This year’s hot summer trend looks to be pineapples.  They are popping up everywhere, from Anthropologie and Nordstrom to Target and Pottery Barn.

Originally a Victorian symbol of hospitality, the pineapple has recently gotten a glamourous makeover.  No longer relegated to pool floats and luau decor, the pineapple is all grown up.

 I can’t wait to share 20 fabulous gold guided versions that you may want to welcome into your home!

For our family, summer is always camping season.   Here in California there are local, state, and national parks where you can camp year round, but typically the summer months are what fits our busy schedules best. While the kids are out on school break and we often head to the mountains or beach and tent camp. The problem with summer camping is that daytime temperatures can exceed 100 degrees.   Unless you head high into the mountains, the inland areas of California can be really warm and dry.

When camping as a family we want to make sure it is a fun and enjoyable experience, which isn't the case if we are suffering in the heat.  Fortunately, even on some of the hottest days, there are things you can do to make your camping adventure enjoyable.  A little good planning, bringing the right supplies and modifying your behavior can make all the difference when it comes to staying cool while camping in the hot summer months.  

10 Tips for Surviving A Camping Trip In The Summer

There is nothing more frustrating than cut flowers that wilt or droop too fast.. and one of the WORST culprits for premature drooping are HYDRANGEAS!  
It never fails, you can bring home perfectly perky cut mop head blooms from the florist or even cut your own in your back yard and within hours of putting them in water, they have fallen into a lifeless slump.  Wilted and droopy.  So sad.

These are some stems I cut in my own back yard. I IMMEDIATLEY stuck them in water, and within 2 hours they looked like this:

I have very alkaline soil.. so the hydrangeas from my yard are very pink.  If your flowers are blue.. you can actually make them pink by adding lime to the soil!  Alternatively, I could turn my pink flowers blue by adding acid to the soil (peat moss, sulfur or ammonium nitrate.)

Okay.. but what about the droopy blooms?

Fear not! Hydrangeas are actually pretty easy to revive.. even once they get to the point of where you think they cannot be saved.  Mine looked like they were near death.

To see more great ideas, make sure you scroll all the way to the end of this post!

The start of summer means the end of school and for many kids, the start of the age old tradition of summer camp. 

For many children, this also can mean fear and anxiety about the unknown, especially if it is their first time away from home.   Fortunately, parents aren't helpless when it comes to dealing with these fears and preparing kids for their first time at camp.

I know teacher appreciation week *JUST* ended, but this is the last week of preschool for my four year old, and so we are prepping end of year teacher gifts.

If this seems like a familiar gift, that is because it is.  We previously put together a “School's Out for Summer” gift basket with very similar items, but this year since I have my Silhouette, I kicked it up a notch.

The first thing I did was gathered up all things ’summer’ related with my budget of $20.

Here is a breakdown of what is in the basket, and where I got it:

Summer isn't usually considered "crochet season" since you typically think of crocheted projects as cold weather ones. Hats, scarfs and afghans.  But today I'm turning that notion on its ear.   There are lots of great ideas for crocheted projects you can use year round.   And if you add an American flag motif to your designs it fits perfectly into the fourth of July or Memorial day. 

Now that you have an excuse to crochet in the summer, to grab your crochet hook, some red, white and blue yarn and start your first chain!

10 Patriotic Stars and Stripes Crochet Project Ideas