Pre-Midsommar Festivities with My Colleagues

There’s something about the week before Midsommar that feels like a gentle exhale. Like the world is slowly leaning into the softness of long evenings, salty skin, and the promise of celebration.

This week, my colleagues and I decided to welcome that feeling a little early. The sun showed up, and with the breeze still carrying a touch of the coast, we gathered after work for our own version of a Midsommar celebration — just one week early.

It wasn’t the traditional kind of spread, but it was perfect in its own way. We all brought something we love — a mixed-up Midsommar bord filled with summer flavors and a little bit of everyone’s personality. There was a refreshing watermelon salad, pimientos grilled just right, dill sill, a cozy pasta salad, and fresh bread with homemade herbal butter that tasted like someone's garden.

We grilled salmon over the fire — smoky, tender, and everything summer should be. There were simple, beautiful things like tomatoes with mozzarella, and of course some wine to cheer it up.

The best surprise came at the end: My colleagues made homemade orange ice cream — made from the oranges grown on his very own tree. I still can't believe he's managed to grow such a big orange tree in our colder climate. It felt like a little piece of the Mediterranean found its way into our coastal evening.

There was laughter, stories, slow conversations, some had nothing to do with work, and that feeling you only get when people are fully present.

It was simple. Cozy. The kind of evening that doesn’t ask for more.

Here’s to these in-between moments — the not-quite-yet-Midsommars, the salty air, and work friendships that feel a little like family. I hope you find some time to celebrate the longest days of the year a little bit, too. Even if it’s small.

Waves of love, always.
Ines