I’m on vacation in Jamaica but I’ve lined up friends and fellow bloggers to keep you in the know while I’m gone.

Check out the guest posts so far:
Alaina’s Story – My Path To Bliss
Win’s Story – Running with Ulcerative Colitis

Today’s guest post comes to us from my friend Meg. She’s put together a post highlighting six things that she’s excited about this summer. Enjoy this mix of Charlotte activities, recipes, movie reviews and more. Oh, and Meg doesn’t have a blog but is contemplating starting one. After you read this post I think you’ll be with me on encouraging her to blog. She is a phenomenal writer with a great tone!

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So, it hit me this week that it’s May. I mean, when did THAT happen.  Seriously.  Regardless, May means almost June and June means one for certain thing – summer.  Glorious. If you live here in Charlotte, you’re probably already talking or hearing talk as if it IS summer.  I stood in the grocery store line just the other day and eavesdropped chatter of sunburns, tans, and happenin’ pools here in the Queen City.

With that said, I stood there listening,  leafing through royal wedding pictures, and thinking about six things that light my Summer 2011 fire.  I’m sharing those six for summer with you.

The Light Factory’s City Block Project

The Light Factory, Charlotte’s contemporary museum of film and photography, brings back last year’s successful City Block Project, an opportunity for any and all Charlotte photographers to descend on a particular city block for 24 hours to document the people, the action, and the place.  This year’s City Block Project asks photographers to capture Uptown’s NASCAR Hall of Fame on May 20 – one week before the Coca-Cola 600.  What makes this a sweet opportunity? Any photographer can do it.

George’s Brasserie

(photo credit: wanda koch)

Four years ago when I moved to Charlotte, Southpark’s Piedmont Row was this little known place, if it existed at all.  Now it’s blown up to include several luxe restaurants including George’s Brasserie.  If you’re like me and my friend, Caroline, and you look for restaurants that serve as a throwback to France, and more specifically, Paris, you’ll love Georges.  Food-wise, it’s a place where you’d eat with the ‘rents in town, BUT it’s my favorite place for dessert and/or drinks on the patio this summer.  What other bar in the Queen City serves a Cucumber and Ginger Collins cocktail?  Love.

More Opportunities to Fusion

Laughing Buddha, a Southpark-based yoga studio here in Charlotte, added two new fusion classes to their summer schedule – Monday and Wednesday, 8am-9am. Holla.  What’s fusion?  Their signature hour-long class –  half yoga, half strength training.  And now – more times per week.

Bethenny Frankel’s Arugula Salad with Simple Dressing

Okay. I’m just going to say it. I have a girl crush on Bethenny Frankel. I read her books. I watch her show. And I make her Arugula Salad with Simple Dressing – I feel like a cornball saying it, but it really is the perfect summer salad.  I’m single and I live by myself, and I love recipes that are really low maintenance for me or for company.  This is me passing along a great thing from Bethenny Frankel, so you’ve got a go-to recipe for summer.

Simple Dressing

• Juice of 1 small lemon
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salad

• 6 cups arugula
• 1 ear raw corn kernels
• 1 avocado, cut in half, remove pit, score avocado and remove pieces with a spoon
• 2/3 cup pear tomatoes cut in half (or use cherry or grape tomatoes)
• salt and pepper to taste

“I Am”

Holy cow. In the true Oprah spirit, I say this movie is one of my new favorite things.  Several weeks ago, I watched filmmaker Tom Shadyac talk with Oprah about his journey to make his documentary, “I Am”.  I was glued to the television then.  I was glued to the screen again (the movie screen…) when I actually saw the film.  If you’re someone who finds herself/himself making life decisions from the head and not the heart and you’re ready to switch it up this summer, you have to see this movie.

“Oh, yeah, I made this.”

(photo credit: wanda koch)

This is my shout-out to Mimi Kennedy who introduced me to Jen and the Peanut Butter Runner blog. Mims also introduced me to the idea that I could dress up any outfit with a unique, one-of-kind piece of jewelry I created myself.

Here in Charlotte, that means a trip to the On A String Bead Shop on Providence Road.  Rest assured you’ll find places to create said jewelry in any city. What I love is that you don’t have to buy all the beads, shells, pearls, pieces, etc. – you can take a necklace you already own, take it apart, jazz it up, put it back together.  I transformed a couple of necklaces I’ve owned since elementary school into pieces I wear now at age 27.  Summer wedding jewelry? Check.  Thanks, Mims.

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Thanks to Meg for a fun guest post to get us in the mood for summer! What are you loving for summer 2011?