Il n’est jamais trop tard pour partager une to-do liste estivale ! L’été est loin d’être terminé et il nous reste encore tant de cases à cocher…
I own so many of them now that I have started having some made with covers I actually like (the reason I launched a small stationery brand as a hobby), such as the ones you can see in the photo below. Some notebooks stay with me throughout the year and are organised by theme: interiors, garden and vegetable patch, graphic design, cooking… Others are slimmer and dedicated to a particular season.
At the moment, with one heatwave following another, we are often shut away at home, so it is the perfect time for this very creative activity. I find it so much more enjoyable and “alive” to leaf through real pages than to scroll endlessly, unable to make a decision when faced with a stream of choices that never seems to end.
1. Write it down, make some collages and get inspired!
Summer is one of the few times of year when I have a little more time to organise the months ahead, tackle a few jobs around my parents’ house in the French countryside, plan the autumn planting and the Paris exhibitions I want to see after the summer, but above all, gather all my inspiration in different notebooks.
2. Use colourful tableware
We entertain a lot at home, although lately we have slowed things down a little to focus on the people who are genuinely close to us. But even when it is just us, or a small group, I like to bring out the nice china and use cheerful, colourful serving dishes so that we can enjoy them every day.
You can make even an ordinary meal feel special by serving croissants on a beautifully patterned platter, putting homemade jam in a rustic little bowl (we have just made around forty jars – but more on that later) or serving a generous summer salad in an old ceramic bowl. Personally, it is these small details that make food look more appetizing and give me the feeling that we are really taking the time to enjoy the meal. This is so French, isn’t it?!
3. Bake seasonal cakes
Summer is a wonderful time of year for my dentist. Not only do we celebrate several birthdays during the season, but we also have to make use of the fruit from the garden before it goes to waste.
I am thinking particularly of blackberries and raspberries, which we turn into homemade cakes, jam and crumbles. On the way back from the farm where we often buy our vegetables, we also make a small detour to another farm that produces its own fruit sorbets. Summer is also the perfect time to try new recipes and, as I am apparently the sort of “slightly mad” person (according to my family) who switches on the oven during a heatwave, I certainly never get bored.
This delicious cake is a good example. It is made with two layers of sponge soaked in liqueur and filled with a coconut and lime cream. I created the recipe for my brother’s birthday and everyone loved it. Before I can share it with you, however, I first need to manage to compile all the notes I scribbled down as I went along, because it took several attempts before I finally got it right. My dentist really does not need any more patients.
4. Summer reading
I love reading and rereading Peter Mayle’s books. He was a British creative director who moved to Provence in the 1990s and has since passed away. He writes about his adventures, settling into French life, the excellent restaurants run by real cooks, the mistral that never seems to stop blowing, the famously slow French administration and the builders who turn up for work whenever they feel like it.
In short, they are a delight to read and a wonderful way of returning to a France I was lucky enough to know, even if there are certain aspects of it that I do not miss and which have not changed at all. His writing is funny, warm and charming, and it is clear how much he loved the French way of life.
I have also added two recently published books (in France) by Beth Brower to my summer reading list, from the Emma M. Lion series: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion.
I would also very much like to get hold of The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, which I first heard about last year.
5. Hooray for the cobaea!
This year, more than ever, I am very pleased that I planted cobaea, or Cobaea scandens, in the garden.
We are approaching the end of July and I still do not have a single dahlia flower in sight, unlike last year, when I was already making plenty of bouquets. With the heatwave and the resulting drought, the garden is not particularly productive, and we are already trying to save the plants that were only recently put in.
The cobaea flowers have not appeared yet either. They will eventually be a lovely shade of purple, like the ones in the photo, but in the meantime we can already admire the beautiful green and purple foliage spreading across the wooden frames we built to support their long stems. They are vigorous climbing plants and need something strong to grow over.
I love this plant because it is beautiful at every stage of its development, and it has coped remarkably well with the heat this year. As with the trellis, I am also using the summer to restore and repaint the metal and wrought-iron supports that have become damaged over time.
6. Set cheerful tables
I feel as though my summer gatherings are becoming smaller and much less frequent this year. It is probably linked to this desire to spend time only with those closest to us and to hide away at home, praying for rain.
There is very little I love more than a proper summer storm, when the air feels heavy and the sky fills with threatening grey clouds. But these repeated heatwaves should not stop us from setting a beautiful table whenever the temperature allows. Once the candles are lit in the evening, it takes on an atmosphere of its own.
We tend to eat quite late at home, at around 9.30 pm, precisely so that we can enjoy that particular mood and the atmosphere of dinners that continue late into the night. Later in the evening, we add more candles to the table, go and put on a jumper, switch on the garden lights and carry on talking or playing games.
At that point, I often bring out a little homemade liqueur, or add it to a fruit salad. Coming back to the table itself, when you do not have a tablecloth, try decorating it with an assortment of small vases filled with a few flowers, together with glass candle holders containing tea lights.
7. Simple summer meals
The season is full of delicious things to eat. All it takes is a trip to the kitchen garden, although certainly not ours this year, the market or the farm to come home with everything you need to prepare plenty of simple, tasty dishes.
Charcuterie platters, tomato and olive tarts, gazpacho, generous Italian salads, pinsas, fruit salads, blackberry and plum cakes…
As you already know, summer is an easy season for entertaining.
I also try plenty of savoury recipes, including a dish of confit leeks inspired by tapas I tasted in Seville two years ago and have finally managed to recreate.
8. Organise movie marathons to survive the heat
I have never liked summer because I cope very badly with the heat. It is a genuinely difficult season for me and, with the fourth heatwave of the year arriving this week, I am beginning to lose the motivation to do almost anything.
After a long day at work, who wants to stay outside in that kind of heat? The moment I leave the office, all I want to do is get home as quickly as possible and stand under a cold shower.
This time of year is therefore perfect for organising enjoyable film marathons, ideally with a theme. At the moment, for example, I am choosing films set in American summer camps, because seeing lakes and kayaking trips gives me a little sense of coolness by proxy.
I must admit that I even caught myself secretly watching a Christmas film when it was 34°C inside the house. What can I say? We fight with the weapons available to us.
My selection below:
The other exhibition I would like to see is taking place at the Musée Cognacq-Jay, also in Paris, and is entitled Révéler le féminin: mode et apparences au XVIIIe siècle. I am planning to visit once the temperatures have dropped.
9. Exhibitions to see in Paris
There are two exhibitions I am particularly tempted to see this summer. One of them is devoted to haute couture at the Thai royal court and is being held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
I thought it might appeal to me, and I became even more convinced after quickly looking through the exhibition catalogue at Le Bon Marché. There is a great deal of inspiration to be found in the colours and combinations of materials.
10. Choose a colourful summer wardrobe
By the middle of June, I am already dreaming of the first autumn mornings, the sharpness in the air and thick Fair Isle jumpers.
But as there is absolutely no way of pressing a fast-forward button and arriving directly in mid-September, we have to make the best of what we have. Adding one or two colourful summer pieces to your wardrobe can hardly do any harm, especially when they include striped trousers like these from Eres.
The small colourful jackets on the left are from Caroline de Benoist. I also personally enjoy picking up a few pieces from independent shops in seaside towns.
Rather than buying a complete set, I like to choose just one or two and use them as serving plates for petits fours, for example. These particular ones are available from Caroline de Benoist.
As long as the weather is warm and dry, it is the right time to tackle outdoor projects. It is also the moment to decide on the ideal colour for repainting a trellis.
11. Decorate the house and tackle a few projects
I have discovered that January and February, as well as July and August (outside periods of extreme heat I should add), are ideal months for planning work around the house.
It is a good time to browse fabric houses in search of the perfect pattern for a cushion or a headboard. During the sales, I found a few placemats and table napkins, as well as these lovely, very colourful plates (not on sale though) that will brighten up a summer table.
The best way to choose? Buy a few small sample pots and paint a large sheet of paper with each colour, remembering to write the name on the back.
The colours we are currently fond of, although they change every week because we like to take our time, are Dix Blue, Castle Grey and Oval Room Blue by Farrow & Ball, together with Mer des Sargasses, one of my favourite colours, from the Antoinette Poisson collection at French brand Ressource.
My parents would like to repaint several trellises in their garden and are particularly fond of this colour that sits somewhere between blue-green and green-blue (well, depending on who is looking at it!). It is an elegant shade that recalls nature and works beautifully with most flowers and foliage.
12. Making strawberry jam
One Saturday morning in July, we watched the sky carefully, hoping the sun would not break through the clouds, as we had planned to go to the farm to pick strawberries.
We were certainly productive. We came home with 14 kilos (around 30 lbs) of strawberries, mostly Mara des Bois, all destined for jam. The final result was thirty-eight jars and a day that did not end until two o’clock in the morning (we watched the World Cup football game in the kitchen)!
But what a pleasure it was the following morning to taste the jam on warm croissants brought back from the bakery. Next time, I would very much like to make strawberry tarts filled with almond and pistachio cream.
The next step? Designing pretty labels and storing the jars somewhere cool and dark.
Add to that a small apéro with friends, followed by long evenings wandering through the streets of pretty villages… c’est la belle vie !
13. A weekend by the sea
We have no holidays planned during the summer, but that does not stop us from organising a few weekends away, particularly by the sea.
We make the most of them by cycling, preparing picnics on the beach and discovering small local restaurants in the spirit of old-fashioned country inns, which are sadly becoming harder to find. I like simple, generous cooking made with good ingredients.
14. Fragonard celebrates
100 years old
The famous perfume house from Grasse in Provence is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
I have to admit that I had almost forgotten about it, even though it was part of our childhood. We often spent our holidays in Provence, and the town of Grasse always seemed to feature in one excursion or another.
I recently rediscovered the house, which began as a perfumery and has since expanded into tableware and home accessories. You can find pretty wash bags, blouses, soaps to give as gifts and, of course, perfumes, as well as a special collection created to celebrate the company’s centenary.
I would very much like to visit the Musée de la Mode et du Costume Provençal in Arles one day. It was opened by the family who own Fragonard and it must be a very inspiring place.
15. Seasonal bouquets
We are almost at the beginning of August and not one dahlia flower has appeared yet in the bed where they are planted.
I compared the garden with photographs taken at the same time last year, when I was already making bouquets for the house and for decorating tables. I try to pick a few flowers, but there are so few of them that I prefer to leave them for the bees.
I am also preserving the hydrangeas for autumn, as they have suffered badly this year. The lagerstroemia is doing reasonably well, but everything else is another story. We are also trying to protect the beautiful trees that were planted recently.
I am keeping an eye on the dahlias, which will eventually flower, although probably not for at least another two weeks. Fortunately, we can still use foliage from the garden, particularly ivy, as well as the stems of Cobaea scandens, which I find very poetic.
PS. Looking after wildlife
Set up several sources of water if you have a balcony, terrace or garden.
We have installed hanging bowls so that smaller birds can drink, as well as containers on the ground for cats, hedgehogs, squirrels and larger birds such as magpies and crows.
It has not rained for several weeks here in France and, with the heatwaves (we are expecting a fourth one this week), we are being particularly careful to make sure birds and animals have access to fresh water, and that it is changed regularly.
We are lucky to welcome a great deal of wildlife into the garden, and it is important to look after it. When I think of all the poor animals that have died in this summer’s forest fires around Bordeaux, in the Var region and in Corsica, not to mention the people who have lost their homes, there are no words to describe the sadness and anger. Let’s hope for better days.
