Hi Reader,

I woke up early this morning with a dog and a few cats noisily trying to get my attention so I moved to the living room with the crew that was awake so I could shut the bedroom door and let my husband sleep in (hopeful) peace.

And thus began what I'm considering a slow summer Saturday at home. At first I thought I'd go to my favorite local coffee shop and get an iced caramel macchiato and a bagel and hit some of yard sales to see what bargains I could find.

But 1) I didn't really want to leave the house, and 2) I'm in higher level decluttering phase and can't think of a single thing I need and not many things I want at the moment. (Wait until winter — my cycle of hating stuff and craving this or that to make my space just right will swing to the other side!)

Now I'm halfway through the morning of a lovely day at home and have enjoyed it so much. Do you have these kind of days where you don't even make a list and just do whatever your heart feels like doing?

So far I've

• written a blog post (fun!)
• went downstairs to visit my mom (also fun!)
• started cleaning off the dining room table that collects stuff and cats in equal proportions (not as much fun)
• took down the dining room curtains and put in the washer
• and now I'm writing an email.

My favorite kind of day! I call this Productive Puttering. I know myself well enough after 48 years to know I've probably got another hour or so in me before I start craving a sit down with my latest historical cozy mystery read and checking in with my girls (the real kids, not the furry ones).

Sometimes I feel like I'm sitting in the palm of God's hands, living the dream. I hope the entire weekend is like this!

⛱️ Slow Summer Series

I suspect I'm not the only one who might be craving a bit of a slow down since we're halfway through the year and starting the summer season round these parts.

And since I do love creating and sharing, I decided to put together a Slow Summer Series to encourage others to enjoy the season and to provide an all-in-one resource so you don't even have to look up ideas on Pinterest or ask AI to tell you what to do this summer!

Our new project of a slow living-inspired, old-school-style magazine each season is kicking off with Home Sweet Summer on June 21!

This will be a paid product, but it will be priced reasonably and will be available in both printable (pdf file) format as well as a printed and snail-mailed magazine. I'm very excited for this to get in the hands of those who are looking for easy ideas to help enjoy the experience of summer.

I'm putting together a list of those who want first dips on the magazine (the printed ones will have a limited supply, but not the digital format). So if you'd like to get on the first notice list, just click this link and I'll send you an email as soon as we have the final version.

The summer series will also include blog posts, podcast episodes, and videos so be sure to follow any of the platforms you enjoy interacting on and watch your email for all the fun things coming.

Other Bits & Bobs

I've been taking it pretty easy with cooking lately, and these 3 recipes I recently posted on the blog have been making repeat appearances — not a bad thing since we like them!

• ​Classic Cobb Salad Recipe with Bacon and Eggs (Easy 35-Minute Meal)
• ​Vintage Barbecued Meatballs with Homemade BBQ Sauce​
• ​Panzanella Salad Recipe with Mozzarella (Easy Italian Bread Salad)​

My younger daughter Anna helps me with the Home Sweet Homemaker brand (as does my husband and best friend!), and Anna needed to do a serious reset of her kitchen and treated me by recording a video.

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Please tell me I'm not the only one who sometimes watches a cleaning video instead of actually cleaning...✋

And if you're in a mom phase that makes you wonder if your kids will turn into productive adults someday, Anna will set your heart at ease and show you her 20yo self is just doing fine in her own kitchen!

I hope you have a relaxed and peaceful weekend too and I'll be in touch soon.