Through simply enjoying the dog days of Summer through a recent trip (2/2) to Bethany Beach, Delaware, hosting some great friends, prepping for the upcoming Fall 2025 season, and *of course* savoring the Summer 2025 season, I have been striving to enjoy every minute I can these days. When this post goes live, I will have officially wrapped up my second getaway to Bethany Beach, Delaware for the Summer 2025 season. I will be updating my Bethany Beach, Delaware Travel Guide soon, too, to reflect all of the wonderful things that I did, places that I ate, and shops that I supported during my time there this Summer 2025. SO, stay tuned!!! In other news, I have been enjoying the Summer 2025 season close to home and at Bethany Beach, Delaware with my amazing best friends Alanna and Amanda. Nevertheless, blessed is an understatement!!
*Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of my links, then I will receive a small commission. This commission is at no extra cost to you. Additionally, this post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.*
What I’m Eyeing!
My favorite things this past June 2025 have had a bit of a theme: lobsters! I’ve LOVED the lobster sweatshirt, dress, and pajamas I purchased on a whim and have worn on REPEAT!! At the same time, I have been excited to get my brand-new Lilly Pulitzer planner for the new calendar year as well as reusing my Barrington Gifts tote that I bought as a graduation gift to myself upon graduating from college in 2021.
As a proud Dog Mama, I adore browsing some adorable finds fit for any Dog parent!
J Crew Factory is one of my *very* favorite clothing brands to shop and eye finds from! Not only is J Crew Factory an affordable clothing brand to shop, but it also offers ultra-cute and preppy pieces at a fraction of the price that a lot of other preppy fashion brands are sold at. I adore browsing and sometimes purchasing many of the new arrivals that J Crew Factory has to offer, including these from their latest Summer 2025 drop!
Over the years, I have adored United Monograms’ customized tees and sweatshirts. Truly, there is something for everybody at United Monograms, whether it be monogrammed or not! I found myself admiring some of their many pieces recently, despite not being a big t-shirt girl myself!!
In the Kitchen!
My newest segment of The Life of Katie! Posts – titled – In The Kitchen! – will feature the meals that I have recently cooked and enjoyed in the comfort of my own home. For context, I regularly cook for my Papa whom I live with and I. I curate a weekly menu and have been trying several new recipes (with some previously loved crowd pleasers in between!!) for us with Papa’s approval, and, away I go to our local Giant grocery store to get the groceries for the week! Recently, I went to Trader Joe’s and stocked up on some wine, my go-to white cheddar popcorn snack favorite, candles, body butter, and several seasonal grocery items for us to devour which we did these past few weeks. Now, let’s get cooking!!!
Trader Joe’s Corn + Burrata Ravioli with Roasted Baby Broccoli and Caprese
Surf & Turf Night: Steak & Old Bay shrimp with baked potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sautéed mushrooms with blue cheese, and Caprese
Trader Joe’s Lemon Butter Salmon (delicious and found in the frozen seafood section and sold by the filet!!) with jasmine rice and roasted multi-color carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower
Shrimp lemon + kale linguine with Caesar salad (plus some fresh lettuce from Papa’s garden at my Mom’s house!!)
Breakfast for dinner!!
Our newest Fourth of July tradition: ice cream sundaes!
The Life of Katie!
- The rest of Summer 2025 – Nevertheless, Summer 2025 has been an INCREDIBLE (!!!!!) season so far! I feel so so so lucky to have had a great Summer season so far, especially after a family emergency last Summer. So far this Summer, I have enjoyed 2 weekends away in Bethany Beach, Delaware, hosted 2 lovely friends each for a week, took weekly walks with my best friend Haley, enjoyed multiple outings with family and around the Washington, DC area, and several delicious home cooked dinners at home with Papa. Truly, I have been savoring all of the moments before the Summer 2025 season ends and things pick up and get busy in the Fall 2025 season. For the rest of Summer 2025, I have a weeklong trip to Italy and a long weekend trip to North Carolina on the docket – both of which I’m REALLY looking forward to! One of my most recent outings was a morning at the National Gallery of Art with my Uncle James — see more below!!
- Prep for Fall 2025 – Alongside enjoying the Summer 2025 season, I have also been prepping for the upcoming Fall 2025 season. Things will get busy after I get back from my weeklong trip to Italy at the end of August, so I want to be sure that I have systems in places and schedules already aligned to allow myself to rest post-trip but also jump into the back to school for adults excitement that is Fall. This Fall 2025 season, I am going to be attending church regularly on Sunday’s and weekly church dinner and Bible study on Wednesday’s with my Mom and Papa as well as becoming an active Daughters of the American Revolution member via attending monthly meetings and book clubs. I will also be making time to walk with my best friend Haley after work weekly – something that we started doing this Spring and have LOVED doing – and some workouts with my Mom potentially in the mornings. Through it all, regular dinners with Papa throughout the week WILL continue, as I’m digging into cookbooks from recent times and decades’ past to find recipes that we can enjoy. As for this platform, I have also been planning out some fun content to share with YOU this Fall 2025 and into the holidays, too. Nevertheless, I am excited for the upcoming season but also striving to savor Summer!
- Enjoying my rent – I have also been focusing on some super fun home projects this Summer 2025 and have gone thrifting wayyyy more than I’d like to admit – LOLLLL! On my Instagram (let’s be friends @_thepinkchickadee), I shared a recent reel (shop it here) of my apartment and am SOOOO excited to share many more soon, too!! I learned how to hang photos on a gallery wall recently – a special thanks to Papa (!!!!) on that one – and have finished hanging up the gallery wall by my bathroom (here). I have also purchased tons of fun new wine glasses from the thrift store that I’ve enjoyed using, alongside some home cooked meals via my brand-new series (up above) called In The Kitchen. Needless to say, stay tuned for more home projects to come!
- A week with one of my best friends! – My best friend Alanna came to visit for the past week and I LOVED every minute of it! Alanna flew up a day before we hit the road to go stay with my Dad and Step Mom for a long weekend in Bethany Beach, Delaware. While there, we went out for dinner and drinks for an evening in nearby Dewey Beach, Delaware and caught an incredibly beautiful sunset alongside the Indian River. We also enjoyed two outings to the beach, lots of delicious meals, and many good laughs and memories made. We also enjoyed a lovely stroll and brunch with Alanna’s Aunt in nearby and ultra-charming Lewes, Delaware aka “the first town in the first state”! Nevertheless, I will be updating my Bethany Beach, Delaware Travel Guide which I published recently with all that I did this summer while there. Til next year for another bestie beach getaway!!
XOXO – Katie <3
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