Continuing on with the series of my seasonal favorites, it’s time for summer now! By now, you’ve already experienced the comfortably warm days of summer back in June and the excruciatingly hot ones that we’ve had recently. I’ve never really been a fan of summer, even though it is the season of my birthday. I dislike swimming, sunbathing, temperatures over 25° and I’m not even sure I like the sun that much! But I can’t deny that I do most hiking and walking during summertime. Those unbearably hot days can always be filled with books. And in the evenings, we can comfortably observe deer in a nearby forest. I suppose summer has its upsides!
BOOK
Recently, I finally had the chance to read Gerald Durrell’s book called “My Family and Other Animals”. The book is the first in the Corfu trilogy, chronicling the five years he and his family spent on the island of Corfu back in the 1930s. Needless to say, my endless fascination with the 1930s was the main reason I started watching the TV series a few years ago (which I wholeheartedly recommend). But the book is filled with such funny anecdotes and the descriptions of Corfu make you want to hop on a plane. I deliberately read the book on a hot summer day and I was craving to be in Greece. It’s impossible not to envy Gerald Durrell’s childhood as you read this book! Corfu in the 1930s seemed to have been the perfect place for an unspoiled, innocent childhood spent by the sea.
MOVIE
When it comes to my summer favorites among movies, I have a very specific taste. I have no idea why but Merchant-Ivory films always used to evoke summer for me, even long before I first saw any of them. I don’t know if it was the cinematography or the setting of their films. But a few years back, I read E.M. Forster’s “A Room with a View” and loved every page of it. Then I watched the movie and fell even more in love. It is set in Florence in the 1900s and it definitely made me want to visit Florence during the summer, no matter how impractical that sounds in reality. Either way, this movie is filled with delightful and nostalgic scenes of summer. There’s more to the title than its literal meaning but I’ll let you discover that for yourself!
MUSIC
This was probably the easiest playlist to compose when it came to making these seasonal playlists. When it comes to my musical summer favorites, they tend to be songs I mostly listen to during the warm months. Mostly because I can always recall this or that catchy song I listened to while riding my bike or taking a sunset walk with my dog. All of these songs make me happy and some even make me want to dance, which is really rare! All in all, a perfect mix of slower and more upbeat summer songs.
ACTIVITY
While tiring and something I don’t do enough, getting up for sunrise is by far my favorite activity during the summer. When I was a teenager, it was as if I had an internal clock that always woke me up around 4:30 AM. I remember enjoying the sunrise from my window and then getting back in bed to catch a few more hours of sleep. My favorite part about witnessing a sunrise was seeing the city slowly wake up. It felt like everyone else was still asleep and I was the only one watching the sunrise. It was an incomparable feeling. Now I’ve exchanged sunrises over cities for sunrises in nature and they’re still equally magical!
PLACE
There aren’t too many places I want to spend my time in during the summer, due to the heat. But we both love going out to the forest to find some shade. You can get lost in them and be protected from the sun. And the best part is how lush and vibrant everything around you looks. Some of the forests around here are even hard to walk through because the grass grows so tall! And the best part about the woods is the evening walks we take together. Thanks to the fireflies they seem absolutely magical all throughout July. And as I mentioned earlier, all summer long, we can observe deer. At this point, I’ve lost count of the hundreds of deer we’ve spotted around Spa over the past few years!
CLOTHING
Windswept in Étretat that hot summer day, I was so happy with my clothing choice. A breezy camisole from the 1910s and an Edwardian petticoat from the 1900s. Considering the fact that the temperature rose to 30° before noon, you can imagine how refreshing it felt to wear such a light outfit. Generally speaking, when that summer heat sets in, I never actually want to get dressed and go outside. So when I have to, I like to wear the lightest materials I can find. If I have to go with something modern, linen is always the best choice. The most breathable and absorbent fabric, linen is your best clothing option during summertime. In fact, in the bottom photo, I’m wearing a combination of both linen and antique clothing. I hope you found some inspiration in my summer favorites!
