Mama in the City

If you are reading this and you live in Vancouver you might be mumbling about how horrendous the weather has been this month. Sure, its been a bit cold and grey but the official start to summer is just around the corner! Despite the current weather prediction I am going to embrace summer in the city and I hope you do too.

We all know that when the sun does shine in Vancouver city, the whole city falls in love. In the mean time, because who knows when the sun will endlessly shine, I will fake it a bit with some unrelenting summer love.

Mama in the City's Top 10 Summer Loves

1. My #1 has to be sipping cold bevies on a restaurant patio. Vancouver has so many gorgeous patios and most with breathtaking water views. When the heat is on and the sky is blue, a cold glass of vino shared with a girlfriend is one of my favourite summertime treats.


2. Temporarily storing away the rain boots (please, oh please!) and bringing out my favourite pairs of Havainas makes me happy. I love wearing flip flops during the summer months.




3. Sipping iced coffee! Enough said. Check out this fantastic recipe for the perfect iced coffee (it's more than just cold coffee!) from the New York Times.

4. Hauling out the white purses from my closet! Summer white is so clean and fresh.



5. Enjoying the sunlight later and later into the day. Seriously, as I type this post it is 9:30 PM and the sun is still shining through my windows. Of course, it is also shining through my children's windows at 5 AM which isn't that cool.

6. Pedicured toes! Summer gives me a good excuse to indulge and keep my pedicure looking fresh and fun. I am absolutely terrible at painting my own toes, it is a skill I wished that I did have.

7. I've found a fun thing to do with little children is impromptu picnics or just hanging out outside and sharing a snack in the grass.


Enjoying fresh strawberries last summer

8. BBQ, it's whats for dinner. Marilyn at A Love Of Loves has blogged about her love of BBQ during the summer months and I couldn't agree with her more.

9. All of the fun community activities that pop up during the next couple of months. The Vancouver Jazz Fest is coming very soon and I'll be hitting up the free venues once again.


Listening to one of the free concerts at David Lam Park, 2009

10. While we Vancouverites might be wearing sweaters for a bit longer, hitting up the beach is one of my favourite summer activities. Especially as Ben has a huge passion for digging. Even though our beach weather doesn't compare to sunny Florida, it is still the beach and the beach is always good. Sweater or not.

What are some of your favourite summer pastimes? Do you go camping or take special holidays? We always went on a family summer vacation and I have fond memories of staying in a one bedroom hotel room with my family of 5.