Summer. It’s the time of year when the sun is blazing, beaches are buzzing and sea breezes are blowing. Summer. It’s the time of year when skin is tanned, hair is bleached and the smell of sunscreen is just as prevalent as the smell of the backyard barbeque. Summer. It’s the time of year when kids are playing, picnics are happening and our tvs are inundated with seasonal sports. Summer. It’s the time of year when thongs are worn, pavlovas  are eaten and hammocks are laid in. Summer. The perfect time of year. It’s that time when we feel the happiest, the most energetic and the most inspired. Summer, sun and all things beach are the three ingredients I crave year-long. Here’s a list of the things that make for a perfect Aussie Summer.

1. Wearing thongs or being barefoot.
And for any international readers, yes I am referring to the kind worn on your feet, you may call these jandles or flip-flops. I love that in summer you can get by for months without wearing proper shoes. Thongs are the perfect and comfortable footwear attire for hot summer days. I also love the therapeutic feel of soft sanding moulding between your toes as you walk along the beach. Cliché but true, bare feet can only be associated with the summertime.

2. Warm Weather
It’s the time of year we crave year-long. It’s the first thing that we remember during the winter time when we reflect on our last summer. It’s the one thing that makes summer summer. Sunshine, electric blue cloudless skies, intense humidity. Summer time is warm weather.

3. Beautiful Beach Days
I love spending hours on end, day after day, soaking up the sun’s rays by swimming at the beach, baking on the sand, paddleboarding or surfing in the spontaneous wind swells. I can’t help myself. The beach is my happy place. Even when I travel, there is just something totally refreshing and grounding about being back in sight of the ocean. It’s a central part of my being. After all, I am a pieces.

4. Summer Sea Breezes
Sea breezes; another coastal reminder of summer’s presence. I love the salty sea mist that covers the entire air of a beach. It some how has the ability to drift up to our cars parked in the parking lots nearby and manages to engulf the windows of neighbouring houses. No matter what some may think, salty air is completely refreshing. A sea breeze is true reminder that summer is in the air.

5. Seasonal Fruit
Mangos, pineapples, watermelon, strawberries, kiwi fruit the list goes one. Summer time is the pick of the fruit season. Eaten raw, in delicious smoothies or deserts, on fruit skewers, as ice blocks or as homemade frozen yoghurt, summer fruits are versatile, healthy snacks.

6. Flowers Bloom
Being surrounded by the bright happy colours flourishing from pretty garden beds or pot plants is sure to make you feel instantly happy. Flowers are in full bloom during the summer time so absorb their happy colourful vibes.

7. Flight Deals
The end of the year is the perfect time to score cheap plane tickets. Whether it’s a pre-season early bird purchase, low season deal or through a Christmas sale, make the most of scoring cheap tickets and your wallet will love you. This way you can put more money into your holiday spending money.

8. Turkish Towels
Summertime is the only time of year to pull out your gorgeous Turkish towel and lay on the beach. They are extremely light weight, which makes them far more convenient to take to the beach on hot summer days than the original towel. Turkish towels make fabulous sarongs, shade covers and can also be used to wrap up your beach belongings. This season it’s all about bright colours and geometric patterns. Trust me, I sent an assortment of Turkish towels home from the legendary Grand Bazar of Istanbul, earlier this year.

9. Summer Sports
I am a sports fanatic. I love most sports and thoroughly enjoy the summer sports like tennis, that seem to inundate our tv screens all summer long.

10. Bikinis
I think any girl could back me up on this one. This is probably every girl’s most favourite thing about summer. If I could only have one thing on this list, I would almost certainly choose a bikini. Summertime is the time of year I live in my bikini. Not just at the beach but also at home. I love the exhilarated feeling you get when you purchase your first bikini right at the beginning of the summer season. You know right then that being stuck indoors during the winter time, craving nothing but sunshine, was all the more worth it.

11. Barbeques
It truly wouldn’t be summertime in Australia if it weren’t for the Aussie barbie (barbeque). Dining in the outdoors, eating delicious tucker (food) including an assortment of marinated meats and ingesting the trusty snag (sausage), along with a few bevies (beverages) in hand and great company, this makes a fond summertime memory for many Aussies and their families.

 12. Spending time with friends
Summer wouldn’t be summer without friends to share this magical time of year with. Whether its beaching it, barbequing, camping, exercising or socialising, having friends to do our daily activities with makes summer time all the more memorable.

13. Holidays
When I think of summer I automatically think of holidays. It’s the most popular time of year for people to take holidays, myself included.

14. Christmas.
Christmas. Enough said. Such a special time of year to spend celebrating with family and friends.

15. Camping
Summer time is the perfect time of year for a relaxing camping holiday. There’s less chance of getting rained out, you can stay up late at night without getting frostbite, not to mention the perfect weather for a outdoor activities.

16. Hammocks
Laying back, swinging endlessly, as if floating in the sea breeze is the definition of relaxing. This is exactly what summer days are all about. The perfect time to recline back into a hammock is in the afternoon, after a big session at the beach, when you feel as though the sun has zapped all of your energy. It really is the ultimate chill out.

17. Pools
Summer time is the time of year that pools come alive. It makes all the hard work of keeping them clean throughout the winter time absolutely worth every bit of effort. There’s nothing better than coming home from a long days work and indulging in temperate refreshing waters within your own home. It’s certainly summertime.