Summer. At long last it has arrived—and she’s packing some serious heat. When I left the office yesterday and got into my car, the temperature hit 104. Naturally, it’s because the car was parked out on tar parking lot, but as I basked in the comfort of my whip’s air-conditioning, the outside temperature held steady at 99 degrees.
I don’t know what was more upsetting to me–the fact that the outside temperature was 104 degrees or the fact that I’ve managed to put 575.6 miles on my new car in three weeks!
It still wasn’t hot enough to keep me and the Frenchman from enjoying dinner outside, but today, my heat-adoring devil of a husband said it was just too hot outside for even him to sit out on our deck and sunbathe. Let’s face it, when the heat index climbs upwards of 100 and is married to humidity, it can be dangerous. Heat stroke, sun poisoning and the like can affect us.
And sometimes when it’s too hot to cook–there’s always sushi!
And it is hot. And when it’s this hot, the only place I want to be outdoors is at the beach, on a chair down by the ocean, reading a book.
Actually IN the water is better!
But most of us can’t be at the beach every day—especially for those of us who work 9 to 5! So how can we beat the heat?
Fear not. I came up with some ways that I beat the heat when I’m home on a summer’s day! And none of them involve me running around buck naked either!
Although it would be rather nice to recline naked in a bed of roses….
Wear as little as possible. Seriously. When I’m home in the house, the bra is not an option. The girls need some serious time to relax. And even when going out, there are bra-free friendly clothes that will manage to work. The off-the-shoulder dress and the off-the-shoulder top. Granted, not every woman is comfortable going braless—and if you need to wear a bra, wear a lighter one with little to no padding.
No bra needed! This off-the-shoulder shirt is one of my favorite’s for intense heat. Here, I’m wearing it in Theoule last summer and I may wear it to work tomorrow if it’s as hot as today…
Perhaps I’ll just wear this off-the-shoulder dress to work instead. It needs to be ironed and right now, I’m too lazy!
As I sit here writing this blog post, I’m dressed in a pareo that my son Jake brought back from Bali for me. It makes a great dress. I had a bathing suit on earlier but decided to wear pareo-as-halter-dress and it doesn’t get much cooler than this!
Shorts. Yes. Now is not the time to say you are too old or the thighs are too flabby or crepey. My thighs, close up look like crepe paper, and I don’t care because wearing jeans or long pants in this weather can make you feel so hot that you’re almost feverish. Yeah. I know loose-fitting linen pants can be cool but the wrinkle factor bothers me to no end.
This was my first outfit of the day. I wore this when we ran errands early this morning. I breathable shirt from Lilly Pulitzer, short-shorts from Old Navy and sandals. Notice I’m all decked out in red, white and blue for July 4th!
I couldn’t resist these Lilly Pulitzer Buttercup Shorts. The slight bit of stret
Put the shoes away. Give the feet a break. Treat your feet to sandals or flip flops. Feet expand in the heat and shoes can feel tighter. Sandals are such a necessary option. But first—treat yourself to a pedicure! Summer is the time to make your feet know how much you love them!
Barely-there sandals! My feet love the newest pair of Rondini’s that I purchased last year!
They also love these Tory Burch flip-flops too! Give you feet the freedom they deserve!
Makeup-free face! Oh–the eye makeup is still on but with a sun-kissed glow (and plenty of sunscreen), no foundation, highlighter, concealer, or contour needed!
I love the summer face! Competely natural and it pays to give your face a break from all those products!
Prepare the dinner early. This is if you have the time. Today is July Fourth! A mid-week holiday. And we’re spending it quietly. Bonaparte went to play tennis and I’m working on the blog and other writings. We went out earlier this morning to do some grocery shopping. And I’ve already cooked the lobster!
It’s also a good thing to cook the lobster in advance because I don’t like the idea of this little guy waiting around for his final moments…
I’ll serve it cold—maybe with a bit of mayo. Maybe just plain. I boiled it and now it’s done. And it’ll be so refreshing to have this cold!! A dish to beat the heat!
Egg salad has been prepared too! All on the stovetop because it’s just too hot to use the oven.
A Caprese salad of sliced tomato, sliced egg, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil will be the starter and all will add to a delightful dinner!
No hot foods on a heat-infested day! And let me tell you something…
….2018 is a STELLAR crop year for tomatoes. We haven’t had tomatoes this tasty in a few years!
If we feel like a sweet treat later on, there’s always cherries, bananas or fruit!
No booze till after five! I don’t know about you, but wine or any mixed drink just isn’t my thing during the hot days. The alcohol hits way too fast in the heat and is incredibly dehydrating. Instead, opt for water, flavored water, sweet tea or lemonade! Yum!
Hold off till evening for this. Drink this during the day, and you’ll be passed out by two in the afternoon!
Opt for filtered tap water, flavored water, iced tea or lemonade!
Turn the lights off. The AC in our home is regulated. It’s 80 degrees right now inside but feels cooler. Because there’s quite a bit of natural light, I’ve shut all the lights off and drawn the blinds. By keeping the direct sunlight out, the house cools down quite a bit.
Better yet, if you have a basement or “downstairs” living area, that’s the place to be. Downstairs can be even more of a cool place!
The lights are out but I’ll be headed downstairs to watch some TV in the coolness of this room!
Bring the outdoors in! Yeah. It’s definitely one of those days to stay indoors when the weather gets to be this intensely hot. But being inside means missing the beauty of summer foliage! Now’s the time to either go outside for a few minutes and pick flowers or head to the store to buy a couple of bunches of flowers or an indoor plant and bring the outdoors in!
We bought these flowers earlier today…
And these two–it’s always nice to have fresh flowers at home.
Add some green plants to really bring the outdoors in!
Carry a fan. Many discount stores carry small battery-powered fans. I’m more of a traditionalist and prefer a pretty Chinese-inspired fabric fan!
This fan is kept in my purse. I got it at a local dollar store and it helps!
Spray Bottle filled with water is a great way to beat the heat! Going outdoors? Headed for a game or event—or party? Fill ‘er up, put in the fridge and you’ll have a blast of cold! Same goes for face toner. Put it in the fridge and you’ll be nice and cool.
Filled with water, it’s also a way to cool Chippy down!!
Don’t forget a bit of eau de toilette. A refreshing scent can always you feel a bit cooler!
Fleur d’Oranger. You KNOW it’s my favorite scent and it’s very cooling and refreshing!
One thing I’ve done since my kids were young is wet down facecloths, put them in plastic bags and placed them in the freezer. These days, I only need one or two, since we’re empty nesters but if you have kids visiting or grandkids, invest in some inexpensive facecloths, wet ‘em down, plop ‘em in the freezer and when the kids start whining that they’re too hot, you know what to do. They are also great coolants to place around your neck.
Face cloth–drenched with water, put in a plastic sandwich bag and…..
…into the freezer with ye! When this freezes and you get that cold sting, you’ll feel alive and awake!
And when all else fails, sit down and think about how you feel on the coldest, most frigid, windiest day of the winter. Picture leaving the warmth of your home to run outside in the dark to your car because you forgot to buy eggs. Remember how it feels when your toes and fingers become numb from the sub-zero weather?
Hold that thought!!
Summer’s not that bad!!
I’ve also created a “Beat the Heat” Idea List from my Amazon site! You can get ideas for the next time you head out to run errands!
Mongo Jerry: In The Summertime! One of my favorite summer songs!
