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Hope everyone’s having a chilled week so far… Summer is slowly slipping away but not without a few enchanting book releases to tide us over to fall. Like many of you I’m sure, summer is the time I’m most drawn to coastal decor. Decorated for easy summer living, beach houses are among my favorite design inspirations year-round because the best of them feel fun, loose and uncontrived. There has been a string of coastal-inspired decorating books  that I love or have been meaning to add to my collection lately and I thought it would be fun to share my list with you. Maybe even get your thoughts on them? Some of these books I’ve purchased and greatly enjoyed while others are still out there for me to get.

Maybe it’s the hot summer weather we’ve been enjoying so much of lately, which I love and won’t complain about one bit, but I have been craving more than usual cool, easy summer living. Rooms that look and feel fresh, clean and simple, yet interesting. And fun! Always fun. I came across a lovely fish shack the other day, on the outskirts of the internet, and it was love at first sight. A beautifully appointed beach house on Cape Cod that belongs to Tim O’Brein and T.R. Pescod, featured in Coastal Living magazine back in 2009. Maybe some of you are familiar with it, or better yet, have saved the article for inspiration. ( Interesting fact: Ina Garten once filmed an episode of her award-winning show Barefoot Contessa at this very fish shack, cooking in the company of T.R. Pescod whom she counts among her friends. )

Earlier this week, Ivan, Isabella and I tackled an exciting DIY project in the garden. And since it was fun and simple, and yielded dramatic results, I thought you might like to hear all about it. Landscaping work done by professionals can be costly, depending on the size of your project and prices in your area, so we’re always excited about projects we can DIY with our limited skills, and without calling contractors. (Not that they’ll show up when they say they will 🙁 )

My apologies for the lack of a Friday post, again, but the last couple of weeks have been overwhelming in more ways than one. As we know all too well, the world is a scary place right now and those of us who live in the country have the luxury of keeping busy in the garden or around the house. That’s what I’ve been doing, in part to keep my mind positive, in part because some things were pressing and needed to be taken care off asap. Nevertheless, I thought I’d give you a glimpse into our projects, the challenges and small triumphs we’ve had along the way as well as an update to what’s going on in the garden.