It's summer . . . and the living isn't quite as easy as I'd like. Next week I'm promising myself simplicity and rest. This also means I'm promising my kids very little running around or fancy entertainment schemes. Mama needs to recuperate. 

In the meantime, here are a few good gems from around the web. 

• Yep, I'm thinking about peaches. So is my BFF (in my head) Pioneer Woman. Three ways to eat grilled peaches here. 
• Have you made your summer reading list yet? The Guardian has a whole list of recommendations for teens, including this article on Victorian historical fiction (which just might be a little speciality of mine).  
• Have you seen Jen Loves Kev's string art? Becca wants to do it on the big wall above her bed. I'm inclined to agree. But only after my week of simplicity and rest. 
• I have summer veggies on the brain. Check out this new-to-me food blog. It is bee-utiful. 
• Guys! I finished reading The Paris Wife by Paula McClain this week. Actually, I started it on Saturday and finished it on Sunday. I loved it! And really, I don't love too many contemporary novels. It's told from the perspective of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, who is smart and interesting, and who makes me like Ernest just a little more (even though he is a total cad).  

As you read this, I'm probably back in my air conditioned car heading back to my air conditioned house. As much as I wax poetic about the 19th century, I really couldn't have handled the heat. My sweat glands belong squarely in the 21st century.