Five Things Thursday: Favorite Spring Activities

It’s that time of the week again, when I’m joining Diana and Tairalyn for the Five Things linkup and sharing five favorite activities I have or will be enjoying this spring. Want to join in? Check out my five things below, share yours and then head on over to The World Around Her or Little Miss Mama to add your link and join the fun!

1. Relaxing Neighborhood Walks

Coming off of an epic winter that felt like it would never end, I’ve especially been loving the warmer weather, blooming flowers and chirping birds letting us know that spring is finally here. In order to take advantage of the nicer weather before the dreaded summer humidity sets in, Stephen and I have been making time to go for walks around the neighborhood during the evenings and on weekends. With plenty of trails to choose from, our walks are simple, relaxing and a good way to ease back into exercising after months of winter laziness. We’ve loved seeing a lot of animals so far, too, including geese, beavers, ducks, turtles and frogs.

2. Local Wine Tasting

Trying out new wines and visiting local wineries are two of my favorite things any time of year, but especially during the spring, when the weather’s once again warm enough for a nice outdoor picnic and a chilled glass of refreshing Viognier. We’re hoping to hit up one of our faves, Fabbioli Cellars, very soon.

3. Lao New Year Festival

One fun highlight of our spring thus far was heading to last weekend’s Lao New Year Festival at a local temple. After wandering around and checking out the food options, we decided on papaya salad for me, chicken satay for Stephen, and pad Thai and Thai iced teas for us both, all of which we ate while listening to a local band perform. I was a little disappointed that no one seemed to be selling my all-time favorite dish, crispy rice salad, but we did manage to pick up a big batch of hot dried chilies to use in our cooking throughout the coming months.

4. Healthy Spring Cooking

After months of chowing down on pasta, soup and other wholesome comfort foods, it feels good to get back to making some lighter and healthier spring dishes, including sushi and stir fries. Trying new recipes has been a goal of ours recently, and next week, we’re planning to try replicating some of the meals we learned how to make during last month's Indian cooking classes.

5. Outdoor Patio Reading

Now that we’ve got our new Ikea patio set all ready to go, I’m looking forward to sitting outside during the day and in the evenings to read. I’m currently starting a new book by Paul Taylor called The Next America: Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown, which I’ll be sure to review here on the blog.

Have a great Thursday and a fun weekend, everyone! What are some of your favorite things to do during the spring?