End of Summer Roundup

Wow – I can’t believe that it’s September already! This summer flew by, even though my twins had internships and were away from home for most of it. But we were all able to vacation in beautiful Stowe, Vermont, together or a few days, which was amazing! I also had some great gardening wins this summer and got two new small appliances that I love for my kitchen! Read on for my recap for summer 2024!

My Twins’ Senior Year of College

Both of my kids are seniors this year and will be graduating in May! Time flies!! One is at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania—where I went to college—and the other is at Smith College in Massachusetts. The photo above is from when we dropped off one of my twins at Bryn Mawr College—the little garden shown was one of my favorite spaces during my college days, so I just had to spend some time there on drop-off day.

Stowe, Vermont Vacation

My family and I vacationed together a few years ago in beautiful Stowe, Vermont, and we returned again this year. The first time we went, we stayed at a big resort, the Lodge at Spruce Peak. This time, we rented a lovely townhome only one block away from Stowe’e Main Street. I really liked staying in our Airbnb rental! Our vacation home was very private and comfortable, and every day we walked just about one block into town to grab a morning coffee or chai tea at Black Cap Coffee before heading out for the day. Plus, Stowe’s gorgeous recreation trail, which winds past a stream, through woods and by farms, can be picked up across the street from the coffee shop.

New Amzchef Espresso Machine

During the summer, I got an Amzchef espresso machine. I really love it! I like using it to make myself espresso, and I also love using its milk frother for frothed milk for both my milk and my tea—I have been making myself a warm cup of chai tea fairly frequently these days!

My Summer Garden

This summer, I was finally able to plant a sunflower garden! In past years, I always thought it was birds or squirrels who were eating my sunflowers seeds before they were able to sprout. It turns out the culprits were earwig bugs! They ate my first batch of sunflower seedlings down to the ground this year. But once I figured out what was happening to my seeds, I planted new ones and made plastic sleeves out of Wawa iced-tea plastic containers to protect the seedlings, and it worked! Seeing my beautiful sunflowers made me so happy! Sadly, the sunflowers are pretty much done now—I am hoping to save the seeds from the spent flowers for next summer, though!

I also planted some zinnias—one in a raised garden bed, and one in a pot on my patio. Just like with the sunflowers, the earwigs attacked them with a vengeance! One night, I literally found an army of them on my seedlings. So I also used a few protective sleeves made from Wawa iced-tea-containers to protect my zinnia seedlings.

Brand-New Juicer

I also got an Amzchef Cold Press Juicer this summer—it is fantastic! I have been treating myself to fresh juices, including orange juice, lemonade, and strawberry-orange juice, my favorite! I plan to start making some healthy vegetable juice, too. My juicer is so easy to clean, so I can make myself some juice and then quickly clean up afterward.

Now that summer is winding down, I am planning to do some fall gardening, so check back for that! I will also be reviewing a beautiful Japanese travel teapot set that comes complete with three mini teacups, a ceramic tea filter, and it’s own travel case. It is really darling and is perfect for a tea lover like me! I will be sharing about it here on the blog soon!