JUNE 2025: An Elegant Month in Review
This post contains affiliate links and ads. Affiliate links and ads support my work at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your ongoing support!JUNE — Summer has finally arrived and with the new season we transition from the regimented school schedule to one that suits our pace and reflects the special moments saved for warm, sunny days.
In this journey to craft a more elegant life, I’ve found that it’s helpful to plan out out different activities, events and hobbies I want to try or experience. I strive to plan something that will bring beauty, joy, art and connection — whether that’s a nature walk with my family, meeting a friend for lunch, traveling, or taking a class. So while our days may be busy with growing children, there’s still (a little) time for me to connect, create and continue to build a life I’m proud of.
If the idea of crafting a more elegant life sounds interesting to you, I encourage you to revisit this space often. You may also be intrigued by my annual Elevate Your Everyday Challenge. What is that? It’s my signature 31 day new year challenge focused on creating a vision for your most elegant year yet.
I am fortunate to share this time with wonderful likeminded women from around the world — it’s a special time I look forward to each year. Together, we define our personal values, set smart goals toward accomplishing our dreams and identify small, ingenious habits we can add to our day to create what we all strive for: a more elegant life.
If that sounds interesting to you, send me a quick note to join the waitlist for next year.
I want to take you on my journey to create my most elegant year yet, and I hope the things I share inspire you to create an elegant life you love!
Join me and take a moment to reflect on JUNE: An Elegant Month in Review.
Building on the foundation that was set during the Elevate Your Everyday Challenge, June brought the opportunity to continuing practicing good habits while striving to embrace new experiences and make progress toward my personal and professional goals.
June is such a special month. We celebrated the conclusion of another school year and jumped right into summer fun. Living in Michigan is such a blessing — we are surrounded by water and nature which brings constant inspiration — and the summer months is when our wonderland of a state really shines. Some might say we wait all year for this moment!
Not wanting to waste a minute of our precious summer vacation, we started off strong with a simple but structured schedule to ensure the kids and I could find a balance between keeping busy, challenging ourselves to grow, and taking advantage of time for much needed rest.
Finding quiet moments to enjoy our outdoor space is always a highlight of these warm months. Sitting out on our deck in the early morning hours to sip a cup of coffee or enjoy the evening breeze with a glass of wine and a good book is one of my favorite things to do.
I’m always daydreaming of ways to improve our gardens and create a whimsical space for our family to enjoy. This month I added new containers planted with mini arbor vitae with the plan to incorporate seasonal flowers to create year-round interest.
The twinkling cafe lights add a magical touch to the evening hours and create a special atmosphere my husband and I can enjoy with friends or elevate an at-home date night.
Are you interested in gardening? Let me know in the comments if you’d like to see more dedicated space to my gardening adventures!
The first week of June was also the last week of school. A busy and exciting time, wrapping up the year and saying “see you later!” to so many friends. However, we still had some work to do as Conor had soccer tryouts, which I’m glad to report were successful! We had a great experience this past year with the local recreational travel soccer league and we’re excited for the new season that will begin soon.
Once school and soccer were wrapped up, it was time to party! Our friends threw an epic Summer Vacation Kick-Off party complete with giant inflatable play structures and water slides. The kids had a blast hanging out with all of their friends and the adults enjoyed catching up and sharing summer plans.
To keep us on track this summer, I devised a simple, themed approach to our daily schedule which looks like this:
MONDAY: Swimming
TUESDAY: Nature
WEDNESDAY: Art
THURSDAY: Outing
FRIDAY: Tennis
It might not seem like much, but having a goal or commitment to get out of the house each day certainly keeps us on track! Conor and Alice are enjoying swimming and tennis lessons, and Henry gets to join in on our nature adventures and outings to the library and playgrounds. We’ve also enjoyed participating in our city’s summer art program! This month, the kids were able to learn about and see live birds of prey before making clay owls and also made Japanese paper fans in a class led by The Detroit Institute of Arts.
In the moments I can spare to myself, I have been enjoying spending time in the garden. As I shared last month, we got a rather late start, but by the end of the month the flowers and vegetables seem to have caught up and are doing well. It won’t be long before we have our first harvest of shishito peppers!
The kids also love to help in the garden, and this month, they raised butterflies and released them. We had 9/10 successful hatches, with the last one hatching quite deformed. We felt so bad for the little one, but Alice and her sweet heart had the perfect idea: leave it in the fairy garden for the fairies to heal. I’m happy to say after a few hours, the fairies seem to have worked their magic and we are grateful our injured butterfly was healed and off with its friends ;)
As for books, I continued my campaign to (re)read all of Jane Austen’s completed novels and read Persuasion. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and especially loved the ending. To be honest, after watching the recent adaptation done for Netflix, I wasn’t sure I would like the book, but I found the story so much more endearing as told in the way Jane Austen intended.
I tried a few new recipes including brioche buns for picnic sandwiches and Ina Garten’s Summer Garden Pasta. The pasta was simple and tasty, a recipe I’ll be keeping handy for al fresco dinners with friends! The brioche buns are adapted from a recipe in our current favorite cookbook.
It’s been so fun to pack up a picnic with delicious deli sandwiches to enjoy on our adventures and the kids love the sweet taste of the bread paired with the savory deli meat. Homemade bread certainly elevates the standard deli sandwich and finding moments to pause and enjoy a picnic has made for lasting summer memories.
I finished another needlepoint project, Bryan’s passport cover, and nearly finished Henry’s passport cover as well. I haven’t shared much about our plans, but the passport covers will be put to use this fall! You’ll have to stay tuned to learn more about our impending family vacation!
SOLSTICE (n.) : the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun reaches its maximum or minimum declination, marked by the longest and shortest days
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SOLSTICE (n.) : the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun reaches its maximum or minimum declination, marked by the longest and shortest days |
Towards the end of June, we reached the summer solstice. While it does mean we’ve reached the point where the days will slowly get shorter, we keep the focus on the late sunsets and idyllic evenings.
From enjoying the company of our friends and neighbors over a glass of wine and spontaneous gathering to watching the children catch fireflies, it’s these little moments of magic which define the simple splendor of summer.
While we don’t often hear the jingles of the ice cream man, the kids do love when my husband brings out the Snow Cone machine for nostalgic treat!
June was a month soaked in summertime bliss! While there was plenty of time to enjoy our friends and family, I also had the opportunity to share the secrets of modern etiquette with a lovely group of children and spent time working with young professionals set on strengthening their communication and interpersonal skills as they enter the workforce.
Teaching etiquette brings me so much joy, but it’s seeing these timeless tools foster confidence, community and connection that truly lights me up and continues to drive my passion for making modern etiquette approachable and accessible to everyone.
As you look toward the year ahead, remember that elegance is a state of mind; a simple and ingenious approach to a charmed life. If you desire it, you can create a life filled with beauty, elegance and connection. It simply requires a bit of intention, effort and a willingness to try something new.
Take time to plan out a few things just for you to enjoy next month. Maybe lunch at a new restaurant, meeting a friend for coffee, or trying a new hobby. Whatever it may be, an elegant life is yours to create!
What was the highlight of your month? Did you experience something new? I’d love to know!
Leave a comment and share your most joy-filled moment of June.
