There’s a Frog & Toad page that’s popped up on my Pinterest feed lately: Frog, sitting alone on a rock, saying to Toad: “I’m happy. I’m very happy. This morning when I woke up, I felt good because the sun was shining. I felt good because I was a frog. And I felt good because I had you as a friend. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to think how good everything is.”
For most of my twenties, I lived a life of relentless scope. Jumping from city to city, saying yes to everything, collecting experiences the way some people collect stamps – with enthusiasm and without really wondering if I really had room for them. It was exhilarating, and it was also, ultimately, exhausting.
Featured image of our interview with Jessie De Lowe by Michelle Nash.
30 Things to Do in June to Stay Energized This Summer
In June, I’m doing something different. I stay put. I’m enjoying the fruits of my labor (said labor: signing my first solo lease) and spending this summer transforming my space into the sanctuary I’ve always imagined: a humming sewing machine, crackling acrylic paints, a sweater on the needles that I may or may not finish before fall. I trade width for depth. And the more I share this with people, the more I hear: even.
Fuel prices are high, European summers seem a little out of reach and I think collectively we’re rediscovering what’s already there. Not as a consolation prize, but as an upgrade.
June this year feels less like a departure than an arrival.
So here are 30 ways you can lean into this. To picnic and create, slow down and notice. To feel, as Grenouille would say, that everything is fine.
Stay close to home
It’s the summer to stay put and discover everything that’s already there. June in your own city has more to offer than you think. You just have to leave the house with a small intention and without a particular agenda.
1. Go to the farmers market and let what you find shape your week. Instead of opting for a list, opt for an open cart. Strawberriessnow peas, fresh herbs: let the season decide the menu and you may discover a new ingredient or favorite recipe you wouldn’t have thought to look for.
2. Pack a picnic and head to your favorite park. Text three friends, assign dishes, and don’t overthink it. A blanket on the grass and food from your own kitchen is truly one of the best things summer has to offer.
3. Take a walk at sunrise or sunset this week. There’s something about the quality of light at either end of the day that makes even familiar streets seem worth paying attention to. Choose a direction you don’t usually take, leave your phone in your pocket for at least half of it, and see what you notice.
4. Take a walk around wildflowers. Download an app like iNaturalist or PictureThis so you can identify what you see. It turns a walk into something closer to wonder.
5. Explore a neighborhood, bookstore, or cafe you’ve never visited. The novelty doesn’t need to wear off. Sometimes the most interesting version of your city is a few blocks away from your usual radius: you just have to go there.
6. Create an outdoor corner at home. A chair, a throw, and a dedicated spot outside signal to your brain that this is a place to rest (no scrolling, no planning, no producing). Give it a week and see if it becomes your favorite time of day. Trust me, it will.
Create something
There’s nothing like the satisfaction of making something with your hands, something that didn’t exist before you sat down. The goal is not perfection – it never is. It’s just a reminder of how nice it is to do.
7. Pick up a creative hobby that you’ve been putting off. Knitting, sewing, painting, ceramics… everything on the “someday” list. One day is June. One day is now. A $4 thrift store canvas and some money invested in acrylic paint is all you need to get started.
8. Sew something wearable. A tote bag, a skirt, a simple dress. Start small, follow a beginner pattern, and wear what you’ve made. There is no better feeling. (Sew it yourself is my favorite book to start with! The patterns are indulgent and so much fun.)
9. Make something from scratch in the kitchen. This isn’t a recipe you’ve made a hundred times (although those recipes have their time and place). Here, we focus on something new: fresh pasta, homemade bread, or a sauce that lasts all afternoon. The process is the important point.
10. Start a creative journal. Not a journal or a to-do list. I’m talking about a place for clippings, sketches, color samples, and half-formed ideas. Skip the rules and abandon the audience. This is for you.
11. Make wildflower or farmer’s market bouquets at home. Arranging flowers is a creative act that takes 10 minutes and changes the entire ambiance of a room. Trader Joe’s Flowers absolutely counts too.
12. Try abstract painting. No skills required, no results expected. Put on a playlist, choose three colors you like and see what happens.
Gather around the table
Summer changes the way we eat together. Our meals are taken outside, the pace slows down and the welcome ceases to resemble a production (and more like a show). partly… yes!). This month, focus on the kind of gathering that’s less about impressing anyone and more about actually being together.
13. Plan an outdoor dinner on Friday evening. Just a few friends, a simple table and a menu that takes less than an hour to prepare. The long June evenings do most of the work for you.
14. Host a cookbook dinner club. Choose a book (think Camille’s favorite cookbooks), assign recipes and let everyone bring a dish. It’s the easiest way to try new foods and incorporate a great conversation starter.
15. Try a new non-alcoholic drink. Summer is peak season for exciting NA options: shrubs, botanical sodas, adaptogenic drinks. Mix up something new (I’m starting with these non-alcoholic spritz) and see if it becomes your must-have for the season.
16. Make a summer dessert board. Fresh fruit, something creamy, something crunchy and a little chocolate, of course. It comes together in 15 minutes and looks like you’ve been planning it for days.
17. Host a neighborhood potluck. Assign categories (main dishes, sides, desserts), keep it low-key, and let your community do the rest. The best gatherings are usually the least planned. (Evidence.)
18. Set a table worth lingering over. Linen napkins, something seasonal in a vase, candles even if it’s still light outside. Small details signal to everyone at the table: we’re not rushing. Here are the tips for setting the table to make this happen.
Take care of yourself
Depth rather than width applies here as well. We’re not overhauling your wellness routine or adding 10 new habits to your morning. This month, we’re paying closer attention to what your body and mind are actually asking for and letting you respond.
19. Start walking outside without your phone. Try it just once this week. The thoughts that surface when you don’t fill the silence are usually the ones worth living.
20. Update your skincare routine for the season. Lighter layers, more hydration, daily SPF. Summer skin is its own thing—here’s how to get the ultimate glow.
21. Book a massage or spa treatment, no occasion necessary. Rest is not a reward for productivity. Plan it like you would any other important thing.
22. Perform a one-week home reset. Focus on a small area each day: a drawer, a shelf, a corner of your closet. The cumulative effect is disproportionate to the effort. These decluttering tips are the perfect place to start.
23. Eliminate mental clutter. A 7 Day Mental Reset is the most effective way to create more clarity, focus and ease in your day – and summer is actually the perfect time to do it.
24. Create an evening relaxation practice. Some evenings, replace the Netflix binge with something that signals your body to downshift: stretch, read, tend to something (for me, that’s my little potted garden). Dim the lights 30 minutes before bed and see what changes.
Find the delight
This is the Frog and Toad section. The part of the list that doesn’t need to be productive, optimized, or justified (even though in reality, none of those things do). June has a kind of magic in the little things – and it’s all about noticing it.
25. Make your summer to-do list. Write it down, keep it somewhere you’ll actually see it, and let it be aspirational without being a to-do list. I know you know: there is a difference.
26. Create your summer playlist. One you’ll want to repeat between now and Labor Day. Start with a song that already feels like summer and let it lead you to a good place.
27. Visit a local gallery, pop-up, or art show. Put yourself in the path of something you didn’t create and didn’t expect. You never know what you’re going to connect with.
28. Get a summer page turner. The kind you read in two sittings because you can’t stop. Take it to the park, to the bath, to the garden. Wherever you do your best, disappear.
29. Go to the movies. When the heat gets to you, the theater is the perfect place to cool off and completely escape for two hours. I consider this an underrated summer luxury.
30. Do one thing this month just because it seems fun. Not because it’s good for you, not because it will make a good story, and not because someone else suggested it (even me!). Just because you want to. It’s always enough.
This article was last updated on June 1, 2026 to include new information.
The position 30 Simple Delights to Add to Your June Calendar appeared first on Camille Styles.
