Do you believe it’s time to get ready for Summer?! I mean – doesn’t it seem like we were just taking down the Christmas tree(s)??

It’s been a bit since I have written a Pancakes with Pasha post which means I have A LOT to report!

While I haven’t gotten around to writing any travel guides for my Finland, Boston/Nantucket, and more recently Provence, France trips – I promise they are all on the top of my to-do (write) list!!

June is my birthday month (yay!) – June 23rd to be exact ;).

My sign is cancer which would explain why my home is my sanctuary (we are known for being homebodies ;0) and my wanderlust all started with a bookkeeping job at a student travel agency in college – boy do I miss those discounts!!!

And that job was before the days of Google which means all my wanderlust was created by listening to our clients’ travel plans or taking the 20 pound “Annual Hotel Directory” home with me and reading it like a book 😂.

We will be having book club at my neighbor’s house on my actual birthday. And then the next day I am having a day at the spa with my two daughters and some of my closest local friends ;). I am already dreaming about that massage – it cannot come soon enough!

But first a quick reminder of WHY I am calling this series ‘Pancakes with Pasha’ in case you have forgotten or are new here ;0!

I am NOT A COFFEE OR TEA DRINKER.

One night I was laying in bed, desperately trying to figure out a catchy title for this series.

And my brain was like – when I ask friends to meet in the morning, what am I asking them to do?

You can bet your bottom dollar I am thinking about where can we meet for pancakes 😂.

So there it is – Pancakes with Pasha popped into my head ;).

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In a rush?

What I’m Currently Planning

For the Home

As I stated above – I cannot believe it is time to focus on summer which means prep for our annual 4th of July party!

Last year we hosted our annual party on July 3rd because the 4th was a Monday and most of our friends had to work on the 5th. And of course with the 4th being a TUESDAY this year, we are running into the same situation!

And since July 3rd is my 30th wedding anniversary this year – I guess our 4th of July party on July 3rd will also be an anniversary party (of sorts ;)).

Since I usually make the party a potluck, all I really need to worry about is the paper goods, decorations, and water/lemonade ;)!

I got this!

Especially since my favorite decor item – the over the table rod – is already set up ;).

Click on the photo below for more of my favorites for a fabulous 4th of July party (no matter what day you have yours ☺️).

Or you can check out all my favorite patriotic Amazon finds here…

For Upcoming Travels

The first half of 2023 was pretty top heavy on the travel for me.

And as of now, after my anniversary trip to Italy (which includes attending the Bruce Springsteen concert in Monza!) – my travel will probably not be as frequent.

Which is a good thing as I am getting waaaaayyyyy behind in all those travel guides for you guys! And if I don’t write them while the memories are still fresh in my head, well – my menopause brain fog will make getting all the details right a little bit problematic ;0.

I am however starting to figure out the details of my annual European Christmas markets trip so if you have been to any of the Northern Germany markets – please be sure to leave a comment below on your favorites you visited!!

The photo above is from our Austria & Alsace region of France trip in 2019. If you are planning a trip to either of those places – be sure to read my Vienna at Christmas time post and the Strasbourg/Alsace post!

And if you are thinking – already thinking about December travels?! Remember how shocked we all are that IT IS ALREADY JUNE?! December is clearly going to be here before we know it ;0.

Need a Book to Read?

With all the sitting on an airplane time I have had lately, I have had plenty of time to read some really good books lately!!

Like – Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

And Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan & James Patterson (just be prepared to cry with this one…)

As well as – Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (loved this one – well I guess I actually have loved all of these books so that really isn’t any big help 😂).

I am currently reading Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and am just about at the point where I am so invested in the characters that I am willing to lose sleep to keep reading ;0.

And lastly, our current book club choice is The It Girl by Ruth Ware – recommended to me by a twenty something friend as a MUST READ so of course I had to pass that info along to the June book club hostess as she was choosing what book we should read and perfect that it will be what we talk about on my birthday ;).

Items I Am Shopping For or Have Already Purchased

Travel Necessities

This last trip to France that I took with my youngest daughter for Mother’s Day was the first time I finally carried a portable charger!! WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG? Also – I did A TON of research on the best portable charger for frequent travelers (ahem lightweight and doesn’t drain quickly) and this was the one that was recommended the most…

Another travel item I have been in need of for pretty much my entire life because I am a chronic overpacker and refuse to change is this luggage scale. And thank God I had it on that France trip because somehow my dang suitcase kept weighing in at close to 60 pounds 🤷‍♀️.

If you are wondering how I solved that problem – I just brought along a duffel bag for the extra 10 pounds. – told ya I refuse to change…

You can find the rest of my travel favorites in my Amazon storefront Travel Faves!

Click on the photo below for all my favorite travel necessities in my Amazon storefront.

Recent Fashion Finds

It has been almost a year since I got a gym membership ;).

That’s not to say I have lost a single pound or that my old clothes are finally fitting me but I have started to notice an increase in my strength so I guess that’s something – right?

But nonetheless, I have spent my share of time shopping online for exercise clothes and comfy gym going clothes these last few months ;).

With my youngest daughter’s college graduation in a couple of weeks, a handful of weddings to attend, plus the trips to France & Italy this year, I have also been looking for comfy yet stylish clothes to wear!

One of my favorite finds are these super cute and crazy comfy linen pants. I love them so much – I bought them in two colors even – warm sands and sandstone!!

Being that I seem to be veering towards linen – I also found this new linen pantsuit that I wore in France last month (just please ignore the messy hotel room in the photo below – it’s literally the only full length photo I have in this pantsuit ;0).

And yes – I wore it with New Balance sneakers this day because we were planning A LOT of walking on our second to last day in France and my feet were pretty close to done…

This red dress is also crazy comfy and stylish and will be perfect in the hot Milan weather next month too!

However, it actually flew up A LOT (and yes – flashed my underwear 🤪 ) when it was super windy the day I wore it in the Luberon Valley of Provence, France. Sooooo – this next time I will be sure to put some biker shorts underneath it and these ones have pockets too!

I also LOOOOOVVVEEE these new shoes and cannot tell you how insanely comfy they were on our France trip (I have a serious bunion issue on my left foot even!).

My husband recommends changing your shoes up day to day when on a vacation with a ton of walking so that your feet don’t get sore in the same place every day. I took two pairs of sneakers and one pair of sandals which was perfect!

Here are some more favorites I have found lately:

And since it is pretty much swimsuit season – I tried on Albion swimsuits for the first time last spring and was pleasantly surprised at how cute I felt in a swimsuit!! I haven’t had that feeling in years so of course I bought three new swimsuits and came home and threw away all my old ones!

Here are the styles I fell in love with:

The Latest on My Blog That Might Inspire You

I have joined a few different groups of blogging friends over the last month to share all sorts of summer inspiration for the home…

Hopefully a few of these posts are of interest to you and are helpful to you in some way or another ;).

A tasty Father’s Day BBQ menu that includes my delicious pasta salad recipe!

Ideas for a fun Father’s Day table

Summer shelf styling ideas and summer home tours

A patriotic entryway plus other Americana decor posts

Well that about sums up the last couple of months in my neck of the woods ;). I sincerely hope something in Pancakes with Pasha was helpful, inspirational, or encouraging to you as we gear up for summer! I would love to know your summer plans if you want to share them with me in the comments below ;).

Looking for an item that wasn’t linked in this post?

Be sure to check out my ‘Home Tour’ pages!

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Be kind whenever possible.

It is always possible.

– Dalai Lama

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Have a wonderful day my friend! I hope something makes you smile today ;).