As of today it’s officially summer! Yaaaaayyyyyy! I don’t know about you, but I love summer. Warm nights, tons of daylight time, rosé on porches, flowy dresses and sandals, lazy fun and sweaty activities in the sunshine, beach trips… Seriously all the fun, amazing things!
So today I want to highlight what makes summer special, what we get to do in the summer that we don’t any other time, how we #SummerStrong real hard!
STANDUP PADDLE BOARDING
Need an extra balance challenge? Take your workout on the water! My parents are totally obsessed with paddle boarding! On beautiful mornings while at the beach, we had to hit the water for a paddle. Such a great way to get a full body workout and especially tone your arms while enjoying the sunshine and elements.
BEACH YOGA
There’s something just so amazing about rolling around in the sand. Makes me feel like a kid again.
RUNNING IN SHORTS
Sunshine and shorts weather makes me want to head out running at any given time!
SUNDRESSES
I’m always a little sad to put my boots at the back of the closet, but my consolation prize is that it’s sundress season! So easy, comfortable, and chic!
ROSÉ ON A PATIO
Enjoying sunshine while sipping on delicious wine. Nuff said.
PERFECT SUMMER DAYS
My best friend and I had an all-day-long date last summer that we still talk about all the time. It was one of those days that just stands out. We drove down towards Salem and hiked Opal Creek, came back to Portland and went straight to Ox for one of my favorite meals of all time, had drinks at Secret Society (where we almost physically ran into Jerry O’Connell and Rebecca Romijn), and then saw Houndmouth at Wonder Ballroom. Seriously the best day!
We had one of those days yesterday! We hiked Munra Point in the Gorge. Hours of scrambling, sweating in the sunshine, nearly 2300′ elevation gain, and what turned into probably 7 miles roundtrip with 2 wrong turns lead to one of the most amazing views in the Gorge I’ve seen!
On the drive back we decided to head to Ox again. Turns out it was a year ago (plus a day) since we had our amazing summer day last year! (In case you didn’t know, we love our anniversaries.) All the wine, all the meat and veggies and dessert, and curling up with a movie was the perfect end to #SundayFunday!
SUMMER KITCHEN EXPERIMENTS
Beyond the amazing fruits that are in season during the summer that make my heart (and tummy!) SO happy…
I’m finally getting the motivation to continue experimenting in the kitchen! My latest experiment not only makes my life easier but tastes delicious and is super refreshing. I recently discovered this amazing overnight oats recipe! My love Nicci is the overnight oats queen! She always has this adorable little jar filled with oats, chia seeds, nut butters, fruits, and all manner of other goodies! I’ve been playing with variations of that recipe. The beauty of these oats is being able to assemble all of the ingredients and then leave it in the fridge until I’m ready to dive in.
Enter the inspiration from my smoothie queens: Jamie and Alyse. Alyse recently posted this amazing recipe for an at-home healthy frappuccino, featuring Bob’s Red Mill‘s new protein powder. So I attempted to mix the two! I must say, YUM!
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (Bob’s Red Mill are my fave!)
- 1 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
- 3 Tbs Bob’s Red Mill Chocolate Protein Powder (it has chia seeds in the mix!)
- 1/2 cup cold brew (I used Stumptown for this batch, but also love Chameleon)
I mixed it all together, and put in the fridge overnight. The next morning I had this amazing mixture to nom on! I topped it with chocolate chips and frozen blueberries. To make more hearty, you can always mix nut butter and other goodies in too.
Are you as excited about summer as I am? What are you most excited about?!
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. All opinions are my own. I truly appreciate all of the brands that support the Sweat Pink community.