· ·

Summer Solstice Picnic // Finish Power & Free

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

In the summertime, our family is always looking for an outdoor adventure. If the sun is out, you’ll catch us swimming in lakes, camping, hiking, or having a picnic. On the afternoon of the Summer Solstice, we packed up some delicious food + drink and headed out into our backyard to throw a picnic and officially welcome in sweet summertime.

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com^^^ Roman wasn’t certain how to feel about the sweet + tangy strawberry at first. ^^^

toddler boy | livelovesimple.com^^^ But he decided that he liked it. ^^^

family picnic | livelovesimple.com

family picnic | livelovesimple.com


Exciting news! To help make your summertime fun even better, Finish is giving away a $100 Gift Card to one lucky reader. For a chance to win, enter using the Rafflecopter giveaway form below. Contest ends on July 4th. Be sure to leave a working email address so that I can get in touch if you win. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is the third and final post in my series with Finish – Power & Free. We have now been using the Finish – Power & Free dish washing line since February. It has been a joy. Before we started using Finish, I was close to giving up on my dishwasher. With all of the grit that was left behind on dishes and plates — it wasn’t worth it. But since we’ve started using this new line, all of that has changed. Our dishes come out clean and this mama has more time to spend with her family — living & loving. The fact that the new line of products is designed to be less harsh so that it can even be used with baby products is the icing on the cake. We won’t be going back.


Before I close, I want to share a few details about our picnic in case you’d like to plan your own.

On the Menu
Creamy Kale & Spinach Dip
Guacamole
12 Grain Crackers
Rosemary Raisin Crisps
Organic Strawberries
Red Grapes
Pink Lemonade

Our pretty cloth napkins are Dot and Army. Our picnic blanket is this one from JJ Cole Collections. It’s perfect. I love the colours. The material makes it super-easy to clean up messes (Hello, toddler!) and it folds up into a cute little easy-to-carry tote. We’ll be getting a lot of use out of this at the beach this year. Our picnic tote is this one from Toluca. I love that it’s insulated and keeps everything on the inside perfectly cooled. It will be another summertime staple.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into our Summer Solstice celebration picnic. I’d love to hear about the ways that your family celebrates the beginning of summer.


This post is in partnership with Finish – Power & Free. Thank you for supporting the companies that help to make my blog possible.

Be sure to like the Finish Facebook page and check out their special offers and discounts, too. The Finish-Power-Free-Alliance-of-MomsFinish – Power & Free line features less-harsh chemical formulas, without sacrificing the power of Finish results – a win for even the tiniest members of your family! Let’s put Finish Power & Free to the #FinishMoms test and #CleanItForward!

you may also like

  • · ·

    Are You Oblivious, Aware, or Getting It?

    This is a guest post from my friend, Andy Feld.

    ———–

    As I travel and meet new people all over our country, it seems most everyone falls into one of the three areas mentioned in this month’s title. What am I talking about? It’s the societal evolutionary change which is now in progress, although admittedly sometimes imperceptible. It is easy to see that violence rarely leads to anything but more violence. Overt materialism, absent integrity, brings happiness and abundance to very few. Additionally, centuries of male dominated insensitive energy added to a populace unwilling to take responsibility has us at a precarious tipping point.

    So, do you sense what I say is true? Are you oblivious to these changes in the air, or are you ahead of the curve and already taking the steps necessary to not only survive, but thrive in the years to come? Frankly, I am often greeted by individuals with long faces who tell me they will be happy again when things get back to ‘normal’. Normal for many means simply getting back to a life dominated by financial gain and the purchase of new things, but those days may be long gone. Banks are not lending money, our population is increasingly unemployed or aging and dependent, houses are not selling, there seems to be an oversupply of everything and worldwide competition is greater than ever. What if today is the way things will be for the next 20-30 years or longer? What are you going to do to be happy, prosperous, and emotionally abundant?

    Make no mistake, everything is changing and just about everyone is affected. Personally, my income does not approach what I once earned as a corporate CEO, my car is not as new and shiny as it once may have been, and I visit fewer restaurants, but my life has never been more pleasant. Would you agree that now is the time to not only re-evaluate, but also re-create our lives? If so, you are GETTING IT loud and clear, but if not, let’s look into what we can do about it.

    1. We are all One, connected with a common thread of spirit. When I say WE, I mean ALL humans, animals, plant life, earth, and stars. We all are of the same source energy, and understanding and respecting this Oneness is a key to thriving in our new age. Allowing all else to be, with love and respect, and without judgment of unique individual differences will open our portals to Universal Light. One cannot mistreat another human, the earth, our vegetation, and the animals without also mistreating oneself. We are all connected and what we put forth to others is what will always come back to us.

    2. Listen to our heart, our Inner Radar as I call it in my books, without the fear of judgment from others. We are all unique and different, and learning to reach within and hear that guidance we all individually brought forth to this lifetime allows us to grow and prosper in alignment with our life’s purpose. There is no better way to accomplish this than a regular practice of meditation and contemplation.

    3. Understanding the process for manifesting our life’s dreams. It takes quite a bit of practice and self-discipline, and you may be getting tired of hearing me speak about it, but we are the product of our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. Very little we desire will manifest without the alignment of these four elements. Believe in this, practice and have faith and you will embrace your life like never before.

    4. Learn to appreciate all that you have. From hot running water, to clothes in your closet, and food in the refrigerator, most of us have so much to be thankful for yet rarely acknowledge. The beauty of nature, our relationships, our health and the list should go on and on. Write it down and truly rejoice in how many ways you are blessed.

    5. Diligently work on balancing your male and female attributes. We are all a combination of both masculine and feminine, and the more we keep these two in balance the more we vibrate with the earth.

    Yes, everything is changing. First, become aware and then jump on board, but it will always be the choice of the individual. No one, other than you is responsible for your rescue.

    Whether it is a business, an organization, or individual, the time for changing the status quo in right now. How to go about it in this new environment is what I speak about and teach. I would love the opportunity to work with you or your group.

    With much love and appreciation,
    Andy

    ———-

    Andy lives in Morrison, Colorado outside Denver. He travels the country as a frequent speaker on life inspiration and business sales. He is also a regular guest on radio programs across the United States and on local TV.

    You can read more about Andy at his website, Simple Happy, and you can find his books on Amazon at the following links.

13 Comments

  1. Our favorite traditions are having friends over for food and drinks. Sitting outside and enjoying time together! It really doesn’t get better than that!

  2. Our favorite summer tradition is going on road trips! The hubby loves to drive. We’ll go anywhere and everywhere! In a few weeks, we’re driving from Central NJ to Toronto. We can use the $100 for gas money. Thanks for the opportunity 🙂

  3. I love that picnic bag!

    I think our favorite summer tradition is one we’re *hopefully* getting to do tomorrow – going swimming at a waterfall, have a picnic while we’re there, and then go blueberry picking on the way home. 🙂

  4. I love that you are in the pictures with your baby! So sweet and he will love seeing these when he is older.

Leave a Reply to Patty Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *