Roasted Summer Fruit Cookie Shortcake With Coconut Whipped Cream

Summer felt different when I was a kid.

It was thick and lazy with the scent of chlorine clinging to everything. Perpetual tan lines carving their way through my shoulder blades. Rich purple plums being plucked off of my grandparents’ tree — the warm juice trickling down my chin. It was matinee movies with buttered popcorn. It was watching my dad try to put out fires we’d accidentally set with shady roadside Fourth Of July Fireworks. I can still see him running around the back yard, chasing away sparks with the lid of the BBQ. It was the beach, and family vacation. Sleepovers were long, and filled with whispers about boys. We made prank calls and ate pancakes. It was dusky evenings in the tree house–swinging in a hammock and deciding what character I’d be in The Babysitter’s Club (Claudia–always Claudia). It was the sticky packages of store bought shortcake, fresh strawberries and a canister of whipped cream. A little bit gross, but also kinda great. […]

Stone Fruit, Sweet Tea + Blackberry Sangria

I started this week off by washing my face with shampoo. Well, technically it was both shampoo & conditioner since I have a sweet all-in-one-lazy-girl-combo. No, this was not intentional. It was confusing to have such a thick lather on my eyebrows and cheeks. Even though this is my usual gentle facial cleansing routine, it took too long for me to figure out that something was amiss.  Finally, the light bulb went on after experiencing the mind-blowing-sizzling-shampoo-induced- inferno burning up my eyeballs. I think this set the tone for my week. Yep, it’s been great. I don’t feel crazy.

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