done this younger . I wish I hadn't been sunning myself with an album cover or on a silver blanket back in college .
I really take care of my skin now And my dermatologist recommended and I'm sure I'm not saying this right , but La Roche Posse . It's a French sunscreen and I know it sounds super fancy , ladies , but you can buy this at CVS , walgreens , probably even Target , and it comes in a great kind of like a tinted version for your face . Love it .
Oh , i like that . So does it give you a little color , kind of just to start off with and you put it on ? I like that . I like that And I think we do have to be a little bit more careful about our skin protection . So , like that one , i've got to go try that one .
Yeah , it's a good one . I think you know they have an SPF 60 for your face Like you . Really can't do any better than that . But let's get on to our ideas for having the best summer ever And share with our listeners some of the things we have planned . Tish , yes , i'd like that . Okay , i think we should start .
We're calling this the B squared the book and the blockbuster , so it's a book , summer book and a blockbuster movie . I'll go first . How about that ?
I think you should go first . You're a big book person .
I know . So I picked two books , one I've read and one I haven't . So I am so looking forward to this newly released book called The Guest by Emma Klein . And I read her last book , i think it was called The Girls . So I think it's interesting . The Guest , the Girls , which was kind of a story of like some Manson type , you know clan action happening .
It was so good . And The Guest is about a woman who's mistaken for a young college student versus a call girl And she's at a summer house And her name is Alex And she's with this man , simon .
He's a wealthy , older man And you know they say it's kind of in the genre of like a white lotus or almost like a secession right , so kind of , you know , a little steamy , yeah , and a little , they say , like a bummer , a bummer novel , but a good bummer in a good way . So that's called The Guest by Emma Klein .
That's the book I haven't read And the other book is called Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid , and I think I may have recommended this one other time before It's out in paperback . It's on sale . It is just the best book for a beach , a pool , wherever you are . A hammock story of the Riva family in Malibu .
The book ends with the house catching on fire , so there could be a bigger or a more spectacular end , but I love reading in the summer outside under an umbrella , just in my backyard . How about you , tish ? Do you like summer reading better than snuggling ?
I do , i do . There's something about being out at the pool with the good book and the sunglasses on and just taking a break from the water and just kind of being in my own little world . There's just something great about that . Or , even better yet , with my toes in the sand at the beach .
So I don't care if I have to just drive down for the day I've got to get my toes in the sand very soon .
Well , speaking of toes in the sand , i am anxiously awaiting the new Ellen Hildebrand book that comes out on June 13th . Five Star Weekend .
Oh my gosh . Now , ellen , that was my pick , i know . Okay , this is on my book to read for the summer . So I picked two different books myself as well . One is kind of light and fun and the other one is a little bit more serious .
So the Five Star Weekend this is another one of her novels , set in Magical Nantucket , and the story is after a tragic loss of her husband , our main character , hollis . She gathers four friends to go on this weekend And what's unusual about that is she is going to get them from different stages of her life .
She's going to weave in some friendships , it sounds like . So this should be very interesting , and you know I love me some girlfriend power bonding storyline , so this one's right up my alley for sure .
Right And Nantucket . I mean , I just love all her books . It's on my bucket list , Nantucket . So , what's your serious ?
book Tish . Okay , so my other book , my serious , on a more serious note , is by author Jewish Shooks and it's called We , the Women , unstoppable Mothers of the Equal Rights Amendment , and so that one is a more serious read .
You know , we've been talking a lot about , you know , the Equal Rights Amendment having not passed And there has been a lot of stirring , starting in January of this year , to do something about that .
So it was a book that I really wanted to read , and Julie is actually a law professor at Fordham University , so I'm really looking forward to this particular book .
Gosh , you have me . I think I'm going to read it too . Very interesting subject .
Yeah , And just you know , I think I need a little inspiration in that department . So those are my picks for books .
That's great . Well , we'll definitely have to report back on both the five-star weekend , which sounds very interesting , and we the women , because I think we could all almost all of us use a little motivation on getting the ERA going again . So , all right , let's move on to movies .
So the movie I'm going to see as soon as it comes out on Fourth of July weekend is the fifth Indiana Jones , and with three boys , i have sat through every Indiana . Jones movie maybe a few times , as well as building Indiana Jones Legos and going on Indiana Jones rides at Disneyland . But I can say I so love these movies And Harrison Ford .
I mean . Well , that makes it all the easier , right , Harrison Ford .
Yes , and I did just watch the Yellowstone prequel with him and Helen Mirren , 1923 . So I'm just going to give a shout out to that as well . If you're a Harrison Ford fan , if you're a Yellowstone fan , definitely watch that and watch 1883 . I mean , why'd they have to name both of them years ?
That is the prequel to the prequel with Faith Hill , bobby Tim Grah , and I love that one the most .
¶ Summer Movies and Sports
So are you a Yellowstone fan , tish ?
You know I've heard so much about that series and I've not jumped on the Yellowstone bandwagon . But you know , sometimes I'm late to the party on those type of things . But I'm sure I'll get around to that .
Awesome . Well , just to shout out at the the Indie , the Indiana Jones movie is called The Dial of Destiny . I'm going with my boys , we're going to see it in a theater with those big barco lounge or seeds , that serves both wine and popcorn .
You know I love those theaters that , like , are full service food and stuff . Yeah , it's been . It's been a minute since Liam and I have done that , but he was like anywhere that's willing to bring him a cheeseburger and a Sunday . Yeah , he was on board .
Okay Tish . What's your movie ? What's your blockbuster ?
Okay , so I want to see Oppenheimer okay , the father of the atomic bomb . I don't know , just that whole storyline . You know , to me there are times in history that are pivotal , you know , and I really think , his involvement in the creation of the atomic bomb .
If it wasn't for him and his team , i think we would be living in a very different world , and I'm really looking forward to seeing this with my son , liam , who is really becoming quite the history buff . So I want to see how his reaction is a little different than maybe mine .
We usually see politics a little bit different , so I always like to see what his take is going to be . And , like I said , i think we could be living in a really different world today if it wasn't for Oppenheimer and that particular group .
But the other thing and this is something that I wanted to do for a couple years , but last year my friend Casey and I we almost pulled the trigger on it And then I don't know if it was weather or something , but we are planning to do a JAWS party .
I love it . I love it .
I just want you to know that JAWS originally came out in 1975 . So the movie is 48 years old . I mean we're coming up on the big 50 , you know for that movie .
That is unbelievable . I mean , we were like 10 at that point .
right , we were , yeah , we were And I remember it being one of the very first movies that I recall going to see And I went with my bestest friend in the world , Judy , and we were terrified . We were terrified . We were afraid to go into Lake Erie . You know it didn't matter that Lake Erie does not have any sharks , but we were afraid .
So that movie just has that type of impact . Just the music , Yes .
So we want to either do the movie where we're going to set up a movie screen either lakeside or poolside , and we want everybody in inner tubes floating while we watch the movie , and I am going to say that I challenge anyone to listen to that theme and not lift their legs up out of the water . So , casey , casey , this is our year .
We need to do the Jaws movie .
I love that kind of party And you know that movie probably affected our generation , everyone from our generation , tish so much And that shark was really one of the first like animatronic . Oh , yeah . I mean for the special effects , for that time . But it's true , you hear that , you hear that music and you know what's coming .
You know what's coming , so I have a question for you , ellen . Yeah , do you have drive-in theaters in your area ?
You know what's interesting a couple years ago , we have a very nice theater called the Lark Theater . They play more art kind of films and they have events there And they started a drive-in movie theater on the weekends in the parking lot of the Nordstroms And so it's close by . They play a lot of kids movies .
You know they're really kind of catering to that But there have been a few movies that I thought that would be so fun to go see . So it is local And you know I think it would be a fun thing . I do remember going to a drive-in movie with my best friend , sue from high school , a few times .
What about ?
you Do ? you still have them in South Carolina .
We actually do have them in South Carolina And it just , you know , brings me back to the days that my parents , like my mom , would have us take early baths , put our PJs on , we'd pile into the car and we would go and watch our movies .
And of course I would never make it through to the end of the second movie And you know , i remember my dad carrying me in from the car . You know , sound asleep and stuff . So it has great memories .
And then when I hit high school , well , you know , there was one or two drivers in the front and like eight friends stuffed into the trunk , because he would pay per person And you'd open the trunk and it would be like a clown car , all these people coming out .
So the drive-in has such wonderful memories for me And I just really want to go again this summer . So I think I have to find me a date and go parking at the drive-in or something I just know . I want to go to a drive-in this summer , that's all I have , i love it .
Put that on your summer list . Put that on your summer list , so fun . We have a lot more movies in the park here , so I'm more inclined to do that down on our baseball field or in the next town They do movies in the park And I think those are really fun too .
I love that .
Yeah , all right , let's talk about summer sports And you know , i don't think I'll be giving too much away to say you're probably going to talk about pickleball here , maybe .
Maybe . Well , you start us off . What are you going to be into this summer ?
You know , i have to say that I was thinking about this the other day And there's just so much to choose from . Right , i've been learning a little pickleball . I've been doing golf for a couple years . I love to hike .
Right , i'm doing my yoga , but I've decided to go hard on golf , doing a couple lessons with my youngest kid and , you know , getting my boys out on the links as well as friends too .
But I found right now , for me pickleball is a little hard because I'm not that good and I'm a single , and so I haven't quite gotten away or a place or a group to really be able to get into it . Because you know , as our friend Kristen says , pickle , pickle , pickle Everybody wants to pickle .
But I'm going to , i'm going to really try and play golf two times a week and do some hitting , some hit some balls too . So for me that's really leaning in .
All right , you know one of my favorite things about golf is it is a sport of a lifetime .
Yeah .
You know it's not like you . I'm too old to play , you know . You see , you know every ages and stuff out there , and I love that you're going to be planning some memories to do with your boys out there And while they're home for the summer .
Take advantage and definitely do that , and I do think it's always a good thing , it's a good sport to learn , because people do do a lot of business still with golf . So , yeah , kudos
¶ Summer Plans and Favorites
to you . Now , i had signed up to be part of a singles , like a golf pickup thing , and I was all gung-ho And I think I'm just going to have to back off . I just don't think I have the time .
So I've been , you know , i've been going through a lot of job changes recently as well as some health issues , so I am really , i think , going forward , going to recommit to my pickleball .
I really miss my pickle family And I think , you know , i think I'm going to put golf in the back burner on , yeah , until maybe the fall or something like that , and really get back into that pickleball as well as just , you know , just other miscellaneous things here and there , but that's really where my passion still lies .
Yeah , you have such a great pickleball community that you're part of their tish that I can see that that would be where you would go Now . Do you consider floating in the intertube down that river every summer sport , is that a sport for you ?
Sure , sure , i can make it a sport . It's a drinking sport , it's a music . We bring waterproof music and some cocktails And it takes us about three hours to float down the little kataba there And it is definitely fun . And I know we will be bringing out the intertubes for a couple of those sessions this summer as well .
Nice So yeah , i'll stick that into the sport category . Okay , just making sure . All right , we're going to move on to what I'm calling reunion or a family event , and I think we have a lot of these over the summer , and I'm just going to go first . My youngest child , will , is graduating from high school here in June .
This is the year of will .
The year of will is quickly coming to an end here , but it really was the best year . Of course , with your youngest child , you rarely get time with them alone And having my middle son so close together , you know we'll never got any time alone , so it was a great year .
We've got some folks coming in for the graduation And I just have to say I did his senior collage today and I am ready for the graduation . That's my big family event for the summer . What do you got ?
going Tish Well before that . I'm sorry I can't be there for Will's graduation , but I do have a little something coming his way just because I was thinking about him . And he's the last of it . You and Kitty have the youngest ones , and they're both graduating from high school this year , and then we're all empty nesters .
I know it's really , it's really great Shout out to Maya Kathy's daughter , who's graduating and heading off to college next year too . We really prolonged the mothering of the Trinity tribe today .
Oh , we stretch it out really well , but well , i was supposed to be going to my high school reunion . I was really looking forward to this one too , so many of my classmates were going to be going , and unfortunately I don't think that's going to happen after all .
Again , i've had some medical things that have kind of popped up for me , and I guess it is what it is , and I'm going to make more of an effort to reconnect with those ladies on a one-on-one thing , on a one-on-one you know away from the reunion , obviously , but also I really , because I'm missing out on something like that .
It just reminds me that there's so many friends that you kind of lose connection with , and I want to really make an effort this summer to reconnect with some people that I'm missing . So I'm going to reunion in town .
You know what I love that . it's like a staycation , but a reunion staycation , and I think that's a great idea . You know these big milestones like a special high school reunion . I wasn't able to go to my last one either , but my best friend from high school , she came out here to California last weekend and it was really special to reconnect with her .
So I think you know , sometimes the reunions have to be one-on-one . Yes , yes .
If you can't be there for the main thing , still make the best of it , for sure . But you know this is going to be my favorite , one of my favorite subjects coming up here , I want to talk about summer fashion And you know I always like the change of the season because I become obsessed with something else .
You know my focus is I like a special thing for each season . It doesn't have to be grand or anything like that . What is your go-to for summer fashion ?
Well , before I get to that , I just have to ask are you putting away the white cowboy boots , or do those transition into summer as a special thing for you ?
Well , tomorrow night I'm going line dancing and the boots will be with me , Okay So ? that would be a no , that would be a hard no , thing away .
All right well .
I think that's the year of the white cowboy boots , so they're going to keep going .
They are season less , so to speak . But you know , i think this is funny because we both wrote down what our fashion , you know , must have for the summer is . And I have to say we both put down white jeans . But I put down also a white jean skirt , thanks to Kathy Shea who always had one on . It always looks so cute .
But every single top I have I always say , how would that go with white jeans ? Oh , that goes great with my white jeans , right ? So I have to say white jeans are synonymous with summer .
I have crop , i have kind of a flair , and then I have the , the jeans skirt And I have to say I probably have those on three or four times a week if I'm not in , you know , a dress or some other kind of shorts . They , they are the best , they are .
I just love the white jean And for the first time you know , because of my help journey I'm going to actually be wearing white jean shorts as well . I was never much of a shorts person But I also . So I have my white jeans and my white shorts And you know they're just so classic , they're versatile .
I love pairing them with like a white top and then finding a pop of color . So this year my pop of color is going to come from my Hadley Pallet reversible belt . So you got me inspired onto Hadley Pallet .
They are amazing belts with these little turquoise buckles on the front And it usually it has the same colors but like on one side it's a pink dominant with green accents And the other side is green dominant with pink accents . But they just make the white jeans and the white jean shorts pop . So totally I love that look .
I love the all white look with just that pop of color . Maybe it's , maybe it's your shoes , maybe you have like a hot pink shoe on with you know , all white and it's just fun . I just so , if you haven't bought yourself a new pair of white jeans for this summer , do so .
Go get that really crisp new pair And you just kind of feel fabulous every time you go out .
You know . So , true , tish , and I love the monochromatic look , the white jeans , the white tea . You can put any blazer , you can put a scarf or , you know , the belt . I think you had your Hadley palette out here and I had this hot pink belt on .
We were like yeah in sync .
In sync to just add those pops of color , just like you know , some black pants and a black tank . You can do anything with that , but kudos to you for getting those jeans , i mean those shorts , those white shorts this year . You look fabulous in them . You sent me a photo .
Yeah , I took a course . I had the white cowboy boots with the shorts on .
Of course you did , my friend . Of course you did .
Well , let's talk about some travel . What's going on with your , your summer , in terms of travel , anything exciting .
I have something very exciting . I have to say that . You know , i live in California , so sometimes California travel spots seem ho hum to me , you know , but they're . They're fucking amazing California people . So I am going down to Laguna Beach in July for a wedding , and it is the first wedding of one of my kids friends .
So it's kind of special from that standpoint . And this friend was born one day after my older son in the same hospital And they went through high school and college together . So it's it's kind of a very special event .
And I've not spent a ton of time in Laguna Beach and it just looks quaint like a quite little California beach town and I'm going to be down there for four days and with some of my kids . So yeah , that's my summer Laguna Beach .
I love it and I think you should like those beaches in California with the cliffs at your back Just so amazing . You need to do like a wine day at the beach with your girls . I'm telling you get through the next book club at the beach that's what you have to do .
It would be so great , i know . When we went to Pismo Beach with our kids , we had such a great time . We were on the cliffs and kayaking and surfing lessons and the whole nine years .
Yeah , we almost died kayaking .
That was a little dicey .
We were kayaking , we were having a great time , you know , for the first three quarters of it , and then our way back , all of a sudden those California waves went from one to two feet to five to six feet and life was dicey then . But you know what ? it was the kids favorite because it was , you know , so much drama .
They loved it and they thought we were out of our minds to be scared . That's what .
I like .
Okay , what about you where you headed this summer tish .
Well , i am actually going to be headed back to Tampa . I had a work trip interrupted there and I have to actually round on back and go back to Tampa , even though it's work . I'm going to take the weekend in between my being there and just have some fun down there with some friends . College girls are in that area , so we're supposed to reconnect again .
There is a place that we want to go to near the beach and just spend some time there . So hopefully we'll be able to get Danielle there . I know her daughters do with her baby soon but hopefully she'll be able to make this this trip .
But collect was there and Felicia was there , so , okay , so you're going to have to be Tampa for me , because I'm going to save the rest of my going out of town , except if I run down to the beach for a day or something like that .
But I'm going to save the rest of that time off that I have for a big fall trip , a big fall girls trip to the Cayman Islands . So it'll it'll be worth staying home to be able to go to the Cayman's .
I love that
¶ Summer Food, Drinks, and Projects
. I think everyone is looking forward to that trip and you know , the one thing I forgot to talk about on my Laguna Beach trip is I'm driving and I'm making it a road trip and I just love road tripping in the car and stopping and you always find something wacky and crazy and out of unusual . Well , something happens that you didn't think happened .
So I hope some of our listeners are going to take some road trips this summer . We'd love to hear what your travel plans are to Yes .
So what about some summer food and drink ? because it's not summer unless we are entertaining or kicking back in the backyard or something like that . so what are some of your favorite summer food and drinks ?
I'm going to , and you know , last year I was obsessed with aparol spritzes And this year I'm obsessed with Campari and soda with an orange wedge And it's kind of like an aparol spritz but it's a little lighter , you know , from that standpoint , and it's just a great way to start off any little gathering .
Or , you know , just a little pre meal light drink and adding the orange or a squeeze of citrus in it just makes it , just makes it so good . And my food for the summer and this is such a great , i want to say healthy food is gazpacho .
And I lived in Spain back in college and I fell in love with gazpacho and it is so easy to make in the summer And what I love is that you can just make a lot of it and keep it in your refrigerator and you can serve it up whenever you want , top it with a little croutons , you know a little , some nice topping , and it's so healthy .
It's like a salad in a blender to me , okay , and it's supposed to be served cold , right ? Yes , yes , it's cold . So you know , you can make it for the week and it's , you know , it's a lot of seasoning tomato , cucumber It's just very fresh and olive oil , red wine , vinegar just tastes delicious . So those are two things I'm super into for my summer .
What about you ? What are you obsessed with ?
Okay . So in the summertime I'm always known for making like everyone makes pasta salads . But I like to make my pasta salad with orzo , which is like a rice-like pasta and it's really creamy in its texture . And in fact it's funny cause I made a batch tonight and it you know , again I'll make a big batch and then have it during the week .
So I wanted to show I've been gonna work all summer showing my son , liam , how to make certain recipes . So I bought the orzo and then , because it's just the two of us , it makes it a little difficult to , you know , buy all these vegetables and then some of them go bad cause you can't use everything .
So I actually went to the salad bar and picked out the onions and the pep , the different color peppers I needed and the feta cheese . I didn't even get any lettuce , i just got the fixings to go in this salad . To show him you don't have to buy like a ton of vegetables .
Go to the salad bar , get what you're gonna need for your amount of food , and so it was great . So you chop it up real fine , to the same size as the orzo is cooked , and I add chunks of ham in mine . You could add like salamis or something like that , if you want .
But I like the , i like the saltiness of the ham , so I have onion and cucumber and tri-colored peppers and feta cheese And then I mix it with Italian dressing And it is just fantastic . It's just such a different , you know , as opposed to the you know shells or the , you know the rotelli , yeah , or the elbows For the pasta .
Yeah , So it's just a different , and it just it gives you a creaminess that other pastas don't quite have , And so that is my food obsession .
It sounds delicious , tish , and I have some orzo right here in my cabinet .
I think I'm gonna try it , yeah , and it's just whatever you have , whatever you like , you know . Yeah . So , and as far as I don't know what it is with me lately , watermelon I want everything . Watermelon I got some watermelon lip balm , But so I am obsessed with the Ocean Spray .
One of their newer flavors of Ocean Spray I think it's only like three years old is Cran watermelon , Wow . And to take that maybe with some vodka or some gin , or you don't even have to mix in that kind of stuff , Yeah , or just that , Yeah , Yeah , or just that .
Some slices of lime , maybe some , you know , wedge a nice watermelon in there or on the edge of the glass . And in fact I had some tonight , because I did buy some , because I'm gonna have a friend over in a couple days And I thought , oh , that'll be something nice to serve , is , you know , just something refreshing , And it's just a nice big goblet .
So it just it's Putting lime in anything like that just elevates it too . I would love a squeeze of fresh lime , so it could .
It can be a virgin mixture or you could put your favorite , you know , rum or anything into it . Yeah , so ocean sprays Cran watermelon And it's not overwhelmingly sweet .
Sounds great . Now I know we're gonna talk about something we talked about on the YouTube episode . Actually , a few things coming up are from YouTube , So why don't I hand it over to you ?
Okay , so on , one of the biggest YouTube videos out right now is how to make a watermelon keg Woo-hoo . And so I had said at the beginning what my weekly , what my obsession was with this week , is with this kit that can turn a watermelon into a keg , right , so you're gonna cut , you're gonna put your , you're gonna put your watermelon lengthwise right .
Some people use like a base , just like a tea towel , in a little circle to help it stand up , right , but you're gonna cut the top off , just like you would a pumpkin . Okay .
And then what I thought was really cool is , if you get one of those pineapple spiral tools that you can cut the center of the fruit out , right , and the one that we have , the link not only has that , but it has like an apple separator . It looks like one of those things that you make your apples and sections .
Apple core , yeah , yeah .
And if you use that , you can cut that whole center into chunks so you can use that for something else . And then you go in and you scoop everything else out from the watermelon and you're going to put it through a sieve because you don't want the chunks in there . You want it to be definitely liquid and not chunks .
And then at this point you want to add maybe some other juices to it . Again , you can add liquors to it or choose not to add liquors to it . Just make sure , if you're gonna have kids around , they're gonna be curious . You better have two . You better have a child-friendly one and an adult one . That's right , that's right .
But you're gonna mix all this stuff into the watermelon . You can put ice in there . You're gonna fill it all the way up . You can put the top back on .
And then there's this very simple kit that's not very expensive , that you're going to put the tap towards the bottom I would say a quarter of the way down , maybe slightly lower You don't want it too low And then it allows you to empty the watermelon from that spigot . Right , i love it .
I love this idea . It's just so cute . Yeah , I think we need some photographic proof of these two .
We'll have to put them on our socials right .
Yes , yes we will . So let's batting and clean up position here on our six things or some summer projects And I know both of us are working on a few summer projects , but I'd love for you to share what you've got going Tish .
Okay , so I actually have two that I'm working on right now . One it's going to be for my son's dorm room And we took one of his old surfboards . That is actually too long for him . The better you get , the shorter the surfboard you want .
So we took his old surfboard , i painted it and put this very kind of retro 60s vibe colors And I'm gonna put a little video out for this as well .
But we're gonna turn it into either a high top , like for a kitchen table like a bar or a coffee table , but I'm gonna make it so it's not permanently affixed to the legs but it can be temporarily put there . So if he wants to put it up in the wall is a piece of art that he's gonna be able to go ahead and do that . So it's about 95% done .
I have to make some final touch ups on the paint and then put a nice shiny surface on it Here , Coat .
Well , you're certainly getting a jump on your summer projects here , And I know this is what you call the practical art . Maybe you can just share with us a little bit what that is .
Yeah , the practical art is something that is not only beautiful but you can use it , and so that's what I loved about this . For his apartment that he's gonna have with his roommates , this could be in place of a kitchen table .
They never had a kitchen table last year , oh wow , but I could get just some legs under this and they can use it like a counter . It could go on the wall as art , it could be put on a short legs for a coffee table . So it's really excited about having this And I think it's gonna create a nice vibe . And it literally cost me so far $10 in paints .
I love it Because we have a surfboard . That's amazing . Why don't you share with us what your other project is , because I know you said you would too .
Oh , yes , Okay . So the other project that I'm starting to work on right now is I like to be out in my backyard and stuff like that , And I wanna start having a couple little get-togethers with friends out there , And so I love to repurpose things right . So I bought this really cool bird cage a wrought iron bird cage , of course off Facebook Marketplace .
I love to find things from there And I had put plants and stuff in it at different times , but I am going to change it into my outside bar .
So I'm gonna have all my drinks and stuff inside the cage and be able to have it decorated and stuff , But it's in the corner outside and it's gonna be kind of a showpiece for my be able to serve drinks from outside .
I love that idea And I've seen this bird cage . I think it's gonna be stunning . Again , I think we want pictures .
Yes , we'll have pictures as soon as I get that one done as well , but I know you have a really kind of cool project that you are gonna be starting very shortly , aren't you ? For your outside .
Yes , it's true , and you know I love puttering , that's what I call it around in my backyard , in my garden , and I have some fruit trees , you know , and usually it's in the backyard .
But I am going to do something that I have learned how to do on YouTube And I am going to stencil my front porch to look like tiles , kind of like those pretty tiles that are from the south of Spain or , you know , portugal , and I got these big , giant stencils online .
I think they're like 18 by 18 maybe , so they're kind of big , cause the porch is pretty big , and I'm gonna paint the cement again , clean it , paint it and then probably spend two weekends stenciling . You know , you have kind of a brush that you tap the stencils on You're not really rolling or anything to kind of give it that , you know , that old vibe .
So I think this is gonna be really fun And I'm going with a gray base and the tiles are gonna look like they're gray and white , which I think will look great with my house . So , oh , i love that .
Very subtle , but very textural You know , and that sounds like something that's really reasonable in terms of pricing .
Again , you know it was probably $25 for the stencils and the brush and , you know , just a gallon of paint , so really inexpensive and fun . And I love that feeling tish , which I know I'm sure you have from the surfboard is you feel really gratified , you feel really accomplished when you do something like that . And you know I walk on my porch every day .
I'll be able to see it , so I will definitely share photos .
So , just like my surfboard reminds me of the times that I would take my kids to the beach and get surf lessons for them , and how much fun that we would do , and we would bring their friends to do that too , you know it's nostalgic , and so your tiles are gonna remind you of your trips to Spain .
¶ Creating Nostalgic Summer Memories
That's right , and I think that's part of it , and so I want our listeners to think what is something ? a trip , a memory , something from growing up ? I don't know if it's creating your own drive-in theater in your backyard or something like that . I've seen where people take .
They take kiddie pools and fill them with beautiful pillows and stuff and create this whole little outside oasis . Like everyone gets their own kiddie pool full of pillows and they have a drive-in theater out there .
That's right , just like an outdoor movie theater .
I love it So whatever it is that brings back that little piece in the nostalgia , that little piece of I remember the summer when feeling I want you to create a project around that that every time you spend time there this summer it's gonna bring back those memories , because really , that's what it's all about , isn't it ?
No , it's true . And so go to every outdoor concert , any baseball game , have a bomb pop . When's the last time you had a red , white and blue bomb pop , A fireworks show ? whatever it is you need to do or you're invited to take those opportunities , get out and let's make summer 2023 the best one yet , mid-life first , Till next week .
Till next week , mid-life first .