Slow Summer
Granny gowns and my snail-paced summer bucket list
I know this isn’t terribly original or thrilling to say, but boy do I love summer. It’s just the best, isn’t it? A lot of folks hightail it out of hot and humid Charleston, but it’s actually my favorite season here—even if I’m dripping in sweat before 8 a.m.
This year, I’m appreciating summer on more of a spiritual level, because the season embodies the feminine energy I’ve been trying to call back into my life—the juicy, the sensual, the flow, the observant, the creative, the grace, the detached.
Summer is ease. Summer is slowing down.
Maybe that’s why I’ve been happily padding around my house in white cotton granny nightgowns (and maybeeee also to the supermarket, with a GIR cardigan and clogs). Over the years, I’ve bought several from this Etsy vendor in Quitman, Louisiana (population 181, according to Wikipedia). Trust me, their $43 gowns are good. See more of my summer picks here.
Okay so we’ve got the clogs + cardi + granny gown. All you need to complete the look is our new Snail Necklace (the gals at HART HQ call her “Go Go,” as in escargot).
The green gem is kyanite, which healers believe helps soothe the soul and connect us to divine guidance. I wear her as a reminder to slow down and tune into my spirit. To not over-plan. To stare at the clouds. You know the drill.
My Snail-Paced Summer Bucket List
Aside from swanning around the sweltering city in granny gowns, here are other items on my snail-paced summer bucket list. The slow. The nourishing. The restful. The connected.
•Bake Allison Roman’s Key Lime Pie with my girls. Master it.
• Read on the second-floor porch to catch the breeze—ideally with a chilled sterling silver bowl of local scuppernongs. I’m feeling the urge to reread Pat Conroy’s greatest hits. Bonus points for walking to Charleston Library Society to check out real books and bury my nose in the smell of old pages.
• Fire up the jazz records I inherited from my grandfather. Host friends for a sherry tasting and a listening session. Starting with Chet Baker Sings.
• Gardening. Last November, we moved into our new house downtown which has a lovely garden with a wise, towering old oak tree. Night herons occasionally visit which make me deliriously happy. I used to be stressed by gardening - the idea of even more living creatures depending on my care to survive really tweaked me out. But something has shifted recently. I’m utterly dedicated to the wellbeing of my precious plants. (P.S. This show on gardens is positively dreamy.)
• Beach days with my girlfriends. No kids allowed. Pack my beach bag (did you see our bag collab with Land’s End?!) with subs, Gatorades and magazines. Pretend it’s 2004 again. Who’s in?!
• Art lessons. I adore painting. Let’s just say I have ample room for improvement, but my lack of skill doesn’t stop the play. I’ve never taken formal art lessons—just tips from my dad. I am fascinated by composition; I plan to work through this book I nicked from my parents’ library when the afternoon thunderstorms roll in.
• Hours of playing in the surf with my girls. Getting my hair wet.
• Cooking vibrant healthy recipes with herbs from my garden—gazpacho with basil, cucumber soup with dill, fish with oregano. (We’re almost done with a light kitchen reno in our new house (new countertops coming next week!)
• Laying down. Stare at the ceiling. I’m serious. Just resting without input, or the pressure to meditate. No books, no music, no podcasts, no nothin’. Exhilarating, isn’t it?!
P.S. I Hart This
Lately I’ve been reading more about the importance of protecting my attention span. Not switching frequencies every damn minute. One small way I’m honoring that is listening to albums start to finish instead of bee-bopping around with playlists. It’s lighting up my pleasure centers in a delightfully analog and groovy way.
Some of my favorite summer albums:
Moondance by Van Morrison
Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson
Exodus by Bob Marley & The Wailers
I was today years old when I learned about scuppernongs! Fun!
I am down for every single one of those activities. You nailed it!