Reading: “Lady Catherine, The Earl, and The Real Downton Abbey” by the Countess of Carnarvon (hey, it’s summer!)

Art: “Homefront & Battlefield: Quilts & Context in the Civil War” at the New-York Historical Society

Drink: Chilled water with sprigs of mint and slices of cucumber

Eats & Treats: A peach-tomato-basil salad made with fresh, in-season ingredients

Video: New episodes of “Poirot” on PBS

Audio: For some reason, last week I got into a loop of listening to Duran Duran’s “Rio” over and over again. Don’t ask.

Garb: I’m wearing a pair of ugly-chic black Dansko sandals on a regular basis, and I actually got a professional pedicure so that my toes can be revealed.

Beauty Products: L’Occitane’s Verbena Frisson limted edition body products hit the spot.

Pleasure: Weeks and weeks of warm-and-sunny, not sweltering-and-humid, summer weather

Worry: Nightly anxiety dreams

Stray thought: Why didn’t I start using Instagram sooner? (Follow me here!)

Image: Frank X. Leyendecker, poster illustration submission for Century magazine Midsummer Number Contest, 1896. Private Collection. Via The Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies.