Best of August

Well its hard to believe that it is nearly the end of August. I've seen and done many beautiful and fun things.  As the summer winds down, and the school year starts up I really enjoy the time to reflect. I decided it would be fun to start a best of the month post.  This month I was blessed with a two trips to Door County. Really this is one of my favorite places to visit.  The water, flowers and general ambiance is such a great way to relax with my family.  I made a few new recipes, but my entire family really enjoyed the skillet chocolate chip cookie from Southern Living.  It was really simple and as I said everyone enjoyed.  I had a truly enjoyable  trip to Chicago with my oldest daughter.  We spent some time shopping and enjoying a beautiful lunch at the Peninsula Hotel in their sweet little café, Pierre Gourmet.

Chicago's Pierre Gourmet Café

Flowers in bloom in Door County.

End of a summer day with a beautiful sunset.

Must try skillet cookie. 

I've also finished a charming little book, The Girls of August.  This was a great little summer read, perfect for a beach weekend or on your hammock. 

What has been your best parts of August?

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

August's Sunday Dinner

I realized I haven't posted much on Sunday dinner recently.  It's not that it hasn't happened I just forgot to take pictures.  I truly enjoy this ritual of making a sit down dinner for my family every night, but Sundays just seem to take a special meaning.  Whether you feel its the beginning of crazy for the week or a winding down of a busy week I encourage you to take a bit of time to sit down to dinner together, no matter what it served.  So what was for dinner?  Well one of my favorites. Roast chicken.  This time I did it in the oven, because it was raining and I didn't want to stand in rain and grill.  I always roast 2 chickens. This way I have enough for left overs.  When my children are home they like to warm up the chicken for lunch, but usually I keep it for casseroles later in the week or I freeze it for later in the month.  If I'm feeling up to it I take the carcasses and make chicken stock either that night or in the next day or two.  Hope you enjoy and bon appétit.

With love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Porch Living

One of my favorite things about summer is our sun-room.  We can enjoy the room during part of the winter, but not as much as in the summer.  Starting Memorial Day weekend we move all of our place mats etc for eating in the sun room.  We have 3 sides of windows which when all open give the feeling of a screen porch.  The sun-room also opens out onto our patio.  During the day and evenings we read in here, again if the weather allows with all of the windows and the door open. When my children were young we'd play games in here and on our patio and we still do.  We have lighting in here, but in the summer we rarely turn it on until the darkness comes.  The furniture is comfortable yet old, yet we are not concerned.  It becomes a whole different way of living.

Much of this brings back childhood memories of my grandparents.  They too would enjoy their front porch.  I remember many breakfasts and lunches with my grandmother out on the porch.  I remember toast tongs and racks.  I also remember hot plates for her coffee.  For more ideas feel free to click this link,  toast racks etc on pinterest.   There doesn't need to be anything fancy.  

I've included a few photos of our very casual sun room and patio; I hope it encourages you to enjoy porch and patio living as much as possible whenever you can.  

Just after breakfast

The sun streams in early in the day. 

Summer Reads

One of the things I love to do in the summer is read.  I have no schoolwork to do, no work and my children don't need to be shuffled all over the place.  I love to sit in my back yard, which is quiet and shady as well as at the beach.  This summer I've read quite a few books.  I like all sorts of genres except sci-fi and fantasy.  I love to read books in paper from as well as on my Kindle.  I have Kindle paper white and I love it. I've read with it on the sunniest of days without a problem. 

3 of the books I read on Kindle were The Aviator's Wife, Burt Toast Makes You Sing Good and The Feast Nearby.  The Aviator's Wife is about the life on Anne Morrow Lindbergh.  This is a fabulous book. It give the reader a glimpse into Anne's sad life and to the thoughts and feelings of the time.  Burt Toast is a sweet memoir of a food writer's family. It is as much of memoir of her parents and grand-parents as well as food.  The Feast Nearby is about living local.  I always like to read a book of this nature during the summer. I try to live and eat locally and I  find a book like this really keeps me motivated.    

The hammock in the back yard. 

As pictured above are 3 books that were not on kindle.  A Baguette a Day is again a memoir of two people moving to France and their trials and tribulations.  It reads very much like a blog.  The Boy's in the Boat is my current read.  This is the story of the US rowing team in the 1936 Olympic games.  Perfect for the summer Olympics.  And the final book, who doesn't like a sweet Nicholas Spark's book.  I had never read The Last Song.  I was crying on the airplane on the way home from Florida.

What are some of your favorite reads?

With Love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Summer Evening Style

I love dresses.  However, I really love maxi dresses this one is so feminine.  I really think it comes from being on the taller side.  This is my favorite one and it really is for evening wear, but it could go for any dressy occasion.  I like to wear it with simple gold jewelry, perhaps a necklace, bracelet and earrings and you are ready to go.  My choice of foot wear depends on the length of the dress.   This dress, which I purchased at Dillard's (not a Midwest chain), is on the longer side so I always wear a short heal.  Some of my maxi dresses I wear a flat.  Nordstrom's also has a great collection of dresses and they have free returns.  What is better than that? Plus they are having their semi-annual sale, always a great time to shop. This dress is similar to what I have.

I love the details on the neck line.

 With Love from the Midwest,

Beth