With all this COVID craziness, I think we all have a greater appreciation for family time, hangouts with friends and the "great outdoors". Being separated from one another is hard. Being outdoors more, well, that comes a lot easier -- at least for me. 

A treasured photo of my family and I hiking. I'm the littlest one! 

I grew up outside. It was the '70s in a small town in Wyoming, where mothers shoved kids out the door with strict instructions to be back before dark -- and maybe a "watch your little sister!" call out to the eldest as we made our way to find our friends.  We might have returned for sandwiches at lunch time, or we might just have our PB&J's at our friend's house that go around. We all drank lukewarm water out of garden hoses and made up games to keep us all entertained and, hopefully, out of trouble. After my family moved to a more rural area, where neighborhood kids were nowhere to be found, my sisters and I  simply played with eachother outside as usual. My family hiked, fished, camped, snowmobiled, skied, horse backed and did basically, anything and everything a person could dream up, that involved the outdoors. And for some reason, almost all of our chores were outside too. I'm not sure if my childhood was this way because my father was a huge outdoorsman, big game guide, and builder by trade. I'm talking a real Man's Man through and through and the poor guy was stuck with five daughters and no sons. Yes, you read that write, five. And maybe the reason was just the times.  But whatever it was, being outside was where the majority of my youth was spent. 

And now, here we are in the middle of a global pandemic, in a world where suddenly, being outside seems to be the safest place for our families and loved ones. Our get togethers will look different this year from previous years. This summer's events will have a new twist, with consideration of health and the safety of our loved ones at the forefront. The "Great Outdoors" will have a huge role to play in doing so. And you know what? Despite how weird and scary things are, I'm excited about that aspect of it.  It has been the very thing that inspired our "Summer Series" here at the shop. It was curated  with you and your loved ones being together in mind. I love it and can't wait for every bit of this collection to reach you! I hope you enjoy it as much as we have while creating it. 

I wish you good health, full souls, cheeks lifted to the sun, hands full of flowers, and smiles galore.

XoXo

Cindy