“Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August”
– Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty
Hello everyone — it’s been a while since I sat down to share a proper update. I can blame it on summer: long days, busy schedules, and so many delicious things to enjoy. I’m not complaining. This season has been hot, dry, and absolutely full of flavor.
Let’s talk about fresh food. I didn’t fully appreciate summer’s bounty until I started writing about food. First come the berries, then the stone fruits, followed by garden tomatoes and squash. This year I was lucky to receive boxes of apricots and cherries from my in-laws, plus bags of freshly picked saskatoons. My own garden has been generous too, yielding raspberries, kale, and zucchini in abundance.
I’ve had a blast creating new recipes and testing different flavor combinations. There are so many ideas I didn’t get to this year, so I’ll save them for next summer — unless I become that person writing about watermelon in November.
Some favorites from this season include a saskatoon-cherry galette, Thai red curry zucchini boats, and a no-bake cherry and chocolate tart. And no summer is complete without ice cream; the roasted-strawberry-rhubarb no-churn method has been a revelation in our house.
Beyond food, life this summer has been full of highs and lows, small adventures, big smiles, and the occasional curveball.
We celebrated both of our boys’ birthdays. Mr. Wally turned one, and Oscar just turned three. Time is flying. My attempt at a firetruck cake skewed pink instead of red, so I’m still perfecting that design before posting the recipe.
At the end of June, Etienne traveled to Amsterdam for work and I joined him a few days later in Portugal. We spent a week exploring — beaches, sangria, and amazing seafood made it unforgettable. I shared our Portugal story on the blog.
Portugal was our largest trip this year, but we also enjoyed shorter road trips. I drove the boys to Kimberly to visit friends and quickly learned that an out-of-tune radio can sometimes be the best tool for preserving sanity in the car — crank the static and keep moving.
We visited my sister’s acreage too. Oscar loved spending time with his cousins, bouncing on the trampoline and zipping around in his uncle’s golf cart.
We also celebrated the wedding of dear friends this summer. The ceremony, speeches, and cupcakes were lovely, and I enjoyed spending time with friends — including a brief celebrity sighting that was a highlight of the weekend.
On the entertainment front, Game of Thrones has been part of our summer ritual. Every Sunday brought anticipation, theories, and conversations — the season finale had us all on edge.
This week Etienne’s grandmother arrived from South Africa after a long journey, and we’re grateful she made the trip. We hope to take the boys to South Africa when they’re a bit older so they can fully appreciate the experience. It’s a remarkable country with incredible food and scenery.
No big deal — just me walking an elephant at six months pregnant.
As summer winds down, I’m holding on to the memories we made. Backyard fires, hikes, splash parks, and beach days — this summer delivered. I’m grateful for the warm weather and the time spent with family and friends.
Now I’m ready for the pumpkin season.
XOXO
Katherine