Summer feels like a time for youthful mindsets and adventuring. Summer reading, summer vacation, summer songs. If our lives are a collection of moments, the long days mean we have even more time to create authentic experiences. If you're looking for something new to try, these are some of my top picks:
SUP Yoga with Melanie Smith
Balance. Breath. Core strength. Stability. You'll work on all of these tenets of building a great body when you experience paddleboard yoga. SUP Yoga with Melanie Smith offers 75-minute yoga classes that take place on the water at Round Valley Reservoir in Lebanon, NJ. Don't shy away if you're a beginner, as you can rent a board for class (or bring your own and save money), learn basic paddling techniques and use an anchor for added support. More experienced SUP'ers are welcome, and so are private groups. If you'd like a healthy alternative to a bachelorette party or bridal shower, consider yoga in the middle of a lake. “The main thing with SUP Yoga is that it's highly empowering for people,” Smith says. “They look at it and think, ‘I can't do that,' and ten minutes in, they're doing it. The smiles on students' faceless are proud and priceless.”
Eat This Jams and Marmalades
Handmade in small batches in Bucks County, these jams and marmalades use fresh ingredients and unique flavor combinations to make something so tasty you will wonder how you lived without them for so long. I'm not kidding. You will scramble to find bread or crackers to use as vehicles to consume the marmalade. Perhaps you'll eat it right off a spoon, and who could blame you? Eat This products were even mentioned as some of Oprah's Favorite Things, solidifying their place in the small-batch hall of fame. You can find Eat This at farmers' markets and shops around the Lehigh Valley and Eastern Pennsylvania or you can order online.
Soft Serve Ice Cream at Vegan Treats
Voted one of the Top Bakeries in the World (really!), Bethlehem's internationally recognized Vegan Treats bakery needs no introductions. Just walk inside: it smells like sugar and chocolate, and feels like a cruelty-free Willy Wonka Factory, only with pink and zebra-print pattern accents. Your pupils will dilate and your eyes will widen as you try to take in the rows of impeccably decorated cakes and doughnuts. While you're deciding between a lemon cheesecake topped with edible gold leaf, or a whoopie pie the size of your face (pro tip: get both), don't miss the dairy-free soft serve ice cream. The ability to go somewhere and get vegan ice cream is its own pleasant novelty, but it's also just really tasty. Flavors range from beloved classics like chocolate and peanut butter twist, to cake batter and blueberry (made with fresh blueberries), coconut, green tea, pumpkin spice and more. Flavors change weekly and are announced on VT's social media pages, so you can excitedly anticipate your favorites and then plan your day around making sure you get some.
Inner Sanctum Float Center
Located in downtown Easton, Inner Sanctum takes the idea of relaxation to a level virtually impossible anywhere else. They offer a complete immersive experience, in which clients enter what is essentially a tented bath. Shut off from light and noise, the baths are full of water with 800 pounds of Epsom salts to 200 gallons of water, creating a buoyancy that is five times that of ocean water. Additionally, the water temperature is kept at 93.5 degrees, the average temperature of human skin, with the intent that the water not only holds you up but you don't even feel it. Clients report feeling entirely weightless and even entering a trance-like state.
Freebridge Design Co.
This new apparel and print shop with a focus on Easton, and more broadly, the Lehigh Valley as a whole, caught my attention this winter. Their artful tees of Easton neighborhoods are a comfortable way to support a small business and show city pride. Named after the Phillipsburg/Easton Free Bridge, they also print posters and are working with Homebase610 Skateshop in Bethlehem to create more custom designs. Items available online.
Knoebels Amusement Resort
While not actually located in the Lehigh Valley, Knoebels earns a mention. In less than two hours drive, you can get nostalgic as you wander passed roller coasters and partake in a pickle-on-a-stick for one dollar. Knoebels is a family-owned and operated amusement park with free parking and free admission, the ability to bring your own food into the park (only pay if you go on rides!), and dogs are allowed. While newer rides are bigger and faster, the ol' standbys remain. Cool off with the indoor Cosmotron ride (a personal favorite), take in one of many free shows or participate in the interactive children's theater and grab a brass ring on the family-friendly carousel. If you live in Eastern Pennsylvania, Knoebels is a must. You can spend an entire day here and not actually spend any money, though shelling out $1.50 for a train ride through the woods is more than worth it.
Free Concerts at the Levitt Pavilion
The Levitt Pavilion at SteelStacks is one of many Levitt Pavilions around the country, and part of a nonprofit that transforms unused public space to a community hub for concerts and events. It is the mission of the organization that all shows that fall under the “Levitt Pavilion” name are free and open to the public. Permanent seating is intentionally never built into the sites, encouraging community interaction through moveable folding chairs and picnic blankets. There are free live shows in this space three to four nights a week through the end of the summer.
levittsteelstacks.org/concerts
Bethlehem VegFest
Thousands of people, many traveling from other states, compassionately converge at Bethlehem's Southside greenway to celebrate Bethlehem VegFest. This free festival annually showcases award-winning chefs, authors and speakers, artisans and crafters, eco-friendly technology and animal sanctuaries. This vegan festival is dog- and family-friendly and has been dubbed one of the friendliest festivals in the Valley by attendees. You can find gluten-free raw cheesecakes made from avocados, pet a rescued baby pig, attend a talk about athlete training on a plant-based diet and end the day with an infamous chocolate peanut butter bomb cake from Vegan Treats. A unique addition to the long roster of festivals held in Bethlehem, come out on August 22 for cruelty-free fun.
downtownbethlehemassociation.com
Raw Avocado Lime Bars
(vegan. gluten-free. soy-free.)
I chose these no-bake bars for this month's recipe because they are perfect for sticky, humid summer days when you can't even think about turning on the oven. They can be made as little bites, as shown, or you can use any form of pan or mold to make one large pie or even small tarts. If you don't have a springform mold or pan, line the pan you use with parchment paper so, once frozen, the dish will pop out more easily for serving.
Crust
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut1/2 cup chopped almonds (raw and unsalted)About 15 dates (add a few more if the crust seems too powdery and not sticky)Zest of one limePinch of sea saltAvocado Filling2 avocadosJuice of three limes1/4 cup agave nectar1 Tablespoon coconut oil1 teaspoon vanilla extractaLime zest to top the bars
In a food processor, blend ingredients for crust. It should make a “crumble” that sticks together when you press into it. Press the crumble into the bottom of the pan and put it in the freezer. Blend the filling ingredients in a clean food processor. Pour it on top of the crust, and put it back into the freezer to harden. (Allow at least three hours to harden or, preferably, overnight.) Take out a few moments before you wish to serve, as sometimes this recipe can become too firm when frozen. Put any leftovers back into the freezer to harden.
@oooabby
@oooabbyName:
Abby Heissler
Location:
Easton
Camera Used:
iPhone 5 and Cannon 5D Mark II
Day Job:
Server at Porter's Pub, Easton
Passion Project:
Selling vintage clothes, printmaking, pattern design, interior decorating, prop styling, interior and tabletop photography. All of my bodies of work are so significantly different, they all individually [evoke] different feelings [from the] viewers. I hope my work comes off graphically appealing, compositionally appealing, and clean and neat. I put a lot of focus in to my techniques and post editing.
Where can we find your work?
Various art and craft shows, my website: abbyheissler.com and my Etsy shop: etsy.com/shop/oooabby
Where do you find inspiration?
I've always been inspired by Middle Eastern and Spanish textiles, which [you see in] my jewelry design and now my prints. I collect decorative frames, fabric scraps and wallpaper scraps. The pattern drawings are more about the design, and cleanliness and simplicity.
What's your favorite thing about the Lehigh Valley?
I love being surrounded by nature. Back in Illinois it wasn't so easy to escape. I've only lived here for a year, but I feel like the Lehigh Valley is thriving and always getting cooler. These little towns have so much potential! Living in Easton means I'm engulfed in a very tight-knit community where I meet all kinds of people who either inspire my creativity or want to nurture it. Being an artist here doesn't feel like being in a competition. It's very important for me to constantly be surrounded by people who are completely dedicated to creating. They help me grow as an artist.
