Here’s to summer, to fresh ingredients, to simple meals that come together quickly. And here’s to summer reads! I hope you’ve found a few good ones for those beach days or backyard afternoons.

The crown jewel of Spring though, at least in North San Diego County, is the flower fields in Carlsbad.

And so we’re adjusting to a much more backyard-filled life. One where the patio door is almost always open. One where we sit together in the sun (under an umbrella) instead of on the couch. And honestly, I think it’s been good for both of us.

This is all to say that I am enjoying this test and learn approach to growing things, and equally enjoyable is celebrating small victories, even as small as a single flower blooming. I’ll close with a mention of writing, which is something I enjoy doing outside by the way, with the scent of jasmine and roses wafting over from the planters.

It wasn't just that, though. It's not that I even wanted a mint julep. I wanted a Disneyland mint julep--the super sweet, non-alcoholic beverage purchased in New Orleans Square and accompanied by a bag of warm beignets. One could argue that the mint julep really had nothing to do with it, that really I just wanted to go to Disneyland. Or, more to the point, I want a world in which we can go to Disneyland, and anytime we want. It's an escape that I count on regularly, and I know it's a first world problem, but I miss it.