Coffee Talk

Friday, May 4, 2018


Good morning, friends! Today I am making a list (you surprised?) of family activities to fill our spring and summer. But more importantly, I’m making this list very budget-friendly too. With more house projects and vacations on the horizon, and the ever-growing need to save, this year I am working to meet one of my year-long goals of spending less. I have a good start to my list so far, but I’m really hoping to bulk it up! Here's what I've got so far:

  • Visit the farmer’s market (we do this almost weekly in the summer)


  • Picnic in the park or backyard or front porch
  • Go on nature scavenger hunts (there are some really great templates for these on pinterest)
  • Go to the drive-in movies (our favorite summer activity)
  • Visit the zoo (so much to see and do and our closest zoo is free!)
  • Use the Chemex more (coffee shop quality that I can make myself; my favorite Cameron’s blend for pour over coffee has been Velvet Moon lately)


  • Take family walks often
  • Grill out as much as possible
  • Visit the park often
  • Collect flowers and leaves to press (we have this one & this is one of Lola's favorite things to do)
  • Go for a bike ride or pull the kids in the wagon or their toy car
  • Use sidewalk chalk
  • Make a batch of cold brew on the weekends to last me all week long (I need to invest in a cute dispenser for the fridge to make this super convenient)


  • Plant vegetables and flowers and tend to them
  • Have water balloon fights
  • Color or paint (Lorelai is very into watercolors right now)
  • Go fishing
  • Go camping (even if it's just the backyard)
  • Build a bird feeder or bird house
  • Fly a kite
  • Visit the library (thankfully we have a really great library; tons of books, movies, magazines, even CDs)
  • Watch the sun go down on the front porch (my personal favorite)


  • Take advantage of local free events (museums, movies in the park, aquarium, nature hikes, outdoor concerts, festivals, etc.)
  • Blow bubbles
  • Visit the You Pick Strawberry farm
  • Road trip to the beach
  • Set up a dining table in the backyard and eat dinner under the string lights
  • Go swimming
  • Read



  • Backyard bonfires
  • Have a lemonade stand
  • Run through the sprinkler (we got the kids this blow-up pool for all summer long)
  • Build forts
  • Netflix binge on a rainy day
  • Rearrange furniture (not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love doing this; giving new life to a space just with things you have already and seeing it in a new way)



  • Go to the splash park
  • Make s’mores
  • Catch fireflies
  • Have a BBQ
  • Play catch
  • Wash the car (right now I have a monthly plan at a local car wash for unlimited washes, which I love for spring time, but I think I will cancel this soon and teach the kids to wash the car instead)
  • Bake treats



  • Visit the botanical garden
  • Set up an obstacle course
  • Attend The Home Depot workshop on Saturday mornings (Lola LOVED doing this last year)
  • Go thrifting (I love thrifting, but it definitely takes more time and patience than a quick online order; I’m trying to get back into this more though)
  • Play board games
  • Complete puzzles
  • Volunteer (local animal shelter, cleaning up parks, food bank, etc.)



  • Clean out and organize our home
  • Have slumber parties (we did this just last weekend, put Lola’s mattress on the floor in our bedroom and set up the pack and play for Everett.. they thought it was the coolest thing, so we plan to do this more often for a fun treat)
  • Craft projects
  • Visit Grandma & Grandpa’s farm
  • Go stargazing and look for constellations and shooting stars
  • Have a tea party
  • Ride the trolley
  • Tie dye shirts or blankets




I cannot wait to share all of these adventures with my crew this year. Please, please share any ideas you have that we can add to our list! Now, I’m off to go make myself one of these….




Happy May!

xx Chelsea

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Cameron’s Coffee. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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