the summer of 2013

Labor Day has come and gone, and, with it, summer. The weather is still nice -- in fact, out here in Delaware it's a lot more pleasant so far this week than it has been for most of the "actual" summer. And I have heard that in Minnesota summer is having a late hurrah with temperatures so high that Minneapolis closed 27 schools at the end of last week. Crazy.

But school is back in session, and off-season traffic patterns are starting to kick in: more school buses, later rush on Friday afternoons, less beach traffic. I already mentioned that the fall beers are starting to replace the last of the summer brews on liquor store shelves, and late-season produce is starting to dominate the in-season selection.

The summer has gone so fast. I feel like I only just got into the swing of summer and now it's over and I didn't get to do all the things I spent last winter dreaming about. And when I mentioned this to an old friend on the phone on Friday, he said he remembered last summer being the same way for him. (He was a year ahead of me in school, so maybe it's a second-summer thing? 

...A girl can dream!)

The girls at work and I have been planning our summer collage since May, and since I have virtually nothing on my mind today (for once) I'll throw it together in list form for you guys. Add to it! What else defines the summer of 2013?

1. Blurred Lines. Ain't no denying this one! No matter which side of the fence you fall on, you probably couldn't get away from this song this summer. (I was toying with the idea of also writing a post entitled The Top 5 Versions of Robin Thicke's Hit Song, but I don't think it quite fits the vibe here. I will tell you that one of the chart-toppers is definitely Bill Clinton.)

2. Boardwalk salt and vinegar kettle chips. We practically lived off these in the office this summer.

3. Those, and Hoagiefest classic hoagies. We went halfsies on them, we ate them for lunch two days in a row, we housed them whole. So cheap, so delicious, so summer. Also Wawa bagels and Sizzlis kicked off many a road trip over the past three or four months. And salted caramel mocha frozen cappuccinos.

4. Caprese salads with fresh basil and, when we could get them, tomatoes! Summer is mostly about food, right? 

5. Cutco knives. This comprised probably 50% of all the conversations I had with my sister the Cutco saleswoman this summer, and a good chunk of the jokes I had with anyone and everyone who spoke to her at all this summer.

6. These $1 tiger shades I found at Goodwill for the Spartan race in July.

7. Rain. Almost weekly. Flood warnings galore.

8. Homemade iced tea and coffee. Bring the ice from home, make it in the office.

9. Playing Bananagrams at the bar. This is what my roommate and I did for fun this summer. I don't see that ending anytime soon.

10. Maxi dresses.

11. Eating, drinking, and just sitting on the porch. Everybody on our block does it.

12. Raspberries. Mostly in drinks. But really I ate raspberries in pretty much every way I could get my mouth around them.

13. Babies! Suddenly about twelve hundred people I know are having babies, and baby showers, and taking pictures of their babies, and letting me hold their babies, and I love it and they are so cute. Again, not like the baby thing will stop necessarily when fall comes, but since this is the first time I'm noticing this, it will be associated at least for awhile with this summer.

Fall 2013, here we come...

Update: Oh no! I forgot something very important! Hell or High Watermelon should have been on this list. Since shandy spiked in popularity and price I took the hipster road and pretty much lived off of this light and delicious beverage. Plus the can is classic.