One Golden Summer | July Moodboard, Seafood Cravings, Garden Plans & What I’m Loving

Life lately

Hi! Welcome back to my Monthly Edit — the corner of the internet where I share my latest favorites, what I’m craving, cooking, growing, dreaming about, and chasing.

June was delicious. I learned so much about myself. I’m figuring out not just what I want to do, but how much of it I can hold. What pace actually feels right.

☀️ July Mood board

One Golden Summer — that’s where my mind is this month.
Sun-kissed, saltwater-soaked, iced coffee in hand.
Beachy, breezy, and full of seafood.

I wish I were at the beach — but since I can’t go, I’m bringing the coast to my kitchen. My table has been filled with cold mains: shrimp cocktail, lime-cured fish, scallops, aguachile, and ceviche. All I want is more coconuts, more citrus, the sun on my shoulders, sand beneath my feet, and the sound of waves crashing as seagulls circle above.

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✨ What I’m Indulging In

June was fun but hectic, and lately I’ve been craving relief in every sense. These are the things I’ve reached for again and again — in the quiet corners of the month:

• Iced espresso with caramel — every day, like a ritual. A little luxury before the day sweats through itself.

• Cold seafood — coctel de camarón, aguachile, anything briny and chilled. Citrus and heat, tension and release.

• Palm trees and ocean daydreams — even if I’m not there, I’m there. In spirit, in playlists, in the salt that lingers on my tongue.

• Indie music with foggy edges — the kind that lets you feel free without speeding up.

• Sun-drenched textures — raffia hats, linen dresses, and vintage beach umbrellas.

• Stormy afternoons — I didn’t expect to fall in love with the rain, but I have. It’s like the sky exhales just when I need to.

• Slowness — in food, in movement, in breath. I’ve stopped chasing the spark. I’m letting it arrive when it wants to.

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🐾 Mornings with Prue

I’m still waking up early, and lately I’ve been taking Prue on 5AM walks. Yes — five in the morning. It sounds wild, but it’s the only time the sun isn’t aggressive. The streets are quiet. It’s still dark, but the moon is bright enough to cast shadows. It feels like a secret pocket of the day — and Prue loves it too.

She’s a doodle with thick hair, so I’ve been debating whether to shave her. It’s not as long as last year, but this Texas summer is hot. I just want her to enjoy the season. She’s happiest in the backyard chasing squirrels and lizards, and I’m over here worrying while she lives her best life. Classic.

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🎧My Morning Playlist:

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🦐 Seafood & Citrus Season 🍋‍🟩

Seafood is fueling my inspiration lately. Citrus — my forever muse — continues to be the most magical companion. Bright, zippy, endlessly versatile. I’m working on new recipes and menus centered around it all.

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🍽️ What’s Coming to the Table: 🔥Flame & Flesh 🍑

Next’s week menu is shaping up to be a salty, citrus-soaked dream. Think coastal summer, slow heat, and briny refreshment.

A summer table built on contrast — sweet against smoky, cool against heat, fruit kissed by fire.

Let me tell you… this week was not supposed to go like this.

I had plans. Other recipes. A whole different storyline in mind. But then came a 50-pound case of peaches — courtesy of my husband, who I very lovingly will not let near another online farm order form. “Just a few,” he said. Next thing I know, I’m elbows deep in peach preserves and thinking: Who is going to eat all this? Definitely not us. So I started dreaming — or maybe improvising — and this week’s menu was born.

Because it’s hot. The kind of heat that makes you want to be seaside, toes in the sand, listening to the waves, seagulls calling overhead. I wish I were there now. But since I can’t be, I’m doing the next best thing: cooking like I am.

This Week at the Table:

Tuesday you will get the starter, Wednesday you get the Main, & Thursday you get the Dessert.

Make sure you’re subscribed — I’ll be dropping the recipes all month 🌙

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🐟 Soft Obsession: Fishwife

My husband doesn’t eat seafood the way I do, so when I’m cooking just for me (or need something quick), I’ve been leaning hard into tinned fish — specifically Fishwife.

Their tins are next-level: chili oil, lemon garlic, herbed olive oil. They’re perfect for my writing days — fast, flavorful, no-fuss.
Top a cracker or toast with radish, red onion, herbs, and you’ve got a dreamy girl dinner.
A splash of chilled wine and it’s a whole moment.

Pro tip: save that flavored oil to cook with later. I made a Caesar dressing with the leftover mackerel oil that was to die for.

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🐙 Tiny Rant: Where’s the Good Octopus?

I love tinned octopus but can’t find a decent one locally. I struck gold at Central Market once — it was Spanish, silky, perfect — but of course I didn’t snap a picture of the tin. Now I keep scanning shelves hoping it returns.

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🍽️ What I’m Up To

Lately I’ve been building menus around fruit, season, or vibe (like coastal). We host almost every month, so I love having new variations ready to go.

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🐞 What I’m Building

A ladybug house for my garden. Thrips are an ongoing issue, and I’m trying to manage it without herbicides. Monarch butterflies, dragonflies, bumblebees, and hummingbirds — they’re all here, and I want them to stay.

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What I want to read next

The Fishwife Cookbook by Becca Millstein & Vilda Gonzalez — it’s the next one I’ve got my eye on.

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🌱 What’s Inspiring Me

My garden plans — I’m so excited. There’s so much I want to grow this season. I’ve started propagating lemongrass and I’m giving galangal another go.

I lost my last galangal during a freak freeze. I brought her in when the first frost warning came, even waited a week after… but a sudden cold front hit hard and she didn’t make it. I’d had her for three years. It devastated me — not just the loss, but the care that went into keeping her alive for that long.

Still, I’m trying again.

Our weather patterns are shifting in such unpredictable ways now. It’s a strange thing to mourn a plant and also feel inspired to begin again — but that’s where I am. Watching, adjusting, hoping. Digging into the soil anyway.

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Top June Post

These are the posts that readers were loving the most last month:

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🌿 Want more menus?
Browse the full Sun-Drenched Table Archive for seasonal dishes, cocktails, and weekly inspiration.

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About me:
I’m Lily Oli Hawthorne — a writer, cook, and gardener creating a life shaped by flavor, fragrance, and feeling. I share citrus-glazed recipes, seasonal rituals, and reflections from the kitchen, garden, and home. This space is still growing, just like me — and I’m so glad you’re here to see it unfold.

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