I love lots of things. But there are two things that excite me more than anything right now: summer time ( hello! teacher here.) and list making. and, well.. list making about summer! I can be completely task-oriented if needed, but leave me alone for a summer and I will wake up late and lounge on my porch and doodle, and, yes, completely enjoy myself doing absolutely nothing. (I am great at making myself feel entitled to that) However, I have two months to do so many things that I can not do throughout the school year. I have two months to yes, wake up and lounge all day, AND fill the day with all sorts of to-do lists. I have time to make things. to travel. to experiment.  OH! the possibilities. 

I have made some epic lists. This one in particular.  And lets not even get started on New Years… but lets be honest. this summer is special. This summer deserves a great list.
So here goes. Summer 2014. 
You greeted us with fantastic weather (what a delight it was to have 75 degree weather on my may wedding day!) and a few rains. You have opened up your book with some fantastic chapters ahead. You are free. This time 'round, you hold nothing in agenda for me. No crazy overseas trips. No massive murals to get done in days. No lavish vacations. No summer jobs. What do you have in store for me?! I am so excited. We are great friends, you and I, picking back up right where we left off. I appreciate that about you. So here goes, summer time, lets dance. 

1. Sink my toes in the sand, MY sand, and share it with Love. Take him to my favorite beach. Draw some shells and send out some more postcards. 2. Float down a river. 3. Make some home goods. screen print some pillows for the front porch and make some more curtains. Sew. be crafty. 4. Make paper. because you love it and it takes you back to sweet memories. Make paper from flowers from 05.17.2014. 5. Journal about the wedding from said paper. 6. Tomato sandwiches and quick pickles. DUH, because this is summer. 7. Go strawberry picking, or blueberry. or anything berry and make some JAM up good jam. and then hand out jars to people I love. 8. Have an awesome herb garden. 9. Go fishing. learn to fly fish. learn to tie a fly. 10. Kayak. Embrace living near a lake. 11. Fire ceramics. 12. Teach an art class. 13. Blow some more glass in Asheville. 14. Experiment some with resin. 15. Paint some "sea" things. and chickens. and cows. and lots of abstract stuff, too. 16. Make some yard art. 17. Win at yard game. 18. Camp on Cumberland Island. 19. Enjoy the lake with my new family! And Introduce scott to my lake family for the fourth of july. 20. Meet my nephew! 21. Get *that* picture of hay bails. 22. Expand the record collection. Sit on rocking chairs and share music with friends. 23. Change my name and all those details. 24. Cheer on the Braves. This is summer time in 'Merica. 25. Grill as much as possible.  

And he has a list, too. His is not quite as long, but he also still has to go to work everyday.  His list is also way more intense than mine. 

1. Build a House. 2. Get Frankie a new car. 3. Seriously consider building a kayak. 4. Own a goat. or two. 5. Have a garden. 6. Paint my tractor. 7. Buy a Tenkara fly rod. 8. And an iPad. 9. Become a level II climber. 10. Teach Sudie how to bird hunt. 11. Get a new tattoo. 

S and I postponed our trip to Seattle for later in the summer for a quick trip down to the beautiful Savannah and Tybee Island. We stayed at the Marshall house, a gorgeous house in the heart of downtown Savannah. We both fell in love over raw oysters, so of course, the first place we ate at hailed to have the best oysters in town. And I believe it! We ate at CHIVE sea bar and lounge. We started out with oysters for an appetizer, and then he had a sashimi plate and I had mussels in a creamy dill turmeric sauce. And then what did we do? Ordered oysters for dessert. I knew I married this man for a good reason! 

We strolled the streets and he bought some fancy shoelaces for his favorite shoes and I bought some new salts from the Tea and Spice Exchange. We went to a mead tasting (a first for me!) at the Savannah Bee Company and then caught up with some locals for a tour of the nightlife. The next day we drove over to Tybee, but not without stopping at Lady and Sons first! Did you know you can get butter flavor chapstick? and hand cream? lip balm ? Don't get me wrong, I love PD's favorite ingredient too, but I don't think I want to wear it. . 

We stayed right on the beach at Tybee which was so nice. We could walk right out our door and onto the sand. He calls me a saltwater girl, which I am, so the salt in the air and the sand between my toes makes me just breathe a little better. We dined at Stingrays the first night, with live music that dedicated a few songs to the newlyweds. We went to one of the best "hippies joints in america" Huc-a-poos. I don't know if I would call it the hippiest of places, but it was fun nonetheless. The next day we ate at the Breakfast Club, where I got my napkin of art taped to the wall. It was a greasy masterpiece, the breakfast that is, and one that I think Bourdain would be proud to eat. Later, the Dolphin Reef, and after hours laying in the sand, we headed to COCO's on the marsh for dinner. We sat at a comfy little table on the roof overlooking the river full of kayaks and the dolphin tours. We both soaked in the sunset with basil martinis in hand and bellies full of calamari, blackened shrimp, and she-crab soup. One thing I love about SB is that he embraces my hobbies. He loves to see me draw and will placate me by playing my "two minute sketch" games in my notebook. We time each other and see who can get the most information down in a single sketch. Oh, the simple pleasures of an art teacher. 

On the way off the island we stopped for some shopping and coffee at TYBEAN coffee, a super cute little coffee shop next to the hippie joint. The Sammy cold brew was perfect, especially after the days of poor hotel coffee. It was a perfect way to say goodbye, and set out on the road back to lincolnton. As much as I would love to stay on the beach a little longer, I can't wait to get back home and continue setting up house with my new husband. We have been working on some really fun things together to make the house "ours," and I can't wait to share!