Summer has arrived and, for so many reasons, it truly is a season to remember this year. Hello and welcome to the Hearth and Soul Link Party! I hope this finds you and yours well, and that everyone who celebrated had a lovely Canada Day and/or 4th of July.
Blog posts about anything that feeds the soul are welcome here at The Hearth and Soul Link Party. Things that feed the soul may include (but are not limited to) recipes, decorating, crafts, family, home, DIY, organization, travel, book reviews, the arts and self improvement.
What Has Been Happening
We celebrated Canada Day with our son and his partner last week. It was so good to see them. ❤️ My husband designed our t-shirts and did all the decorations. As we live in the South of England, we were one of the only houses with decorations. We even had two big flags. I’m very proud of both our countries (I’m British as well as Canadian) and I was so touched by all my husband’s hard work. It really made the day part of a season to remember.
Some of the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, but we are all still being very careful, as the virus is a real threat. My husband and I always wear masks when we go out, except on our walks in the countryside. Hairdressers opened Saturday and we have an appointment on Tuesday (yay!). The camera was quite kind here, but I’ve got some serious roots going on!
The Latest
During lockdown, my husband and I found we were eating more meat again. We have been reducing our intake for some time now, but we somehow slipped back into our old habits. Last week I cooked a lot more vegetarian meals.
This Vegetable and Cashew Stir Fry has a really delicious homemade sauce. You can vary the ingredients depending on what you have on hand – a real boon these days when I’m being even more careful than ever not to waste food. The recipe has vegan and gluten free options too.
A couple of weeks ago I did another online speaking engagement, talking round the issue of how important it is to Be Kind To Yourself in Difficult Times. It got me thinking, so this week I updated a post I wrote a number of years ago on a subject that is very close to my heart.
In You Are Beautiful Just As You Are, I discuss how accepting you are beautiful right this minute, regardless of your circumstances, can transform how you look at yourself and the world, as well as supercharge your motivation. It’s life changing stuff.
Thank you all for sharing your content with Hearth and Soul. I’m so grateful for the community we have created together.
A Season To Remember Featured Posts
This week’s featured posts include (from top left, clockwise):-
This is definitely a season to remember for many reasons – not least of all the pandemic. If you need to make a mask, this 3-D Face Mask DIY pattern and tutorial from Hello Sewing will be a great help.
It’s also a season to remember for summer celebrations like 4th of July. These delicious Patriotic M&M’s Cookie Bars from Nancy C could be adapted for any country’s celebrations. I love the red, white and blue as it would work for England too – and Canadians could just leave out the blue M&Ms for Canada Day.
Cherryl from Born Again Farm Girl shared 10 Summer Activities For Teens to help make this most unusual of summers a season to remember.
And Jennifer of The Everyday Farmhouse offers step by step directions to help you make beautiful frugal Simple Shirred Sundresses so this can be a fashionable season to remember too.
On with the party!
The Hearth and Soul Link Party – A Season To Remember
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Take care and stay well. Despite the limitations we face, let’s make this summer a real season to remember – safely and at a social distance of course!
Comments & Reviews
Thanks so much for including the Patriotic M&Ms Cookie Bars in your features this week! 🙂
It’s a pleasure, Nancy! Thank you for your support of Hearth and Soul. 🙂
Happy 4th of July !
Naush
I hope you had a lovely 4th of July!
Thanks so much for hosting! I’m linking up today with SPARKLERS AND FIREWORKS, TWENTY QUESTIONS FOR JUNE 2020, and I invite you to my UNLIMITED MONTHLY LINK PARTY, open until July 26.
Thank you so much, Dee!
Hope you have a fantastic week and thanks so much for the awesome party!
Miz Helen
Thank you so much for your support of Hearth and Soul, Miz Helen 🙂 Hope your week is wonderful too!
That cashew stir fry does look delicious! Thanks for hosting! I brought by a super refreshing Ginger Beer perfect for a summer holiday. Hope you enjoy. 🙂
We love Ginger Beer, CJ. I look forward to your recipe!
April, thank you for sharing my shirred sundress tutorial! Also, the m&m cookie bars you shared look amazing!!
It’s a pleasure, Jennifer! Nancy’s m&m cookie bars really do look amazing!
Hi April
My post is different today as I learned this week a fellow blogger passed away. I knew her fro a long time and felt so sad. She made lots of “happy art” and brought joy to many. We all have to cherish life and the little things.
Pat
Oh Pat, that is so sad! I’m very sorry for your loss. It is wonderful the friendships we can develop through blogging, but it’s so very hard to lose a friend. Sending a virtual hug.
Thanks for hosting and hope you have a nice week April.
April, I’m so glad you were able to have that visit with your family. AND that you’re booked into the hairdresser before your roots become visible to all! We are being very careful, life is very different, but life is good! Thank you for hosting.
Thank you so much, Jean! I’m very excited! I hope you have a wonderful week!
How fun that you get to celebrate two countries! It’s good that you’re still being careful. Things are out of control where I am. Only tomorrow do we finally have a mask ordinance going into place, but I suspect many people will still rebel against it. It totally baffles me. 🙁 Stay safe!
I’m so sorry that things are so worrying where you are, Lisa. I really hope people will smarten up and wear their masks. It baffles me too, that people won’t do something so simple. Take care, and I hope things will soon be back under control where you are. Stay safe!
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you for visiting and sharing, Amy!
Thank you for hosting! This is what I featured the week of 6-27 to 7-3 on my blog. On Tuesday was Butterbeer Cupcakes. Wednesday saw Strawberry Rhubarb Cupcakes. Thursday was Banana Bread Cheesecake. And winding up this Week was my post, A Baker’s Tale. Enjoy!
Everything sounds delicious, Marilyn, especially the Strawberry Rhubarb Cupcakes! I look forward to reading your posts. Have a lovely week 🙂
I am glad you and yours are staying cautious. Here in Nevada, we locked down and flattened the curve. We began a partial reopening on May 9th. We remained flat for awhile, but in the last 10 days, there has been a huge uptick in cases. Masks have become mandatory in hopes we can avoid shutting down the economy. Nevada has a 25% unemployment rate. (There are many Americans envious of your social safety nets.)
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
I’m so sorry for what you are going through in Nevada, Michelle, and what so many are going through economically worldwide. We are very blessed with the social safety nets that have been put in place here. Personally, I’m so grateful my husband has been able to continue working from home throughout this challenging time. I am worried that parts of our society (like pubs) are reopening too fast. Hopefully my worries will prove unfounded. Please take care and stay safe.
April,
Love the shirts that your husband made to celebrate Canada Day ! We are still staying in despite things opening up!
Thank you, Judee! We are still mostly staying in as well to be honest. I’m getting my hair done today, and this is the furthest I’ve been from home since lockdown. It feels very strange being out and about like this! Take care.
How sweet of your husband to help you celebrate Canada Day! Today I’ve shared a couple of ice cream based desserts because we are really hot here in Arizona! Have a wonderful week!
I was so touched, Helen! We are getting warmer weather here too so I’ll look forward to your recipes. Hope your week is wonderful too!
Happy Canada Day to you. That is so very cool. Love the the T-Shirts. He should sell them. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
Thank you so much, Patrick! I hope you are having a wonderful week as well.
The you are beautiful post is lovely.
Thank you so much, Lauren!
I love your decorations! We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend.
Thank you, Joanne! I’m so glad you had a lovely time!
Thank you so much for hosting! This week I am sharing how to make a DIY outdoor shower curtain! Hope you had a great fourth and wishing you a great rest of your week!
Thank you for sharing, Kristin! We celebrated Canada Day (although I live in the UK) as we don’t do 4th of July here. We had a lovely time, I hope you enjoyed your 4th! Wishing you a wonderful weekend!