July 4th Celebration

We had a great weekend. On Friday, Mike and I left early to catch some yard sales....I assumed that there would be several, since we were on a holiday weekend, but the pickings were very slim. I did score this picture for $5 and I absolutely love it. Next, we had breakfast and then to town to pick up some things for our July 4th party.

I wanted some red, white and blue pillows and could not find any that I really liked, so decided to make covers for some of my pillows that I use from time to time. I've used the idea to cover pillows before, but have always added zippers to the covers, which are a pain. I noticed some pillows at Marshalls that had quilted covers with tie strings on one end...they were very cute and I decided to use the concept to make my patriotic colored pillow covers. A couple of things I decided - 1) I used red, white and blue colors, but picked fabric that I could use for other decorating and not limited to patriotic themes, like stars, etc. 2) Even though I wanted to use these pillows outside for my party, I did not choose outdoor fabrics - this kept the cost down and allowed me a broader choice of color and pattern. I can also use them indoors or outdoors as needed. I didn't take any close up pics of the pillows, so will do that for another post.

The GBs and their cousins had a ball playing in the water and keeping cool. Filling buckets with water, loads of fun and for some reason, keeps them totally entertained, every time.

Chasing bubbles is another winner with the kiddies.

A suitcase worked great to hold the hamburger and hot dog buns...they were easy reach for everyone and we all know it's all about moving everyone through the food line quickly. I used a set of large square cake pans to hold a layer of ice and then set plates of 'fixings' for the hamburgers, cole slaw and potato salad on top of the ice to keep everything nice and chilled. It's hot here in the South, so keeping food out for more than 10 minutes means you better have a way to keep it chilled.

I set up a dining area on the deck. Lots of candles, of course. A great way to use flowers on a dining table is to bundle them and lay them randomly down the length of the table...this makes a pretty decoration and does not get in the way of being able to see and chat with the people across the table. I bundled blue and white hydrangeas and a vine with red and green tones.

A seperate drink station helped with traffic flow. Mason jars worked great to hold everyone's icy beverage. The beverage dispenser, a great find from Marshall's, was excellent for the sweet tea.

A white rush rocker makes a bright and comfortable spot to take a load off. This rocker was purchased for half off, a couple weeks ago at Cracker Barrel during one of their porch sales ....during the porch sale events you can buy the rockers that are 'dirty' or may have a few scratches, for half price...they only sell a few and you have to be quick to get one. The red, white and blue train pillow is a favorite of the GBs...they all love trains and since hubby works for the railroad, having trains around is a given.

After the cookout, it was dark enough to set off the fireworks. We had one explode on the ground, and hubby ended up with a pretty bad burn on his leg, even though he was several feet away when the rocket exploded. I'm thinking of banning fireworks as a result....very dangerous. They are beautiful and everyone enjoys them, but you just never know if they will work correctly or not. After fireworks, we watched Inkheart on the outdoor screen and watched another Fourth of July slip into history.

Hope you had a great holiday!

All the best,