Perfect Picture of Summer

When I think of summer, several things come to mind every year, without fail. They paint the perfect picture of summer in my mind, and it just not the same without them. Here are my five perfect pictures of summer (let's count them as today's blessings too), as they came to mind:

Flip-flops. The quintessential summer footwear. I'll admit, I'm a bit of a flip-flop fashionista; I only buy  my flip-flops at J.Crew (because I love them), and I get at least one new pair each summer (even though my pair of three summers ago are still good because they're such high quality). I have different colors to match anything, and they do go with everything from jeans to a sundress to your favorite shorts. Every spring, my feet are anxious to get back into flip-flops.

The beach. Last summer, I think I only made it to the beach once, and I was so sad. I am a beach person. I love the beach. I would spend my three months of summer on the beach, exclusively, if I could.  For as long as I can remember, I've always had at least one beach day every summer, whether ocean or lake. The Zac Brown Band has it right in my mind: "toes in the water, a$$ in the sand."

Cookouts. I could probably eat hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken and fish all summer. I also love experimenting with veggies on the grill (like the beautiful skewers above). Every summer I look forward to hosting a lil BBQ and attending tons at my friends' and families' houses. The smell of grilled meat, eating outside, potato salad, fresh fruit, hot summer days fading into cooler summer nights with fire pits and s'mores. Yummmm... and my fav cookout of the year coincides with my next item...

4th of July. It's my favorite holiday! The heat July brings, multiple cookouts in a weekend, the party atmosphere, fireworks and flags. This has become my favorite weekend of the summer because I have built a tradition around it full of all my favorite summer things.

Soaking up the sunshine. As summer draws near, this is what I yearn for the most -- that feeling of being barely clothed and the sun warming the surface of your skin. Even if you're wearing sunscreen, I can just feel my skin absorbing all of that good vitamin D. I love the freckle kisses the sun leaves behind on my cheeks and shoulders and the glow I have by this time of year from enjoying all the summer activities.

Feels nice, doesn't it? Paint me your perfect picture of summer!

{Fireworks via me, all other images via we heart it}

This post was inspired by:

Prompt 5.) What five images paint a perfect picture of summer to you? Put those five images together in a piece of writing.