Tuesday Treats #19 {Fourth of July Entertaining}

You all are seriously the best! Thank you so much for all of your kind words on yesterday's post. I love being able to share new artists with you, but also feel comfortable sharing bits of my home as well.

Those of you who live in the U.S....are you all ready for a long weekend? I am excited to spend some serious time with friends and family over our long weekend. We have wonderful friends coming in from out of town as well as a whole Saturday planned with family. I love entertaining, but to be honest I am glad I am the guest this year. So even though I am not entertaining, I have found some fabulous ideas for all of you that are!


#1: Napkin Banner
I really love this quick and easy banner made by my friend Courtney. Grab some red, white & blue napkins and give it a go! It would make any party festive.

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#2: Fruit Ice Cubes

I have a bit of an obsession when it comes to making flavored water during the summer months. Many of you probably saw my strawberry and basil water on Instagram yesterday. That is just the start people! How cute would these ice cubes look at your 4th of July party? You could use these in Water, Sangria, Lemonade or punch. Someone please use this idea so I can live vicariously through you! 

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#3: Pledge Allegiance Free Printable

This subway art is just adorable and a perfect printable for your home. You literally just download and print! It would add a little color to your bar cart, kitchen or outdoor space. Too cute. Download HERE.

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#4: Red, White & Blueberries Platter

So fun and easy to recreate. I have also seen this platter with cheese cubes instead of yogurt covered pretzels. Both sound fabulous to me!

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#5: Flag Mason Jar Centerpiece

These would make an adorable centerpiece with flowers or a place to put utensils. I am sure most of us have some kind of jars or vases lying around the house.

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So that's my quick round up of patriotic entertaining ideas! Are you entertaining this weekend? What's on the menu?...I might just pop on over! :)

Tuesday Treats #13 {Inspiration from around the web}

I'm back {a little later than I thought} today to bring you some treats and inspiration from around the web.
Hope you enjoy what has been inspiring me this week!

1. Jessica Simpson's Beverly Hills Home
Not sure how I came across this beauty, but take a look at this back yard! (drooling) You can see her whole house tour Here. It is designed by Rachel Ashwell with Shabby Chic Couture. I can appreciate so many designs & styles even if they don't fit into my own style. What about you? Are you a Shabby Chic lover?

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2. Mother's Day Gift Round Up

Twelve bloggers decided to create a list of their favorite things Mother's Day style. There are so many amazing ideas for mom's that love being in the kitchen, mother's who are fashion divas, like to decorate and/or pamper themselves. Click HERE to see the full list. You can click on any item on the link and it will take you directly to the source. Only a week and a half till Mother's Day all!! 

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3. An Herb Garden on a budget

You all know that I like to make things look pretty, but I do have a budget that I need to stick to. My friend Luci that writes the blog Current Tempo made her sweet little herb garden out of recycled jars from around her home. If you don't already follow her, you will want to. Her eye for photography is amazing and she is such an inspiring writer.

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4. Polk A Dot Cake

How adorable is this cake? My girl Cassie recently made it for her daughter's birthday. She is one talented and dedicated mama!...and she makes it look so easy. Yum!!

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5. Roughside Up Reclaimed Wood Signs

My sister-in law has been creating reclaimed wood signs for quite a while now. Her and my brother bought some tobacco barns in the country and have been tearing down the walls and floors. My brother has used the wood to frame out mirrors and my sister-in law uses the wood for signs and reclaimed wood hooks. It is a fun little side business and she is doing quite well. If you want to follow along you can click on her Facebook Page. You can also contact her through FB if you have a specific custom sign you want made. Remember the hooks in my closet? She also made it and I love the organization it brings to my space.

Alright my friends! I am off to complete a fun project that I have been working on. Can't wait to share with you all on Thursday. ALSO... Come on back tomorrow to see the reveal of Flip House #5!! 

A Valentine's Tea

I decided to host a sweet Valentine's Tea for all of my fabulous friends over the weekend. I wanted to have time to sit, chat and pamper my friends as a way of saying "I love you." Life gets so busy and we never seem to be able to have girl time without kiddos running around or husbands interrupting our schedules. Do you ever feel like this? I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and I am glad I was able to spend some time with these beautiful women.

There were ten of us altogether... a perfect number for a tea. Since I only had 8 place settings of my china, I had to borrow a few pieces from my mom. It worked out wonderfully and you would have never noticed that certain pieces didn't belong with my set.

It was so fun to be able to use my grandmother's china and silverware that has been passed down to me. My grandmother was a classy lady and I can only hope she was smiling down on our fun girly tea seeing all of her pieces being used. 

These pink napkins were actually part of the centerpieces at our wedding. My mother-in law monogrammed them for us. We have a totally of 22 and I have been wondering what to do with light pink monogrammed napkins over the past 9 years. They worked into the color scheme perfectly!

Ready for picture overload?? Enjoy!!

I really had a lot of fun putting the whole event together.
The Details:  I made the chicken salad sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, strawberry basil, honey & brie crostini and heart sugar cookies. I borrowed some jelly canning jars from my mom and layered some granola, vanilla yogurt & berries to create a fruit parfait. I also went to our local bakery to pick up the macaroons. The small desserts were from Trader Joe's and my mother made her famous heart bread topped with honey butter & strawberries. For tea we had Earl of White and Earl of Grey. Both were delicious! Making all of the tissue paper flowers was the part of the preparation that took the longest.  I made a few each night while watching television. Even though they were tedious, I am so glad I took the time to make them because I think they made the most impact in the room!

I really love hosting parties and since it was such a hit, I think it is going to be an annual tradition! Anyone else want to join us next year?

Throughout your busy week, try to focus on how you can make others feel loved! Isn't that what this holiday is all about!? Have a fabulous week friends! xoxo

Tuesday Treats #6- DIY Inspiration from around the web

Yesterday was a bust with blogging since the whole day was taken up with working on our Adoption book. I was so indecisive when it came to picking pictures and which pictures would the birth parents like better, etc. I really never knew how much went in to all of this. BUT...we are getting closer with each step checked off the list and a lot of praying!

So... on to Tuesday! I am excited to share some ideas I have found around the web the past couple of weeks. So many talented ladies and gents out there that it was so hard for me to narrow down the ideas this week. Of course most of the ideas are holiday related since we are getting closer! Have you all started decorating? If you have...you are certainly ahead of me. We usually like to wait until Thanksgiving is over, but since it is so late this year I think we may just start decorating this weekend.

Okay..enjoy some great inspiration!

ONE: Printable Thankful Tags
If you all saw my Thanksgiving Table last week, then you probably noticed the cute little name tags that were on each place setting. I found those darling tags from Jones Design Company. She has four different types that she has created and they are Free to download and print! Perfect for your guests next week. You could make a thankful tree or use them on sweet little gifts.

TWO: White and Gray Kitchen by Caitlin Wilson
I am seriously in love with this gorgeous kitchen designed by the lovely Caitlin Wilson. I love the contrast of the dark gray cabinets and those chevron floors are to die for. You must click HERE to see the rest of this amazing space.

THREE: DIY Ornament Garland
I always wondered how people got the full garland look when using ornaments instead of tree trimmings. I love this DIY and actually think I might use this idea somewhere in the home for Christmas. You could use any color scheme that worked in your own space. Love this!

FOUR: Single Serve Salad Appetizers

Even though this recipe is for summer seasons, I liked the idea of little appetizer salads even for the holidays. I am a HUGE fan of appetizers and would really just like to eat small amounts of everything rather than fix a large dinner for guests. Just my thing...

FIVE: Top Holiday Playlist
Okay I might be jumping the gun here, but I am Al-most ready to start playing my holiday CD's and playlists. I found a great list of songs from this site that you might want to download to get ready for the holiday season! You will thank me later!

Treats and Ideas inspire me daily...follow me on Pinterest to see more!

Happy Tuesday All...just keep plugging and know tomorrow is Hump Day! XOXO

Patriotic Entertaining Ideas {Memorial Day}

Happy Happy Friday! I hope you all have lots of amazing plans for this long weekend. Some of you might even be getting the party started early today!

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As we get ready for this Memorial Day weekend, let us not forget the real reason we are able to have BBQs with friends and family. Take some time out of your busy weekend to pay your respects to those who have sacrificed for our freedom. What an amazing country we live in!


Are you entertaining or being entertained this weekend? Either way below are a few ideas that I have found out and about on the web. These would even work for the 4th of July if you have already planned out your weekend.

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How adorable is this patriotic table by my friend Cassie from Hi Sugarplum! I love the red dalmatian printed table cloth. There is just the right amount of each color.

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If the weather is good, you could always pull your sideboard outside and make an adorable serving area for your friends and family. 

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Doesn't this Red, White & Blue Sangria look amazing? Click HERE to get the full recipe as well as many more patriotic drinks for your holiday weekend! 

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This is a great idea! One serving set per person. Using colorful bandanna's as napkins with utensils all set into a ball canning jar = perfection! This could be used for any event!

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I am sure many of you have seen this picture with the fruit skewers  How yummy and perfect this would be for a family party!?

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Does this dessert look delightful or what? This is actually a gluten free Ice Cream Pie! If you haven't visited the Yummy Mummy Kitchen, you must! So many wonderful and healthy recipes! 

So, tell me...do you have a Memorial Day Tradition? We use to spend the whole weekend as a big family at my parents cottage on one of NY's finger lakes. Now that my parents live down here in NC, we don't have a specific tradition. I guess we need to start one! 

Have a wonderful long weekend my friends! See you back here on Tuesday!