Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink in the wild air.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Welcome to Unconditionally Her, to summer, and to the month of June. It’s that laid-back time of year where vacays, the pool, the lake, the ocean, or any other body of water – heck, even the hosepipe and sprinkler if it’s hot enough – are popular, and flip-flops are in abundance. Dive in with us, it feels might fine!    We’re here to celebrate the beginning of summer with our readers and can’t wait to share plenty of exciting features. What’s your favorite summer “thing” that makes your summers special? Let us hear from you! We’re always looking for excellent feature topics and would love to hear from our readers. Summer is gonna be here for a while, so let’s hear it! Just contact us through our website at the link above or on our social media.

 

Speaking of flip-flops, what do you know about the origins of flip-flops? Would you believe me if I told you that it dates back thousands of years? If you look at ancient Egyptian murals and art, you’ll notice people wearing sandals with many being the thong-style we know today as “flip flops.”  It wasn’t just the Egyptians wearing this style, there were many cultures that did the same with shoes made from many varied materials including papyrus and palm leaves in Egypt, rawhide in Africa, wood in India, or rice and straw in Asia. After World War II, another version of this shoe became available in the United States, sold mostly in drugstores, which were modeled after the Japanese sandal called the zori. These shoes originated from factories in Japan during the 1950s when the rubber industry was booming, and really took off in the United States. If you ever wondered about flip flops and where they came from – and even if you didn’t – now you know and JUST in time for National Flip Flop Day on June 17th. Wow!

 

In addition to flip-flops, there is so much to be excited about this summer including Unconditionally Her and an all-star summer line-up .  Here’s to more delicious “Boat Bite” summer recipes, Men’s Health Week, inspiration, travel, and more. Fave contributor Cindy Small is back with a Father’s Day focused feature, we’ll recognize National Cancer Survivor Month in honor of our roots and celebrate cancer survivors throughout the world, and we’ll share our usual UNTOLD stories sure to bring inspiration to all.  Finally, we have two new contributors who will soon be introduced that are going to talk cooking AND repurposing, so stay tuned to learn more. We’ve got so much that you won’t want to miss!

 

Thank you, dear readers, for jumping into summer with Unconditionally Her. Put your flip-flops on, pour yourself a cool beverage, and dive in with us. Summer, here we come!