Spring is officially here this week, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic for the arrival of my absolute favorite season! It signals the return of sandals and sundresses, picnics and meals al fresco, tennis season, time outside with close friends, flowers exploding into bloom all over the place, warm sunshine on my skin, embracing outdoor adventures and road trips, longer days and long walks, and so many of the things I love the most. Spring is most definitely my season, and I feel like I’m in a perpetually happy mood! After a long winter without seeing many friends or having any social calendar, I’m even more excited than usual for Springtime and feel like the warmer weather and longer days will make quite the difference. I adore making seasonal to-do lists (as evidenced in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013), and Rob and I have been brainstorming what we want to check off this Spring’s annual bucket list of fun! We’re definitely going to be embracing time when we can to seek out new adventures, explore outside, revisit old favorites, and soak up all this season has to offer, especially before the intense heat and humidity of summer really kick in!

Without further ado, here is our Spring 2021 Checklist:

• celebrate our fourth anniversary on April 1st (I’m excited to share our plans!)
• celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Christ
• set the table for Easter dinner (we have plans to host my parents for Easter lunch on the deck!)
• go to the farmer’s market – and cook lots of seasonal meals and desserts using Spring’s bounty
• plant our own little herb garden on our back deck
• plant roses in our yard (and learn how to garden much better!) and flowers in our planter boxes
• take walks every single day and explore some new-to-us trails and hikes, too
• continue our Saturday hike tradition
• continue our Friday date night tradition
• go to the park often for golden hour and a picnic (Dorothea Dix Park, Pullen Park, Fred Fletcher Park, and the NCMA are some Raleigh faves)
• take a spontaneous day trip to the beach
• visit the WRAL Azalea Gardens
• pick strawberries at a local farm
• make lots of desserts and cocktails with said berries
• visit Duke Garden and bring a picnic
• play tennis every week
• enjoy ample time on our deck (dinners, longer evenings, working outside, and more)

What are you most looking forward to this spring? How excited are you for sunshine and flowers blooming?!

And some springtime wisdom from my favorite Anne of Green Gables:

“After all, I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string. I’d wish it might be spring all the time and in everybody’s heart and all our lives.”