4th of July

The 4th of July is truly one of my favorite holidays.  That and Thanksgiving.  This year we spent the 4th of July at my parents' house in Virginia.  With a lot of work, we prepped a nice little July 4th cookout for family members and neighbors, 25 of us in all.  I was running a fever all day and spent part of it in bed but I managed to hang through the entire party.  Thank goodness....   Here are some of my favorite details and moments:

I couldn't bear that my Snoopy 4th of July flag wouldn't be flown this year so, to remedy that, I brought it with me and hung it at my parents. I mean, honestly, who on Earth is more fabulous than Snoopy?

The neighbors' dog, Riley, crashed the party.  Smile.

Kids enjoying Pop Its in the driveway.

When it comes to the 4th of July, I'm all about a traditional menu.....burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, macaroni salad, baked beans, deviled eggs, chips & dip, brownies, cupcakes.  It won't be your most nutritious meal but it sure is good!  And, it never fails, the deviled eggs and brownies are always the foods that completely disappear!  Is that just a Southern thing?

My favorite part of all is that both of my 82-year-old grandmothers were at the party.  My grandma Nellie (above) is always willing to dress up and have a good time!  And my grandma Barbara (below) is indispensable when throwing a party.  I borrowed so many platters and dishes and chairs, etc from her.  She even called us early in the day to remind us to charge our camera batteries!  Trust me that having her two blocks away when you're planning an event is a godsend.

I hope all of you had a fun, safe, happy 4th of July!

PS ~ Any World Cup fans out there?  Did you watch the game on Tuesday?  Sophie & I dressed up in our finest USA gear and went to a local, family-friendly bar and watched the entire game.  We were there for four hours!  To say that we were crushed the US lost would be an understatement.  By the end of the game, Sophie was screaming at the TV along with everyone else.  My man, Tim Howard.....WOW.  He is a BEAST.  I remembered this post I wrote about him back in 2010.  I'd go crazy if he could play in one more World Cup!!! I remain his biggest fan!

4th of July Party

On Saturday night we enjoyed the company of my family and a whole bunch of our friends & neighbors at our annual 4th of July party! We had a blast and hope everyone else did too....

As usual, I had great intentions to take loads of pictures to capture all the work that was put into the party. As usual, I didn't. The only real shots I got were of the dessert table and that was only because my grandmother reminded me (thanks!). I am disappointed not to have taken more pictures but I wanted to at least share the few that I have.....

A close-up of the ribbon topiaries and paper chains I made.

A collage of the desserts. The only one missing is the deliciously delectable banana pudding that Alain made. I couldn't believe it but most of the desserts were finished. Thank goodness because I wouldn't want them hanging around the house!!! A big thank you to Leslie for bringing the grill brownie cupcakes (wish I had a closer shot of those because they were so cute!) and a big thank you to my grandmother for helping me with the fruit kabobs. You made a tough job a very fun one! I'd been wanting to make the flag cake for years and I'm so glad I finally did. It was a little stressful (because I had to get the lines perfect) but so worth it. I very much appreciate all the compliments on the cake ~ so happy everyone enjoyed it!

I did take a bunch of pictures of our guests taking turns dressing up for the "photo booth". However, I feel strongly about not posting pictures of people without their permission. I know that I despise when folks post my pictures without asking. So while I won't post those, I will say that the photo booth was possibly my favorite part of the party!!!

PS - Sending a big thank you and shout out to Alain and my parents for all their help with the party. If my Mom had not been entertaining Sophie, there is simply no way we could've pulled everything together on Saturday. She's a saint like that! Thank you, Mom.

A Sneak Peek....

Less than 24 hours to go. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.......

Happy Weekend, everyone, and Happy 4th of July!!!

All day I dream about.....

.....Party Planning!!!

Our July 4th Party is only two weeks away. Even though I've been thinking about it and planning it for months, I still feel nervous anticipation. So today, since it's at the front of my mind, I wanted to share an image I found months ago that served as the inspiration for this little soiree that we are having.

I love the clean, simple, country, rustic, Americana feel of this table setting. Amazing how this one little image can inspire an entire party.

(Since I discovered this image on one of my very early trips out into the blogosphere, I don't remember where I found it. I was thinking House Beautiful, via someone's blog, but now I can't find it anywhere. And there are a gazillion places to look. Sorry!)