What are your summer essentials? ☀️ Tell me below!
My Summer Essentials - sun kissed skin, white tanks, jean shorts, sun dresses, swim suits, flip flops, and SUNSHINE!
A good friend of mine told me a few months ago that she was solar powered, I LOVED that!
It is perfect way to describe how I feel recharged and re-energized from the warmth of the suns rays on my skin. How I feel a boost of energy when I open all the blinds in the morning to let the new light in. I am solar powered!
I love summertime!
- The warmth of the sun on my skin.
- The relaxed moods.
- Spending all day in your swimsuit.
- Summer produce.
- Long days.
- Cooking and eating outside.
- Being on the water.
I love sitting at wooden picnic tables enjoying an iced coffee or a cold beer with friends. I love starting my day with a smoothie bowl on the back patio with the simple plans of going swimming and enjoy some good food. Even in the crazy hot weather I still love it!
It brings me joy, it lights me up!
What do you love about summer?
You might not know this... but I was born and raised in the desert of Saudi Arabia. I lived there for 16 years with temperatures reaching 120 degrees F! I spent summers as a lifeguard standing out in the sun all day. Summertime and hot temperatures are my normal.
Because of my childhood in Saudi Arabia I will always love the heat and the desert. It is in my genes and a huge part of my personality. If I am walking outside I will cross the street to walk IN the sun rather than the shade. I am a self titled "Sun Chaser"
Twelve years ago I discovered how serious my love for warm climates was engrained in my being.
I remember it exactly.
I had spent two and a half years in Rhode Island for boarding school and I was struggling to thrive in the rain, cold, and grey. I wanted to move somewhere sunny and warm for university. I was visiting universities in Southern California from Rhode Island. It was spring and school was in session, but it wasn't cold and raining like it was on the East Coast. It was sunny!
I was sitting in the sun eating tacos in a sundress at Chapman University, and I was sweating! - it was perfect, I was exactly where I wanted to be.
People around me weren't bundled up in sweaters and rain jackets. They were in flip flops, shorts, and T-shirts they had smiles on their faces and sun kissed skin. Only twenty minutes from the beach there was that relaxed California beach vibe.
That was the moment. The moment that I felt re-charged. I felt alive!
I was abundantly happy!
I have made many decisions based on the weather and the sun. Many (if not all) of my trips are to warm locations. I know deeply rooted in my being that I don't want to live anywhere that it snows regularly.
Garrett and I moved to sunny Austin, TX to get away from the fog of San Francisco. We wanted to be back in the heat. Austin has been a much better fit for us then San Francisco. We both grew up in the desert, love to be outside, and we are attracted to the Southwest Region. We love the southwest for its warm weather, its National Parks, gorgeous terrain, its colors, and dry desert climate.
The photo above is from my bachelorette party. I didn't want to go to Vegas, or New York, or Nashville... instead I wanted to be out in the desert.
So my sisters, my closest girl friends and I when out to Joshua Tree National Park... in August. It was sunny, hot, and the desert... exactly what I wanted.
We stayed at the beautiful Joshua Tree House. It was beautiful. We hiked the park and adventured around the small desert town. We spent most of the trip in bathing suits. Laying in the sunshine, drinking margaritas, and sharing love stories. Great friends, sun kissed skin, face masks, veggies and hummus, and star gazing at night. It was perfect! I was abundantly happy!
What makes you abundantly happy? Comment below!
