A Good Time, Not a Long Time More than a season, summer is a feeling. It’s roasted marshmallows shared fireside with friends; spontaneous, popsicle-fuelled road trips with family; grass-stained knees, cold icecream and running through sprinklers—and yes, it’s also sunburns, mosquito bites and retreating inside to escape the heat at times. Here for a good time, not a long time, summer is a cold cocktail of memories shared with those you live, laugh and grow with. If all the world’s a stage, home is the backdrop to our lives. The patio becomes an extension of the living room and the dining table becomes host to the weekly garden harvest. Summer is often romanticized—but just like real life, it unfolds in different ways for different people. And it certainly doesn’t come without its share of messy. This season, we proudly invite you into the homes of 10 Canadian bloggers (some mothers and fathers, some business-owners), all whom represent a different slice of this thing we call life. You’ll find yourself knowingly nodding along at one turn of the page, and learning something new and gaining inspiration at another. Let’s raise a glass to summer and welcome it with open arms as our curated team of contributors does the same, inviting you into the spaces they proudly call home in all their lived-in glory.
MARQUIS & THALITA MURRAY, The Unfit Parent, The Learner Observer @theunfitparent, @thelearnerobserver
The perfect summer day starts with an early morning, some coffee in bed while the kids watch cartoons followed by fun in the sunshine exploring our backyard and picking flowers. Marquis would cook us something yummy for dinner, and after the kids are in bed we would enjoy a cool drink on the front porch as the sun sets.
We would turn the alarm clocks off more than once and yet still squeeze all of the summer goodness out of the kid’s summer vacation. We would start with breakfast on the backyard patio then spend the afternoon alternating between a plethora of popsicles and refreshing races through the sprinkler. AMY CARRILLO, Love on Sunday @amy_loveonsunday
BETHANY & ART GIER, This Little Estate @artthislittleestate @bethanythislittleestate
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My perfect summer day includes reading a good book on my sofa or patio. A few hours of painting and creative exploration, then finishing the day with a small backyard BBQ with my closest friends.