A little of this and a lot of that...

Hello my friends! It's been almost two weeks, where have you been?! Oh wait, its me that's been MIA. So sorry about that, things have been busy. Last week I had several homework assignments due so blogging had to wait, which means my report on the Fourth of July had to wait, as well as all subsequent events. *sigh* Such is life huh? So let me rewind 10 days and give you a brief overview of the holiday.

What started as a "picnic" idea, turned into a full fledged cookout...albeit a small one. The invitees received this little e-vitation that I conjured up at the last minute using some freebie digi stuff and Publisher.

Max started the night before with a "secret recipe" for a chicken rub, which was applied and left to marinate over night. He stuck the chickens in the oven at noon and slow cooked them all afternoon long. Then, he smothered them in Sweet Baby Rays and fired up the grill. De-lish! The chicken was accompanied by baked beans, corn muffins, a couple of salads, fresh lemonade, and for dessert...homemade cheesecake (my brother rocks at cheesecakes!!) and my mom's cherry delight. We were all stuffed, no doubt about it.

I wanted to keep things simple so that I could enjoy the company and good food, so I covered the tables in...sheets! Yep, navy blue, twin flat sheets...from Walmart...at a whopping $3!! Sheets are a really great, and inexpensive, way to tie your party scheme all together. When you're done, just throw them in the wash, fold, and they're ready to use for something else (just not your bed!). In the centers of the tables, I added, again, very simple and inexpensive, arrangements that doubled as take-homes for each family. I love the gesture of sending the guests home with a token of the event! In this case, I picked up a simple potted annual, set it in the middle of a red handkerchief, gathered up the sides, and secured with a rubber band and then coordinating ribbon. Really simple, took a whole 5 minutes to do! Wouldn't violets, or another delicate flower, look darling with crisp white vintage hankies tied with satin and lace? Give that idea a try at your next ladies luncheon or shower. If using them at a shower, you could make them small, add a stake with the guest's name, and it doubles as a place marker and a take-away! Now I want to throw a shower...but I digress!! Anywho, here's how they turned out:


I added a few candles to the tables, as well as some cut out stars that I made the night before with my star punch. I also made napkin rings with those stars and ribbon to hold the cutlery but I didn't get a picture of those. But all I did was punch the star, cut two slits in the middle, then thread the ribbon in one side and back through the other so that both ends are in the front. Pull the "loop" away from the back so that you can insert the napkin rolled cutlery, then pull the ends tight and tie. Hello, simple! I also distressed the stars with some gold ink to snazz them up a bit.

So, after dinner we headed to Purdue to watch the fireworks from atop the press box at the football stadium. Hello, VIP, step aside... A different take on watching fireworks but we enjoyed it. They had a raffle...of which I won the GRAND PRIZE (an awning covered lawn chair)!! Sometimes I can be rather lucky...

Lets see, so after all of that, my three nieces who are home to see their dad for the summer, stayed the night with us. The next day I took them to the lake to see my brother and his family and to just hang out. I've learned that it doesn't matter how old you are, digging for seashells is still fun!

(More on these shellies later!)

I guess I was too busy enjoying the sun and failed to take any pictures. Except for these few of my squirly nephew and his dad...this kid is such a stink!!



You really cant tell in the photo, but this sandman was complete with muscles and a *ahem* "package". Niiiice!

So, after that enjoyable day, we headed back home, the girls stayed the night again, then the next day I took them home with plans to redo, "do" is more like it, their bedroom. Again, no pictures, but we painted the very very white room cocoa brown, then I picked up some white and brown polka dot sheets, aqua solid and stripped coverlet, and a coordinating rug. We took the seashells gathered from the lake, cleaned them in bleach water to rid them of any creepy crawlies, and the girls and their dad were going to finish putting them in jars to add as decor. I had some misc. frames and sea decor to give them so the room had an overall beachy theme to it. Dad liked it and so did they. Just took a couple of hours and we had a whole new look!

Okay, so that almost brings me to current with postings. Oh but wait, there is still so much more to share!! Sorry folks, you'll have to stop by tomorrow to see what I was up to alllll weekend long around this joint. What? You want a hint? Okay, here's just a little inspiration snipit to tide you over...

See you soon!