July may have had its bumps, but at least it's ending on a good note: I'm off on vacation to the Sunshine State. That means you have a few extra days to complete the July POP Project, as I won't be posting the roundup until after August 4. If you haven't yet sat down to think about what makes you happy, you absolutely should. I'll leave you with a few of the sure things on my list: bursting peonies, like the ones up there, really strong iced coffee, being seated at a big boisterous table with good food and beloved dining companions, polaroids, clean sheets, watching young children with their parents, napping in the sunshine, floating, sitting outside with a delicious beverage and a chatty friend, geraniums on windowsills, those random moments of connection with passing strangers, chopping vegetables, and when I'm in front of a computer this, this, and this. See you in August!

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Oh, my. I meant to drop in here earlier, but where is this month going?

To be totally honest, this month feels heavy with import and occasion. And July is supposed to be about lemonade and skinny dipping! But I have been thinking about big things, so encouraged by Rob Brezny and Michaele who pointed out the year is half-gone and what exactly have we got to show for it? So then there I was, holding the bag of goals, to-dos, and a truly ludicrous amount of laundry and feeling plagued by its weight. And so I have been reluctant to check in here, really needing the optimism we all rally around, but feeling perhaps too serious to just say, hi! I made another salad!

This is the month in which MFK Fisher was born, 100 years ago. Of course I took this as the first sign about this month, and probably the first admonition, too. Her life is a model of living mindfully with head, heart and senses, and her writing still makes me stop and drop the book to my lap. From The Gastronomical Me:

For Norah I would get a pitcher of milk and a pot of honey. I'd put them with the pat of sweet butter on the table, and a big square block of the plain kind of Dijon gingerbread that was called pavé de santé. There would be late grapes and pears in a big bowl.

Norah and I would sit by the open window, listening to the street sounds and playing Bach and Debussy and Josephine Baker on the tinny portable phonograph. The food was full of enchantment to my sister, after her gray meals in the convent, and she ate with slow voluptuous concentration of a dévouée.

And this is the month when my beau and I celebrate our first date. This year we drank wine in the ice cold air conditioning, talking and planning things, before heading out into the hot night to see what the fishmonger would put into our hands. He was young and energetic, with at least two or three recommended preparations for each fish in which we expressed even a passing interest. And once he, beaming really, handed over the fillets wrapped in stiff white paper, we walked through the brightly lit aisles of the grocery store planning the rest of our meal, picking up packages and bundles of green things and dropping them in our basket. Back in our small, stuffy kitchen, we stood side by side at the cutting board, he in charge of the zucchini and I in charge of the fish (wild sea bass, if you want to know). I think we would have made the fish guy proud.

This is also the month, most importantly, I've felt my family rally around each other in a way I haven't seen before, full of humor, good advice, good stories, and booming singing voices. There is a warm, resilient calm about us. We feel as tight as a sailing knot, and as strong and steady as an anchor.

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June's Pink of Perfection Project was to reach out to someone and thank them for being the best mom you could have dreamed of, a boss who taught you work could be fun, or a teacher who pushed hard enough so you could see just how much you were capable of.

EB of Spice Dish, one of the most dependable people I know in the blogosphere, wrote a really amazing letter to her mom who, incidentally, sounds like a total bad ass.

Leisure Girl (who's tagline is "Love your couch? I'm your girl"), wrote a missive to her dear Tivo. Thanking inanimate objects isn't exactly what I had I mind, but from what I know about Tivo, it's more like a friend who anticipates your every need, and who wouldn't be thankful for that?

Naomi (who doesn't have a blog) wrote that she has done this type of project twice before, each time met with an overwhelming positive response. Now a teacher, the fan letters she receives keep her going on those days when work seems too much to bear.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in June's project -- I have no doubt that you really made someone's day. And if there's anyone who participated in this month's project who I missed, let me know and I'll pop in a link to your blog. Now for this month's assignment:

Since summer is all about simple pleasures, I thought July's project could be a happiness list. Apologies if you're gagging on my twee-ness right now, but this is something I do regularly, project or no. Here's why: it's so helpful to have at hand a reminder of what means the world to you. For those of us who tend toward the melancholic, having a happiness list is a really helpful way to pull yourself out of a slump. If you're feeling a little blue, a quick look at the list will remind you that sitting in the sunshine makes you smile. So you slap on some spf and take five minutes off from whatever you were doing to let the sun shine on your face.

But you can also use the list to gauge how often you're letting into your life the things that thrill you most. Items on a happiness list can run from the quotidian (morning coffee), to something a little special (a bicycle ride by the beach), to a dream you want to keep your eye on (playing keyboards in a band). By stocking your happiness list with items as accessible as possible, though, you remind yourself that you have all the makings of a fine little life. You just have to go out there and make it happen.

Here's how to participate:

• E-mail me and say you're on board (remember to include a link to your blog!): sarah@pinkofperfection.com


• Complete the project.


• Write about the project on your website or blog by July 31.


• Send me the link to your blog post via the comments or email.

One more thing: Cat from the amazing craft community Cut Out + Keep named named me a Crafty Superstar, and I am unspeakably flattered. Check out the site if you don't know it, all the great user-submitted how-to's, and my featured profile here. Thank you again, Cat!

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