Why I Made a Summer Bucket List (And Why You Should Too)
Not a to-do list - a reminder to notice golden hour, beach hair, and that perfect plate of pasta
To celebrate Summer, I made a bucket list (you can scroll right to the bottom to see it).
Not for the sake of productivity (because that’s boring, and honestly Summer is not the time to be productive), but as a fun little ritual to welcome the best season of the year. A way to gather all the things I’ve been waiting months to do.
I also created it as a reminder to slow down and savor the moments while they’re happening - the kind we spend months longing for, but so often take for granted when they finally arrive.
As a way to pay attention to:
Tomatoes, red-ripened by the sun.
Dinners that turn into dance parties.
The feeling of picking basil you grew yourself.
That post-shower glow after a beach day, when you’re getting ready for golden hour drinks and don’t need much makeup because your skin’s already airbrushed by the sun.
We wait so long for Summer to come around, and then it’s over in the blink of an eye. This year, I want to take stock of the little things that make the season feel special, and to hopefully slow time down just a little while I’m in it. It also feels like a nod to nostalgia, to a younger me who used to write lists of what I wanted to achieve in the school holidays.
My Summer Bucket List is a mix of simple joys and slightly more dramatic dreams - from eating a Caprese salad (peep my recipe here) to eating pasta in Italy (flights are already booked, so that one’s basically guaranteed).
What’s on your Summer Bucket List? Let me know below!
I’ll be checking things off one by one - not just to say I did them, but to be in the moment and really feel it. Hopefully I’ll get through them all before Summer kicks the bucket and Fall shows up and ruins the vibes.
This post will be updated all season long as I live out this little list. I’ll share each time I check something off - what it felt like, what I made, how it tasted, or whether the moment totally flopped. Maybe you’ll see a scribbled drawing, or a recipe. Or (hopefully) a picture of me holding a giant heirloom tomato like it’s a trophy.
I’ve also made a few templates if you want to create your own Summer Bucket List.
Download it, print it out, and fill it in with your Summer goals. Even if a checkpoint is just “go for a nice walk with a friend” - that’s a win, and it deserves to be celebrated.
Download your Summer Bucket List template here
Bianca’s Summer 2025 Bucket List
I’ll be updating this all season long, so feel free to save this post and check back in to see what I’ve ticked off (and how it went).
◻️ Eat an heirloom tomato the size of my hand - Tomato Girl Summer can’t come soon enough.
◻️ Make a pasta salad I actually like - Yes, I’m ashamed to confess that I’ve never eaten a pasta salad I’ve enjoyed.
◻️ Keep an illustrated travel journal - I’m really excited for this one and already have my Moleskine at the ready.
◻️ Make an Aperol spritz tree - If you don’t know what this is, just you wait. You’ll want one too once you’ve seen my sprtiz tree in all its glory.
◻️ Drink a spritz at a festival - Hello, Primavera Festival!
◻️ Eat a plate of pasta in Italy - Flights booked! June can’t come soon enough.
◻️ Make a summery tiramisu - Still deciding what flavor I’m going to make. Limoncello? Strawberry? Aperol?? Time will tell.
◻️ Eat a panino by the beach - Sandwiches by the sea just taste better.
◻️ Host a dinner party - Should I make a How To Host A Summer Party guide like I did for Spring?
◻️ Have a picnic - I’m already dreaming up the menu.
◻️ Learn a new recipe - It won’t be hard to find inspiration while I’m in Italy.
◻️ Learn to make a new pasta shape - I’ve been dying to master ‘trofie’.
◻️ Have aperitivo at golden hour - This has ‘Summer’ written allll over it.
◻️ Wear an outfit that’s tomato red - Looking at you, Rent The Runway.
◻️ Find a song of the summer - No contenders just yet but I’m remaining hopeful.
◻️ Pick flowers - This should be easy to tick off!
◻️ Plant a herb garden - Watching my basil plants suffer a slow, painful death in the Winter still haunts me.
◻️ Go on a boat - Bonus points if I can jump into the water straight from the vessel.
◻️ Buy fresh ingredients at the farmers markets & cook with them - Already dreaming of zucchini blossoms and what I’m going to stuff them with.
◻️ Drink a sgroppino - If you don’t know what this wonderful drink is, get acquainted right now! I’m calling it: the ‘sgroppino’ will be the cocktail of the Summer.
◻️ Try a summer fruit or vegetable I’ve never had before - Romanesco broccoli has always caught my eye.
◻️ Gift someone something I’ve made - I’m thinking either my chillies in oil or some Cantucci.
◻️ Learn a new cocktail recipe - As much as I love drinking Negronis, I’ve actually never made one. Maybe now’s the time?
◻️ Eat a Caprese salad - My mouth is already watering.
◻️ Make pesto - “Call me crazy but I’ve never liked store-bought pesto”.
I am making mine today!