The weekend, succinctly

It was the last weekend of summer. The hazy dog days have come, gone, and come again for one more lingering weekend. Today's temps skyrocketed into the 90s (according to weathermen, "the hottest day of the summer!") – for me, a pleasant finale to summer as I know it – because one mere weekend past, a crispness suddenly tinged the air, signaling the first hint of fall. (I won't lie, I went into a slight tizzy of excitement as I giddily began planning my fall ensemble – really fun stuff for this Florida girl!)

We lazed at Pratt Beach around Lake Michigan with a big group. Gold and red watermelon slices, three kinds of pasta salads, barbecued meats, a water balloon toss contest, a boom box, and a side braid in the hair with sun roof down relegated me to summers past in sunny, South Florida...

Other weekend happenings included a trek to the Polish market way out in the Montclare neighborhood, resulting in a cart overflowing with Polish goodies, including high-quality dried and smoked sausages, Pączkis (Polish donuts), seven jars of soups to keep us warm this fall, Nutella, and a variety of tasty prepared foods, most of which had cabbage in it............

A run to Einstein Bagels for Sunday breakfast because I was feeling nostalgic for home, when my mom used to pick up a dozen bagels every weekend...

{ Everything bagel with garlic and herb shmear }

And a self-imposed purging of our closets – because we missed spring cleaning this year and wanted to make it up to summer – uncovered this scrap of fabric from my childhood. I think my grandma made me a sundress from it, but it's FurFur's accessory now. I hear "bohemian chic" is very big this fall.