I see lots of people on social media talking about their summer travels and all the great adventures of their summer. As a working girl who spent most of my summer inside, behind a desk versus poolside, this generally makes me scowl and have some uncharitable thoughts.
What about us working warriors? Are we just condemned to over air conditioned desks for three months looking out the window at the sunshine if we’re lucky enough to have one?
(yes, I know I’m being dramatic)
Of course not!
Sure, you might be stuck in an office block from 9-5 (and for lots of us it’s more like 8-6) but you can still make the most of your summer even as a working girl. Here are 5 ways to make the most of your summer even when you work full time, especially these last few weeks!
Enjoy the Evenings Eating Alfresco
If you have a patio space or backyard, make the most of that living space and enjoy meals out of doors. Even if you live in an urban jungle, you can find a local green space and picnic a couple times a week. When I lived in NYC, we (my roommates and I) used to walk over to a pier and park by our place and enjoy the evenings out of doors. This also is generally the cooler option as evening breezes cool everything down while our home was often still pretty stuffy.
Gather With Friends in Similar Situations
All of my close girlfriends and I work full time and therefore have similar schedules. We’ve made a point this summer to regularly get together about once a month. We’ve done dinner, brunch, happy hour, and most recently a coffee and doughnuts style breakfast at a local park. Planning these gatherings are made easier with Paperless Post and their huge selection of themed evites. Just search what type of party you’re hosting and select from their extensive invitations.
I’m personally a huge fan of their designer collection. The Kate Spade and Jonathan Adler designs are my favorites and I used these ones for our latest breakfast. I’m all about making life a little more simple and having my party invites done in a flash without sacrificing style sounds good to me.
Weekend Day Trips
For lots of us 9-5ers, taking long vacations are a luxury we get to indulge in maybe once or twice a year. If you’re anything like me, you save up all your precious vacation time and personal leave for holiday travel and hopefully have some time left over for a trip to tropical climates come February. That means summer time is mostly spent behind a desk with no travel plans to look forward to. Well, you can beat the summer time blues (is there such a thing?) with weekend getaways!
For lots of people this means camping and here in the Pacific Northwest, we have plenty of that between the coast and the mountains but there are options beyond that too! You can do a staycation in your own city. Simply snag a last minute weekend hotel rate and play tourist (Andrew and I did this back in February). You can also grab some girlfriends and go on a day trip. That’s how I ended up at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival earlier this year with some girlfriends.
These sort of smaller trips get you out of town while not cutting into your vacation time or even eating up your entire weekend.
Skip the Gym
I’m not saying skip your workout but simply move it outside! A couple of girlfriends and I have ended up going on “Coffee and Cardio” dates where we go jogging, then stop for iced coffee. I’ve also done BBG workouts in my yard versus in my living room or at the gym. This is an easy way to not go straight from the office to car to gym and end up being inside all day long and miss out on the warmth and the sun.
How are you making the most of your final summer days? Let me know in the comments!
Also, some of you may know these faces but for those that don’t, these lovely ladies are Jenn of Hello Rigby and Asa of Lace and Pearls! I lucked out in having good friends move into our neighborhood!
Until next time,
Ana Luiza
*Thank you to Paperless Post for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own
