The past week has been a lot of fun over here. There have been beach trips, lots of pool time, sprinkler parties, gardening (aka stepping on things that I planted) and so. many. hot dogs. We've continued to share some photos on Facebook and Instagram from a (nearly completed) family room project we recently installed, make sure you catch those. And we're secretly (not anymore) binging on the Jersey Shore Family Vacation. Okay, "we" is really just "me" and me is Leah. It's always Leah writing these blog posts by the way...just in case you were wondering.

Below is the built-in from the family room. We just love the way it turned out. Modern, clean. Lots of room for plants.

1. If you follow along on Instagram, you may have noticed that we've been trying to step up our Instastory game. So, when I went strawberry picking with my minis last week, I shared my plan on what to do with all those teeny tiny strawberries. My plan, which is always my plan when it comes to baking, was finding a recipe from Joy The Baker. If you haven't yet discovered Joy, you're in for a treat. Literally and figuratively. She's witty and smart and a fantastic baker. I'm no pro baker, though I love to do it, and I find her recipes to be totally approachable, but a little extra special than the standards. Her books (this, this and this) are serious eye candy (and great kitchen decor!).

I went with the strawberry pie bars (Instastory pics below). Crazy delicious.

Gray Oak Studio Instastory Strawberry Picking

Gray Oak Studio Instatstory Strawberry Pie Bars

2. With summer officially starting, it's time to dive into your summer reading list. If you don't have a summer reading list, I'm here to help. I've been recommended two "beach reads" (aka low brow page turners): 1) When Life Gives You LuluLemons, the youthful cousin of The Devil Wears Prada, and 2) The Selection, a five part series which my friend described as "The Bachelor meets the Hunger Games". Pure gold. For slightly more high brow recommendations, I was sold on NPR's 2018 summer read list when hearing each book described over the radio. There are a couple detective thrillers and even a great book for the kiddos.

3. I made a quick trip to World Market this week, primarily for a client project, but of course I grabbed a few things for myself and I want to share my finds! First, I bought two packs of white buffet napkins (they come in sets of 6). Not an exciting purchase, but a versatile one. I recently got rid of all my white cloth napkins. They were super old and super stained and ready for napkin heaven. These fresh beauties will get great use for the holidays this year. But, also, white, linen napkins are fantastic dining room decor. Rolled up in a basket or tied up with some twine (like in image below), they're so pretty.

4. My second purchase from World Market was an outdoor accent table (below). If, like me, you stalled on making some outdoor furniture purchases back in May, there's good news - what's left in stock (and there's not a ton) is on serious sale.

Gray Oak Studio World Market accent table

5. Most of our Instagram feed is full of home design inspiration. No shock there. But we also sprinkle in some other fun accounts, one being Tada Style. Tara, the crazy talented makeup/hair styling guru behind Tada Style, presents some transformations of everyday peeps, gorgeous photo shoots, makeup and hair tips, and (our favorite) product recommendation. She recently recommended a makeup remover that I bought, I use and I'm obsessed with - S.W. Basics Makeup Remover. It removes everything, it moistures my skin, it has 3 real (aka non-chemical) ingredients.

We're a week away from the 4th of July. Slow down summer! Please.

Have a fantastic day!

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