July is here and summer has swept me away, up into its arms. The buzzing of a leaf blower reverberates outside my window, competing with birdsong. Horns honk. People are in a hurry, but I sit in my living room admiring the sunlight that floods across the house and think, “how lucky and I?” I am taken back to last summer when we got the keys to this apartment. I remember walking in the door and immediately knew I wanted to live here. I am a solar-powered, seeker of light and this apartment has the best windows.

I have felt a surge of creativity as of late. Perhaps it’s the shift in seasons — movement from the stagnation of winter into the growth of summer. Or maybe it’s that my mind/body/spirit is at ease, with margin to create and dream. There’s a tree outside our bedroom window that I watched shed its leaves last fall, slowly gather new buds this spring, and each day add more green to its branches. That’s what this season has felt like for me. I am slowly gathering green to my branches.

I’m looking forward to long summer days ahead with our windows open, Bossa Nova Classics playing through the speakers, and hosting friends around our table. We have a small kitchen, but she’s a workhorse. I enjoy the creativity that comes from cooking in a small space and with the seasons. We’ve been making this summer pasta on repeat, as well as this citrus olive oil cake (image below from this cookbook). Wishing you and yours a happy July 4th holiday and restful summer!

Cheers! Lindsay

Editor’s Note 7.2 - happy July