SUN HATS BY ROBERTA FREYMANN

I can't believe it's finally Memorial Day weekend and the official launch of summer and all of its delights—lazy afternoons in the hammock, bike rides, ocean walks, shell collecting, ferry trips and farmer's markets. It's a great time for some extra sun hats around the house and I love these from Roberta Roller Rabbit — cool cotton canvas that are machine washable and easy to pack. Wishing you a wonderful holiday weekend and the beginning to a happy summer. ox

FASHION | HIPPIE BLISS

I grew up in a big family in the 1970s—sisters, lots of clothes, a shared VW bug, and even a linen closet turned make-up closet—which amazed all of our friends. Yes, we bartered to share our clothes, living in wrap-around skirts and Mexican blouses, blue jeans with Indian-print tees and bandannas. All these years later, we still go nuts for a good hippie store—the cheaper ones, not the resort-y stores that sell Geeta gauzy kurtas for $65. We love them for $15. That's why I was so excited about shopping at The Water Monkey in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It's one of the good ones. It smells like Indian-print cotton with a dash of scented oils and incense thrown-in. The prices are just where they should be. My sisters and I laugh as we pay $5 for our old favorite Guatemalan belts that we plan to tie around our worn-in straw hats. And just for a minute, we are back in our Connecticut bedrooms as 15 year-old girls again. Sweet.

TOAST WITH BODEN

I first heard about TOAST through fellow blogger katy elliott. It's a UK-based store with four shops in London and beyond. TOAST has everything from outdoor picnic goodies to clothing to bed & bath. I love their selection of hamman towels—I'm covering semi-upholstered chairs with the deep sky blue. Boden, a bit like the J. Crew of the UK has so many perfect pieces like the crinkle jersey shirts, tunics and more. Here's to summer with TOAST and Boden.