It's felt like we've been living in a dream all week with the heat and sun, and now we've woken up and are back to the same ol' cloudy, dim, rainy days again. It was magical, though, while it lasted. I think we've got at least another month or two until Summer is here to stay but these little pockets of summer have been keeping me going in the meantime. On Thursday it was over 80ºF and we took full advantage of it. Masa's sundeck opened and we cycled down during the evening to grab some Coronas with chips and salsa and enjoy the last bit of sun. We weren't ready for the day to end yet and it was still warm after the sun went down (warm nights might be one of my top 5 favorite things in the world), so we rode to Red Hot for another beer before calling it a night. It was much too hot during the day for this denim top, but I brought it with me when we rode to Masa because I knew it'd cool down after the sun set. It was the perfect layer to throw on as we biked home.
The hot weather has ignited a love of iced tea in me that never really existed before. Last summer I'd bought some raspberry iced tea bags with the plan of making it and never did. After organizing my tea stash a couple weeks ago I found it again and vowed to actually use it. I'm not a big water drinker, which is a problem because I'm probably perpetually dehydrated. Anything with flavor, though, and I'm all over it. I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of drinking juice at a normal pace. It's chugging or nothing with juice. When I'm dehydrated while sleeping I have dreams about juice. Seriously. I've been loving this iced tea business though. Still tasty and flavorful, and it's damn refreshing on an 80º day. I think 2014 will be the summer of iced teas. Do you guys have any favorite iced teas?
Yesterday I joined a group of lady bikers (not the harley kind) named VeloFemmes on a super fun group ride and event! VeloFemmes is a new women's bike group focused on getting more ladies on bikes and creating a great community of female bikers in the Tacoma area. Unfortunately Tacoma decided to be ultra-Tacoma and it rained on us pretty much the entire time, but hey, it just shows how dedicated these ladies are! The event started off at Tollefson Plaza with great booths, and music from Barleywine Revue (check them out, they're awesome!) 2nd Cycle, a super awesome bike shop focusing on helping people learn how to fix their own bikes and cultivating a shop full of used parts which help bicyclists fix their bikes on a budget, was one of the booths. 2nd Cycle runs events specifically targeted at non-male bicyclists to teach basics about bike upkeep and care. It's a pretty sweet organization. There was also a fun booth where you could get a helmet-friendly hair style. I showed up with my helmet-friendly hairstyle (fishtail sidebraid FTW!), so I didn't use their talents, but they had lots of pictures of fun ideas for cute hairstyles that are also helmet friendly, which was inspiring. I think it'd be fun, now that my hair is long enough, to do a helmet-friendly hairstyle tutorial series here on the blog, eh? Especially since it's bike season, woo!
After the initial event in Tollefson Plaza we all gathered our bikes and took the scenic route to the Harmon Tap Room for some beer, food, and raffle prizes! I was in serious need of beer and food. I proceeded to order pizza. And the Lord sayeth, It was GOOD. Seriously. After riding miles in the rain, a gulp of cold brew and a bite of hot pizza brought me back to life. The ride wasn't difficult, mind you, but it was rather chilly compared to the weather we've been having recently, so warm food in the belly was much appreciated. Oh! And I won something in the raffle! Well, everyone did, because there were enough prizes for everyone, but I got a Seal Line bag! So perfect for riding in Tacoma, especially in winter since they're waterproof. I like carrying my small bag, or my computer/camera bag when going to the coffee shop regularly, but in the winter it's nice to know your stuff isn't going to get soaked. Dan has a nice, waterproof Timbuk2 bag, and now I have one too!
It was really awesome to have a group of biking ladies from all walks of life there. There were a couple bike-in-dresses types (hey-yo), regular commuters, younger people, older people, and some people who simply looked like they walked out of an REI ad. But it's cool to know that we're all women who bike, supporting one another. It doesn't matter if you wear clip in shoes or heels, spandex or tights. I've long wanted to organize some bike events with ladies in the Tacoma area, but have never felt like I had the infrastructure or a way to reach those biker chicks, and now with VeloFemmes I do! Hopefully we get to do a few more events before the summer ends and we're back to daily rain-biking.
Sometimes I like putting together an outfit, even if I take it off shortly after taking photos of it. It's usually because, while I really love the pieces paired together, I don't feel like wearing that particular outfit at the moment. But, since I have it on, it seems logical to photograph it before taking it off so I don't have to do so later when I maybe will wear the outfit all day. It was just ever so slightly too cold to wear these shorts yesterday, but I loved this outfit, so I snapped some photos before changing into something more practical for the day's temperature. It ended up warming up later in the day, so I could've kept wearing this outfit, but oh well! In the past I haven't been a short shorts person, but lately I've been loving them. These shorts are so stretchy and comfortable, they're easy to love. And they're high-waisted. And have pockets. They kind of remind me of those vintage black and white photos of fabulous ladies on the beach.
Today ended up being one of those overwhelmingly stressful days unexpectedly (don't you love when random phone calls do that?) and I've got that cry-hangover feeling, so I'm going to meet a friend for coffee and hope that helps a bit with the recovery. It's sunny and beautiful, so I think I'm going to bike there. Biking always seems to lift the spirits. Something about getting my blood pumping and feeling the fresh air finger its way through my hair as I pedal along.
Since having a working bike again I've been enjoying getting out to coffee shops to work instead of staying at home. We live far enough away from our favorite shops that walking would take too long and driving just seems excessive. Plus, with all the nice weather lately taking a ride through the breeze with the sun on my skin feels so great. It's supposed to be in the 80's this weekend and I'm dreaming about basking in the sun in a bikini with a cool drink in hand. Last year we had a weekend of 80 degree weather in May, but I had flown up to Anchorage to attend my little brother's high school graduation, so I missed it! We didn't have nice weather in Tacoma again until July. People always say summers in the PNW are unbeatable, and I'm inclined to agree.
These shoes are my absolute favorite summer shoes. I got them back in 2010 and wear them to death every summer. They started getting a bit frayed last summer so when I pulled them out yesterday I had to superglue them back together. Hopefully with a bit of repair they'll last through this summer! I love wedges for summer because they're easy to wear while pedaling a bike. I even decided to paint my toenails to match the shoes. I don't paint my fingernails anymore because they get ruined in a matter of days or hours due to rock climbing. Plus, I have to keep them short to climb, so they look like little boy fingernails anyway, not really worthy of taking the time to paint. Maybe someday if we stop climbing I'll grow them out and have pretty nails again, but for now my third-grade-boy-nails prevail.
Oh, and before I forget, I'm participating in Vanity Fair's Best Dressed Challenge, so if you feel inclined to check it out and vote (or participate as well!), click here!
Oh baby. We hit 70 degrees yesterday! And today it's supposed to be 72! Tights-free, at last. I finally got my new bike all fixed up and I'm so excited to start riding. It's the perfect shade of daffodil yellow. It's a lot heavier than my simple fixie, but it's kind of nice having a step-though frame, especially when riding in skirts and dresses. No more finagling my leg over that top tube. I'm glad the weather is warming up so I can break out my crop tops. I had a mid-winter obsession with crop-tops, which was rather untimely, climate-wise. Thankfully I'm still loving them and it's now an appropriate time of year to actually start wearing them.
