July at Urban Home Blog

Here are our plans for the summery month of July at Urban Home Blog:

• Attend neighborhood Fourth of July party. Musts include wine tasting, tennis tournament, and Santa Maria Tri-Tip.
• Make ice cream to take to Fourth of July party.
• Drive to Ventura to spend a day at the beach.
• Go on photo safari in Griffith Park culminating in visit to The Autry to view Art of the West and eat barbeque.
• Look forward to visit from best friend to show him the sights and sounds of Los Angeles. Musts: the Sunset Strip, Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood Boulevard, and a day in Boystown culminating in a drag show at Micky's or Hamburger Mary's.
• Inspect air conditioner, air purifier and water filters; clean or replace as warranted.
• Update household calendar with mid-year changes including doctor and dentist appointments, car maintenance, and work schedules and deadlines.
• Go through tax records to ensure that all files including receipts are current and correct at the mid-year mark.
• Check summer garden for signs of harvest, including tomatoes and peppers.
• Watch for stone fruit to appear at farmer's markets. Can peach jam and apricot butter.
• Celebrate birthdays of three dear friends: Carrie, Douglas and Amy.
• Watch for Hallmark's winter holiday preview.
• Spend a morning updating scrapbooks with memory pages from the first half of the year.
• Make bath salts.
• Spend hot day inside, watching surfer flicks and making Texas Red and peach pie for dinner.
• Take advantage of annual Criterion sale to update home film library. Musts: Easy Rider, In a Lonely Place, The Manchurian Candidate, and anything by Antonioni, Ophuls, or the French New Wave.
• Most important: continue to follow developments regarding the Orlando Mass Shooting. Be very active in demanding appropriate, definitive response from elected government. Continue to #SayTheirNames.

Reading List: The Secret Historian, Justin Spring; Under the Big Black Sun, John Doe and Tom DeSavia; The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine

July, 2015: Urban Bar: wet bar, cold drinks, bar equipment

July, 2013: Bath Salts, Salt Water Taffy, Outdoor Living, Picnic Food

July, 2012: Frozen Treats, Ice Cream Bar Party Invitation, Steak

July, 2011: Weeknight Dinner, Urban Bar, Dessert, Men's Health

July, 2010: Men's Health, Urban Bar, Appetizers and Party Foods, Los Angeles Travelogue

July, 2009: Weeknight Dinner, Conservation, Urban Bar, Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book