Simplistic Elements

Why has it taken me so long to post this?! I apologize I have just been a little busy and pulled in a few different directions. Also my regular schedule has changed so this post will be up literally just in time for the official commencement of Summer. I was off at a conference last week in Salt Lake City. A very clean and pretty city.

Utah itself has some gorgeous landscapes so if you haven’t been you should go! So far I’ve been to Zion and Bryce and they are absolutely beautiful and hope to be able to see the Arches and Havasu Falls.

Anyways I digress as I could easily do a list of travel and small road trip excursions.

Ok so Summer starts this Friday! I’m already loving the long days and warm nights.

Now the June gloom has been real here in Southern California but it won’t last so I have adjusted my home accordingly. I wanted to share a few things that I do in my home for summer along with a few hosting tips. After all summer is a time for entertaining.

Summer is a natural time to “lessen and lighten” your home. I like to think it follows the trend that your closet does…if that makes sense.

You don’t need as many blankets hanging around. I say lighten the decor pillows on the couch cause summertime is a time for entertainment and do you really want to take off all of those pillows everytime a guest arrives? I like to store these items away and pull things out as needed. Summer is a time for gathering and I don’t want to fuss with things in order to make room for guest. However having them accessible in case of ones needs is important.

One of the biggest things I do for the summer is change and lighten my bed linens. So I will take the additional blanket I have on our beds in the Fall and Winter off. It goes into the linen closet to not be seen for months. If I have excess blankets at the foot of the bed I may remove those too. Theres no need for a ton of blankets in the summer so I storage them away instead of taking them on and off the bed. Now this is me, but do what works best for you.

A part of “lightening” my house includes going through my closets to see what’s not needed. I think its an especially good time of year to get of rid of stuff as we tend to purchase and store more in the winter.

Another thing I notice is in the summer I bring out different dish ware and rotate a little bit.

I notice I use my larger dishware in the summer because I’m serving a lot of more salads. Salads are fresh for the summer and doesn’t require you to heat your kitchen. Some people feel like salads can’t be filling but I think if you add enough ingredients you can.

Another thing I bring down for the summer is my drink pitcher. I don’t typically use my pitcher throughout the year but I like making some fresh juices, lemonade and sangria.

Thought I would share this quick video with 4 types of sangria you can make for any summer festivity.

With the great summer weather I also like to have more live flowers throughout the home. I am strategic about where I place them however based on the sun from the window or cold air from the AC. But try some real flowers through0out the summer and store some of the silk/artificial ones away. I like to get my flowers from local grocers like Trader Joes, Vons, and Albertsons

Another thing I know I have stated in other posts is switching up your pictures. With every season provides a new opportunity to print some of those pictures stored on your phone that have yet to see the light of day. Guest especially love seeing themselves in your home. Rotate those pictures and even place frames in different rooms.

Scent also plays a roll in lighting your home so try some of those lighter fresher scents in your home rather than the heavy ones. Sometimes the fresh or floral scents feel lighter then the vanilla and creamy scents.

Wanted to share this video of some other summer home ideas.

Some logistical things I do are change the air filters, clean the ceiling fans and window seals.

These are just a few things I do in my home during the summer. A small confined list but I would love to know what changes you make in your home. I will have another blog post going up tomorrow as I’m a little behind! Thanks for stopping by. Also let me know what topics you would like me to talk about.