Many years ago, I met a girl. She had this long brown hair and the cutest button nose and a fire in her soul that could light up the world. If you’ve spent any time with my family in the last couple of decades then you know her and how deeply important she is to me. She started as my sister’s best friend and quickly became my other little sister. Freakishly, when you look at photos of the three of us, most people actually assumes she’s our “real” sister. She is Aunt to my children, she is Sissy to me. She is my sister’s person and because of that I’ve been blessed to love her for all of these years. I couldn’t even say how many years it has been. There is no beginning nor end to our life with her fully entwined amongst the roots of our family tree. It simply feels like she has always been, like she was always meant to be.

It was my dad who first introduced me to the beauty of really good gin cocktails. Late in my college career, I’d go home summers to work an internship at a local architecture firm. My dad and I would often meet on the back porch in the evening after work and he’d make us each a perfect gin and tonic. Perfectly refreshing. Perfectly summer. I’ve been a gin fan ever since. But today I’ve upped the game on the classic gin and tonic with these blueberry beet slushies made with Prairie Organic gin. They may just be the single tastiest cocktail I’ve ever concocted and with blueberries currently in season, you’re going to want to fire up that blender!

My alarm went off for the first time at 4:30 this morning. The room was still dark, fans blowing every direction to keep the bedroom cool since our big old house is sadly want of central air. My husband slipped out of bed, reappearing briefly a bit later smelling of toothpaste and freshly applied deodorant to plant a kiss and whisper “I love you, baby” before he was off, still long before dawn. A couple of hours later I woke again to the sounds of a little voice calling for mommy through the baby monitor. I roused the dog who had climbed into her father’s spot on the bed shortly after he left it, and walked into the room next door to fetch a snuggly toddler still encased in blankets. And so, the day began.

It’s the season of sandwiches around our house and these babies have quickly become one of my favorite grilled eggplant recipes! The perfect eggplant layered with my homemade sriracha mayo, lettuce, tomato and those easy pickled red onions I’ve been obsessed with all summer long. This is a sandwich that’s as comfortable as weeknight dinner as it is as the star of a casual weekend dinner party. I’ll be making them like every other day from now until forever.

We’ve been eating copious amounts of pickled red onions lately. On tacos, on breakfast sandwiches, on salads piled high with watermelon and feta. The reason why is simple. I started playing around and realized just how insanely easy they are to make and how they make basically everything more delicious. They might not work on chocolate cake. But then again, maybe they would! I won’t tell you how to live your life or how to eat your pickled red onions, I just have to insist that you make a jar. Five ingredients, no cooking, no fancy processes. The result is a delightfully pink onion that even non-onion lovers will love – they don’t have any spice to them at all, but they have the best crunch!

When we’re entertaining, Bob and I start the same way every single time – by brainstorming the menu. We can have epically long discussions about what to serve for Thanksgiving dinner while sitting on a boat in the blazing hot sun in July. But right now, the earth is melting. It’s actually threatening to melt at any minute, at which point the floor will literally turn to lava and we’ll be undone. It is so hot this summer! While I’m loving it, I basically don’t want to cook. Ever. We’re living off sandwiches, salads, watermelon and big jars full of ice water in our house and I have no shame. Even standing over a grill sounds entirely unappealing. Short of ordering pizza delivery, which is an entirely valid option, this sandwich board is your answer for your next party! You don’t have to cook, you barely have to prep anything. It’s the very definition of life saving when you have a party coming up and the earth is melting.

Many of you have been following along with our boating adventures on Instagram this summer since we purchased our sweet old boat with the intention of living on it part-time a couple months ago. It has been a transformative experience for us since Bob and I both have a lot of wanderlust, but at this stage in our careers and with our kids being the ages that they are, extensive travel isn’t in the cards for us in this current season of life. Making the leap to live on a boat part-time in the summer months allows us to have some pretty incredible weekend adventures while feeding our souls and giving us a place to get away from the stress of daily life. We feel immensely fortunate to have made this huge longtime dream of ours come true, and over the last couple of months we’ve been working on figuring out little ways to make our life on the boat feel both simple and easy, but slightly luxurious, too. Today I’ve teamed up with my friends at Walmart to share how we’re living our best lives on our boat this summer! And if you’re wondering if I’m already dreading fall, that answer would be a resounding yes!

When you live in the Northeast, you live every minute of summer to the fullest because while short, I’d argue that they’re some of the most beautiful summers of anywhere. It’s a season that brings me to life and rightfully so we make it a point to soak up every last second of the sunshine that we can. Hitting the weekly farmer’s market for freshly squeezed lemonade is one of my favorite summer traditions. They serve it up in big cups full of ice and you can sip it while you walk through the stalls collecting farm fresh produce for that night’s dinner. That farmer’s market lemonade is the inspiration behind this cocktail, made with the tastiest homemade strawberry lemonade and Prairie Organic vodka. Taking just a few minutes to make hand crafted cocktails is one of my favorite parts of a weekend happy hour. Fresh, farm grown ingredients totally elevate the cocktail sipping experience which is my way of saying, make this cocktail. Find the ripest local strawberries you can find, make them into lemonade and sip these Moscow mules all summer long.

It’s been a minute since I last shared a baby update and somewhere along the way my baby morphed into a toddler without my ever slowing down to acknowledge that fact. Friends, this motherhood journey never fails to amaze me with how beautiful and hard it can be, all at the same time. Our little girl is now a little over two and half years old, and over the last six months she has grown and matured so much that it’s actually pretty emotional for me. I’m the mom who cries regularly (read: many times a week) over everything from how much I love my kid to how quickly she’s growing to how smart she is to how much of a pain in the ass she can be some days. (Let’s be honest with each other on that, ok?) At two and a half she still stays home with me full-time save for busy shoot or prep days when she’s generally with a sitter. This fall she’ll be starting pre-k (more on that later) so I am feeling really emotional now that we’re in the final stretch of this time where it’s just been Mommy and Bébé conquering the world. So here we are, at two and a half, full of spunk, melting down a few times a day and as obsessed as ever with her daddy, her big brothers and her puppy Harper.

With a little over a week left until one of my favorite days of the year (yes, we’re obviously talking about the 4th of July again), I’m starting to get the itch! The itch to blow off work, sit by the water, make lots of festive desserts and crafts, watch fireworks and generally soak up summer in full force. While I’m not typically one who is into themes when it comes to entertaining, I will gladly take all the red, white and blue you can throw at me come this time of year. Today I’m sharing 21 super festive red, white and blue ideas for desserts, decorations, cocktails and appetizers all perfect for your upcoming parties and picnics!

After Christmas, hands down my favorite holiday of all time is the 4th of July! I’m a sucker for all the summery nostalgia from the fireworks to the 4th of July desserts to the stars and stripes to the requisite ice cream cones and backyard picnics. I recently teamed up with Walmart to host the most festive modern Americana inspired 4th of July party and today I’m sharing all the details! I loaded the backyard with great finds from Walmart, created the prettiest spread of 4th of July decorations and loaded up on the appropriately themed menu items like red, white and blue desserts and watermelon cut into stars. My favorite part is that just about every single thing you see here, from the place settings to the decor to the food to the fashion selections, can all be found at Walmart!

If you’re a long time reader, you probably know that I don’t sew. It’s one of the few domestic skills I haven’t at least attempted to master, even though I always swear that I’m going to learn. (Technically I learned how to sew back in 8th grade home ec class and did quite well, but I haven’t sewed since!) For that reason I love a good no-sew project! When you tell me I can make something really cool and I don’t have to sew? I’m so into that life. Over the years I’ve learned a few tricks! Namely, that E6000 or Fabric Fusion will hold just about any fabrics together and that iron-on hem tape is my best friend! Today we’re putting some of my go-to hacks to work by making these super colorful and summery DIY no-sew picnic blankets! I’m also calling them pool blankets, because they’re as perfect for lounging by the pool as they would be for picnics, cozying up for fireworks at the park or snuggling up around a campfire.