summer is

summer is... letting the 105 degree weather dry my wet hair.
summer is... being barefoot.

summer is... reading for hours, just because you can.

summer is... wearing sunglasses.
summer is... eating frozen yogurt with friends.
summer is... laying in the grass.

summer is... writing to your heart's content.
summer is... getting letters on daisy stationary.

summer is... beautiful.

What is summer for you?

jane austen mug

Pinterest strikes again, folks.  I saw another idea on there not too long ago and thought I'd try it out for myself.

Supplies
Plain white mug: $1.00 at Goodwill
I already had a black sharpie.
And an oven.

Here's what you do.  Take your mug and carefully write/draw/scribble on it with your sharpie.  Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  When it is heated, put your newly designed mug on a baking tray and "cook" for 30 minutes.  Then your design won't come off (unless you put it in the dishwasher).
{Note: Don't worry if you mess up!  If you haven't put your mug in the oven yet it's fairly easy to wash off the sharpie and start over.}

When the 30 minutes is up, carefully remove the tray and let your mug cool before washing or drinking out of it.

Once the mug is cool, you have a brand new member to your cupboard.

*grins* I couldn't help it.  I had to go for the Jane Austen quote.

one summer

{mini golf}

{not my photo}

Last night I got to hang out with my church small group.  We met up at a place called GolfLand and went go-karting and miniature golfing.  It was a blast!

I was talking to my mom and brother, Zach, before I left for mini golf and I said, "Maybe this will be it!  Maybe golf will be my sport."  If you know me well...and even if you don't...you probably know that I'm not good at sports.  I will freely admit that I stink at them all.  Ever single one.  Seriously.  It's pretty sad.  There's a running joke in my family that the only "sport" I'm good at is walking.  Yeah... You got the picture.  Me and sports are just not compatible.  And after 45 minutes of mini golf I can safely say I can add it to my list of "Sports Katie Stinks At".  It's official.  But I had lots of fun. That counts for something right?  Guess I'd better stick with my books though, eh?

{orange leaf}

{not my photo}

Frozen yogurt has got to be my new favorite snack.  I went to Orange Leaf for the first time yesterday, and oh my goodness gracious, it was amazing.  Definitely going back.  And soon.

{brave}

{not my photo}

I really, really, really want to see this movie!  I'm counting down the days 'til June 22nd when it releases.  I believe my sister and I are going to make a day of it and go see it together.

{the jane austen book club}

The Jane Austen Book Club (with no relation to the book or movie) is something that Zach actually came up with.  (Love him!)  We were driving home from a gathering a few nights ago and he up and says "We should read all of Jane Austen's book this summer.  We can make a book club."  I was like, "Genius!  Let's do it!"

We're starting with "Persuasion", a small one, since we got a bit of a late start in June.  But, goodness, I am so excited!  Be expecting some book reviews and such on here soon.

Two siblings.  Six books.  One summer.

rules

These thoughts and questions started rattling around in my brain a few days ago and I thought, "I should really write this down...or blog about it."  I don't know how well this is going to read or how understandable it will be, being three days old and all.  We'll see...

Do you ever think about what life would be like lived on the edge?  Without the hindrance of rules and schedules?  What does that look like?  I was thinking, would it be so wrong for me to break a few rules every now and then.? To maybe even be a little crazy?

I'm not talking about law-breaking kinda stuff.  Definitely not rules like that.  *chuckle*  But, I think we all set rules for ourselves.  Maybe even without knowing it.  Rules like...

Don't embarrass yourself.

You don't have to stand out.

Make safe choices.

Don't take a risk.

Know what I mean?

What would happen if we broke some of our own rules sometimes?  Lived life outside our comfort zones?  One the edge...so to speak.

While you're here, check out this new-to-me music I discovered on Pandora a couple weeks ago.  (Isn't Pandora amazing, folks!)