Four Ways to Celebrate the Fourth of July

Being an almost-Fourth of July baby I have a real fondness for this holiday.  Of course, it's a great time to think about our great nation and be patriotic, but for me it's the beginning of a two-day celebratory extravaganza!

Here are my top four ways to celebrate the Fourth:

1) Sparklers!

The Fourth of July is just not complete without sparklers.  Yes, they are the baby toy of the fireworks stand, but they're minor enough that you can light them just about anywhere and not get into too much trouble.  (Not that I've ever been visited by the fire marshal or anything...)

2) Deck out the porch.

If you've followed this blog for the last year you've seen pictures of our Victorian-style house.  It has a wraparound porch that just begs to be decorated for the Fourth of July and Christmas.  I guessed how many swags to buy last year but it wasn't quite the right amount so I went back to the craft store after the holiday and bought a few more at a really good price.  Not pictured are big patriotic pinwheels lining the sidewalk, which I think add a nice, whimsical touch.

3) Go nuts with the red, white, and blue foods.

It's time to make kabobs of strawberries, bananas, and blueberries!  You could also make a flag cake using fruits or candies.  However, as pretty as a blue velvet cake looks and sounds, no human should ingest that much blue food dye.  Trust me on this one--my friends will never let me live that year down.

4) Scope out a good spot for the fireworks show.

Nowadays we party at a friend's house that overlooks a neighborhood pond and there's a great, unobstructed view of some nearby fireworks.  (My neighborhood is hilly with tons of trees--not so good for viewing fireworks.)  I'm the type who wants to get as close to the action as I can.  My earliest fireworks memories are of sitting and eating a snowcone on top of the family car in the parking lot where they were setting off the city fireworks and watching the remnants fall all around us.  As it should be.

How will you celebrate this year?

Adi

10 ways to kick off your summer

Today was the last day of school, so in my mind this afternoon officially marked the beginning of summer.  Longer evenings!  No school zones!  More playing outside!

A few reasons why I'm excited it's summer:

• more sunlight makes it feel like I can fit more into my day
• working four long days so I can have Fridays off!
• the slower pace
• lightning bugs!
• my birthday
• our anniversary
• traveling to new places
• more time with the puppies!
• the opportunity to slow down and not be so rushed

Let's ring in the new year season.  Here are 10 quick ways to get into the summer groove:

1) Make a pitcher of lemonade.

2) Invest in a rocking chair for your porch or patio.



3) Go on an evening walk and look for lightning bugs (or fireflies for the non-southern).

4) Host a cookout.

5) Visit a farmer's market (or a friend's veggie garden).



6) Light up some sparklers...bonus points if you write your name before it burns out!

7) Road trip!



8) Set up a kiddie pool for the kids (or puppies).

9) Attend an outdoor concert or music festival.



10) Go old school--gather up the neighbors and have an old-fashioned ice cream social or progressive dinner.

Here's to a long, relaxing summer!  How will you kick it off?

Adi

Fried Chicken on China: our Easter tradition

My family's Easter tradition involves fried chicken and Easter egg hunts.  When I was younger we had big family get-togethers at my great-aunt's house, but later this turned into a picnic in the park.  We'd all bring our favorite sides and desserts and, of course, fried chicken!  (There was a Chicken Express conveniently located just outside the park.)  When all of the kids had grown too old for egg hunts this kind of fell apart, so now we usually host our side of the family at our house.  This year my grandmother wanted to have fried chicken from the place we used to get it and she also asked (jokingly) if we were going to have an egg hunt.  Well, we had both.

We have a six person formal dining table and a four person breakfast table...and eight people coming to lunch.  At 11:40am, 20 minutes before our lunch was supposed to start, my husband decided to move all of the furniture in our great room and bring in the tables and chairs from the two eating areas.  While I admit it worked in the end, the timing was not what I had in mind!

After a lunch of chicken, casseroles, and carrot-raisin salad, we had the indoor egg hunt:  22 eggs plus one prize egg!  

Everyone got in on the hunt.

Dingo's always ready to help, especially if there's food involved.

My grandmother spotted a whole bowl of eggs (the chocolate kind).

Is there something down there?

She's on a roll!

I guess she found so many she needed something to hold them all!

The definition of "egg" quickly became expanded.

The winning team (I think it's because he was the tallest so he could reach the high stuff!):

Mom played the Easter bunny:

Here are a few other Easter decor pics from around the house:

DIY egg garland (string cheap plastic eggs on some yarn)

Easter mantle:

More egg garland:

Pretty spring flowers:

Happy Easter!

Adi

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Did y'all have a good Mardi Gras?  I never paid the holiday much attention until we lived in Louisiana.  To the residents of that state it's right up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas.  A different krewe hosts a parade each weekend (there's even one for the pets!).  You pitch your tent along the road early in the morning and brave the cold and rain for a good spot.  Boiled peanuts are consumed.  Beads are caught.  New friends are made.  Good times!

There's a tradition I learned that I still celebrate, despite the lack of parades and festivities in my part of Texas.  People leave their Christmas trees out (fake, I presume) and decorate them for the next big holiday:  Mardi Gras!  I don't commit all the way with a full tree but I definitely put out my mini Mardi Gras tree!  Here's the whole layout:

I even have a strand of Mardi Gras lights in purple, green, and gold.  (People complain about Christmas decorations going out in the summer?  The craft store in our town would put out Mardi Gras decorations starting in AUGUST!!)

I like to use the holiday as an excuse to make some yummy Cajun food for our friends.  We hosted a group over the weekend and I made Jambalaya, French bread, and King Cake.  (I usually buy the king cake but this year I used cinnamon rolls and cream cheese with sugar I dyed in Mardi Gras colors.  You can use two cans of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and break them apart, twisting them together to make one outer ring and then another small ring on the inside.  Bake according to instructions on the label, then pour the cream cheese over the top and sprinkle on the sugar.  There's a good tutorial for the cake here and for coloring the sugar here.)  I don't have any pictures of the food because we were hungry!  Here's the full table, though--complete with themed napkins:

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Adi