The last week has given me a true summer feeling. First: I lightened and cut my hair, and I suddenly feel like doing all the summer things wearing linen and color and joy. Second: the air took on its signature Mid-Atlantic summer weight, storms rolled through, and high noon hung heavy. I love it all. Honestly, I love the heat. I was born in it! Anyhow, the advancement in weather (and new hair!) made me want to sit in an air-conditioned basement watching classic summer movies, and I thought about this post from last summer and wanted to re-publish in preparation for the months ahead. There are some great additions and suggestions in the comments; please continue to add to the list!
We have recently been watching “family movies” together and I can’t wait to watch “Parent Trap” with my kids for the first time this month! (“Parent Trap” was the number one rec from Magpie readers answering my question: “What are your favorite family movies?”)
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During the summers of my childhood, my mother designated each night of the week with a different activity: Tuesdays were game nights, Thursdays were family walk nights, and so on. Fridays were for movies. We’d pile into my mother’s Land Cruiser and drive to the Blockbuster in Cleveland Park to squabble over the marquee selection. (We were there so frequently, she knew the cashiers by name.) I recall many viewings of “Little Giants,” “The Parent Trap,” and “Sandlot,” along with “E.T.” and “Grease.” We also tore through “I Love Lucy” episodes, and indulged one of my sister’s (curious?) obsession with the Three Stooges. She found the slapstick so hilarious, she’d melt off the sofa into a puddle of laughter on the sun room floor. Her joy was contagious. And so I came to have an abiding affection for Larry, Curly, and Moe, and their silver-gray hijinks on a Friday night.
My children are now approaching an age where Friday summer movie nights seem feasible. My children typically go to bed early — my son around 7:30, my daughter around 8 — and they need all of their sleep, or we pay for it in the morning, as we frenetically expedite them through pre-drop-off routines. (My husband tells me he dreads the mornings he must rouse them from sleep. Usually, they rise on their own around 6:30 — but mornings where we need to creep in and wake them are bound to be torture on all parties.) Their feistiness and recalcitrance swell in inverse proportion with the amount of sleep they’ve logged the night prior. But in the summer, camp starts later, or there’s no camp at all, and it’s not the end of the world if you’re late for camp anyhow. Mornings open up slowly, easily. And bedtimes are similarly forgiving. Longtime readers may remember that I experimented with “an 80s childhood summer” two summers ago — meaning, I sought out an unstructured, backyard sprinkler, popsicles dripping on the porch, dirt under the nails kind of experience for my children. We enrolled in minimal camps and traveled lightly. Let me speak plainly: it did not pan out. We were in each other’s hair all summer long, and I was not at my best as a mother. In retrospect, they were a bit young (3 and 5) for my ambitions. Last summer, I swung the pendulum too far in another direction: we had them in back to back weeklong camps. This proved to be a lot for my children, and I remember a distinct flagging feeling in late July/early August that I came to call “camp fatigue.” I had underestimated how draining it would be to figure out a different drop-offs, regulations, camp dynamics each week, and had not adequately thought about how taxing it might be for them to plop into a new setting, with new teachers, new rules, and new camp friends, each week. This year, we’re only doing two three-week-long camps and have nothing on the calendar for August–a source of mild to moderate midnight frisson, if I’m honest. But they are older, and it’s their summer, too. We all need time to do nothing at all — kids included. This map of the months ahead may better explain my mantra for the summer: go easy.
Anyhow – part of my “go easy” plan involves summer movies for the entire family, and part involves re-watching some of my favorite summer films after the children have gone to bed. Below, sharing a few of my top “big popcorn” picks for (adult / older kid) summer enjoyment:
“Jurassic Park”
“The Great Outdoors”
“Bull Durham”
“Jaws”
“Dirty Dancing”
“Back to the Future”
“Dances with Wolves”
“Parent Trap”
“Wyatt Earp”
“Mystic Pizza”
“A League of Their Own”
“Varsity Blues”
“Can’t Hardly Wait”
“Speed”
“Top Gun” (new and old!)
“The Princess Bride”
“Lost City” (a spoof of sorts, but I really enjoy this movie)
“Wet Hot American Summer”
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
What other movies feel like summer to you?
Post-Scripts.
+What were the first movies / books that made a deep impression on you as a child?
+Ladybird really did a doozy on me.
+Under the radar romantic comedies.
+Movies I could watch over and over again.
Shopping Break.
+Frank and Eileen released their iconic jersey popover in a fabulous stripe. These are SUCH a versatile piece. You can throw on as a top layer over a tee if it’s chilly; pair with jeans; tuck into white shorts; style with athleisure; layer over a sports bra on the way to yoga; etc!
+Rue de Verneuil’s collab with La Ligne is SO charming. The green!
+OMG these wicker string lights!
+New in at Julia Amory: pretty linen minis (love the “limonata” yellow) and a pareo in a fabulous chic brown print (I really love brown — so good paired with a bright blue or butter yellow suit).
+Speaking of suits: discovered that Free People has a huge run of sizes in several colorways of the Magpie favorite swimsuit, Follow Suit’s Flora.
+I’ve been looking for a good summer slipper. I had to put my Ugg platforms away because they make my feet too hot. I usually just wear my Rothy clogs around, but then I discovered these from Brunch and I LOVE the yellow color.
+Megan Stokes’ just did a collab with Mackenzie-Childs (famous for its kettles, ceramics, etc) and I love this pitcher, which I would use as a vase. These plates are also gorgeous — imagine piling up biscuits or scones or blueberry muffins on one for a big summer brunch.
+”Everybody reads romance novels” — I think I need this.
+The pattern on this dress is show-stopping.
+Spectacular statement earrings in the prettiest shade of blue. Under $100! Imagine with a pretty white sundress.
+Every time I drink my tea out of this mug, it sparks so much joy. The striped mugs also caught my eye for morning coffee — as did these hand-painted mini espresso cups.
+It’s the summer of sardines! They’re everywhere; have you noticed? Lean in with this phone case.
+Toteme t-lock bag in crochet…OMG.
+Guys, now I get why you said Bombas are a “regrettably worth it” item. I AM OBSESSED. The best running socks I’ve ever worn and in a cool shaft height too. They just hug the foot perfectly! No weird sagging/stretch/droop/etc.
+Away’s new kid luggage line is so charming! The colors are fab. Also love their new lunchboxes! I know the last thing we want to think about right now is packing lunch — ha. I cannot wait to have a break!
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