Summer lovin'

Summer - and 100+ degree weather - has made it to Texas. Even though I no longer enjoy a three-month vacation during summer, I still love what the season means - summer reading, flip-flops with every outfit, and a feeling of being lighter, somehow. Hot, yes. Sweaty - most certainly. But undeniably lighter.

Real Simple has a piece about the Best Ways to Enjoy Summer. Here are some of my favs:

The Best Way to Wear a Sarong
Sam Saboura, style host of the Style Network’s Extreme Makeover, offers four ways to tie this versatile cover-up.
The halter. Fold the fabric into a triangle and place it beneath your shoulder blades. Crisscross the two ends over your bust and tie at the back of your neck.
The hip hugger. Fold the sarong into a triangle and wrap it around your midsection, high on the back and lower in front. Bring the two ends together to tie below your waist, creating a deep V in front.
The long skirt. Wear the sarong as a midcalf skirt, tying it on a diag-onal that slants down to one side of your hips.
The strapless dress. Wrap the cover-up around your torso and tie it into a strapless dress.

The Best Way to Fly Paper Airplanes (this takes me back to the days when my brother and I would make paper airplanes out of the bulletin during church services...)
If your origami aircraft tend to nose-dive, try these tips from aeronautical engineer Ken Blackburn, the world-record holder for keeping a single-sheet paper airplane in flight indoors (27.6 seconds).
Use copier paper. Paper should be strong enough to hold a shape and light enough to stay aloft. Avoid newsprint (too flimsy) and poster board (too heavy).
Choose a sound design. The ones you mastered as a kid still work (see above), or check out Blackburn’s ideas at http://www.paperplane.org/ .
Tweak the wings. “Take the back edge of the wings and bend them up between your fingertips a little bit,” says Blackburn. “This will hold up the nose.”
Throw evenly. Give the plane an easy and level throw and it will fly straight.

The Best Way to Skip Stones
The recent world record for stone skipping is 40 skips, but everyone has to begin somewhere.
Find smooth, flat stones. “The stone should fit in the space created between your pointer finger and thumb when making the A-OK sign,” says Jill Tipograph, director of the online summer-camp directory Everything Summer (http://www.everythingsummer.com/).
Pinch the stone between your thumb and middle finger and wrap your pointer around the top of the stone like a hook. Lift your arm up and back and toss the stone with a snapping motion.
“Aim to hit the water about 15 to 20 feet from the shoreline,” says Tipograph.
Toss the stone at a 20-degree angle for a greater chance of skipping multiple times.

Happy Summer!