Summer in the city is cleavage cleavage cleavage and also other things
Such as:
1. SWEAT
2. SPF
3. Bikes
4. Having to hold your dress down to your thighs when you walk downtown so the wind doesn't provide a free show
5. Flip flops, wedges and regular pedicures
6. Waiting an extra half-hour for outdoor seating ‘cause the air at night is so so beautiful and also because you can bring your dog
7. Afternoon matinees of very bad movies in the a/c when the heat gets too heavy
8. It USED to be window a/c units in the bedroom only so you lived in that single room the entire summer, but now it’s central a/c because I OWN IT.
9. Sand in your shoes and your underwear and your bed and a thin coat over your floor
10. Street Festivals/Flea Markets/Craft Fairs
11. Intonation/Pitchfork/Lollapalooza/Ravinia
12. Pride/Market Days
13. Hair rubberbands all over the house and in the car and in your purse and everywhere
14. Lip gloss and blotting papers
15. Weekend trips to Michigan
16. Blender drinks—so every trip to the grocery store includes a bag of ice that you grab from the freezer on the way out
17. The lake and the lakefront and the beach and the dogbeach
18. Porches
The other night, I hung out on the back porch. Our building has this ginormous black hammered steel back porch that’s all connected while still giving everyone their own space. It’s great. Anyhow, our downstairs neighbors, Katie and Steve, are the only ones with patio furniture so we’ve been down at their place, everybody bringing beer or whatever and getting to know each other and it’s been really wonderful. There are twelve units in our building and they’re all sold now, and while people have been moving in since the winter, for the most part we’ve never really hung out. But now, because of summer, we’re all flocking outside—the BEST PART OF SUMMER. Everyone out on the porch and relaxing—we’re making plans for huge building parties, and it’s nice to get on the same page with these people who will be a big part of my community for who knows how many years. We all own property together. We’ll watch each other’s backs—somebody gets locked out? Somebody’s fire alarm goes off? Someone’s dog runs into your unit? Someone needs help carrying something big?—DONE. We’re all really young and new at this, and it’s nice to find like-minded people, especially when I’ve heard so many horror stories about neighbors and condo associations and all that and—yes, I understand there’s a different between drinking with someone and sitting on a condo board with them, but this is a pretty good start. Maybe every corporation should start by having beers on the back porch together.
Anyhow, our unit has two porches: a balcony over Lawrence—
And the back porch, soon to be outfitted with table and chairs and Christopher’s fancy new grill—
—and we are in love with this place and I’m totally in the Pinch me, this can’t be real! stage. I know I wrote already about how great our realtor was/is, and I can’t recommend him enough if you’re thinking about buying or thinking about THINKING about someday maybe doing it. When Christopher and I sat down with Lee, it was more for the What do we need to do to be ready in the next, like, ten years. We had no idea we could do it NOW. That’s what I was thinking the other night, having a beer with my new neighbors: thank you thank you thank you Lee f’ing Diamond at Big Shoulders.
For my porch. PorchES. And also my home.