Summer Girl

Hello lovelies!
 Remember the days when we were kids?
Counting down the last days of school
 before summer break ...
and when those days of summer were finally here
they seemed to last forever?
I do!
If you were like me, you
you were outdoors each and every day
from morning till night,
wrapped up in a world of make-believe.
The days were filled with
musical ice cream trucks,
 running through sprinklers,
swinging as high as we could go,
long beach days
and picnics at the park ...


Even after the sun went down,
the fun didn't end.
There was always
catching fireflies,
 flashlight tag,
bonfires,
roasting marshmallows
and finally ...
 lying in bed listening to crickets.
For me, summers were heaven.

But childhood ends, we all grow up
and the playing comes to an end.
But ... does it really have to?
Who made that rule?
I think summer girls
 need absolutely no excuse for
playing as much as we wish in the summer!


Days of lying on the beach or by the pool until
our warm muscles feel totally relaxed
shouldn't be considered a luxury during summer ...
those days are necessities.


We all have busy lives and before we know it,
it is autumn again.
Let's vow to really enjoy the moments of summer this year!

If you follow me on Twitter and Instagram,
you've probably seen pics and heard me mention
that we just purchased a new home
and will be moving the end of June.
My new home is a lovely
 historical house on the water with a
wrap-around porch and side porch just begging for
barefoot summer swinging.
Sounds idyllic, but up to and after the work of moving,
there is a lot of work to do
to turn it into the bit of heaven it will definitely be.
Not-fun-things like removing wallpaper and painting,
pulling the weeds in the flower gardens
and many, many more not-so-glamorous jobs.

Even so,
carved out between those jobs,
I will be finding time for fresh squeezed lemonaide,
not feeling guilty for reading a book in the shade
and long days of swimming.

I am going to take time to feel the joy
of swinging as high as I can go ...

... to soak in the scent of fresh-cut grass
and earth all around me ...

I hope you are too!
Along with this summer enjoyment,
I'll also be working on creating a brand new site for
SANDY M ILLUSTRATION
 and a new blog design.
So happy that my career as an illustrator is zooming,
and the new sites will reflect that exciting growth.
So, because of the house, the new site designs,
creating new illustrations for the new sites
and just taking the time to enjoy summer,
I am going to take a semi-blogging break
starting next week and continuing over the summer months.
I will still be checking in every Monday during the summer,
sharing a photo or two and a paragraph of what
I've been up to ... and look forward to hearing
comments of what your summers are like.
I also will still be working on custom illustration projects
over the summer, so if you're interested in one,
just contact me here.

Then, sometime in the fall, I'll reveal the new sites!

Before I close, I recently received this Blogger award
from sweet LV at Food, Fashion & Flow!
Thank you LV!

With the award, I am required to tell
seven little random tidbits about myself, so here goes:

1. My eyes are very blue ... a gift from my mom and dad.
2. One of my favorite things about summer is fresh raspberries.
3. I collect lots of white dishes with black words or numbers.
4. I am making a small butler's pantry with little sink
 out of a closet off my new dining room.
5. I love interior design next to art and illustrating.
6. I'm a hopeless romantic ... and always will be.
7. I sleep in one of my cute tee-shirts most of the time.

What's everyone doing for Memorial Day?
I'll be out of town ... starting the summer off with a bang.
I'll drop by next Monday while I'm away to say hello, though ...
look forward to chatting with you again then!

Oh ...
by the way, for all of you Summer Girls ...
my watercolor of the beachy girl above
 will be placed on a notecard soon ...
for little summer notes you want to send!
You'll be able to purchase it right here
on the blog in a couple of weeks!

This blog is written by and all illustration by
the founder of Ooh La Frou Frou
Sandy M.

Illustration of Summer Girl above by illustrator Sandy M.
For custom illustration, contact Sandy here.
Photos on this post via Pinterest.