I am on vacation this week and wanted to leave you with a few favorites of mine from around the web. These are things I’ve enjoyed recently and think you will, too. I’ll be back in early August with some fresh summer recipes and stories from our family trip. It is sure to be a good one!

In a French Kitchen is out in paperback this month. Hooray! I read it and On Rue Tatin this spring and adored them both. Highly recommend.

These gorgeous soaps are almost too pretty to use. I hope to buy a few bars when we are in Maine this year.

Yes way rosé! And this is still my favorite.

I have a stripes problem and Chance feeds my addiction.

The thought of adding oil to my skin used to give me the heebie-jeebies, but now I am addicted to this.

Everyone must watch this mini-series. Then follow it up with a binge watch of this television show.

Mimi’s 2017 workshops! It is on my bucket list to attend one. (I have to save my pennies!)

I did a little Amazon pre-ordering this week in preparation for all the amazing volumes coming out from my favorite authors this fall. I bought this, this, this, this, and this!

What a dream project! I keep thinking about our renovation and what we hope to do someday soon.

Tomato season is upon us and I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up my new favorite tomato tart recipe. It is from one of the best ever French cookbooks, A Kitchen in France by Mimi Thorrison and is, quite literally, as easy as pie. A savory pie. Made with tomatoes. That is perfect to serve for dinner, or lunch, or breakfast with a fried egg on top!

One of my favorite food events of summer is Can-it-Forward day. I’ve had the pleasure of celebrating it for the past four years, each time showcasing some new cool Ball jars. This year their new jar is a gorgeous wide mouth jar in a beautiful shade of turquoise blue. They’d be perfect for pickles or beets or tomatoes!

Earlier this summer I got a beautiful care package from one of my favorite food companies, Sonoma Syrup Co. I adore their natural line of extracts, simple syrups, and more. Knowing my love of floral flavors one of the things they sent me this gorgeous Lavender Simple Syrup. It can be used for all sorts of things including flavoring ice cream, infusing strawberry soup, and stirring into yogurt. This week I decided to make some beverage with it and here were our favorites:

Lavender Iced Tea: 2 teaspoons lavender simple syrup + 1 cup iced team

Lavender Lemonade: 2 teaspoons lavender simple syrup + 1 cup lemonade

Lavender Prosecco (for the adults!): 1 teaspoon lavender simple syrup + chilled Prosecco

I’ll share more of my favorite things to make with Sonoma Syrup Co. products as I use them. There are so many tasty things!

(Disclosure: Sonoma Syrup Co. sent me these products to sample and I love them all. The opinions and photographs are wholly my own. I was not compensated for this post.)

Sponsored by General Mills Cereals

Since my children are in nursery school and elementary school we are going to be using a school calendar for many more years to come. For this reason, and for other reasons that pertain mostly to my own sanity, there are parts of our school routine we stick with year round. Not stopping these things during the summer means we don’t have to go through the pain of restarting each fall! Sticking with these easy routines keeps ours days somewhat predictable and fun.

The Breakfast Routine: During the school year my kids devour their breakfast before heading out the door. Having a good breakfast is incredibly important and I make sure, above all else, they walk to school with full tummies and plenty of energy to start the day. Though our breakfast routine is a little lazier during the summer, we never skip the meal altogether. Each September we reinvigorate the breakfast table by picking out some new cereals and pulling out some favorite recipes. I make sure they stick with cereal brands I know and trust and let them pick out a new flavor or style they haven’t tried yet. So long as I know the cereal isn’t filled with artificial flavors and colors I am happy to let them pick out a box or two!

Gazapacho

No-Cook Tomato Sauce

Salmorejo

Chilled White Gazpacho

Cherry Walnut Chicken Salad

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Yogurt via Simple Bites

Sweet Corn and Jalapeno Salsa via Feed Me Phoebe

Melon Soup via Bon Appetit

Zucchini Garlic Soup via The Kitchn

Walnut Tarragon Chicken Salad