Rest & Relish Monthly Musings: July 2019 includes lifestyle and entertainment ideas for all ages, as well as other occasional random thoughts and ideas!
Check out the activities, foods, books, and entertainment we’ve enjoyed this month. Hopefully you’ll find some inspiration!
Doing
Preserving all the things! If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that summer is my favorite food season. It’s only natural that I want to bottle/can/preserve all of the delicious summer produce to enjoy throughout the year.
2019 is the year I learn to pickle/preserve/can everything! Check out my Slow Roasted Grape Tomatoes post if you’d like to to ease into storing fruits and veggies.
I’m also really into eating fermented foods for gut health, so expect to see me experimenting with fermented foods and recipes over the next several months. Follow me on Pinterest for links to lots of canning recipes.
Eating
Seafood. We visited the beach at the beginning of the summer and picked up our annual haul of fresh NC wild shrimp (eight pounds to be exact!). I’d hoped this would last us through the majority of the summer, but we’re almost out. We’ll likely make one more trip at the end of the summer!
My husband went deep sea fishing this past weekend and we came home with approximately 30 pounds of fresh fish. A foodie’s dream to have such fresh ingredients to work with over the course of the next few months! Any special requests?
Do expect more seafood recipes in your feed over the coming months, but in the meantime try my Lemony Shrimp Quinoa Bowl. This recipe is both a family and reader favorite!
Reading
This book is one of the most thoughtful fiction books I’ve read in a long time. As a parent and advocate for the LGBQT community, I thought the author did a wonderful job of exploring the uniqueness of parenting individual children within a family, the complexities of raising a child with gender identity questions, and the impact on relationships and family life. I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE!
Watching
We just finished Season 2 of Big Little Lies on HBO and it did not disappoint. Amazing acting, beautiful scenery and unbelievable weaving of story lines between all of the main characters. Most importantly, the show is bringing domestic violence and violent crimes against women to the forefront of more people’s minds.
I read the book by Liane Moriarty years ago and highly recommend it as well! I’m also currently reading her new release Nine Perfect Strangers, so I’ll let you know if it’s the next Big Little Lies soon!
Making
Memories.
I sent my daughter off to tennis camp earlier this summer and my son didn’t want to attend the same camp (totally fine!). I offered for him to attend a different camp, but he chose to “hang out with Mom”.
It was the BEST to have one-on-one time with him each morning. He rode his bike beside while I ran in the mornings, he reorganized the playroom (for a small fee) and we had the best conversations through all of our mundane, daily tasks.
While having twins is unique and special, it’s especially challenging to separate them from each other.
Believe it or not, family vacations are also good opportunities for one-on-one time. It can be as simple as separating off during a walk on the beach to talk. These summer experiences have been good reminders that we need to do more one-on-one with the kids; a good reminder for all sibling relationships!
I’ve been gathering ideas to continue this tradition as a family, so follow my Memory Creation Inspiration board on Pinterest if you’re interested too!
I’m currently planning a cooking class for my daughter and I thanks to a generous grandparent. What are some of your favorite ways to create special memories?
Let’s Connect
Let me know some of your own Monthly Musings in the comments below and be sure to repin these ideas for later!
Also, please tag @restandrelish on Instagram or Facebook if you try any of our suggestions! I’d love to share favorites with you!
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