GARDEN PARTY
Botanical Beauties
Since opening a year ago, the bright and cheerful shop, From Stem to Fern in Clinton, is one of our favorite nature-inspired boutiques. We're filling our homes with their lovely and lively greens, and a perfectly potted plant (ready to give in a variety of vessels) makes a special host/ess offering. Find a thoughtful selection of original pieces by local makers, too.

WHAT'S COOKING?
Good Food, Delivered
Wynter's Whisk delivers (literally) on healthy meal delivery, providing nutritious, chef-prepared meals wherever you want them. Their take on takeout is a weekly-changing menu of hearty soups, vibrant salads (including my favorite veggie-packed version), and tasty main dishes to please the entire family. Wynter insists on top-quality and mostly organic ingredients and hand delivers from Branford to Lyme. Ask about small gatherings, from dinner parties to bridal showers, gourmet picnics, and children's culinary classes.

SKIN + TONIC
Self-Care Summer
Mama's Gardens is an olfactory delight in Essex! Find a vast array of natural, organic small-batch handcrafted skincare and bath products, plus fun in-store events like vision boarding, crystal and saging classes. For Father's Day, fill a basket with Mountain Man Salt & Sugar Scrub, After Work-Out Spray, and  Day at the Beach Soap. Mama's Gardens offers a unique array of metaphysical products, from crystals to pendulums, books & herbs, you'll find everything you need to enhance your spiritual side. Head straight here to fill your guest bathroom and gift closets.

CLOTHES ENCOUNTER
Pro Shop
Post Road Supply in Old Saybrook is a fresh entry to the slim pickings for menswear on the Shoreline. The range of Anchored American apparel, Duke Cannon products, Stanley canteens, and jars of Bear's Smokehouse BBQ sauce make this sporty shop a go-to for guys (and gals that buy for them). Plus, the red motorcycle is kind of a big deal. Who doesn't need a spill-proof cup holder for Father's Day? (Hello, boating season).

COOL BEANS
The Perfect Cup
We're well aware that roasted in-house sustainably-grown coffee is synonymous with Ashlawn Farm in Old Saybrook. Their cafe roasts and serves only the highest-grade, fair trade, organically-grown beans from farms on every coffee-growing continent in each aromatic cup. I ship my dad his favorite Ethiopian on the regular, and he'll be thrilled with a three-month subscription for Father's Day. Your dad/husband/anyone might, too.  Order online or visit the cafe and treat yourself to their irresistible egg, sausage, and cheese biscuit.

HARVEST TABLE
Seasonal Supper

Celebrate the sweet sunny season at River Tavern's outdoor dining space under the festive sailcloth tent in downtown Chester. As the OG of the farm-to-table movement on the Connecticut Shoreline, RT's summer menu is, as always, innovative, fresh, and sourced from local farmers and fishermen. New this year is fantastic barbecue (the pulled pork is killer), and RT's pizza offshoot, Otto, is offering up summery cocktails. See you there.