

The Alchemist
Word For Word
Ashley Brown 00:00
[Intro] Routines, my absolute favorite word, but you either love them or you hate them. And either way, I strongly believe that routines can be a springboard for improving your home yourself and your life. I'm Ashley Brown. And this is the Routine and Things Podcast. In each episode we'll dive into a specific routine or point of view that will move you closer to enjoying life more and more each day. Trust me, you're going to want to keep listening because you're well on your way to getting and staying happy!
Ashley Brown 00:46
Hey girl, oh my gosh, I'm super excited about today's episode. Because we are talking about the summer routine and and I'm sharing with you four essentials that can help you have the perfect summer routine, in my opinion anyway. So that's what we're gonna be talking about today. Before we get into that, I do want to give a listener some love today because you know, I love y'all. I love that you listen, I love that you are joining me that you come back each and every week it's just super exciting to know that this podcast is beneficial for you and is helping you so let me give a listener some love today. And the listener that I'm giving some love is I am Erin Elizabeth and she says "I'm super excited for this podcast. It's been a joy following Ashley on her journey as a homemaker. I've learned so much already. I cannot wait for future episodes. If you haven't subscribed yet, you'll be missing out on some major gems. She's really helped to redefine what being a homemaker is all about." Thank you so much, Erin. Thank you I am Erin Elizabeth. That is super beautiful. And I appreciate you for sharing that, for writing that review and for being a listener and being a part of this community. I truly truly appreciate you. I love showing y'all love because like I said, this podcast would not be here if it wasn't for you. So I truly truly appreciate that you listen every single week and that you are part of this community. And you know, I'm always wanting to shout out my listeners. So make sure you leave a review, rate and review the podcast so that I can shout you out. Alright, so let's go ahead and get into this episode today.
Ashley Brown 02:36
So, this is all about the summer routine, and I'm gonna let you know this right now summer is my favorite season. And I'm pretty biased because my birthday is in the summer. It's July 17th. Just to let you know, just in case you want to send me something. Just kidding. But yes, summer is my favorite season. I absolutely love summer, it has a special place in my heart. And nobody can tell me that summer is not the best season, so don't even try. So I'm super excited about this episode.
Ashley Brown 03:11
And I do want to go over what is a summer routine. Because you might be wondering, well, what is a summer routine? What does this even mean? So the way that I define a summer routine is, it's really your routines that you've been doing but just sprinkles with some summer vibes, like sprinkled with things that are summer specific that you don't usually get in other seasons. And so that's really how I see our summer routine, it's just based it and placed around things that happen in the summer. And really sprinkling in things that are summer specific that can really help to make your routine feel summer-ry and just full of good energy and just sunny. And all of that good stuff that I just said, so that's what I feel like a summer routine is and I love a good summer routine. I love my summer routine because I do it up in the summer. I'm just gonna let you know. But I'm sharing with you four things that you can do and four essentials for having a really dope summer routine. So let's go ahead and get into the essentials.
Ashley Brown 04:27
Alright, so the first thing is when it comes to a summer routine, I think it is super important that you do outdoor activities. Like this has to be a part of your summer routine, getting out doors, doing some outdoor activities, and these outdoor activities can range from things like going outside for a walk, sitting out on your porch, going for a picnic, going for a hike. Like, it can be anything as long as you're outdoors. Going to the splash pad with your babies, going to the pool. I mean, outdoor activities are just a staple for summer like, of course we can do outside activities in other seasons but summer is all about the sun, like all about the sun, in moderation, but it is.
Ashley Brown 05:31
As long as you're getting sun, that's really what it is. When you're saying outdoor activities, adding sun to your routine can just be such a huge energy booster, it can make you come alive. And it can really just make you feel so much better. Especially if you're not in the greatest mood step outside and you're going to feel a lot better. So that's why outdoor activities is always a part of my self care routine. And the way that I build this into my routine is honestly I try to get outside every single day to get sun. And it doesn't mean that I have to do an activity every single day or a huge activity. Sometimes I may go and sit outside on my porch before I start my day. So when I wake up in the morning, I might go outside on my porch, on my lunch break for work, I will go outside and eat lunch outside. I will sit outside at night, and maybe me and my family have dinner at night. So I try to get outside every single day and soak up some sun during the summer because I'm telling you, they can just do a world of good for you, especially when it comes to mood and just making you come alive. So that's why I really, really think adding outdoor activities, like I said, it doesn't have to be a huge activity. It can be sitting outside, reading a book listening to a podcast, sitting outside doing nothing but crossing your legs and looking up at the sky right. So, getting outside doing some outdoor activities, getting some sun is a huge, huge essential that makes a great summer routine.
Ashley Brown 07:11
And so the second thing is one of my favorite things to add to my summer routine and that is summer foods. Girl I am such a foodie. I don't know if you knew that about me, but I am such a foodie like I love food. And food is just so delicious. Especially when it is seasonal. I mean, so good. So adding summer foods into your cooking routine for the summer is just so good. So these are things like watermelon, right? When are you going to get watermelon in the fall and in the winter, you're not. So watermelon is a huge summer food, summer fruit. Also things like peaches. Things like homemade ice cream. I mean are you kidding me? Homemade ice cream! Oh my Gosh! It's so good to make during the summer. Fresh things like pasta salad, just fresh salads in general with some good summer tomatoes like those types of food that are so delicious in the summertime that can really make your cooking routine pop and just taste that much better. So I'm all about some good summer foods added into my cooking routine.
Ashley Brown 08:36
Also things like smoothies are huge during the summer and iced coffees, like I'm a huge iced coffee person during the summer I do not drink a lot of hot coffee during the summer. You will usually not see me drink a bunch of hot coffee. Usually my coffee is iced during the summertime. My favorite beverage to get from Starbucks, I'm just gonna let you know is a tall hazelnut iced coffee with cream. So good. So good. You got to try it, you have to try it. So those are some foods and some things that you can add to your cooking routine in the summer that can really help you to bring alive your summer routine and could just make you feel like yes, it's summertime. So summer foods is the way to go.
Ashley Brown 09:23
The third essential that is really beneficial to add to your summer routine is summer reading. Summer reads do so much for your summer, having books that you can read during the summer. One of the books that I really want to read is called Wild Seed. I don't know if anybody has read that book. But I've heard it's so so good. So I really want to read that book this summer. And also a book that I read one summer was, I've actually read this book twice in it is The Alchemist. This is one my favorite reads, The Alchemist is so so good. It's such a good book. It's a fable about following your dreams. It's nonfiction, it just makes you kind of just go into that world. And it's just such a great book. And it's so inspiring as well. So The Alchemist is a super, super great read. And I'll make sure I'll link that in the show notes for you just in case you want to check it out, you want to pick it up. It's a really quick read too. So if you're a reader, this is a very quick read, even if you're not a reader. This can be a very easy book for you to get through during the summer because it's not thick and doesn't have a lot of pages. It's a very very small book. And it's a very, very good book. So I'll make sure to link that in the show notes for you. Or you can just go to routineannthings.com/027 and get it from there.
Ashley Brown 10:57
But yes, books are super great for the summertime to add into your routine, your self care routine, you can have summer reads for your children's routine. I mean having books for them, whether they are younger kids or whether you have older children, your older kids into more fiction books and nonfiction can also be really really good at helping them use their imagination and to really delve into different worlds with their minds and all of that and can help with their vocabulary. You know, reading has such huge benefits so definitely add it to their routine can be super beneficial, and our younger kids as well, just continuing them to read and getting them books specific for summer.
Ashley Brown 11:43
Alright, so the last and final essential I think is super great to add to your routine for the summer is summer sights and scents and I'm going to tell you what this means. So when I say summer sights and scents, basically what I mean by this is adding in flowers to your routine during the summer. And also adding smells, candles, room sprays, things like that that can really bring in that summer-ry vibe. Oh my gosh so so great.
Ashley Brown 12:17
So flowers is something that I always have throughout my home. Honestly I have flowers throughout my home in spring, summer, fall because I believe flowers just add a really great touch to your home. But there are certain flowers throughout the summer that I absolutely must get. And they are summer specific and the two flowers that I get throughout the summer that are summer specific for me are sunflowers and I also get daisies and I know daisies can be year round, but the types of colors and things like that, absolutely love. So I love getting daisies and I love getting some flowers especially in the summertime, so those are two flowers I absolutely love getting during the summer and they just add such a great vibe to my home and I'm telling you just putting flowers in a cute vase and putting them on your dining room table or just in your living room where you can see them when you're passing by. Oh my gosh, so good and to smell them too, girl! I'm telling you, it is just amazing. So it brings just life to your home ,like life and good vibes to your home. Flowers are super great and then also smell good.
Ashley Brown 13:36
Also like things like room sprays and candles. I absolutely love candles. I love lighting the candle after every time I clean because it just puts a nice finishing touch on my cleaning. And so during the summertime, I love getting certain scents. And I love getting things like the beach smell because I absolutely love the beach. I love water. My zodiac sign is cancer so I just absolutely love water in nature so the beach scent is really great during the summer. Linen scents, oh, just so fresh is really great during the summer. I love also getting like tropical type scents like orange or lemon to like kind of brighten up things. Those are some really good scents to get during the summertime and good candle smells. So whether they're soy based candles, whether that's just the regular candles, getting you candles that just smell like summer, just is top notch and will really put the finishing touches on your summer routine.
Ashley Brown 14:42
That's it girl, those are the four essentials that I feel like make the perfect summer routine and these four things I add to my routine every single summer because I think that they just give your home and give your life just that much more joy, honestly. So, I wanted to share that with you today. So like I said the four things that I think are super beneficial for you when it comes to creating the perfect summer routine. Adding in these four things to your routine can be super beneficial and that is doing summer outdoor activities. Also adding summer foods to your cooking routine can be super great. Having some summer reads added to your children's routine, to your self care routine, and then also summer sights and scents like flowers and candles can be really good to add to your cleaning routine, self care routine. Put that candle on when you're taking a bath. I mean, just beautiful. So those are the four essentials for the perfect summer routine.
Ashley Brown 15:45
Go on social take a screenshot of this episode, and then share it and let me know tag me and let me know which one was your favorite and which one are you going to be adding? Which of these are you going to be adding to your routine for the summer? How are you going to perfect your summer routine this year? So that's it for this episode. Thank you so much for joining me today. I really hope that you enjoy the rest of your day. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week. And as always make sure that you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any episodes. Also rate and review this podcast and let me know what you think. Let me know what has been beneficial for you and how you're enjoying the podcast. I would really really love to know and you just might get a shout out one day in one of the episodes. Alright girl, well let me let you go. I hope that you continue to enjoy your day. Talk to you later.
Ashley Brown 16:38
[Outro] Thanks for listening. If you enjoy today's episode, could you do me a huge favor and take a screenshot and share it on social? And for more routine goodness, be sure to visit routineandthings.com. Here's to staying happy!
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